Morning Coffee: Blue Jays in position to pad AL East lead before all-star break

The Toronto Blue Jays stand alone atop the AL East.

I have no clue what has clicked in recent weeks, but this team’s upgrade is like going from dial-up to Bell FIBE.

It’s the type of turnaround that has fans talking about October baseball in July.

The Blue Jays could be found as high as 100-to-1 to win the AL East at FanDuel back in late May.

One month later, Toronto is three games clear of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East with six games remaining before the All-Star break.

On Sunday, the Blue Jays emerged as the favourite to win the AL East for the first time this season.

With a favourable schedule on deck this week, Toronto has a golden opportunity to gain even more ground on its division rivals ahead of the Midsummer Classic.

This is Morning Coffee for Monday July 7th, 2025.

Blue Jays In Excellent Shape To Pad AL East Lead Before MLB All-Star Break

It’s easy to forget it now, but the Blue Jays had the longest odds to win the AL East on MLB Opening Day.

At the time, Toronto was 10-to-1 to win its division.

That number ballooned as high as 100-to-1 in late May, immediately after the Blue Jays were outscored a combined 19-2 in a three-game series sweep in Tampa.

After splitting the first two games of the next series on the road against the Texas Rangers, something finally clicked for Toronto.

The Blue Jays won two of three in Texas, then completed a four-game series sweep against the Athletics at home.

On May 27th, Toronto was two games below .500 with a 26-28 record.

Fast-forward five weeks later, the Blue Jays are 14 games above .500 with a 52-38 record, and a golden chance to extend their division lead before the MLB All-Star Break.

The Blue Jays extended their win streak to eight in a row on Sunday to improve to 26-10 since May 28th – tied for the best record in all of baseball over that span.

The eight straight wins represents the club’s longest win streak since 2022.

Toronto’s 52 wins is tied for the sixth-most through the first 90 games of a season in franchise history.

The Blue Jays are now three games clear of the Yankees and the Rays for top spot in the AL East and they will be a heavy favourite in each of their final two series before the MLB All-Star break.

Next up, they’ll travel to Chicago for a three-game series against the struggling White Sox.

While they managed to win a couple of games against the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies over the weekend, the White Sox are still stuck in the AL basement at 30-60.

Chicago is seven games back of the Athletics for the worst record in the American League standings.

After a three-game series against the White Sox, Toronto will finish off the first half of its schedule with a trip to West Sacramento for three games against the Athletics.

If they could somehow sweep the six games against the American League’s two-worst teams, the Blue Jays would extend their win streak to 14 in a row and match the MLB record for the longest entering the All-Star break ever.

Meanwhile, New York will host the streaking Seattle Mariners and then the red-hot Chicago Cubs to close out the first half of their schedule.

Tampa Bay must play three games on the road against the American League-leading Detroit Tigers, followed by four games against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Blue Jays are considered more likely to make than miss the playoffs at FanDuel than at any other point in recent memory.

They’re also right behind the Yankees in FanDuel’s updated odds to win the AL East this morning.

Can Toronto capitalize on the opportunity and extend its division lead before the MLB All-Star Break?

I’ll take a chance on them to win tonight in Chicago.

For my FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll lock in George Springer to record one or more hits and the Blue Jays to win outright at -115 odds.

Hopefully, Toronto can stay hot with another win tonight.

Have a great day, everyone!