Blue Jays Draw Close, Don't Clinch Playoffs Yet

Aaron Judge's historic 61st homer lifted the Yankees over the Blue Jays and prevented Toronto from clinching a playoff spot on Wednesday.

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Leave the champagne un-popped and the beer in the fridge. For now.

The Blue Jays woke up Wednesday with a chance to clinch a playoff spot. They needed a little help from the Red Sox, and Boston delivered, but Toronto couldn't confirm their own spot in October. The Blue Jays' 8-3 loss to the Yankees delayed the postseason party, but the Jays now sit a win away from October baseball. 

"It's not tonight," manager John Schneider said. "But hopefully it's soon.

For a moment, it seemed like Wednesday would be Toronto's day. After Gerrit Cole held the Jays' bats without a baserunner for six innings, Danny Jansen broke the drought in the sixth and the runs kept coming. With a rocking Rogers Centre and a Cole balk to move the baserunners over, Toronto seized the momentum and tied the game. But an inning later, the Yankees sniffed out the rally.

The Yankees were far from whole on Wednesday, after clinching the division crown the night before, and rested many regulars (except the guy chasing home run history). But Aaron Judge and the fill-ins didn’t look disadvantaged early. The Yankees jumped starter Mitch White for a three-spot in the first inning and added five more runs after Toronto's comeback in the sixth. 

The Yanks stole back the momentum with some history, too, as Judge finally notched his 61st homer of the season on a ripping liner in the seventh, tying the American League single-season record. The home run ball was snagged by Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann, and quickly handed off to the Yankees side.

"There's definitly some relief getting to 61," Judge said after the game. "You try not to think about it but it creeps into your head."

While Rich Hill and the Red Sox held the Orioles down, giving Toronto some hope of a Wednesday clinch party, the Jays still needed to handle their own business. They had more opportunity after the sixth-inning push, bringing the tying run to the plate in the seventh and eighth, but couldn't scratch out enough to lock up the postseason.

For now, the postseason security waits. The earliest Toronto can clinch will be Thursday afternoon, if the Orioles lose again to the Red Sox. If Baltimore wins, the Jays will have a shot at clinching their own playoff spot with a win or O's loss on Friday. The clinch didn't happen on Wednesday, but it only draws closer.

"That's been one of the goals, to reach playoffs and reach the postseason," reliever Tim Mayza. "It's a goal that you know, we have in our grasp and we still control our own destiny here."