Blue Jays in tough to hold onto AL East lead over Yankees
Published
The Toronto Blue Jays are going to have to pull out all the stops if they want to finish the 2025 MLB regular season campaign as American League East champions.
Toronto is clinging to top spot in the division with an 82-61 record and begin a three-game series against the AL West leading Houston Astros on Tuesday.
Right behind them are the New York Yankees, who have clawed within two games of the Blue Jays after taking two of three in a crucial series against Toronto last weekend.
ESPN's Buster Olney told TSN1050's First Up on Tuesday that he thinks that Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees in the rubber match was the biggest regular-season game to date in all
of baseball.
"The Blue Jays could have put a stranglehold on the division if they won on Sunday," said Olney. "They could have been up four games while owning the tiebreaker against the Yankees. Instead, it's wide open. The Yankees had to win Sunday's game if they wanted a shot at winning the AL East."
The biggest concern for the Blue Jays in their quest to win the AL East is the difference in the strength of schedules between them and the Yankees.
Toronto finishes the season against teams that are fighting to clinch playoff positions with series against the Astros, Tampa Bay Rays (twice), Kansas City Royals, and Boston Red Sox. The only team they face that is not in the playoff picture is a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles.
Meanwhile, after the Yankees complete two series against the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers and Red Sox this week, they finish the regular season against the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Orioles (twice), who currently have three of the four worst records in the American League.
"I think there's a real chance that the Yankees wind up winning the East, just based on the schedule," said Olney. "I think [the Blue Jays could] hold on to win the AL East, but this is just such an outlier situation because you normally don't see such an easy end of the season schedule like the Yankees have.
"The Yankees have struggled against the Blue Jays, who own the tiebreaker against them, the Red Sox have kicked their ass all over the field this year, and good AL East teams have given the Yankees a problem. However, when they play bad teams, they bludgeon them. That's where the power of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton really come into play and why the Blue Jays will have to get it done against decent teams."
The other thing concerning to the Blue Jays is the health of star shortstop Bo Bichette, who missed Sunday's rubber match against the Yankees with a leg injury.
Bichette was injured during Saturday's 3-1 loss to New York early after colliding with Yankees catcher Austin Wells while sliding into home plate in the sixth inning.
The 27-year-old shortstop hobbled off the field and was sent off for X-rays, which came back negative.
Bichette has been one of the premier hitters in the majors this season, leading the league with 181 hits, 44 doubles, and is third in the league with a .311 batting average. He also has 18 home runs and 94 RBIs in 139 games this season.
"It was surprising to me, after watching the game on Sunday, that he was not available even to pinch hit in that game," said Olney. "Clearly, the thinking was that they were going to give him a couple of days off to see how he feels. What I was hearing yesterday was that there was some optimism that he was going to return for the start of the series tonight [against the Astros].
"You want to make sure he's in the lineup to swing the bat. Even if he's not moving great on the field, maybe you live with that because of the offensive upside. [Another option would be] putting George Springer in the outfield, put Ernie Clement at shortstop and then Bichette can DH. He's been so hot lately, so good, and the Blue Jays are such a different looking lineup when he's in it."