(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 the Rogers Center beginning Tuesday.
Heading into Monday’s games, the Jays held the No. 2 seed in the AFC. How they play against the Yankees and Rays will determine where they end their season.
Three teams from the American West will also have a say in this race, since they are involved: the Texas Rangers, the Houston Astros and the Seattle Mariners could derail the Jays’ plans.
The Rangers were in first place in the West on Monday. The Astros were third and last among the drafted teams, a half-game ahead of the Mariners.
The Astros begin a three-game series against the Mariners in Seattle on Monday. Nothing is decided for any of these four formations.
The Jays must also win to improve their record against the teams in their section. Their lackluster 19-27 record against the Eastern clubs means that if they finish tied with the Mariners (29-16 against the Western clubs), the latter would benefit from the tiebreaker.
However, it seems unlikely that the Jays will be excluded from the playoffs.
The analytical site FanGraphs.com gives Torontonians a 97.7% chance of obtaining a bye for the fall tournament. Baseball-reference.com gives them a 97.9% chance.
Starting ace Kevin Gausman (12-9) will get the start for the first matchup against the Yankees, who will send Michael King (4-7) to the mound.
The Yankees (79-77) are six games from the third and final place giving access to the series.
The Rays have already secured their qualification and currently occupy the first place among the drafted teams. They could still take first place in the East from 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 to take place late Monday.