The MLB playoffs are headed back to Canada

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In 2020, the Toronto Blue Jays made the playoffs, but they didn't really. The COVID-shortened 60-game season provoked MLB to expand the post-season to include more than half of the league, and the Blue Jays earned the final spot before being swept by Tampa Bay in two straight without so much as a home game.

Last year, the Blue Jays finished the season looking like legit title contenders — earning the proverbial status of "team no one wants to face in the playoffs" — but fell one game short of actually getting there.

In 2022, the Blue Jays have now exceeded last season's win total by that one critical game, with two more to spare. Toronto's 91st victory last night, coupled with a Mariners loss, meant it is locked in as the AL's fourth seed. The Blue Jays hadn't enjoyed back-back 90-win seasons since 1991-1993. I hear that was a pretty good run.

And so for the first time since 2016, the playoffs are coming back to Toronto. Game 1 is on Friday. The opponent will likely be Seattle, but it could still be Tampa Bay.

Here's everything else you need to know:

Homefield advantage is more important than ever. In MLB's new post-season format, six teams per league (up from five last year, but down from eight in 2020) advance. That's three division winners, plus the three teams with the next-best records. The top two division winners earn first-round byes, while the third hosts the final wild-card team for the entirety of a three-game series while the top wild card welcomes the second. The Blue Jays are that top wild-card team, meaning regardless of who they face, the series will be