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Out of town scoreboard: Blue Jays win second in a row to move a game and a half back of Guardians
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 30, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 30, 2026, 11:57 EDT
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After a disastrous series against the Kansas City Royals, it appeared that the Toronto Blue Jays‘ playoff hopes were done. A few days later, they’ll have a chance to outright pass the Cleveland Guardians early next week.
On Friday, the bats went off, hitting three home runs in an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Saturday’s victory was different, erasing a 3-0 deficit thanks to great base running and timely hits to move to 67-70 on the season.
They’ll have a chance to sweep the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, as Max Scherzer (7.02 ERA) is set to start against Logan Gilbert (3.36 ERA). A win wouldn’t just give them their first series sweep in over two months, but give them the season tiebreaker over the Mariners.
A win also sets them up to potentially surpass the Guardians in their upcoming series beginning on Tuesday. Heading into Sunday’s slate of games, the Blue Jays are just a game and a half behind the Guardians, as well two and a half games up over the Seattle Mariners, who are four games behind the Guardians.
That being said, how’d the other six teams in the wild card race do on Saturday?

Out of town scoreboard for August 29th

There are three teams ahead of the Blue Jays in the race. The Guardians dropped another game to the red-hot Royals after taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Midway through the game, the Royals scored six runs, two in the fifth and four in the sixth, then added two more in the eighth. The Guardians’ run in the ninth came far too late to have any impact on the outcome, an 8-3 loss.
With a Blue Jays victory and a Guardians loss, the Blue Jays have the potential to move to just a half game back of the Guardians heading into their upcoming series. Seth Lugo (4.61 ERA) is set to start for the Royals, opposed by Guardians’ southpaw Parker Messick (2.50 ERA). This game has a 1:40 PM ET start time.
The Baltimore Orioles are the only team ahead of the Blue Jays who aren’t in a playoff spot. On Saturday, they defeated the Athletics 5-3, surviving a late rally and scoring an insurance run in the ninth.
With the win, the Orioles are just a game behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot, and a  half game ahead of the Blue Jays. Former Blue Jay Chris Bassitt (4.74 ERA) starts for the Orioles against Athletics’ southpaw Jeffrey Springs (6.08 ERA).
The Astros are also ahead of the Blue Jays, but they suffered a 6-2 defeat to the New York Mets. They exchanged one run each in the first, but the Mets took control with a three-run fifth inning. Both former Blue Jays, Daulton Varsho and Bo Bichette, went oh-for.
Sunday’s series finale sees Ethan Pecko (7.88 ERA) start for the Astros and Zac Thornton (2.88 ERA) start for the Mets. That said, the Astros’ results matter a bit less than the Guardians or Orioles’ results as they currently sit first in the American League West. Only the Texas Rangers and Mariners can sneak into that spot.
Those Rangers have fallen on tough times, as they fell 5-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. They fell down 3-0 in the first two innings, then eventually 5-1 in the seventh before they tacked on two runs in the eighth.
With the loss, the Rangers sit two games behind both the Guardians and Astros for the wild card and division lead respectively. They’re also a half game behind the Blue Jays now. Starting for the Rangers on Sunday is Kumar Rocker (4.41 ERA), opposed by Dustin May (4.56 ERA).
Also on a four-game slide are the Minnesota Twins, as they fell 3-2 to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins held a 2-1 lead after three innings, but the White Sox tied it in the fourth, then took the lead in the sixth.
This loss brings the Twins’ record to 64-72, four games behind the Guardians and two and a half behind the Blue Jays. That’s important, as the Twins have the season tiebreaker over the Blue Jays. Former Blue Jay Jordan Hicks (3.83 ERA) is set to start for the White Sox, with the Twins hoping for a good performance by Zebby Matthews (4.86 ERA).
The Detroit Tigers were also in action, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in walk-off fashion. In their last 10, the Tigers are 2-8 and have fallen to a 63-72 record. That’s the worst of any team in the wild card race, and just two games ahead of the Royals. On Sunday, Framber Valdez (4.35 ERA) starts for the Tigers against Tyler Glasnow (3.02 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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