NEW YORK -- The American League East still runs through Toronto, but that road keeps getting narrower.
The Blue Jays’ lead over the Yankees is down to two games after they dropped Sunday’s finale in the Bronx, 4-3. The comfortable lead the Blue Jays (82-61) enjoyed through parts of July and August -- often reaching five or six games -- has slowly eroded, and while they still hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Yankees (80-63), the powerhouse division looks like it’s going to be a photo finish.
The Red Sox (79-65) are looming, too, with the AL East set to send three teams to the postseason. The Blue Jays still control their own destiny, but when the division lead slips from six games down to two, one bad series can flip the entire postseason picture. This is the point where even veteran players and manager John Schneider, who have long leaned on the mantra that each series is the same, have to acknowledge that these games mean something more.
“I think I’d be lying if I said no, that it’s not different,” Schneider said to open the series. “It’s September. The goal is to win every series. If we happen to lose today, we play tomorrow and the goal will be the same. As the runway gets smaller, yes, sure, you can look at things a little more closely. You’re still trying to win a series and play a good game tonight, tomorrow and Sunday.
“It’s always a little bit different at this time of year when you’re in this division, and it’s always a little different against the division, too.”
You can’t hide from it anymore. These are big-name teams full of big-name players in a marquee division. As the Blue Jays settled into the road clubhouse prior to Friday’s series opener, all four of the TVs that hang from the ceiling were tuned into MLB Network’s Intentional Talk, the headline across the bottom of the screens reading: “Are the Blue Jays still your favorites to win the AL East?”
Sure, they’re all big, but these ones are bigger.
“I think that it’s, by definition, bigger,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re playing the team that we’re looking up at in the standings.”
There were no fatal flaws to Sunday’s loss, just a day where the Blue Jays didn’t get the big hit. That belonged to Ben Rice of the Yankees, who battled back from an 0-2 count against Max Scherzer in the first inning to launch a three-run home run on the 10th pitch he saw. It felt like Rice started to slowly circle Scherzer, ripping a couple of balls foul before delivering the final blow.
This isn’t just about the division, either; it’s about bypassing the Wild Card Round altogether. Right now, the Blue Jays hold one of the top two spots in the AL along with the Detroit Tigers (82-62), which would catapult them directly to the AL Division Series, a best-of-five instead of a best-of-three.
Besides, the Wild Card hasn’t been kind to this organization. In 2020, ‘22 and ‘23, the Blue Jays went 0-2 in that round and were quickly eliminated, each more painful than the last. It’s time to stay in the driver’s seat.
“This is big league baseball. You want to be in this position,” Scherzer said. “You want to be playing competitive ballgames in September. This is what it’s all about.
“We’re talking about three great teams here. We’re going to slug it out against each other. We just have to play our best baseball. Don’t scoreboard watch. Just focus on yourself. Keep the blinders up. Keep everything moving forward.”
Scherzer has been here before. He knows that the sky isn’t falling. Really, it’s rarely falling for a first-place team, one that will go to bed tonight with the best record in the AL.
“I love where our team’s at,” Scherzer said. “I love the mentality. I love the guys and how we come together. We all believe in each other, and we’re all going to pick each other up. I’m glad I’m on this team.”
The MLB schedule makers have laid out the perfect script, too. Waiting for the Blue Jays back in Toronto on Tuesday will be the Astros, who currently have the third-best record among the AL division leaders and are trying to jump right to the ALDS, too.
Everyone’s still looking up at the Blue Jays. It’s all getting tighter, though, and Toronto is no longer out of reach.