Winning AL East Should Be Top Priority for Blue Jays To Avoid History Repeating
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The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a fantastic series against the Colorado Rockies and must be oozing with confidence as of now.
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Against the Rockies, the Blue Jays were able to score 45 runs in the three-game set. As expected with those offensive numbers, they were able to sweep the woeful Rockies.
Now, their attention will turn to a massive series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are still the team to beat and a heavy World Series favorite despite some issues of their own.
This will be a great test for a Toronto team that is seeking to prove they are the one to beat in the American League.
There are a lot of reasons to believe that the Blue Jays can still improve after additions made at the trade deadline and the hopeful return of Anthony Santander at one point. However, they should have one clear goal in mind going forward.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the best-case scenario for the Blue Jays this season being to win the AL East and avoid the dreaded Wild Card spot.
“The "three decades" part is whatever as far as the goal is concerned, but Toronto understands the perils of not securing a first-round bye, immediately swept out of the playoffs in the wild-card round in each of its last three trips to the postseason.”
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In their last three trips to the postseason, the Blue Jays have been in the Wild Card Round in each of them. The results haven’t been good at all for Toronto, who has a combined record of 0-6 in those series.
Can the Blue Jays Hold On?
While the playoff format has changed, it would still behoove the Blue Jays to win the division and avoid that round.
For Toronto, there has been a lot of talk about their run differential not being nearly the same as some of the other teams in the league. The series against Colorado certainly helped quiet some of that noise, with run differential not being the best indicator of how good a team is.
With the Boston Red Sox on fire right behind them in the standings, the next nine-game stretch is going to be an important one for Toronto. After the Dodgers, they will be facing the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.
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All three of those teams are playoff hopefuls, and the Blue Jays are going to be tested.
So far, this campaign, they have stepped up when they needed to, with most recently a massive series win against the New York Yankees that propelled them into first place. Since then, they haven’t looked back.
Even though making the playoffs is the main goal, winning the division should be the priority for Toronto.
For more Blue Jays news, head over to Blue Jays On SI.
Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.