AL Wild Card race update: Blue Jays’ playoffs hopes are hanging on by a thread
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Sep 18, 2026, 18:30 EDTUpdated: Sep 18, 2026, 18:26 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff hopes took a major hit these past few days.
After dropping a winnable game on Monday, the Jays followed that up with a devastating 10-1 defeat in a game they were never really in. They salvaged the series against the Detroit Tigers with a victory, but with just nine games remaining, the Blue Jays have little margin of error remaining.
Entering this weekend’s series against the Texas Rangers, the Blue Jays are currently two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final wild card spot with just nine games to play. While the Jays have the tie breaker over the Guardians, that’s not the case with the Rangers, who have an identical record as the Blue Jays.
At this point in the season, these games are now in “must-win” territory, but it begs the question, what has gone on the past few days in the out of town scoreboard?
Out of town scoreboard for September 15th, 16th and 17th
The wild card race has gotten a lot more complicated in recent times. Both the Guardians and Rangers are within striking distance of the lead in their respective division. The Guardians are now tied with the Chicago White Sox for top spot in the American League Central, while the Rangers are one game behind the Houston Astros for top spot in the American League West.
After taking Monday’s game, the White Sox held a 6-5 lead over the Guardians entering the bottom of the ninth. But as they’ve done a handful of times over the past two weeks, the Guardians managed to walk it off as Brayan Rocchio hit a two RBI double into left field.
The Jays didn’t get any help from their American League East foes either, the Boston Red Sox, as they fell 4-2 to the Texas Rangers. All four of the Rangers’ runs came in the bottom of the second, with the Red Sox responding with two runs in the top of the third.
While the Rangers won, they were unable to make up ground against the Astros, who defeated the Kansas City Royals by a score of 4-2. Two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-1 was enough for the victory.
The other team in the hunt for the final wild card spot, the Baltimore Orioles, scored a late game-tying run in the top of the ninth to send the game against the New York Mets to extras. They traded runs in the 10th, but the Orioles scored three in the 11th as the Mets had some sloppy defending in what was a 7-5 Orioles victory.
Thankfully, the Blue Jays were able to win Wednesday’s series finale against the Tigers, but they weren’t able to gain any ground on the Guardians or create separation between them and the Rangers.
In Ohio, the Guardians were down 3-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, but exploded for four runs for a 6-3 victory. This victory leapfrogged them over the White Sox for top spot in the division, though the White Sox played their game-in-hand on Thursday. More on that in a bit.
Once again, the Red Sox did the Blue Jays no favours, falling 7-3 to the 2023 World Series champions. Heading into the bottom of the seventh, the two teams were tied at three, before the Rangers hung a three spot and added another run in the bottom of the eighth.
This time, the Rangers were able to make up ground on the Astros, as they fell 5-2 to the American League Central team. It was mainly because of two innings, the top of the fourth where the Royals scored twice and the top of the eighth where the Royals hung a three-spot. The Astros scored a run in each of the last two innings, far too little, far too late.
As for the Orioles, the Mets didn’t put up much of a fight against the American League East team. In the first, the Orioles scored one run, then two in the second and three in the third to take a 6-0 lead. They didn’t score again until the ninth, but they didn’t need to as the Mets’ lone run came in the bottom of the fourth en route to a 7-1 loss.
The Guardians, Blue Jays, and Orioles were all off on Thursday, while the Rangers and Astros played their series finale, and the White Sox began a series against the Tigers.
Starting with the Rangers, the Red Sox salvaged their series with a 4-3 victory, overcoming a late 3-0 deficit with four runs in the final three innings. With the loss, the Rangers lost ground on the Rangers who defeated the Royals 6-2 thanks to runs in five of the eighth innings they hit in.
The Tigers have been a thorn in the side of the Blue Jays this month, getting walked off three times against the Guardians last weekend, then taking two of three against their geographical rival to begin this week. Well, they did no favours for the Jays on Thursday, falling 3-1 to the White Sox thanks to three runs in the bottom of the first.
Setting up the weekend series
The Blue Jays have to take two of three against the Rangers, it’s as simple as that. Though they share an identical record, the Rangers own the tie breaker over the Jays, meaning that if the Rangers win two of three, the Jays have to make up three games to jump over the Rangers. That’s easier said than done with just six games remaining following this series.
Friday’s game has an 8:05 PM ET start time, with Dylan Cease (2.38 ERA) expected to start against Kumar Rocker (4.54 ERA).
The Guardians host the Athletics for three games this week, with Daniel Espino (2.92 ERA) expected to start against Athletics’ Mason Barnett (7.08 ERA). Barnett shares a similar ERA to this game’s start time, as first pitch is at 7:10 PM ET.
On the outside looking in are the Orioles, who are now three games behind the Guardians with a tough weekend matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers. Starting for the Orioles is Cade Povich (4.05 ERA), opposite him is Dustin May (4.49 ERA). That game has a 7:05 PM ET start time.
As for the two division leaders technically in the wild card race, the White Sox play the second game against the Tigers at 7:40 PM ET. David Sandlin (5.64 ERA) starts for the White Sox, facing off against Andrew Sears (5.40 ERA). The Astros play the Atlanta Braves, with Peter Lambert (3.71 ERA) starting against Braves’ righty Tyler Mahle (3.91 ERA).
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, DFOEdmonton, and DFOCalgary. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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