(Toronto) The Blue Jays will find out this week if they can qualify for the MLB playoffs.
Toronto will host the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays for a six-game trip to Rogers Center starting Tuesday.
Heading into Monday’s games, the Jays were second in the AFC. How they play against the Yankees and Rays will determine where they finish the season.
Three teams from the American West will also have a say in this race, as they are involved: the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners could disrupt the Jays’ plans.
The Rangers were in first place in the West on Monday. The Astros placed third and last among the teams drafted, half a game ahead of the Mariners.
The Astros begin a three-game series against the Mariners in Seattle on Monday. Nothing has been decided for any of these four formations.
The Jays also need to win to improve their record against teams in their group. Their poor 19-27 record against Eastern clubs means that if they finish tied with the Mariners (29-16 against Western clubs), the latter would benefit from the tiebreaker.
However, it seems unlikely that the Jays will be shut out of the playoffs.
Analytics site FanGraphs.com gives Torontonians a 97.7% chance of a bye to the fall tournament. Baseball-reference.com gives them a 97.9% chance.
Starting ace Kevin Gausman (12-9) will start the first meeting against the Yankees, which will send Michael King (4-7) to the mound.
The Yankees (79-77) are six games away from third and last place in the series.
The Rays have already secured qualification and currently occupy first place among the teams called up. They can still clinch first place in the East against the Baltimore Orioles this week. The Rays will play a short two-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park starting Tuesday.
The Rangers have a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on the menu. The first game is scheduled for Monday night.
