Where Blue Jays Stand in American League Wild Card Race Before A's Series

The race for the final American League wild-card spot has been an interesting storyline this summer. Several teams rotated in that sixth spot, but no one has clearly emerged as a runaway playoff team.

That bodes well for the Toronto Blue Jays. They've underperformed for the majority of the season, but they've found new life over the last few weeks. They picked up two series wins over the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals.

It was an important week for Toronto's playoff hopes, but the job isn't finished yet. Their three-city road trip concludes with a three-game series in Sacramento, California against the Athletics.

Updated Blue Jays Playoff Chances

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Louis Varland celebrates with catcher Alejandro Kirk. Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Heading into the week, the Blue Jays are 72-72. Cleveland occupies the final wild-card spot and is one game ahead of Toronto at 73-71. The Texas Rangers (71-73) split a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays and are two games back.

The Baltimore Orioles are on a six-game losing streak and could be out of the wild-card race if the Blue Jays win the series this weekend. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros (73-71) lead the American League West, but they could also be in the hunt if Texas pulls ahead in the division.

According to fangraphs.com, the Blue Jays have a 38.6 percent chance of clinching a playoff berth. That is a 13 percent rise from last week's playoff odds. October baseball is certainly in the cards for John Schneider's club. Kazuma Okamoto spoke about this recent stretch with Keegan Matheson of mlb.com.

"We've come this far, so all we can do is win and hopefully go to the postseason," Okamoto said through his interpreter, Yusuke Oshima. "That's all we're thinking about. Every game, we're giving it our all."

Sunday's 6-1 loss put a damper on things, but the Blue Jays made a significant stride last week. If they continue to stack series wins, Toronto will be in the postseason.

What's Ahead?

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease throws a pitch. Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As mentioned earlier, Toronto will play the Athletics in a three-game series. The A's are 30 games below .500, so winning two out of three should be the minimum requirement for the Blue Jays.

Schneider will send Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano for the first two games. Then, they'll return home for a pivotal three-game series against the Orioles. The path to October baseball is straightforward. Toronto must take advantage of two reeling teams and move up the wild-card standings.

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