Blue Jays' Grand Slam Sent Rogers Centre Wild As They Play for AL East Title

Alejandro Kirk came up clutch.
Alejandro Kirk hit a grand slam in the first inning of the Blue Jays' regular-season finale
Alejandro Kirk hit a grand slam in the first inning of the Blue Jays' regular-season finale / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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The final day of Major League Baseball's regular season has a lot at stake. In the AL East, the Blue Jays and Yankees are playing for the division in their final games.

Toronto holds the tiebreaker, so they simply need a win in their game against the Rays or a New York loss in their finale against the Orioles. The team who comes out on top gets the AL's No. 1 seed, which means home-field advantage and a bye to the AL Division Series. The loser will become the league's top wild-card team and will have to play a best-of-three series against whichever team lands at No. 5.

The Blue Jays control their own destiny, and they came out hungry at Rogers Centre Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay scored a run in the top of the first, but Toronto's offense made up for it and then some in the bottom half of the inning. They started the inning with an RBI single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Center fielder Daulton Varsho loaded the bases two batters later for catcher Alejandro Kirk, who provided a heck of a moment for the home fans. Kirk hit a no-doubter to left field on an 83-mph changeup that made the stadium rock.

Just listen to this crowd pop once he made contact for the grand slam:

The huge moment gave the Blue Jays an early four-run cushion. Tampa Bay trimmed the lead in the third with three runs to make things interesting. The AL East hangs in the balance, but the fans at Rogers Centre are certainly ready for October baseball.


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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.