Toronto Blue Jays head to playoffs Friday. Here’s what you need to know
Last week, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched their first playoff berth since 2020. Tonight, they can clinch home-field-advantage for their wild-card series, bringing post-season baseball back to the Rogers Centre for the first time since 2016.
The Jays are in Baltimore tonight, kicking off their season-ending three game series with the Orioles, while the Seattle Mariners, whom the Jays will likely face in the wild-card round, host Detroit.
The Mariners (87-71) hold the tiebreaker over the Jays (90-69), so Toronto must finish at least one game up on them in the standings to ensure home-field-advantage.
That means any combination of Jays wins and Mariners losses that add up to two will clinch home-field-advantage for Toronto.
The Tampa Bay Rays are the third team in the AL wild-card hunt, but they can’t catch the Jays, they can only surpass the Mariners, whom they hold the tiebreaker over.
The lower seeded of the two will face the Cleveland Guardians in the other AL wild-card series.
Home-field-advantage is crucial for the wild-card round, as every game in the best-of-three series is played at the higher seed’s home ball park.
Jays manager John Schneider spoke with reporters Saturday and hinted that ace pitcher Alek Manoah would pitch in game one of the series.
Manoah was just named the AL pitcher of the month for September after posting the lowest single-month ERA in team history.
Manoah, 24, told CP24 earlier today that it’s amazing for him to have one of the best seats in the house to watch this Jays team every night.
“I’m just a kid living out my dream,” he said. “I’m a huge baseball fan. I love the game and I love our team.”
Home-field or not, if the Jays can advance past the first-round, they’ll meet the American League’s top-seeded Houston Astros in the ALDS.
Game times for the Jays’ wild-card series won’t be announced until the matchups are officially determined, but Toronto will be playing their first game sometime Friday afternoon, along with the first games of the three other MLB wild-card series.
Meanwhile, tickets for the possible return of playoff baseball to the Rogers Centre are scarce. As of Monday afternoon, there were no tickets available for either Game 1 or 2 on Ticketmaster. There were some tickets available for a potential Game 3, mostly in the 500 level.
The Mariners start their four-game series with the Tigers at 9:40 p.m. tonight, while the Jays and Orioles face-off at 7:00 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
Flash floods in northern Afghanistan sweep away livelihoods, leaving hundreds dead and missing
The UN food agency estimated that unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have left more than 300 people dead and thousands of houses destroyed, most of them in the northern province of Baghlan, which bore the brunt of the deluges Friday.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
RCMP boss expresses desire for new law to deal with threats against politicians
RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says he wants the government to look at drafting a new law that would make it easier for police to pursue charges against people who threaten elected officials.