TORONTO — Thanks to the Boston Red Sox completing a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, we know this much: the Toronto Blue Jays will play a three-game wild card series beginning Friday, October 7.
Who will they be playing against? And where? That remains to be seen. But answers to those questions will come at some point over the next six days — sooner if the Blue Jays can string together some wins, later if they scuffle.
The good news for the Blue Jays is they’re in the driver’s seat.
They wake up Friday as sole occupants of first place in the American League wild card standings, 1.5 games ahead of the second-place Seattle Mariners, and two games up on the Tampa Bay Rays in third. Here’s how those standings look entering the weekend:
As a refresher — the first-place wild card finisher hosts all three games of one wild card series against the second-place finisher. The third-place club travels to Cleveland to be the visitor in all three games of the other set against the AL Central-champion Guardians.
The winner of the series between the top two wild card teams will go on to play the Houston Astros in the divisional round; the winner of the series in Cleveland will get the New York Yankees.
So, if the regular season ended Friday morning, the Blue Jays would host the Mariners, with the winner continuing to Houston, while the Guardians would welcome the Rays, competing to earn a spot in a divisional series beginning in the Bronx.
Of course, there are still games to be played — six each for the Blue Jays and Rays, seven for the Mariners. Toronto’s magic number to clinch the first wild card spot is six with the Mariners and five with the Rays. That means the earliest the Blue Jays could secure home field advantage is Sunday. Three Blue Jays wins combined with at least two losses by the Rays and three losses by the Mariners over that span would do it.
But it’s unlikely to be that easy. If the Blue Jays can’t take care of business against the Red Sox at Rogers Centre this weekend, and the Orioles at Camden Yards next week, the Rays, Mariners, or both could close their respective gaps. Which would be bad news for the Blue Jays, who don’t hold the edge in any tiebreaker scenarios.
At the end of the regular season, any two-team ties will be decided by head-to-head record, while a three-team tie would come down to which club has the best combined winning percentage against the other two teams. And with the Blue Jays, Mariners, and Rays all having finished their season series against one another, we know who holds the hammer in the various scenarios:
So, the Blue Jays need to finish at least one win ahead of both the Rays and Mariners if they’re going to ensure one of next weekend’s wild card series is hosted at Rogers Centre.
That will make for some intense scoreboard watching over the next six days.
The Rays open a three-game set in Houston on Friday before travelling to Boston for three more against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park starting Monday. The Mariners, meanwhile, host the Oakland Athletics this weekend and then welcome the Detroit Tigers for four next week, including a Tuesday doubleheader.
Ultimately, Toronto’s fate is in its hands. But it would take only a couple losses this weekend, and a couple wins by the Rays, Mariners, or both, to change that. All scenarios are still on the table for now. Here’s a look at each of Toronto’s potential outcomes at the end of these next six games.
Blue Jays finish first, host wild card series vs. Rays or Mariners
The Blue Jays can force this scenario without any help from elsewhere across the league by simply winning their final six games. Easier said than done, particularly considering the mental miscues and unforced errors that have sabotaged the club’s efforts of late. But with a playing-out-the-string Red Sox side coming to town this weekend, and a series with the likely-to-be-eliminated-by-then Orioles on tap next week, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
But what if the Blue Jays go 3-3 over that stretch? Then they need three Mariners losses and two by the Rays to clinch home field advantage. What if Toronto goes 2-4? Then the Mariners need to lose at least four of their final seven, while the Rays lose three of their final six. The less the Blue Jays win, the more help they’ll need to ensure a wild card series is played at Rogers Centre.
That’s why, even after clinching a postseason berth Thursday, Toronto can’t take its foot off the gas. We’ve all seen it in postseasons past — 49,000-strong packed to the Rogers Centre rafters, creating the kind of sound that causes Johnny Cueto to drop return throws, Gerrit Cole to balk, and opposition players to meltdown under the pressure of MLB’s most hell-raising atmosphere. That’s what the Blue Jays are playing for over their final six games.
Blue Jays finish second, travel to Seattle for wild card series
Seattle has a game in hand on both the Blue Jays and Rays, a discrepancy that won’t be made up until Tuesday, when the Mariners host a doubleheader against the lowly Tigers.
And if Seattle is within 2.5 games of the Blue Jays Tuesday morning, the possibility of leapfrogging into the first wild card spot will remain. That could lead to some nervous scoreboard watching for Blue Jays fans, as their club plays play the middle game of a series in Baltimore.
Of course, the last couple weeks haven’t only been nervous for Mariners fans — they’ve been maddening. MLB’s schedule makers have presented Seattle with an abundant platter of cupcakes with which to finish their season as the club plays its final 20 games against below-.500 opposition. But the Mariners have refused to consume the pastries.
After a 3-7 road trip against the 70-86 Angels, 56-100 Athletics, and 63-93 Royals, the Mariners returned home this week and were promptly shut out in the opener of a series with the 66-89 Rangers. Seattle finally got back on track with a narrow victory the next night. But it took multiple extra-inning comebacks to edge Texas in an insane, 10-9 finale on Thursday, as the Mariners continued to fumble around with their season above an open flame.
Despite all that, it’s easy to foresee the Mariners putting things back on the rails over its final two series, as they welcome the 100-loss Athletics and 92-loss Tigers to Seattle. For all their blundering, the Mariners are still the best positioned club to overtake the Blue Jays for that first wild card spot by sheer ease of schedule. Which would create a tough scenario for Toronto, as it flew across the continent to contest a series before rowdy Mariners fans watching their team play postseason baseball for the first time in 21 years.
And recent struggles or not, Seattle remains a talent-rich club capable of running out a stacked rotation of Robbie Ray (3.58 ERA), Luis Castillo (3.06), and Logan Gilbert (3.29) in a wild card series. Sensational rookie Julio Rodriguez, who’s posted a five-win season in his first trip through the league, is expected to return from a back injury in time for the playoffs, and will reassume his place atop a lineup that, not unlike Toronto’s, runs deep with hitters performing at an above league average level.
If the Mariners can get out of their own way, they can be as dangerous a postseason team as any.
Blue Jays finish second, travel to Tampa Bay for wild card series
Thanks to a two-game cushion as of Friday morning, Toronto can afford to play one game worse than Tampa Bay over the next six days and still finish with a better record.
But what if the Blue Jays play two games worse than Tampa? What if Toronto goes 3-3 over the next six while the Rays get hot and go 5-1? In that case, Tampa could edge in front of Toronto in the standings thanks to the tiebreaker they hold and potentially force the Blue Jays to travel to Tropicana Field for three games next weekend.
Did you feel that churn in the pit of your stomach? The involuntary dread at the thought of a three-game, winner-take-all series at The Trop? The Blue Jays are 87-135 in franchise history at Tropicana Field — a .392 winning percentage. Over the years, Toronto’s players and coaches, its style of play, the very uniforms it wears, have all changed. But the results have stayed the same.
Now, to be fair, this year’s Rays vintage is the least threatening we’ve seen in some time. Thanks to an unbelievable run of injuries, the club has been forced to reach deep into its renowned depth and look outside the organization for playable veterans such as David Peralta, Christian Bethancourt, and Jose Siri to plug holes around the diamond. With a 102 wRC+, this isn’t an offence a team as good as Toronto ought to fear.
But it’s still a versatile, fundamentally-sound, balanced one that’s allowed manager Kevin Cash to start 152 different batting orders and 146 defensive alignments over 156 games, and match up advantageously against tough, late-inning relievers. That’s really the Rays’ secret sauce — metamorphosing their lineup to best exploit the opposition’s weaknesses while putting its own players in the possible position to succeed.
The Rays also still feature the kind of deep, adaptable pitching staff the club’s known for, led by Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and Jeffrey Springs. Meanwhile, Tyler Glasnow just returned from Tommy John surgery flashing the same dominant stuff that gave him ace-like potential prior to his injury and gives Cash another weapon to use in shorter stints either as a starter or out of an already-stacked, versatile bullpen.
All told, the Blue Jays are a better team than the Rays on paper and would be the odds-on favourite to win a three-game series. But when that series is being played at Tropicana Field, all bets are off.
Blue Jays finish third, travel to Cleveland for wild card series
To find themselves in the third wild card spot and hopping over Lake Erie for a series with the Cleveland Guardians, Toronto would need to play two games worse than the Rays over the next six days, and 1.5 worse than the Mariners.
One scenario would see the Blue Jays splitting their final stretch, 3-3, while the Mariners go 5-2 and the Rays go 5-1. Or, if the Blue Jays go cold and lose four of their final six, the Mariners would need only a 4-3 record, and the Rays only 4-2, to knock Toronto down to third.
Ultimately, the Blue Jays would need to scuffle at the worst time while the Mariners and Rays get hot at the best time. But that’s well within the realm of possibility when you’re looking at a two-series stretch of baseball. The Blue Jays have split or lost their last three series, going 4-5 in the process. And one of those wins was a 10th-inning walk-off. Anything can happen.
And yet, while the run of poor play necessary to make this scenario occur would be an unfortunate way for the Blue Jays to enter the postseason, there’s a case to be made it wouldn’t be the club’s worst outcome.
Cleveland’s averaging only 4.3 runs per game this season — fewer than the 89-loss Rangers and 91-loss Colorado Rockies. The Guardians offence has produced a 98 wRC+, the lowest of any postseason-bound club by a mile. Its 123 home runs are the second fewest in baseball to the 92-loss Tigers. Its 33 per cent hard-hit rate and 4.8 per cent barrel rate are dead last.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s second among AL teams in runs per games and first in wRC+, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate. The Blue Jays have five hitters with 20 or more homers — Cleveland has one. And while the Guardians and Blue Jays have near identical records, Cleveland’s gotten there while playing 110 games against teams below .500. Toronto’s played sub-.500 teams only 71 times while out-scoring Cleveland by a half-run per game.
A three-game playoff rotation of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill supported by a bullpen with a collective 3.04 ERA would certainly by a challenge. But with a lineup regularly featuring some combination of Owen Miller (85 wRC+), Gabriel Arias (61), Myles Straw (63), and one of Austin Hedges (43) or Luke Maile (75) as its bottom three hitters, the Guardians are essentially giving away outs a third of the time they’re at the plate.
if the Blue Jays can muster even four runs per game against Cleveland’s pitching, they can feel pretty good about their ability to contain its anemic offence. Dropping to third in the wild card standings wouldn’t be the best way for Toronto to back into the playoffs. But it might produce the best matchup.
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
