Countdown to the playoffs - 6: Blue Jays go for 1st AL East title since 1993

Follow this year's playoff push as theScore's MLB editors count down the days until the postseason, which begins with the AL wild-card game Oct. 6.

For the first time in more than two decades, the Toronto Blue Jays won't get to kick back in October, as the perennial also-rans snapped a 22-year postseason drought over the weekend. On Wednesday, they'll get two opportunities to lock up a division title for the first time since 1993, as well.

After being rained out Tuesday at Camden Yards, the Blue Jays and Orioles will play a single-admission doubleheader Wednesday, with Toronto just a win away from clinching the American League East. In the midst of a five-game winning streak, the Blue Jays' magic number whittled down to one after the New York Yankees dropped a second straight game Tuesday in the Bronx, a 10-4 drubbing courtesy of the Boston Red Sox.

With a division title at stake, the Blue Jays will hand the ball to Marcus Stroman, the recently resurrected right-hander, in Game 1. Initially expected to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in spring training, Stroman rejoined the club earlier this month following a defiantly quick recovery. In three starts since returning to the rotation, the 24-year-old owns a 1.89 ERA (212 ERA+) with a 60.3 percent ground ball rate, allowing just one home run in 19 innings. R.A. Dickey, the veteran knuckleballer with a 2.78 ERA in five September starts, will take the mound for Wednesday's encore presentation.

For Toronto, however, a division title isn't the only thing at stake in Baltimore. On Wednesday, the Blue Jays will also get two opportunities to bolster their 1 1/2 game lead over the Kansas City Royals for the best record in the American League. If the Blue Jays, currently 91-65, can maintain their advantage over the reigning AL champions, they'll guarantee themselves home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

GAMES THAT MATTER

Much like the Blue Jays, the St. Louis Cardinals will also get a couple of chances to clinch a division title Wednesday when the Pittsburgh Pirates host a day-night doubleheader following Tuesday's rainout at PNC Park. The Cardinals, vying for their third straight NL Central title, can also lock up home-field advantage throughout the league championship series with a victory. Michael Wacha, who owns a 6.75 ERA in his last four starts, will start Game 1 opposite Gerrit Cole, the 25-year-old with a 2.60 ERA over 201 innings this season. In Game 2, swingman Tyler Lyons will oppose veteran right-hander Charlie Morton. ... The Los Angeles Angels snagged the second wild-card spot from the Houston Astros with a seventh straight win Tuesday, and will square off against 37-year-old left-hander Barry Zito in Wednesday's series finale against the Oakland Athletics. ... Now trailing the Angels by a half-game in the wild-card race, the Astros will turn to left-hander Scott Kazmir - who matched a season high with six earned runs allowed in his last start - in Wednesday's contest versus the Seattle Mariners.

CURRENT PLAYOFF PICTURE