TORONTO – Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider was solely 20 seconds into his post-game speech Sunday when he was drowned out by his roaring gamers and doused in champagne.
His crew wanted a win on the final day of the common season to wrap up the American League East Division title. As soon as clinched with a 13-4 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays, a celebration 10 years within the making simply couldn’t wait any longer.
“We by no means stopped believing in each other and knew that we have been actually good,” Schneider mentioned. “A baseball season is lengthy and issues occur. You may have ups and you’ve got downs.
“I believe as soon as we hit our stride, we didn’t assume anybody may 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 primary seed within the AL and may have home-field benefit within the best-of-five AL Division Collection in opposition to New York or Boston. It is going to be the Blue Jays’ first ALDS look since their final division title in 2015.
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“We battle each single evening,” Kirk mentioned. “We’re simply having fun with it proper now.”
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The victory accomplished a outstanding worst-to-first turnaround from this time final yr. Toronto completed 94-68 on the season, a 20-win bounce from the disappointing 2024 marketing campaign.
“It’s simply an unbelievable second,” Springer mentioned. “I’m so completely satisfied for town, the followers and the nation. That is superior.”
The Yankees additionally received Sunday to complete 94-68 however settled for second place as Toronto had the tiebreaker as a result of a greater head-to-head file. New York will host the best-of-three wild-card spherical in opposition to the Purple Sox, beginning on Tuesday.
Toronto set the tone early in entrance of a sellout crowd of 42,083 on an excellent autumn afternoon.
After Ian Seymour (4-3) issued back-to-back walks within the first inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run to place Toronto on the board. Daulton Varsho singled to load the bases earlier than Kirk’s 387-yard blast over the wall in left area.
The plucky Rays made it a one-run sport by scoring three runs within the third inning in opposition to Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, who was pulled after Tampa Bay loaded the bases with two outs within the fourth.
Mason Fluharty (5-2) got here on and struck out Jonathan Aranda to flee the jam. Within the fifth inning, Kirk launched a 419-foot blast to straightaway centre area.
In all, 5 Toronto relievers saved the Rays off the scoreboard because the Blue Jays improved to an AL-best 54-27 at house this season.
New York utilized a great deal of stress over the past week, however even an eight-game profitable streak wasn’t sufficient to catch Toronto.
The Blue Jays managed their very own future and received when it mattered. Their reward is a few treasured off-days forward of Recreation 1 on Saturday.
Toronto can reset its beginning rotation and should get some gamers again within the lineup. Bo Bichette (knee), Chris Bassitt (again) and Ty France (indirect) have all made strides in current days and might be in place to return.
The wild-card spherical has been tough on the Blue Jays lately, with all three appearances since 2020 ending in two-game sweeps.
Now they’ve time to organize for his or her subsequent aim: returning to the AL Championship Collection for the primary time since 2016.
“It (feels) good,” Guerrero mentioned. “However the job isn’t completed.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Sept. 28, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
