AL East Rivals Blue Jays and Yankees Set for Historic ALDS Clash
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The Toronto Blue Jays now know who they will be facing off against in the ALDS. After earning a bye as the No. 1 seed, they will be playing the New York Yankees in the five-game series.
The Yankees were able to defeat the Boston Red Sox in three games in their Wild Card matchup. After dropping Game 1, they came back to win two in a row at Yankee Stadium to advance to the next round.
This is a historic matchup between the American League East rivals. They compete against each other for multiple series every year, but history will be made when things get underway Saturday afternoon.
Blue Jays and Yankees Facing Off in Playoffs for First Time Ever
As shared by Talkin’ Baseball on X, this will be the first time the rivals play against each other in a playoff series. It is one of three first-time postseason matchups that will occur in the Divisional Series.
The Detroit Tigers are facing off against the Seattle Mariners for the first time in the AL. In the National League, it is another divisional first. The Chicago Cubs will be playing their NL Central rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers.
There are a lot of intriguing matchups that are set to get underway this weekend. For the Blue Jays, they will have a little extra motivation beyond facing off against their divisional rivals for the first time.
Also noted by Talkin’ Baseball, Toronto is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in the postseason. The last time they won a playoff game was in 2016, when they advanced to the ALCS.
Tons of playoff baseball ahead of us pic.twitter.com/rdAZyuyllx
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 3, 2025
Since that point, the Blue Jays have made the playoffs three times. But on all three occasions, they were swept in the ALWC. As a result, this is the deepest Toronto has been in the playoffs in nine years, despite not even taking the field yet.
Snapping that losing streak will be easier said than done, but the Blue Jays have found success against New York this year. In 13 matchups during the regular season, Toronto went 8-5.
That tiebreaker is what determined the divisional race, with the Blue Jays winning the AL East and landing the No. 1 seed, while the Yankees fell to the No. 4 seed and had to play in the ALWC.
Alas, all of those regular-season results are out the window now. The postseason is a totally different animal, one that New York has plenty of experience navigating. It will be interesting to see how an inexperienced Toronto group handles the moment.
They have done what they could to prepare, holding intrasquad games to remain sharp and hoping that the bye has given some of their key contributors enough time to recover from injuries.
