TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays, with 30 games left in their regular season, begin a sprint — with some hurdles — to the finish line tonight against the visiting Kansas City Royals.
The Jays, who enter play today two games behind the surging Cleveland Guardians for the third and final American League wild-card berth, play their next six games at Rogers Centre, before hitting the road for nine games in nine days.
The Houston Astros are half a game behind the Guardians, who have won five games in a row. The Texas Rangers took over top spot in the A-L West last night. And the Minnesota Twins, who beat the Athletics 9-6 last night, are tied with the Jays and two games back of the Guardians.
The Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers remain in the wild-card hunt as well.
Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer will start for the Jays (64-68) tonight, while right-hander Seth Lugo will be on the mound for the Royals (58-74), who have won eight in a row but are still six games behind Toronto in the wild-card race. The teams also play tomorrow and Thursday, before the Mariners (63-69) visit Toronto for a three-game weekend series. The Mariners are a game behind the Blue Jays heading into today’s MLB action.
The Jays have won 13 of 22 games this month, and had won seven straight series until losing two of three to the Yankees over the weekend in New York.
The Jays, entering the softest part of their regular-season schedule, have no games left against a team above .500. Their remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .464, and 18 of those games will be against their immediate wild-card competition.
And 15 of their final 30 games will be played at Rogers Centre.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2026.
The Canadian Press
