The Blue Jays lost 0.5 games in the standings before even taking the field on Saturday.
If losing to the Texas Rangers wasn't bad enough for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, things got even worse on Saturday before the Jays even took the field.
The Blue Jays entered play at two games back of the Chicago White Sox for the third and final wild card spot in the American League, and they were also one game back of the Texas Rangers, who are sandwiched between the two.
Well, the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, which hurts the Blue Jays even more.
Where things stand now
After the White Sox win, the Rangers are now 1.5 games back of Chicago and the Blue Jays are 2.5 back. The best that the Blue Jays can do, even with a win, is pull even with Texas and stay two games back of the White Sox.
The other thing to think about
The White Sox are now 0.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central.
1) If Cleveland beats the Athletics on Saturday night, they'll move back to 1.0 game up on the White Sox. If that happens, then the White Sox will stay in the third wild card spot, and the Blue Jays will remain two games back with a win.
They do not have the tiebreaker on Chicago, meaning they will be effectively 3.0 games back.
If the Blue Jays lose? They'll be 3.0 games back, which is effectively four.
2) If Cleveland loses to the Athletics, then they and the White Sox will fall back into a tie. The White Sox have the tiebreaker on Cleveland, so they'd elevate into the division lead, with Cleveland falling back into the wild card spot. That's actually a good thing for the Blue Jays, because they have the tiebreaker on Cleveland.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Soriano (40) during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesIf the Blue Jays win, the two-game deficit would actually be two games in this case. Which is the best case scenario. If the Blue Jays and Cleveland both lose, Toronto would be 3.0 games back of them.
Up next
Facing a must-win game now, the Blue Jays will take on the Rangers again on Saturday night with first pitch just after 7 p.m. ET. Trade deadline acquisition Jose Soriano will take the mound against Cal Quantrill, who has had a career resurgence in Texas. He's 9-5 with a 2.90 ERA this season.
A contact-driven pitcher, he has only 81 strikeouts in more than 100 innings this year.
Soriano is 12-7 between his time with the Angels and Blue Jays.
