The Toronto Blue Jays have officially made things interesting again. On September 4, Toronto defeated the Kansas City Royals 9-2 to move back to .500 at 71-71, reaching even ground for the first time since June 22. After spending much of the summer buried in the standings, the defending American League champions are suddenly right in the middle of the AL playoff race.
Toronto has completely changed its outlook
It wasn’t long ago that the Blue Jays looked like they were heading toward a disappointing finish. Toronto fell as far as 10 games under .500 on July 28, but the team has steadily clawed its way back into contention. The Blue Jays entered September with little margin for error, and they have responded by winning six of their last seven games.
The recent surge started with a critical series win over the Cleveland Guardians. Toronto won two of three games in Cleveland, pulling within half a game of the final AL Wild Card spot before Friday’s victory over Kansas City.
Now, the Blue Jays are no longer simply hoping to stay relevant.
They are legitimately in the playoff race.
The Wild Card race is wide open
Toronto’s biggest advantage is that there is still time to make up ground. As of September 4, the Blue Jays were 71-71, sitting just behind Cleveland for the final Wild Card position. Texas was also within striking distance, making the final weeks of the season extremely important.
The offense has also started to show signs of life.
Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement each recorded two hits and two RBIs in Friday’s win, while George Springer also drove in two runs. The Blue Jays scored nine runs on 13 hits, continuing the offensive momentum that has fueled their recent turnaround.
There is still plenty of work to do, but Toronto has put itself in position to make a run.
After everything that went wrong during the middle of the season, the Blue Jays are suddenly playing meaningful baseball again — and a playoff berth is within reach.
