MLB playoff picture: How do the Blue Jays match up with the Tampa Bay Rays?

As the MLB wild-card race reaches its climax, Julia Kreuz assesses how the Toronto Blue Jays would fare if they faced the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game postseason series.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JULIA KREUZ: It seems like these two teams have faced each other 165 times in this 162-game season. It's been glorious at times for the Blue Jays and disastrous at others, and now it's only fitting that they get to see each other for a final time in the American League Wild Card round.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

For the Rays, there are plenty of questions that will really only be answered throughout these games, mainly health-wise. Is Shane McClanahan going to be healthy enough to pitch? What about Ryan Yarbrough? What about Tyler Glasnow?

There are so many question marks for this team's pitching, and yet somehow, they keep finding ways to win. There is always a next man up for the Tampa Bay Rays, especially on the pitching side, and we've all seen the downside of that for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays will have to play their absolute best ball of the season to come out victorious with this three-game set. That means Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel, if he's healthy enough to play, they will need to be the challengers to guys like Randy Arozarena, Manuel Margot, or Yandy Diaz, who have also, conversely, had a lot of success against Toronto.

On the pitching side, Toronto wants nothing to do with Shane McClanahan, who has absolutely dominated them in the regular season. But the good news is that Kevin Gausman has also been stellar whenever he has faced the Rays. That's also true for Manoah, who has his usual solid and reliable self no matter what, and even José Berrios has found ways to limit damage and be successful against the Rays despite that disastrous two-inning start in late September at the Trop.

So what does playing your best brand of baseball mean? Well, for the Blue Jays, It means contributions up and down the lineup, limiting mistakes, and on the other side, really making the Rays pay for their mistakes. Because with a team like that, a team who is trying to make it back to the World Series after making it in 2020, they're not going to present you with mistakes often, so you have to make sure that you capitalize on them. If the Jays can do that, they have a pretty good chance to come out victorious.