George Springer had a blunt, honest read on the Blue Jays' playoff hopes after Wednesday's loss.

Toronto fell 2-0 to the Athletics, held to just six hits by five Oakland pitchers in the series finale.

That capped a nine-game road trip at 5-4, a genuinely different feeling than the 6-3 mark Toronto could have had with one more win along the way.

The Blue Jays had won two of three against both Cleveland and Kansas City before splitting the first two games in Sacramento.

There was a silver lining waiting when Toronto landed back home. Baltimore's eight-run third inning beat the Guardians 9-5, keeping Toronto exactly one game back in the wild-card race instead of losing further ground.

Springer didn't dress up the moment, but he didn't sound discouraged either.

"We're right there," Springer said, per Theo DeRosa of MLB.com. "All you want is a chance in September."

Why the road ahead still favors Toronto's chase

Wednesday's loss had its own small gut-punch. Toronto scored single runs against in the third and fourth, then Springer pinch-hit for Nathan Lukes in the eighth and flew out deep.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with his own deep shot that also came up short, extra icing on a frustrating day in Northern California.

Springer's larger point still holds. A team can look back at the end of a missed playoff push and wonder about any single game left on the table, but Toronto still controls its own path here.

The Blue Jays return home for a six-game homestand against the Orioles and Tigers.

From there, it's a six-game road trip against the Rangers and Orioles again, before closing the regular season at home with three games against the Reds.

The third and final AL wild-card spot remains well within reach. As Springer put it, all Toronto wants is that chance in September, and right now, they have exactly that.