Blue Jays clinch MLB playoff berth, still targeting AL East division title and American League’s best record

The Toronto Blue Jays became the American League’s first team to clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with an 8-5 win over the Kansas City Royals (box score). Four teams have already laid claim to a spot on the National League side of things: the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Blue Jays still have more to compete for this season. They lead in both the race for the top seed throughout the AL side of the bracket, as well as the AL East division crown. Clinching either or both of those races will require more time, however, as Toronto entered Sunday with a two-game lead over the New York Yankees for the division title and the American League’s best record.

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Kate Feldman

If the current bracket holds, the Blue Jays will have a bye past the Wild Card Series, then face the winner of the No. 4 Yankees vs. the No. 5 Boston Red Sox. With a week left of the regular season, though, plenty can change.

Should the Blue Jays prevail in the East, it’ll represent their first division title since 2015. That year saw the Blue Jays advance all the way to the AL Championship Series, where they lost to the eventual World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals.

The Blue Jays faced a lot of scrutiny entering the season after last year’s disappointment. They responded thanks to four-plus win seasons from first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., right-hander Kevin Gausman, outfielder George Springer, and infielder Ernie Clement.

This year represents the Blue Jays’ third trip to the playoffs in the last four years. The only other time in franchise history they’ve pulled that off — and mind you, the expanded postseason format makes it easier to do nowadays — was from 1991-93.