Blue Jays have golden opportunity to tighten Wild Card race with Guardians
And they have a premium chance to close that gap this week.
The Blue Jays begin a three-game set against the Guardians — the team currently holding that third Wild Card slot — on Tuesday at Progressive Field.
It’s perhaps the biggest series of the season for Toronto to date, and the club has planned accordingly. Manager John Schneider used Monday’s off-day to make sure AL Cy Young contender Dylan Cease and José Soriano will pitch in the series on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Spencer Arrighetti is scheduled to throw on Tuesday, with Spencer Miles as an opener.
Across from that Toronto trio will be Cleveland’s Gavin Williams on Tuesday, Joey Cantillo on Wednesday and a to-be-announced starter on Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday are night games with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, while Thursday is a day game at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Here are three storylines to watch entering the series.
Beyond the straightforward importance of beating the team in front of you in the standings, the Blue Jays also enter with a 2-1 advantage over the Guardians in the season series. Clinching the season set would give Toronto the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland, should it be necessary in determining playoff position.
Furthermore, the Blue Jays are in pole position entering September against four of the six teams which are primary threats to the final Wild Card spot. They are 2-1 against the Guardians with three games remaining; 4-3 against the Orioles with six games remaining; 4-2 against the Mariners with no games remaining; and 2-1 against the Tigers with three games remaining.
The Blue Jays only trail the Twins (3-4 with no remaining games) and the Rangers (0-4 with three games left).
If Toronto were to end the season tied with any of those teams for the final postseason berth, the head-to-head record would be the first tiebreaker, followed by intra-division record.
The Blue Jays’ 17-11 August — their best month in 2026 — was fueled not only by Cease’s continued excellence (2.03 ERA in five starts) but also by three key offensive performances.
Alejandro Kirk posted a 160 wRC+ — a metric that measures overall offensive production on a 100-point scale — that would make him the 14th-best hitter in MLB in August. George Springer finished the month at 25th with a 141 wRC+, while Trade Deadline addition Brett Bateman was 51st with a 127 wRC+.
After missing a large chunk of the season with a left thumb fracture, Kirk looked more like himself in August, hitting .341 with five home runs, 20 RBIs and more walks (12) than strikeouts (nine). The catcher was held hitless just three times in the 22 games he started, while he posted multiple hits seven times.
Springer shook off a slow start to the season and has been excellent in the second half. After going 7-for-11 with four extra-base hits in three games against the Mariners, the 36-year-old’s post-All-Star Game OPS is up to .892.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s surprisingly down season has been well-documented, as he’s still awaiting his first home run at Rogers Center since … last season. He also hit one home run in August while slashing .221/.259/.312 — good for just a 59 wRC+.
It’s clear that Guerrero has not been “right” all season, and he missed some time this past month with a concussion. But he has the support of his manager, and if Vladdy can put together even a mini hot streak in the season’s final month, it could do wonders for the Blue Jays’ final push toward October.