Blue Jays end playoff drought with anticlimactic clinch
The Toronto Blue Jays are returning to the postseason, whether they know it yet or not.
Due to the remaining schedule and head-to-head matchups between AL West contenders, the Blue Jays are guaranteed a playoff berth for the first time since 1993.
Blue Jays fans - and players - woke up to conflicting reports Saturday about whether the team had in fact ended the longest playoff drought in professional sports, despite maintaining an "official" magic number of one.
MLB.com confirmed the confusion Saturday morning, explaining that only two of the Rangers, Angels, and Astros can finish the season at 88-74 - the same record the Blue Jays would end up with if they lose their remaining nine games. That wrinkle means the Blue Jays have assured themselves of a playoff berth for the first time in 21 seasons.
"You want to do it on the field so the fans can enjoy it, the city, everybody can enjoy it," Dioner Navarro told John Lott of the National Post, after learning from reporters Saturday that the Blue Jays had clinched.
Related: The next-longest playoff droughts in baseball
The Blue Jays can clear up any lingering confusion with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays or a loss by the Angels, who host the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.
"My mind is not on the playoff clinch," Russell Martin told reporters prior to Saturday's game. "I've been through a couple wild-card games. They're fun, but ... it's definitely nice to know we're in the playoffs for sure. That's great. But our goal is to win every game until it's over."
Cy Young candidate David Price takes the hill against former teammate - and fellow award contender - Chris Archer as the Blue Jays look to whittle down their magic number to win the AL East, which remains at six.
GAMES REMAINING
| Date | Opp |
|---|---|
| Sep 26 | vs. TB |
| Sep 27 | vs. TB |
| Sep 28 | @ BAL |
| Sep 29 | @ BAL |
| Sep 30 | @ BAL |
| Oct 1 | @ BAL |
| Oct 2 | @ TB |
| Oct 3 | @ TB |
| Oct 4 | @ TB |
Toronto's anticlimactic clinch caps an incredible second-half run by John Gibbons' team, a surge that saw the Blue Jays erase an eight-game deficit in two weeks and post a dominant 43-19 record since the All-Star break.
Bolstered by a group of All-Stars and high-profile acquisitions, the Blue Jays have seized control from the New York Yankees in the East with the league's highest-scoring offense and one of the second half's best rotations in baseball.
''Everybody's gratified,'' manager John Gibbons said of the playoff clinch. ''It's been so long and the guys have played great. They really turned it on the last two months. So it's a good feeling. But we're trying for much more than that.''