The Toronto Blue Jays will enter Yankee Stadium this weekend just three games ahead of New York for first place in the AL East.
That sounds like a lot of pressure—but Toronto is staying calm in its quest to win the division for the first time since 2015.
The Blue Jays spoke about their mindset ahead of tonight’s series opener in the Bronx. Here’s what they had to say.
Blue Jays ready for series opener vs. Yankees
Center fielder Daulton Varsho explained what Toronto needs to do this weekend to beat New York, per Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star.
“Just playing good baseball. Don’t try to make the series bigger than what it needs to be. Just knowing that they’re a good team, we have to play well.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider echoed that sentiment:
“We’ve played them well. This time of year, every series is important. I don’t want (the players) to put extra pressure on themselves. We’re in the driver’s seat. We’ve played good baseball. The goal is to continue to play good baseball and have everyone do what we expect them to do and try to win a series. That’s it.”
That simplistic approach might be easier said than done, but Toronto has already had success against the Yankees this season—boasting a 7-3 head-to-head record.
And those ten games have been high scoring. Per Chisholm, the Jays averaged 7.4 runs in their seven wins, while New York averaged 6.7 in its three victories. From June 30 to July 21, Toronto even rattled off five straight wins over the Bronx Bombers.
The stakes for this weekend series are high. If the Blue Jays win, they drastically increase their chances to take the division, which is important considering they haven’t advanced past the first round of the postseason in almost a decade.
But the Yankees, who were last in first place on July 2, could ensure this division race comes down to the wire.