With the Baltimore Orioles losing 5-3 to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway this afternoon, the Blue Jays have officially locked up a playoff spot. Exciting news for Jays fans, yes, yet there is still plenty of meaningful baseball to be played.
Prior to even contemplating the Postseason, Toronto needs to continue on winning to ensure the Rays do not get home-field advantage for the wild card round. The Blue Jays currently sit a game and a half above Tampa Bay, who have tormented the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field not only this year, but in recent years as well.
If a divisional matchup ensues, hosting the Rays at home for the wild card will be considered a must for most Jays fans due to the gruesome history in Tampa.
The fight continues tomorrow night as Alek Manoah takes the hill at the Dome against the Red Sox tomorrow, September 30th first pitch 7:07 EST.
(Photo: Butch Dill/USA Today Sports)
Great piece Ben! Couldn’t agree more. Any 3 game series, with Manoah, Stripling and Gausman as likely starters certainly bodes well for the Jays. Since the beginning of September, Manoah is 3-0 (3 no decisions) with a 0.88 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP…Stripling is 3-0 (3 no decisions) with a 2.97 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP…Gausman is 1-1 (3 ND) with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP…and 37 Ks in 31 and 1/3. Overall, Jays are 19-10 since Sept 1. As of tonight, the starting lineup for the Jays features 6 batters with an OPS of 0.792 or higher (highest being Danny Jansen at 0.871!). 7 at 0.758 (Chapman) or higher. The Jays starting lineup tonight has a higher OPS than the Yankees starting lineup tonight (0.777 vs 0.761) and a higher OB% as well (0.328 vs. 0.323). Their ( Yankees) pitching is definitely superior, but not recently…the Jays starters (excluding the bullpen rotation starts…or whatever those are called) since September 1, have a combined 3.36 ERA and the Jays have scored 155 runs in 29 games. Keep up the great work! (Stats on the actual Jays’ record vs. the Rays at Tropicana field would be useful…I know it’s bad, but how bad? Throw in the stats next time…lends credibility…not that I am a doubter at all! Totally get what you’re saying)! Again, great job Ben-Jammin’