The Toronto Blue Jays are closing in on securing their second postseason berth in the last three years.
The Jays fell one game short in 2021, finishing 91-71 but in fourth place in the AL East.
In 2020, which was just a 60-game season, Toronto was the No. 8 seed in the expanded postseason.
They lost two games to the Tampa Bay Rays and were eliminated.
But this year, they have a chance of actually opening up the postseason at home.
Blue Jays pitcher Ross Stripling commented on that possibility, saying that it would be a huge advantage because the whole country of Canada would be behind them.
He also talked about seeing the highlight of Jose Bautista‘s home run and bat flip, as well as their walk-off win in the 2016 AL Wild Card Game against the Baltimore Orioles.
#BlueJays Ross Stripling on the value of home field advantage in the Wild Card round:
“We’ve got a whole country behind us. I’ve seen videos of the highlights from Bautista’s bat flip and the walk-off against the Orioles. The Rogers Centre was just going absolutely bonkers.”
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 25, 2022
Party North Of The Boarder
Things are about to get exciting in Toronto, and the whole country of Canada for that matter.
After the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays have been the only baseball team in Canada.
The Blue Jays picked up a huge walk-off win over the New York Yankees last night to reduce their magic number.
They could potentially clinch as early as tomorrow if all goes according to plan.
Then, the city of Toronto and the whole country of Canada will be rocking, buzzing with anticipation and excitement for the first postseason game at Rogers Centre since Game Five of the 2016 ALCS.
They were eliminated by the then-Cleveland Indians in that game.
But when you look at the Blue Jays, they’ll have a huge advantage if they can start off at home.
They can throw the kitchen sink at you too by having Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios lined up for the first two games.
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“They can throw the kitchen sink at you too by having Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios lined up for the first two games.”
Manoah and Gausman should end up being the first two starters. It might even be Stripling over Berrios for the third start if necessary.