Blue Jays hold off Yankees to cap turnaround from worst to first

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays capped a turnaround from worst to first by holding off the New York Yankees to win the AL East on the final day of the season, their first division title in a decade and the seventh in team history.

"The job is not finished," slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr said after a 13-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays that clinched the division crown and secured a bye into the Division Series. "We've got to continue to play hard and play good baseball."

The Blue Jays finished 74-88 a season ago, last in the AL East and 20 games behind the first-placed Yankees.

"I think everybody believed that last year was not who we were as a team," outfielder George Springer said. "From day one of spring training, you could kind of feel the vibe."

This year, a four-game sweep over New York from June 30 to July 3 was part of a season-best 10-game winning streak that vaulted Toronto into the division lead for good.

"Once we kind of hit our stride, we didn't think anyone could beat us," manager John Schneider said. "This is, in my opinion, the toughest division in the game. I don't think anyone, besides the people that are here soaking wet like me, expected us to be in this position."

Toronto lost six of seven down the stretch, falling into a first-place tie with New York, but held onto the top spot in the American League by winning its final four games.

"We almost broke at the end, but, from that point on, we didn't break in the division," Schneider said. "That was obviously a huge four games for us."

The Blue Jays won eight of 13 meetings with the Yankees this season, giving them the tiebreaker after both teams finished 94-68.

Springer hit one of four Blue Jays home runs in Sunday's rout, his latest drive in a productive season that seemed unlikely in 2024, when the 2017 World Series MVP struggled through one of the worst years of his career, hitting just .220.

"I can't say enough about him," Schneider said of Springer. "Fitting that his last at-bat was a home run. He's the heart and soul of our team. He's infectious when he plays and he's infectious in the clubhouse."

Toronto will face the winner of the best-of-three Wild Card Series between the Red Sox and Yankees in the ALDS, giving the Blue Jays a valuable opportunity to rest and recover while its foes battle in the Bronx this week.

Game 1 will be Saturday in Toronto, and the Blue Jays have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs after finishing with the top record in the American League.

Arguably no one needs the break more than shortstop Bo Bichette. The two-time AL hits leader and two-time All-Star hasn't played since Sept 6, when he injured his left knee in a collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

"It's kind of exactly what we needed," Schneider said of the five-day break before the Division Series. "I hope that (Bichette) gets a chance to contribute to this. He's been instrumental to what we've been doing here the last six years."

Bichette has been hitting off a tee and throwing, but has yet to resume running.

"Every day I'm feeling better," Bichette said. "I'll be doing everything that I possibly can to get back."

Toronto hasn't won a postseason game since losing the American League Championship Series to Cleveland in 2016.

The Blue Jays won wild-card berths in 2020, 2022 and 2023, but were swept by Tampa Bay, Seattle and Minnesota, respectively.

Agencies via Xinhua