After a 10-game stretch during which they failed to record consecutive victories, the Toronto Blue Jays got back on track by sweeping the Seattle Mariners this past weekend. That performance helped better their position in the race for a postseason berth, and for the next three days, their fate is in their own hands. Make your MLB picks at BetMGM Sportsbook with promo code CBSSPORTS and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses: The reigning American League champion Blue Jays (68-70) attempt to move closer to a Wild Card spot when they visit the Cleveland Guardians (69-68) at 6:40 p.m.
ET on Tuesday in the opener of a critical three-game series at Progressive Field. Toronto, which has reached the playoffs four of the last six seasons and were two outs away from a Game 7 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year's World Series before losing in 11 innings, trails Cleveland for the third AL Wild Card by 1.5 games. The Blue Jays endured a 4-6 stretch before the three-game sweep of Seattle during which they outscored the Mariners 19-4.
They kick off a nine-game road trip when they meet the Guardians, against whom they won two of three at home in April. Cleveland carried a seven-game winning streak into its weekend series with the Kansas City Royals and lost the first two games before avoiding a sweep with an 11-1 rout. The Guardians are one-half game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for the third Wild Card but also are in the chase for the AL Central title as they trail the Chicago White Sox by three games.
Tuesday's full 15-game MLB schedule also includes the middle contest of the three-game set between the Philadelphia Phillies (78-60) and Arizona Diamondbacks (73-66) at 9:40 p.m. ET at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Phillies, who are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the top Wild Card spot in the National League, took the opener 2-1 to extend their winning streak to five games and climb within four of the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East.
It was the second straight loss for Arizona, which fell one-half game behind the San Diego Padres for the third Wild Card berth. Bet on Tuesday's MLB games with the FanDuel promo code and get up to $350 in bonus bets: The Mariners (64-74) hope to avoid falling farther back in the postseason race when they resume their three-game series against the Boston Red Sox (75-63) at 6:45 p.m. Seattle squandered a late three-run lead in the opener and suffered its sixth consecutive loss, a 9-8 setback in 10 innings that dropped the club six games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros and 5.5 back in the Wild Card standings.
The Red Sox are 5.5 games ahead of Cleveland for the second Wild Card and three behind the New York Yankees for the top spot. Meanwhile, the Yankees (78-60) look to recover from an embarrassing defeat when they take on the Los Angeles Angels (53-85) at 9:38 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
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