Blue Jays and Orioles face decisive doubleheader in AL Wild Card race
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles play a doubleheader on Wednesday, September 23, fighting for the final American League Wild Card spot after Tuesday's game was postponed by weather.
A decisive day in the AL Wild Card race
The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are playing a split doubleheader on Wednesday, September 23, after Tuesday night's game in Baltimore was postponed because of bad weather, according to The Globe and Mail. Both teams have just five games left in the regular season and are battling for the last American League Wild Card berth.
Entering Tuesday, Toronto sat 3 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the final wild-card spot, while Baltimore trailed by 4 1/2 games. Baltimore won Monday's series opener 4-3 to take an early lead in the head-to-head matchup, as reported by both The Globe and Mail and Yahoo Sports.
According to Yahoo Sports, the loser of Wednesday's first game will be eliminated from playoff contention — a detail not confirmed by the other sources. Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer is scheduled to start game one, making his 500th career appearance, which Yahoo Sports suggests could be his last. He faces Baltimore's Chris Bassitt.
Toronto enters the stretch shorthanded. Star infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will not play because of injury. The team's projected ace, Dylan Cease, will also miss the series with shoulder inflammation; an MRI showed no structural damage, but he remains unavailable for this crucial stretch.
If Wednesday's games are also disrupted by weather, both clubs will be off Thursday, The Globe and Mail notes.
Toronto reached last year's World Series as American League champions, but this season has been markedly different — the Blue Jays entered the final week of the season at 77-79, putting them at risk of missing the postseason entirely just a year after coming within two outs of a title.
