I deliberately pulled back in the final game. I saved my ace Kevin Gaussman, who couldn’t clinch the second wildcard spot on his own anyway. Instead, third place looked like the “flower path. In the end, they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays and became the third wild card. The Toronto Blue Jays, home of the “Korean Monster” Ryu Hyun-jin, will be looking to make a splash in the fall.
All of Major League Baseball’s postseason spots are up for grabs. The best-of-three, best-of-seven wild-card series will begin on Thursday. In the American League, it’s Toronto vs. Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay vs. Texas Rangers. The final regular-season results gave Toronto the third wild-card spot, while Texas dropped the West title to Houston and slipped into the wild-card series.토토사이트
Together, Toronto avoided the two top teams in the “dreaded” American League East. They sit opposite the district champion Baltimore Orioles and the first wild-card spot Tampa Bay Rays. Had they gotten the second wild card, they would have met Tampa Bay in a wild-card series. Beating the Rays would have meant a divisional series with Baltimore, who had the best winning percentage (.623) in the American League with 101 wins and 61 losses this season.
The third wild-card spot actually gave them a more favorable matchup. They’ll play the American League Central Division winners, the Minnesota Twins, in a wild-card series. Despite the home field disadvantage, they’re not outclassed on the basepaths. They’re also 3-3 in the head-to-head matchup this season. They could go all out by starting Gaussman in Game 1.
If they beat Minnesota, they will face the Houston Astros, who won the West in dramatic fashion, on the road to the Championship Series. With a 4-3 head-to-head record this season, the Astros are confident. They are certainly a less daunting opponent than the 101-win Baltimore. Minnesota-Houston seems to be the ‘flowery path’ to a Tampa Bay-Baltimore matchup. Plus, avoiding the Texans, who went 1-6 against them in the regular season, is a plus.
Of course, Toronto doesn’t have the power to overwhelm Minnesota and Houston. While they appear to be easier than the “Dreaded East” teams, they are no slouches either. It will be interesting to see if Toronto can stay on the “flowery path” they’ve chosen amidst all the complicated calculations. First, they need to get past Minnesota.