Blue Jays Enter Critical Divisional Series Red-Hot Against Hated Rival Yankees
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The Toronto Blue Jays are on one of the most impressive runs they have had in quite a long time, and are rapidly becoming an American League contender alongside the Detroit Tigers.
With a 58-41 record headed into a new week, they have clearly found their stride as one of the best teams in baseball and have staved off multiple other teams in their division for the lead at the moment.
Things get difficult now for the Blue Jays though as they enter a three-game series against the New York Yankees before a four-game series against the previously mentioned Tigers.
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This stretch could determine many different things down the road, including the AL East division winner, and more importantly, postseason seeding.
Winning these two series could cement Toronto as a clear favorite in the American League, but losing out on both could send them into a tough spot with only 56 games to go after that.
Focusing on the Yankees has to be the first priority though, as both teams enter this series with a 7-3 record over their last ten matchups. The Blue Jays hold the lead in the season series by a record of 5-2, with their last meeting being a four-game sweep.
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This next tilt could be a huge factor in the AL East heading down the stretch.
With the Boston Red Sox finding momentum and gaining on both Toronto and New York, the former needs to find a way to pull away a bit in this division race. This is their second-to-last series against the Yankees remaining, and with only one more remaining against the Red Sox, now is the time to create a gap.
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If the Blue Jays are able to sweep this series as they did the last one, it would put them six games clear of New York, sitting at 61-41. Even taking two of three would be huge, as a 60-42 record against a 56-46 one is still quite a difference.
The best news about this timing is that Boston is still in an extremely difficult portion of their schedule, facing the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers back-to-back.
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This is the exact time that Toronto needs to find its momentum and just put this series away, as doing so would give them a huge opportunity to maintain the division lead down the stretch.
While it will not be easy, they have done it before, so why not once more?
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Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.