The Blue Jays are back at .500 and right in the thick of the playoff race after an emphatic 8-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Toronto took two of three from Baltimore, improved to 75-75 and enters tonight just one game behind Cleveland for the final AL Wild Card spot with only 12 games remaining.
On game 151 preview of Flight Deck, Dan Riccio breaks down one of Toronto’s most complete wins of the season. Dylan Cease worked through five innings of one-run baseball while striking out nine, and the bullpen took care of the rest as the Blue Jays secured another crucial series victory.
But the biggest story came from the offence. George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto went back-to-back-to-back in the fifth inning, completely changing the game. Vladdy finished 4-for-5 and finally hit his first home run at Rogers Centre this season, ending one of the strangest droughts of his career at the perfect time.
Okamoto also continued his incredible rookie season, launching his 32nd home run and reaching 85 RBIs to set a new Blue Jays rookie franchise record.
Dan will also look at a Wild Card race that is coming down to the wire. Cleveland sits one game ahead of Toronto, but the Blue Jays own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Guardians. Cleveland begins a massive series against the White Sox tonight, giving Toronto another opportunity to potentially gain ground.
Looking ahead, José Soriano gets the ball as the Blue Jays open a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Soriano enters at 12-7 with a 3.48 ERA and 154 strikeouts and is coming off an excellent outing against the Athletics, where he allowed just two runs over seven innings.
Detroit counters with Troy Melton, who enters at 8-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 87 strikeouts. Melton was excellent throughout August but has allowed nine earned runs over his last two appearances. Can Toronto’s suddenly hot offence keep rolling against one of Detroit’s best starters?
The Tigers arrive in Toronto playing some of their best baseball of the season, so this won’t be an easy series for a Blue Jays team that desperately needs every win it can get.
With only 12 games remaining and Toronto sitting just one game outside of a playoff spot, every night feels like a postseason game. Can Soriano deliver another strong start, can Vladdy stay hot after finally going deep at home, and can the Blue Jays pull even with Cleveland in the Wild Card race?
We finish with Dan’s picks presented by bet365.
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