The Toronto Blue Jays only have three games left to determine their post-season seeding as they sit atop the American League, tied with the New York Yankees for the best record.
The Jays had lost six of their previous eight games before Thursday night’s 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox, emphasized by a six-run sixth inning which included a Dalton Varsho grand slam and a two-run home run from George Springer.
But the Yankees also won Thursday night, with a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over the Chicago White Sox to match the Jays’ 91-68 record. The Bronx Bombers have won eight of their last nine games.
Both teams are headed to the playoffs, but how they perform in each of their respective three-game series this weekend will decide their fate in the post-season.
The Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays, who are in fourth place in the AL East, and the Yankees play the last-place Baltimore Orioles.
What’s Toronto’s ‘magic number’?
Toronto’s “magic number,” which represents any combination of Jays wins and Yankees’ losses that would give them the AL East crown, stands at three.
So, if the Jays can sweep the Rays, they’ll head straight to the American League Division Series (ALDS), regardless of how the Yankees perform as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series 8-5.
Similarly, if the Jays drop one game to the Rays, and the Yankees do the same with the Orioles, they would still earn the pennant and command homefield advantage throughout the AL playoffs.
In a worst-case scenario, the Jays could even potentially lose all three of their next games and still take the AL East crown, so long as the Yankees do the same.
However, if the Yankees pull ahead and finish the season with just one win more than the Jays, Toronto will be forced to play in the best-of-three Wild Card Series at home.
Are post-season tickets still available?
Tickets to all three potential ALDS home games at Rogers Centre sold out in less than two hours after they went on sale Thursday, with tickets to the first two matchups selling out within 30 minutes.
Tickets to the ALDS games are still available on the secondary market, with passes in the nosebleeds available in the $300 range, at time of writing. The series is set to start on Oct. 4 at the home of the division winner.
Meanwhile, tickets to the Wild Card Series are still up for grabs on Ticketmaster, which may be a sign that fans are hopeful the Jays will get a break and won’t have to play in the best-of-three faceoff. If the Jays do play in the wild card round, they’ll potentially face the Red Sox.
At time of writing, tickets to the wild card games are hovering around the $85 mark. If the Jays get a bye and advance directly to the ALDS, those who bought tickets to wild card games will be refunded.
