Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Blue Jays Prepare For Biggest Series of Season Vs Rangers
They aren't trying to hide it.
Even a Blue Jays team that preaches the importance of every single series isn't avoiding the heightened relevance of this one. The Jays are set to host the Rangers for a four-game set starting on Monday — four games that could very well decide their season.
"Nothing changed from what always say, we have to just win every game, but obviously with the standings, those are big games," Bo Bichette said. "And every game from here on out is big. But yeah, we definitely have to play good baseball."
Why Does This Series Mean More?
Take a look at the standings, they tell the story.
The Blue Jays enter Monday's series against Texas just 1.5 games up on the Rangers for the AL's final postseason position and a game ahead of the Mariners. This is Toronto's final series of the season against a team within five games of them, making it arguably their last shot to fully control their destiny. After this set against Texas, the Jays finish the season with series against the Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees.
American League Wild Card Standings:
WC1: Tampa Bay Rays - 88-56
WC2: Toronto Blue Jays - 80-63
WC3: Seattle Mariners - 79-64
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.5 Games Back: Texas Rangers -78-64
6.0 GB: Boston Red Sox - 73-70
On top of obvious standings implications, this four-game set will also decide the season tiebreak between Texas and Toronto. With the Rangers winning two of three against the Jays earlier this season, Toronto will need to win three of four this week to secure the edge. Even a series split isn't enough.
After MLB expanded the playoffs to three wild-card seeds per league in 2022, they got rid of play-in games, meaning whichever team holds the season series edge would earn the postseason position in the event of a tie. Given how close the standings are right now, that tie is a real possibility.
How Do Rangers/Blue Jays Match Up?
Despite sitting in similar spots in the standings, the Blue Jays and Rangers couldn't be further apart in terms of roster construction and recent trends. The Rangers are built around banging bats and held back by a dreadful bullpen. The Jays, on the other hand, have won with dominant pitching, good enough to overshadow offensive mediocrity.
Runs/Game - TOR: 4.61 (12th in MLB), TEX: 5.45 (3rd)
SP ERA - TOR: 3.76 (1st), TEX: 3.92 (6th)
RP ERA - TOR: 3.53 (3rd), TEX: 4.89 (26th)
Defensive OAA - TOR: -1 (16th), TEX: +17 (6th)
These two teams are also trending in very different directions. The Rangers come to Toronto winners of just three of their last 10 games. Since August 15th, Texas is just 6-15. The Jays, on the other hand, have won their last four series and swept Kansas City over the weekend.
The Rangers' recent slide has been exasperated by a bevy of injuries, too, with Josh Jung, Adolis Garcia, and reliever Josh Sborz all recently heading to the IL. None of the three is expected back for the series against Toronto.
The Jays are catching Texas at the perfect time, with their season on the line, and everything to play for. It has the potential for an ideal outcome and an October-sealing series win, but the Blue Jays still have to show up.
"Every team goes through ups and downs, we were there in May," manager John Schneider said. "They're still really good, I know they're battling injuries ... you catch teams at different times but they're still a really good team."
