The Toronto Blue Jays were good last season, just painfully short of the playoffs.
That’s because the New York Yankees got a win in the final game of their season on a walk-off hit by Aaron Judge. That kept the Blue Jays out of the playoffs and put the Yankees in. If Toronto wants to pass the Yankees (and the Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays) it starts with the head-to-head AL East meetings.
The Jays won’t win a division title on April 11, but beating the Yankees a few times this week could send the message they’ll be a factor all season. The exciting young Jays open a series against the Yankees on Monday in the best game on the MLB slate. The Jays and Yankees are both -110 to win at BetMGM.
The early four-game series can let both teams know where they stand early this season.
The Jays will start Alek Manoah, a former first-round pick who was very good as a rookie last season. The Yankees will counter with Jameson Taillon. The Yankees and Blue Jays both won two of three to start the season. The start of the season is particularly tense for New York, which will have its first seven games against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, two heavy contenders in the AL East.
Everyone assumes the Yankees will be a contender. People feel the same about the Blue Jays, but there’s a little more skepticism with them since that group hasn’t had a big breakout yet. It helps that they finally get to spend a season at home in Toronto, after bouncing around due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. With…