The Blue Jays beat the Guardians to pull to within 0.5 games in the American League wild card race, but there was added meaning.
The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Thursday afternoon to pull within one game of .500 at 70-71 on the season.
But more importantly, the Jays are now within 0.5 games of the third and final wild card spot in the American League. After getting to the World Series last year, it's been a very trying season for the Jays, but they still have an opportunity to get back to October and chase the franchise's first World Series title since 1993.
We've already looked at the historic impacts of Brett Bateman and Louis Varland in this game, so let's step back and look big picture:
As noted by Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, this win was important because it gave Toronto a 4-2 season series win over Cleveland, meaning they've officially won the tiebreaker should the two teams end the season tied for a playoff spot.
In addition, the Jays also have the tiebreaker over the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox. They do not have the tiebreaker over the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, or Minnesota Twins, which could end up relevant.
Toronto also has a 2-1 advantage against the Detroit Tigers, who they will see three more times this season.
As of this posting, Cleveland leads Toronto and the Rangers by 0.5 games. The Jays are then one game up on the Orioles, 2.5 up on the Twins, and 3.5 up on Seattle, though it should be noted that Seattle is in action as we speak, so that could change.
Either way, the Jays are in good control of their own destiny. They have the second-easiest schedule remaining in baseball, according to Tankathon. They do not see an opponent with a record over .500 the rest of the way.
Up next
The Blue Jays will be back in action on Friday night on the road at the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET as Jameson Taillon makes his return to the rotation. He had been on the injured list with an elbow issue, but has been ramping up over the last week plus.
He'll be opposed by left-hander Daniel Lynch, who has made the move back to the starting rotation.
While the Royals are just 62-78, they've played much better of late, and they beat Toronto two-of-three just last week at Rogers Centre. That's the last series that Toronto has lost.
