TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays will have their champagne on ice tonight.
A win over the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon will clinch a post-season berth for Toronto for a second straight year.
An emphatic 11-4 win over the Rays at Rogers Centre last night reduced the Blue Jays’ magic number to one.
Toronto will likely hold the American League’s second wild-card spot in the playoffs.
That will send the Blue Jays to Tampa, Fla., for a best-of-three wild-card series against their division rival.
Toronto was bounced from last year’s post-season by the Seattle Mariners in two games at Rogers Centre.
Hyun Jin Ryu will start for Toronto against the Rays this afternoon.
The Blue Jays planned to hold a pre-game ceremony at Rogers Centre for National Truth and Reconciliation Day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2023.