October baseball will return to Toronto after the Blue Jays punched their ticket to the playoffs with an 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
The Jays celebrated by popping champagne following the road-game victory, becoming the first team in the American League this season to reach 90 wins.
With only have six more games to play before the regular season wraps up, the Jays lead the American League with a record of 90-66, two games ahead of the New York Yankees.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to get tickets and the Blue Jays’ “magic number.”
Toronto Blue Jays playoff tickets
Tickets for potential playoff games in the Wild Card and American League Division Series rounds go on sale to the general public on Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. and include the maximum number of playoff games that could be played at Rogers Centre during those two rounds.
That starts with the American League Wild Card Series, which would start with Game 1 on Sept. 30, followed by Game 2 on Oct. 1, and Game 3, if necessary, on Oct. 2. All three games will be hosted by the higher seed team.
The Jays’ next six games will determine if Toronto needs to play in the Wild Card Series.
If the Jays win the AL East, they will advance directly to the American League Division Series with home-field advantage.
Those games will start on Oct. 4 at the field of the division winner, followed by Game 2 on Oct. 5. Game 3 and Game 4, if necessary, will be played at the Wild Card winner’s field on Oct.7 and Oct. 8. Game 5, if necessary, will be played on Oct. 10.
Fans can buy tickets here. Any tickets to potential games that do not get played will be refunded.
Tickets for potential games in the American League Championship Series and the World Series would go on sale at a later date.
The Jays will also be offering general admission “District Drops” tickets for standing-room access only. Information about the program can be found here.
Full or quarter season ticket holders are guaranteed a seat in the ballpark for the postseason. The ball club will also hold tickets for new members.
Toronto Blue Jays’ ‘magic number’
With six games left to play, the Toronto Blue Jays’ so-called “magic number” currently sits at four.
Defined by the MLB as “the combination of wins needed by that team and losses by its closest competitor to clinch a given goal,” the formula to arrive at that number is as follows:
Games remaining +1 - (Losses by second place team - losses by first place team).
That means that any combination of Jays wins and Yankees losses totalling four over the next six games will see Toronto take the AL East crown.
For example, if the Jays beat the Boston Red Sox Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and the Yankees lose to the Chicago White Sox at the same time, Toronto will clinch the title.
If the clubs were to finish with the same record, the Jays would still win the AL East owing to the fact that they own the season series tiebreaker with the Yankees.
