MLB Betting Odds: Blue Jays trail White Sox, Rangers in AL wild-card race
The Toronto Blue Jays earned a much-needed win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, but there is still plenty of work ahead.
Toronto now sits 1.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League. The Jays also need to leapfrog the Texas Rangers, who they trail by 0.5 games.
Here’s how the rest of the wild-card picture breaks down for Toronto ahead of a three-game series in Texas starting Friday.
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Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays spent most of August and September chasing Cleveland for the final AL wild-card spot before the Guardians jumped ahead of the White Sox for first in the AL Central.
That’s bad news for Toronto as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Cleveland, but not Chicago.
If the Guardians hold on to win the division, the Jays will need to finish the season one game ahead of the White Sox to claim the final wild-card spot.
As it stands, Toronto is +310 to make the playoffs and -400 to miss. The White Sox are -450 to make the playoffs (+340 to miss) and Texas is -110 to make or miss out.
Here’s how the American League standings look entering Thursday:
Division leaders:
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | 92-59 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 78-75 |
| Houston Astros | 76-76 |
Wild-card teams:
*Currently in wild-card spot
| Position | Team | Record | Games Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | New York Yankees* | 88-64 | +11.0 |
| 2. | Boston Red Sox* | 82-70 | +5.0 |
| 3. | Chicago White Sox* | 77-75 | - |
| 4. | Texas Rangers | 76-76 | 1.0 |
| 5. | Toronto Blue Jays | 76-77 | 1.5 |
| 6. | Baltimore Orioles | 75-78 | 2.5 |
| 7. | Detroit Tigers | 72-80 | 5.0 |
The Blue Jays are now hitting the road for key back-to-back series’ against the Rangers and Orioles, starting Friday in Texas.