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Out of town scoreboard: Blue Jays and five other wild card hopefuls win on Sunday
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 31, 2026, 17:30 EDTUpdated: Aug 31, 2026, 17:20 EDT
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It’s crunch time for the Toronto Blue Jays and the seven other teams duking it out for a wild card spot.
For the first time since mid-June, the Blue Jays completed a sweep, taking all three weekend games from the Seattle Mariners. Sunday’s game saw them score seven runs, though they only needed one as Max Scherzer had a vintage performance, striking out 10 over seven innings of one-hit ball.
The Blue Jays needed that win as well, because five of the seven other teams in the hunt for a postseason berth picked up a victory, including the Cleveland Guardians, who hold onto the final wild card spot.
Entering Monday’s slate of games which feature 24 teams in action, the Blue Jays are just a game and a half behind the Guardians. The two teams have a date on Tuesday, by far the biggest series they’ll play this season, at least so far.
That said, how’d the other six teams in the hunt for a wild card spot perform?

Out of town scoreboard for August 30th

Starting with the Guardians, they gave up the first run to the Kansas City Royals, but responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first. They then put up a three-spot in both the bottom of the third and fourth, before tacking on two more runs in the sixth. 
Their win guarantees them the final wild card heading into the series against the Blue Jays. Spencer Arrighetti (4.81 ERA) is set to start against Gavin Williams (3.98 ERA). A sweep will see the Jays overtake the Guardians, a series win clinches them the season series and drags them to within a half game of the Guardians, and a series loss is a major setback.
The only team ahead of the Blue Jays not currently in a postseason spot are the Baltimore Orioles, who defeated the Athletics by a score of 8-5 in the series finale. Heading into the top of the fourth, the Athletics held a 5-1 lead, but the Orioles put up three spots in both the fourth and fifth in an eventual 8-5 victory. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt picked up the win.
Next up for the Orioles is another easy series, a three-game road series against the Colorado Rockies. Even if they win Monday, they’ll still be out of a playoff spot as the Guardians will have played one-fewer game. Right now, they sit a game behind the Guardians. Cade Povich (4.45 ERA) starts for the Orioles, Tanner Gordon (5.38 ERA) starts for the Rockies.
Another team ahead of the Blue Jays are the Houston Astros, who defeated the New York Mets 6-3 on Sunday. The Mets were leading 3-2 heading into the sixth, but the Astros scored four runs over the next two innings. Daulton Varsho went 0-4, Bo Bichette went 2-3 with a double and a walk.
The good news for the Blue Jays is that the Astros’ results don’t matter, at least for now. With the win, they hold on to the top spot in the American League West, two games ahead of the Texas Rangers. Monday pits the Astros against the Chicago White Sox, with former Blue Jay Anthony Kay (4.09 ERA) starting for the White Sox and Peter Lambert (3.66 ERA) starting for the Astros.
Those Rangers held pace with the Astros thanks to a 7-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Down 2-0 after one, the Rangers scored a run in each of the next two innings, before taking the lead with a two-run fifth. Their scoring continued, adding a run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to take a 7-2 lead, before the Brewers responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh.
That win keeps them not only two games behind the Astros, but also a half game behind the Blue Jays and two games behind the Guardians for the final wild card. They’ll host the Athletics beginning on Monday, with Jacob deGrom (4.21 ERA) set to get the ball against Athletics’ southpaw Gage Jump (4.69 ERA).
There is a cluster of three teams that are quickly losing ground on the Guardians. A series sweep and a four-game losing streak has put the Mariners five games behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot. They’ll head to Massachusetts to take on the Boston Red Sox. George Kirby (4.02 ERA) starts against Red Sox’ southpaw Payton Tolle (3.09 ERA).
The Minnesota Twins defeated the White Sox 5-1, keeping them four games behind the Guardians for the wild card spot. On Monday, the Twins begin a home series against the Tigers, with Taj Bradley (3.97 ERA) starting against Jackson Jobe (3.93 ERA).
As for the Tigers, they have dropped to five and a half games back of the Guardians for the final wild card spot after falling 6-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They still have a two-game lead over the surging Royals, who’ll begin a series against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. Randy Dobnak (1.92 ERA) starts for the Royals.
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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