Toronto Blue Jays announce starting rotation ahead of series vs Kansas City Royals

The Blue Jays fell to the Rays for the second game in a row, leaving the Jays with a split in the matchup with their AL East rivals.

The Blue Jays (89-64) fell short of becoming the first team in the American League to reach 90 wins, but they have the chance to clear that threshold when they start their three-game series with the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

Toronto still controls its playoff destiny, from clinching a playoff berth to winning the AL East and, potentially, claiming the No. 1 seed in the AL playoffs.

With that in mind the club announced their starting three pitchers for this series and the Royals will have their work cut out for them.

Max Scherzer will start tonight with Shane Bieber to follow on Saturday afternoon, and the young gun Trey Yesavage in the finale on Sunday.

Bo Bichette is traveling with the team to Kauffman Stadium as he continues to rehab with the hopes of a postseason return.

The Blue Jays have two magic numbers to track. The first is their number to clinch a playoff berth, which is three.

That's a combination of Toronto wins and Cleveland losses. However, there is a scenario, worked out by The Athletics' Mitch Bannon on X, that would allow Toronto to clinch a playoff berth on Friday, even with the Thursday loss to Tampa Bay.

The Blue Jays are seeking to win their first division title since 2015.

Since that division title they've been to the postseason four other times, but always as a wild card team.

The Blue Jays reached the ALCS again in 2016 but fell to Cleveland.

Tonight's game will be broadcast on both AppleTV+ and Sportsnet. First pitch is at 7:40 PM ET.