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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
'Ninja,' Twitch's biggest streamer, is diagnosed with skin cancer
American gamer and Twitch superstar, Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins, revealed he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Here's what Trudeau says the upcoming federal budget will offer renters
The federal government will create a new 'Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights,' which would require landlords to disclose their properties' rental price history to prospective tenants.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.