Toronto Blue Jays set to face Mariners in wild-card round of post-season
The Toronto Blue Jays' first foe in the playoffs is now official.
Toronto is slated to take on the Seattle Mariners in the American League wild-card round. The series will lead off Friday at Rogers Centre.
The Seattle Mariners defeated the Detroit Tigers 7-6 in 10 innings, and stamped their trip to Toronto when the Boston Red Sox tripped the Tampa Bay Rays 6-0 in a game called after five innings because of rain.
Having clinched the top spot in the wild card, the Blue Jays will have home-field advantage against one of the two teams they had been battling against late in the regular season for the edge.
It is just the second time in six seasons Toronto has made the playoffs. The team's last appearance in the post-season was in 2020 where it got swept in the wild-card round by the Tampa Bay Rays, who will enter these playoffs as the third wild-card seed.
The last time the Blue Jays made it to "October baseball" before then was in 2016 when the team made it to the AL Championship Series for the second consecutive season.
Toronto clinched a playoff spot Sept. 30 after the Baltimore Orioles dropped a 5-3 decision to the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays then took hold of the No. 1 wild card spot on Monday with a 5-1 win over the Orioles paired with Seattle's 4-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
Toronto is 2-5 in its season series against the Mariners. The two sides had matched up in two separate series' with the Blue Jays taking the first one 2-1 at home in May, then dropping all four in the second series at Seattle in July.
The team is heading into the post-season with a head of steam. After dropping two of its final three games against the New York Yankees last week, Toronto has now won four straight with two games remaining.
The Blue Jays close the season on the road with a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.