Three weeks ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were four games out of the AL East division lead, trailing the New York Yankees. Serendipitously, the two teams were set to face off at Rogers Centre for a whopping four-game series, having an impact on the rankings.

Toronto walked away winners of all four games against New York, completely erasing the division lead that the Yankees had. New York was supposed to be the juggernaut, bulldozing every team in its way to return to the World Series stage. Yet, the Blue Jays fought and came back in all four games to make a statement: they were coming for the Yankees.

Since sweeping the Yankees north of the border, Toronto has been on a roll and won 10 games until they finally fell to the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 9th. While the team failed to secure a series win against the Athletics in Sacramento before heading into the All-Star break, that hasn’t stopped the Jays from reigniting their hot streak once the baseball season resumed for the second half of the year.

In other words, Toronto didn’t miss a beat as soon as they hosted the San Francisco Giants this past weekend. The Blue Jays got back to work to sweep the Giants in a nail-biting three-game series with the scores of 4-0, 6-3 and 8-6. This miraculous series sweep gave Canada’s team more cushion while the Yankees found their way to win and claim the series win against the struggling Atlanta Braves. Banking more wins is always encouraged, especially in a division like the AL East, where any team could challenge the division lead or Wild Card spot at any given moment.

The Blue Jays hold the division lead as of July 20th, with the Yankees and Boston Red Sox within striking distance, three games and five games back of the division, respectively. Heading into a fateful three-game series in Toronto, the Blue Jays are now in a place of having to defend their division lead against the Yankees.

Earning the division lead is one thing, but holding it is another. Not too long ago, New York was supposed to be the titanic force that no one could take over, even with the Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Blue Jays racking up wins to threaten. However, that narrative quickly changed when Toronto snuffed out the division lead in early July. While that was a satisfying story for Toronto to put together, the Yankees could potentially haunt Toronto by successfully besting the Blue Jays on their home turf.

Toronto has been a magical team and has continued with help from all parts of the roster. The only concerning factor about the Blue Jays’ hot streak thus far is leaky pitching and a lower run differential. The team’s run differential stands at 26, compared to the Yankees’ 112, which is a testament to Toronto’s frequent close game battles. Currently, the Blue Jays also only rank 20th with a 4.12 ERA, compared to some of the teams at the top of the team ERA ranking, like the Texas Rangers (3.22) and Kansas City Royals (3.49).

Any series against the Yankees has always been a big deal for the Blue Jays, but the weight of this upcoming series looms even larger because they finally have control of their destiny. Toronto managed to win as many series in the first half of the 2025 season; so did most of the AL East, including the Yankees. Now, they are getting the chance to solidify the division lead once and for all by facing their hottest division rival.

New York has been far from perfect as a team so far this season. In fact, the team underwhelmed in baseball fundamentals and pitching from time to time, which hurt their run against the division lead before the All-Star break. The Yankees do have some offensive menaces lurking in their lineup, with hitters like Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton all being bats to keep an eye on.

According to FOX Sports, the Yankees rank third in runs scored (516 runs), first in home runs (155) and first in on-base percentage (.336) at the time of writing. In comparison, the Blue Jays rank 12th in runs scored (450), 19th in home runs (102) and second in on-base percentage (.331). Facing the Yankees won’t be easy this time around because of their offensive potential that could explode. Simply put, New York can easily rely on its superior long ball and on-base percentage to give Toronto’s pitching staff a very difficult time getting out of sticky situations.

Beating the Yankees is no longer just for boosting clubhouse morale. Rather, this is now a proper battle with real consequences on the line. The Blue Jays are doing everything they can to bank all kinds of wins along the way. With a team that has the hunger to prove everyone wrong, sealing a series win against New York is a bare minimum requirement now.

Having a say in one’s fate is such a crucial privilege that every team desires. The chance to win that perk doesn’t come around often, but the Blue Jays have that opportunity now. Want a fast pass to the playoffs? Come out on top of the Yankees again – that’s one way to assert your position.

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.