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Out of town scoreboard: Blue Jays lose ground in wild card race as Guardians and Rangers win
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 24, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 24, 2026, 15:50 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays lost some ground in the wild card race on Sunday.
All seven teams vying for the third and final wild card were in action, with all but two of those teams losing. Unfortunately, it was the two teams that the Blue Jays trail who picked up the victory.
As it stands, the Cleveland Guardians occupy the final spot with a 65-66 record, the same record that the Texas Rangers have. The Blue Jays currently sit a game and a half behind the two teams with a 64-68 record.
Let’s take a look at Sunday’s out of town scoreboard and what’s next for the seven teams.

Blue Jays lose series finale to Yankees

The Blue Jays carried a seven-series winning streak entering the series finale with the Yankees when they played their rubber match on Sunday afternoon.
That streak came to an end in the form of an 8-3 loss. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Jays scored a run in each of the next two innings to knot the game up at two. José Soriano had a solid line through five, but returned to the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Everything fell apart from there, as he left the game with the bases loaded and no outs.
Braydon Fisher got the first two outs without giving up a run, but walked the third batter he faced to give the Yankees the lead, one they’d never relinquish. A single score two more, and Brendon Little gave up a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. The two teams exchanged a run in the eighth inning.
At the end of the day, the Blue Jays finished this tough stretch against playoff opponents with a 12-8 record and are 16-10 since July 27th. It gets easier from here, as their last 30 games are against teams that are currently below .500, including five of the six other teams currently in the mix for a postseason spot.
The first series begins on Tuesday, as the Jays return home to host the Kansas City Royals. While they currently have a 58-74 record, the Royals are red-hot, winning eight consecutive games.

Orioles, Tigers, Mariners, and Twins lose

One of the teams that the Royals defeated in that winning streak are the Detroit Tigers. On Sunday, they beat their American League Central rivals by a score of 11-7. The Tigers scored first, but the Royals had a five-run second inning. In the top of the fourth, the Tigers tied it, but the Royals countered with four runs of their own. Anytime the Tigers gained ground, the Royals responded almost immediately.
As it stands, the Tigers are 61-69, three and a half games behind the Guardians for the final wild card spot. It doesn’t get any easier for the Blue Jays’ geographical rival, as they kick-off a series against the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Those Rays took on the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, defeating the American League East team by a score of 3-1. All three of the Rays’ runs came in the top of the sixth thanks to some small ball nonsense. Colton Cowser gave the Orioles some hope in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a solo blast, but former Oriole (and Blue Jay) Bryan Baker picked up the save.
Next up for the Orioles is a series against the St. Louis Cardinals, with the three-game series beginning on Tuesday.
The Seattle Mariners have suffered two major blowouts this past week, with the latest coming at the hands of the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon. After two innings, the Mariners held a 2-0 lead, but the Cubs scored five runs in the third, and one run in each of the fifth and sixth. The wheels completely fell off in the final two innings, as the Cubs scored 12 runs in a 19-2 victory.
Up next for the team the Blue Jays defeated in the 2025 American League Championship Series is a home series against the Philadelphia Phillies, which begins on Monday evening.
The last of the seven teams to lose were the Minnesota Twins, who also had a tough day on the Pacific Coast. Facing the San Diego Padres, the game was tied at one after five innings, but the Twins surrendered four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Former Blue Jay Jeff Hoffman was tagged for just two of them. In the end, the Twins fell 8-1.
Like the Orioles and Blue Jays, the Twins face a weak team in their next series, remaining out west to take on the Athletics. That series begins on Monday.

Guardians and Rangers win

The Blue Jays entered Sunday’s game a game and a half behind both the Rangers and Guardians. Unfortunately, both those teams found a way to win on Sunday to gain some ground on the Blue Jays.
Starting with the Rangers, the 2023 World Series champions defeated the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 5-3. They took a 3-0 lead in the second, then added two more in the fifth. The Angels showed some fight, putting three runs on the board in the eighth. They even brought the game-tying run to the plate in that inning, then the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but the Rangers survived.
Next up for the Rangers is a matchup against the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox in the Windy City. The series begins on Monday.
As for the Guardians, they’ve been the hottest of the seven teams, winning their last four games. That said, three of those wins came against MLB’s worst team, the Colorado Rockies. They won Sunday’s series finale 7-2, taking a 5-0 lead in the first two innings.
Of course, they’ll have another easy opponent to kick off this week, beginning a series against the Angels on Monday.
It’s worth noting that both the Rangers and Guardians are still competing for their respective division as well. As it stands, the Rangers’ 65-66 record is tied with the Houston Astros, while the Guardians are three games back of 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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