Blue Jays in control of playoff destiny ahead of regular season stretch drive

A series win over the Baltimore Orioles this week gave the Toronto Blue Jays some much-needed breathing room in the American League playoff race.

Canada's lone Major League Baseball team is in control of its own destiny with four weeks left in the regular season.

Securing one of the three wild-card spots remains a likely outcome for Toronto. Home-field advantage in a first-round series is a possibility and there's a slim chance of a first-place finish in the East Division standings.

Toronto kicks off a three-game set against the Texas Rangers on Friday night before returning to Rogers Centre for a key eight-game homestand against divisional opponents.

With a 76-60 record and some momentum thanks to a strong road trip, the Blue Jays appear well-positioned for the stretch drive.

Six of Toronto's eight remaining series will be against East Division opponents. A critical five-game series against Tampa Bay is on tap next week ahead of a three-game set against the Orioles.

Entering Thursday's games, idle Toronto was a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners (77-60) and 1 1/2 games behind the Rays (77-58). The division-leading New York Yankees (83-54) were five games up on Tampa Bay and 6 1/2 games ahead of the Blue Jays.

In the wild-card race, Toronto was 4 1/2 games up on Baltimore and 7 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox.

Under the new playoff format, a pair of AL wild-card series will be played with the two higher-ranked division winners securing byes to the division series. The other division winner (No. 3 seed) will host the third wild-card team (No. 6 seed) in a best-of-three series while the first wild-card club (No. 4 seed) will host the second wild-card team (No. 5 seed) in the other.

The Blue