The Toronto Blue Jays kick off a key three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians that could decide the fate of a team once written off for the season, but now finding themselves very much in the thick of the race for the last wild card playoff spot.
Currently, the Jays are 1.5 games behind the Guardians, tied with the Texas Rangers. The Baltimore Orioles are just .5 games back.
The team plays in Cleveland for the next three days, with two games at 6:40 p.m. and a matinee on Thursday.
The first game in the series will be pitched by Jays relievers starting with Spencer Miles, and could be the most challenging one to win. The two following games will be with the heart of the Jays pitching order with Cy Young-candidate Dylan Cease, who is 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA in away games this season, pitching Wednesday and Jose Soriano on Thursday.
After losing a series to wild card rivals the Kansas City Royals, which saw the team’s chances sink, the Jays clawed back again sweeping the Mariners in a three-game home series before starting this pivotal road trip.
The Jays offence started to come to life versus the Mariners, and it will need that to continue if it has any chance of success. But, the crucial game three win was all about 42-year-old starter Max Scheryzer who put in a vintage performance fanning 10 Mariners batters and giving up just one run over seven innings.
According to the Vegas odds, the Guardians have the best chance of staying the course and taking the final wild card spot, but the Jays are right behind them.