The Blue Jays have been on a long skid, with a six-game losing streak after getting swept by the Texas Rangers. As of June 28, the Blue Jays went 10-13 in June, which is concerning considering that last year’s squad went 16-10 to flip the script on their season. Still, they are somehow only 2.5 games back from securing the last AL Wild Card spot, giving them a shot at competing for a playoff spot.

There is still a path to redefining the season, but it would require an unbelievable level of hot streak up until the trade deadline. For a team that’s desperate for another chance at the playoffs, here are four series they need to lock in on in July.

This is the first time the Blue Jays will face their former ALCS foes, the Seattle Mariners, this season.

Last year, the Blue Jays went 4-2 against the Mariners in the regular season and even swept them at home. The Mariners are struggling as well, but they are still a better team on paper and have excellent starting pitching that provides quality starts. Compared to that, the Blue Jays’ starting pitching has only two wins, a 6.39 ERA and a whopping 11.3% walk rate. And all of these categories are dead last in the league.

It’ll be difficult for the Blue Jays to turn things in their favour right away, but if they want to return to the World Series stage this year, winning this series is a must. Losing the first away series in July wouldn’t position the Blue Jays in the best spot, given that they’ve been sliding in the Wild Card race already after recording one of the worst homestands this year.

The Mariners haven’t found their groove yet, and the Blue Jays can’t afford them to get hot in this crucial series. Toronto was the better team last year. If it wants to prove that point again, the team has to regroup and get back to its relentless ways.

The force of Pope Leo XIV is strong with the Chicago White Sox; they aren’t the easy pushover anymore. The White Sox are now at the top of the AL Central and have a younger core that consistently scores runs.

Offensively, Chicago is possibly one of the most underrated teams this season. They currently rank second in home runs (115), only behind the New York Yankees (121). They are also sixth in slugging (.417) and eighth in OPS (.739), which is far better than where the Blue Jays are at now. This matchup is unideal, considering that the Blue Jays’ pitching has been faltering in June. Should this pitching struggle extend into July, the White Sox could easily create a double-digit scoring situation against the Blue Jays.

But the White Sox are still a young team for a reason. They aren’t consistent enough in their hitting performances, and their pitching has been on the shakier side. To win against the White Sox, the Blue Jays need to be patient at the plate to force Chicago’s pitchers to throw more pitches. If Toronto can’t find a way to prevent enough runs, scoring more would be the only way to win against a team full of sluggers.

The Tampa Bay Rays remain one of the toughest rivals of the Blue Jays.

These two teams have already faced each other earlier this season, and the Rays won five games out of six. Technically, this four-game set in July gives the Blue Jays a chance to even their record against the Rays. But that’s only possible if the Blue Jays sweep the Rays, which is highly unlikely if Toronto’s pitching and hitting can’t bounce back from their horrid results in June.

At the start of the season, the Rays were one of the best teams in the league, but they have come back down to earth since. Their pitching and hitting aren’t quite at the very top of the league, but they rank fifth in WHIP (1.11), fourth in OBP (.336) and seventh in stolen bases (73). What that means is the Rays’ pitching staff rarely walks opposing batters, while their runners become scoring threats once they get on base.

Once again, this is a detrimental matchup for the Blue Jays if their pitching staff can’t cut down their walk rate and their lineup can’t remain tenacious every at-bat. The Rays don’t slug much, but they score in pesky ways on top of excellent pitching – that’s how the Rays have maintained second place in the AL East. The best recipe to win against the Rays is using an inverse strategy: slug more when in doubt. That’s the only viable path to defeating the Rays if all else, even pitching, fails.

The Blue Jays have dominated the Red Sox this year. In 2026, Toronto has gone 5-1 against Boston so far, and this series in July would be key in making up the ground in the AL East. The cold, hard truth is that both teams haven’t lived up to the sky-high expectations. In fact, they are at a stage where selling at the trade deadline is a more realistic scenario with each passing day.

Even with this dismal outlook, this series is important for the Blue Jays because it is the best series to bank more wins in general. The Red Sox have lacked a cohesive direction all season long and have had a massively disappointing offensive showing: they are 25th in OPS (.699), 20th in OBP (.313) and 29th in home runs (71).

Oddly, their pitching has been serviceable: they rank sixth in ERA (3.73), 11th in WHIP (1.25) and fourth in quality starts (35). Pitching-wise, the Red Sox are the better team than the Blue Jays by miles. But based on past results, the Blue Jays have had a way of getting to the Red Sox pitchers; they will need to replicate that success to win the series at the very least.

The Blue Jays pitchers may get a break in this series if the Red Sox’s offence doesn’t turn things around. In other words, run prevention shouldn’t be a problem in this series if Boston can’t slug their way through or get on base. From a competitive point of view, this isn’t a riveting series, but from the Blue Jays’ point of view, this should be the feel-good series they need to salvage the last bit of reputation they have left.

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