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Blue Jays by the numbers: Division title, and awards for Josh Donaldson and David Price in sight
As the late, great Yogi Berra famously said, "it ain't over 'till it's over."
So sure, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a postseason berth over the weekend, ending the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports, but the stakes are still high heading into the final week of the regular season.
The magic number for the Blue Jays to win the AL East title is down to four following a series sweep of the Rays, meaning they can confirm their status as division champions over the New York Yankees as early as Tuesday night. That magic number decreases with every Toronto win and New York loss.
TEAM | Sept. 28 – Oct. 1 (4 games) | Oct 2. – Oct. 4 (3 games) |
Blue Jays | at Orioles | at Rays |
Yankees | vs. Red Sox | at Orioles |
They're also in a great position to end the year with best record in the American League, which would guarantee them home-field advantage from the ALDS through the World Series.
If the Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals finish the season with the same record – they're both currently 90-65 – top spot goes to Toronto by virtue of their 4-3 record over Kansas City in head-to-head games.
On top of the team objectives that remain out there for the Blue Jays to accomplish, Josh Donaldson and David Price have a week left to put the finishing touches on their campaigns for the respective individual awards they're up for.
As of last Wednesday, Donaldson was the front-runner to be the AL MVP at 9/2, while Price is the 1/1 favourite to take the AL Cy Young. Both lines are courtesy of the oddsmakers at OnlineGambling.lv.
The MVP will either go to Donaldson or Los Angeles Angels centre fielder and perennial candidate Mike Trout. Trout has the edge in terms of offensive production, but Donaldson's counting stats will help his case, as will the narrative of his impact in getting Toronto to the postseason. He added to his legend Sunday, lifting the Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over Tampa with a walk-off home run in the ninth.
PLAYER | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI | R | ||
Josh Donaldson | .299 | .373 | .578 | 41 | 122 | 121 | 157 | 8.5 |
Mike Trout | .297 | .398 | .585 | 40 | 88 | 90 | 170 | 8.3 |
Price had his worst start with the Blue Jays on Saturday, going five innings and allowing five runs, four of them earned. He's scheduled to make one more start in the regular season, on Oct. 1 against Baltimore. Price's 2.45 ERA in 32 starts between Toronto and Detroit is tops among qualified starting pitchers in the AL. He's raised his game since joining the Blue Jays too, posting a 2.30 ERA and a 9-1 record in 11 starts. Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel and Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray are Price's two main competitors for the award.
PLAYER | W-L | ERA | IP | SO | BB | ||
David Price | 18-5 | 2.45 | 2.79 | 220 1/3 | 225 | 47 | 6.4 |
Dallas Keuchel | 19-8 | 2.47 | 2.85 | 226 | 213 | 49 | 6.1 |
Sonny Gray | 14-7 | 2.73 | 3.47 | 208 | 169 | 59 | 3.7 |
Donaldson and Price should feel as good about their chances to walk away with some hardware at season's end as they do about their team's chances to do the same at the end of the postseason.
The Blue Jays are confident. They have every reason to be. Not only have they played meaningful September games, but they're on their way to the playoffs, and they're favourites to win it all. Fans old enough to remember the glory days are thinking, "it's deja vu all over again."
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
