clinch division, top seed in American League

Toronto secures bye to division series following 13-4 victory on final day of season

Gregory Strong · The Canadian Press · 

A baseball player reacts while rounding bases. Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk reacts while rounding the bases after the first of his two home runs during the team’s division-clinching victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Toronto on Sunday. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

Blue Jays manager John Schneider was only 20 seconds into his post-game speech Sunday when he was drowned out by his roaring players and doused in champagne.

His team needed a win on the last day of the regular season to wrap up the American League East Division title. Once clinched with a 13-4 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays, a celebration 10 years in the making just couldn’t wait any longer.

“We never stopped believing in one another and knew that we were really good,” Schneider said. “A baseball season is long and things happen. You have ups and you have downs.

“I think once we hit our stride, we didn’t think anyone could beat us.”

Alejandro Kirk hit a grand slam in Toronto’s five-run first inning and later added a two-run homer. George Springer and Addison Barger went deep in a five-run seventh inning that iced the Blue Jays’ fourth straight win.

Toronto earned the first seed in the AL and will have home-field advantage in the best-of-five AL Division Series against New York or Boston. It will be the Blue Jays’ first ALDS appearance since 2016.
“We fight every single night,” Kirk said. “We’re just enjoying it right now.
The victory completed a remarkable worst-to-first turnaround from this time last year. Toronto finished 94-68 on the season, a 20-win jump from the disappointing 2024 campaign.

“It’s just an incredible moment,” Springer said. “I’m so happy for the city, the fans and the country. This is awesome.

The Yankees also won Sunday to finish 94-68 but settled for second place as Toronto had the tiebreaker due to a better head-to-head record. New York will host the best-of-three wild-card round against the Red Sox, starting on Tuesday.

Sellout crowd on hand Sunday

Toronto set the tone early in front of a sellout crowd of 42,083 on a glorious autumn afternoon.

After Ian Seymour (4-3) issued back-to-back walks in the first inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run to put Toronto on the board. Daulton Varsho singled to load the bases before Kirk’s 387-yard blast over the wall in left field.

The plucky Rays made it a one-run game by scoring three runs in the third inning against Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, who was pulled after Tampa Bay loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth.

Mason Fluharty (5-2) came on and struck out Jonathan Aranda to escape the jam. In the fifth inning, Kirk launched a 419-foot blast to straightaway centre field.
In all, five Toronto relievers kept the Rays off the scoreboard as the Blue Jays improved to an AL-best 54-27 at home this season.

New York applied loads of pressure over the last week, but even an eight-game winning streak wasn’t enough to catch Toronto.

The Blue Jays controlled their own destiny and won when it mattered. Their reward is some precious off-days ahead of Game 1 on Saturday.

Toronto can reset its starting rotation and may get some players back in the lineup. Bo Bichette (knee), Chris Bassitt (back) and Ty France (oblique) have all made strides in recent days and could be in position to return.

The wild-card round has been rough on the Blue Jays in recent years, with all three appearances since 2020 ending in two-game sweeps.

Now they have time to prepare for their next goal: returning to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2016.

“It [feels] good,” Guerrero said. “But the job is not finished.”