The Toronto Blue Jays locked up a playoff spot Thursday afternoon without taking the field, securing a berth when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.
Canada's lone big-league team got the good news on an off-day ahead of Friday's series opener against the visiting Red Sox. With downtime valuable during the stretch drive, the team was expected to celebrate the accomplishment after the series opener against the Red Sox. "These guys are excited to be in this position," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Wednesday's 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees. "You've got three really good pitchers lined up against a good Boston team, playing at home. "So I think it's more excitement more than it's nerves or anything.
I think the guys are going to come out and be ready to roll on Friday night." If Toronto maintains its grip on the first of three American League wild-card seeds, then the Blue Jays would play at Rogers Centre for the best-of-three first-round series.
The second- and third-seeded wild-card teams would open on the road. It's part of a new Major League Baseball playoff format this year.