Out of town scoreboard: Guardians sweep doubleheader to sit a game ahead of Blue Jays
Photo credit: © David Richard-Imagn Images
Sep 5, 2026, 13:30 EDT
The wild card race has seen some contestants fall.
Both the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners have come upon hard times, each going 3-7 in their last 10. Entering Saturday’s slate of games, the Mariners sit six games back and the Tigers seven and a half games back with 20 and 21 games left respectively.
The race has now come down to five teams, the Cleveland Guardians, the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Minnesota Twins. Even with a 9-2 victory on Friday, the Blue Jays are a full game back of the Guardians for the final wild card spot, but they’ve gained ground on the other three teams.
Let’s take a look at the out of town scoreboard for September 4th!
Out of town scoreboard for September 4th
The Blue Jays defeated the Kansas City Royals by a score of 9-2 on Friday, scoring four runs before the Royals even got a chance to step into the batter’s box. They added a fifth run in the second, then had a three-run inning in the sixth, more than enough for the victory.
Saturday’s game has a 7:10 PM ET start time. Max Scherzer (6.16 ERA) is set to start against Seth Lugo (5.03 ERA).
Earlier this week, the Blue Jays managed to win the series against the Cleveland Guardians, taking two of three on the road to win the wild card. The Guardians kicked off their weekend series against the Tigers, walking off both games of the doubleheader.
Their first game, a 7-6 victory saw the Guardians go down 6-1 in the top of the third. However, a five-run bottom of the fourth tied the game, before Brayan Rocchio hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off victory.
In the second game, the Tigers once again jumped out to a lead, this time 3-0. But a run in the bottom of the sixth cut the lead to two, then the Guardians scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game and send it to extras. An RBI single by Travis Bazzana, the same player who hit the game-tying two-run blast in the eighth, walked it off.
With a pair of wins, the Guardians now have a one game lead over the Blue Jays for the final wild card spot, although the Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker. Saturday’s game has a 6:10 PM ET start time, as Parker Messick (2.46 ERA) is set to start for the Guardians against Framber Valdez (4.36 ERA).
Even though the Blue Jays have a three-game series against the Rangers later this month, the Rangers hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays thanks to a four-game sweep in June. Thankfully, a 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday saw them fall a game behind the Jays.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Rays were up 6-1, but the Rangers scored four runs to cut the lead to one. In the top of the ninth, the Rays scored a crucial insurance run, which turned out to be the game-winning run as the Rangers also scored a run in the bottom of the ninth.
This loss drops the Rangers two games behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot, as well as three games behind the Houston Astros for the American League West lead. Saturday’s affair has a 7:05 PM ET start time. Jacob deGrom (4 ERA) starts for the Rangers against Drew Rasmussen (2.95 ERA).
The Rangers are 4-6 in their last 10, but they aren’t the only team that has struggled recently. On Friday, the Orioles fell to the Boston Red Sox, with Mickey Gasper’s solo home run on the second pitch of the game being the lone run of the game.
This was the Orioles’ fourth consecutive loss, dropping them to three games behind the Guardians and two games behind the Blue Jays. The two American League East teams play on Saturday with a 7:05 PM ET start time. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt (4.97 ERA) starts for the Orioles, Sonny Gray (2.82 ERA) starts for the Red Sox.
Lastly, the Twins fell 4-1 to the Chicago White Sox, allowing all four runs in the first four innings before tacking on a run in the top of the ninth. The loss drops them to four and a half games behind the Guardians for the final wild card and three and a half behind the Blue Jays. That’s important, as the Twins have the wild card over the Blue Jays.
Saturday’s game has a 7:10 PM ET start time, as Taj Bradley (3.85 ERA) starts for the Twins, while former Blue Jay Anthony Kay (4.28 ERA) starts for the White Sox.
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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