Welcome to First Place - the Toronto Blue Jays

Rodney Knuppel

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Welcome to First Place - the Toronto Blue Jays image

The Toronto Blue Jays won their fourth straight game on Wednesday night and have moved into a tie for first place with the New York Yankees.

This is a franchise that hasn’t won an American League East title since 2015 and has captured just six division titles since 1985. The Blue Jays do have some recent playoff experience, reaching the Wild Card game four times over the past ten seasons.

The Rogers Centre was packed with 30,985 fans for a 3:07 game. It was worth it, as fans got to witness a wild contest featuring 20 total runs and 28 hits.

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The Blue Jays jumped out to a seven-run lead in the first inning and eventually went up 8-0. But the Yankees stormed back, scoring six in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two more in the eighth to tie the game at 9-9. Toronto responded with two runs in the bottom of the eighth off Devin Williams, and Jeff Hoffman came in to close it out, earning his 20th save of the season.

The offense stole the spotlight for Toronto. Addison Barger, the 25-year-old, drove in four runs and hit two home runs, bringing his season total to ten. Davis Schneider added three RBI of his own.

Tampa Bay also picked up a win on Wednesday, which now puts three teams within a single game of each other in the AL East standings. The Blue Jays and Yankees will meet again on Thursday for the series finale.

Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to start for the Yankees, while Chris Bassitt will take the mound for Toronto.

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Rodney Knuppel

Rodney Knuppel is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. When not watching, listening or writing about sports, Rodney enjoys following the travels of his three kids, who are all active in their own sports and activities. A huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, Rodney also enjoys St. Louis Blues hockey and is a big Kansas Jayhawks basketball fan.