Bleacher Report thinks the Blue Jays stay hot enough to crash the postseason party.
Kerry Miller predicts Toronto secures the third and final AL Wild Card spot, capping a wild turnaround from a truly forgettable first half.
"Toronto stays hot and crashes the postseason party," Miller wrote. "Since slipping to 49-59 in late July, they have been one of the hottest teams in baseball at 19-11."
That stretch was punctuated by a sweep of the Mariners this past weekend, exactly the kind of run that's put Toronto back in the conversation.
The AL East title is out of reach, with the Blue Jays sitting 15.5 games behind the Rays.
But entering play Wednesday, Sept. 2, Toronto sits just 2.5 games back of Cleveland for that final wild-card spot.
The Rangers and Orioles are both 1.5 games back of the Guardians too, meaning Toronto needs to leapfrog all three, not just Cleveland alone.
Why the remaining schedule favors this exact kind of run
The good news sits in the schedule itself. Toronto has two more games left against Cleveland, then three each against the Royals and Athletics to close out a long road trip.
From there, it's three games against the Orioles, then the Tigers at home.
The Blue Jays close the season with three games against the Rangers, three more against the Orioles, and a final homestand against the Reds.
That's a slate built almost entirely against teams Toronto should be favored against, exactly the kind of stretch that turns a 2.5-game deficit into something closable.
Making up that ground still likely requires help elsewhere, since Toronto can't control what Cleveland, Texas, and Baltimore do on their own schedules.
But a favorable slate combined with a red-hot roster gives this prediction real legs, not just wishful thinking.
For a team that looked completely finished at 49-59 in late July, even being in this conversation entering September counts as a legitimate turnaround from where this season started.
Do you believe the Blue Jays actually make the postseason after this turnaround?
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