Blue Jays Enter Stretch in Danger of Losing AL East Lead to Yankees

The Toronto Blue Jays have a playoff berth clinched, but they’re taking their dreams of an AL East title down to the wire.

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Nathan Lukes (38) hits a double against the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning at Rogers Centre. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays just want to clinch an American League East title for the first time in a decade. But nothing is coming easy.

The Blue Jays (90-67) returned home to play their first game since clinching a playoff berth on Sunday. They activated Anthony Santander from the injured list but had to part ways with pitcher Alex Mahoah to do it. The Boston Red Sox were fighting for a wild card berth and beat Toronto, 4-1, at Rogers Centre.

Toronto’s only offense came from an Andres Gimenez RBI groundout. All isn’t lost for clinching the division title. The Blue Jays are still in control. But they — and the New York Yankees — are not making it easy to get the job done.

Toronto Blue Jays Magic Number

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Before action on Tuesday, Toronto’s magic number to clinch the AL East was four. That’s any combination of Blue Jays wins and Yankees losses, as New York was the second-place team in the division. Toronto does have an advantage in the event of a tie, as the Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker over the Yankees based on their head-to-head record.

As Toronto was trying to overcome the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees were at home hosting the Chicago White Sox, an advantageous matchup for the Bronx Bombers as they try to catch up with the Blue Jays. New York won the game on a walk off RBI single by Jose Caballero, who drove in Aaron Judge.

The win cut Toronto’s lead to one game in the AL East and held the Blue Jays’ magic number at four.

Both teams have five games remaining and, thanks to the tiebreaker, the Blue Jays have a bit of wiggle room. Toronto can lose one more game than New York down the stretch and still win the division due to the tiebreaker. Ideally, Toronto just needs to win one more game than New York to win the division title outright. New York must win two more games than Toronto to win the division. So, the climb is still a significant one for the Yankees.

For now, the Blue Jays remain in control of the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs. If Seattle wins on Tuesday, Toronto’s lead for the seed will be two games. A Mariners loss would keep that lead at three games.

The Blue Jays are seeking to win their first division title since 2015. Since that division title they've been to the postseason four other times, but always as a wild card team. The Blue Jays reached the ALCS again in 2016 but fell to Cleveland.

Toronto Blue Jays Magic Number Watch

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Magic Number to Clinch AL East: 4 (including tiebreaker over Yankees)

Toronto Blue Jays Games Remaining: 5

Toronto Blue Jays Remaining Schedule: Sept. 24-25 vs. Boston; Sept. 26-28, vs. Tampa Bay.

AL East Division Race (after Sept. 23)

Toronto Blue Jays: 90-67 (lead division)

New York Yankees: 89-68 (1.0 game behind)

New York Yankees Remaining Schedule (5 games): Sept. 24-25 vs. Chicago White Sox; Sept. 26-28, vs. Baltimore.