The Toronto Blue Jays' win streak was snapped at five on Thursday but they bounced back on Friday and still occupy the No. 2 wild-card spot.
The latest: Toronto has eight games left as it continues a three-game set on Saturday at Tropicana Field. After that, the Jays close things out with six at home against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.
Check out our Blue Jays playoff odds as we hit the final stretch of the 2023 MLB regular season, which ends October 1.
Blue Jays playoff odds
Click linked odds to add selection to betslip: Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Market | Yes | No |
| To make playoffs | -1,430 | +800 |
Check out our full MLB playoff odds.
The Blue Jays enter play on Sept. 23 sitting 0.5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers, 1.0 ahead of the Houston Astros and 1.5 ahead of the Seattle Mariners. After holding -435 playoff odds ahead of Friday's action, the Blue Jays have staggeringly short odds to reach the postseason.
The implied probability of -1,430 is 93.5%.
Following a sweep to the Rangers, Toronto reeled off wins in six of seven games to get back in playoff position.
The hot stretch improved the club's record to 13-7 this month and 18-26 versus the AL East (Toronto swept the Boston Red Sox before taking two of three from New York).
With five left against the Rays and three versus the Yankees, Toronto has the most difficult remaining schedule among AL teams (according to Tankathon).
Here are the probable pitchers for the rest of the Rays series:
| Date | Jays SP | Rays SP |
| Sept. 23 | Hyun Jin Ryu | Zack Littell |
| Sept. 24 | Yusei Kikuchi | Taj Bradley |
Ace Kevin Gausman, the AL strikeout leader, is currently slated to pitch two more times, including the last day of the regular season.
The wild card contenders
The Mariners and Rangers — who play against each other six more times — both hold the tiebreak over Toronto, meaning the Blue Jays would be on the outside if it tied with either for the final playoff spot.
Toronto dropped its season series to Texas, 6-1, and split with Seattle, but a second tiebreak would come into play if the two clubs finished the season with identical records. The Blue Jays' lousy mark against the AL East would come back to bite them.
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The second tiebreaker is determined by a club's record against its own division, which Seattle has locked up as it enters play Sept. 23 with a 29-14 mark against the AL West.
The Blue Jays would, however, have the tiebreak over the Houston Astros, who just fell out of the AL West lead for the first time in almost three weeks. Toronto went 4-3 versus the defending champs.
The Blue Jays' odds have been all over the map this month. Here's a look:
- Sept. 3: +115
- Sept. 5: -182
- Sept. 7: -345
- Sept. 8: -215
- Sept. 12: -315
- Sept. 13: -182
- Sept. 14: +105
- Sept. 15: +175
- Sept. 16: +100
- Sept. 18: -400
- Sept. 19: -435
- Sept. 23: -1,430
Going into Saturday's action, Texas has -315 odds to make the playoffs, while Seattle sits at -143.