MLB Playoff Push: Blue Jays look to bury Mariners

Blue Jays bats bust out big time, and J.A. Happ reaches the 20 win mark for the first time in his career, in the 10-2 thumping of the Mariners.

The MLB playoff push is our daily look back and ahead at the post-season picture as teams position themselves for October.

Latest on the Toronto Blue Jays: So far, so good for the Blue Jays in Seattle, where they’ve taken the first two games against the Mariners. The Toronto offence broke out during Tuesday night’s 10-2 win, which secured a one-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for top spot in the wild-card standings, and will look to carry the hot bats into Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.

Aaron Sanchez takes the mound for the Blue Birds against right-hander Felix Hernandez in a game that’s pretty much a must-win for the M’s. Should the Mariners get swept, it would be a major blow to their wild-card hopes — they’d be five games back of the top spot and 3.5 behind the second position, with 10 games remaining.

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If the playoffs started today…

Wild Card
Blue Jays vs. Orioles

ALDS
Rangers vs. Blue Jays or Orioles
Indians vs. Red Sox

Toronto Blue Jays
Next up: Seattle Mariners
Pitching matchup: Aarón Sánchez vs. Félix Hernández

Boston Red Sox
Next up: Baltimore Orioles
Pitching matchup: Clay Buchholz vs. Ubaldo Jiménez

New York Yankees
Next up: Tampa Bay Rays
Pitching matchup: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Alex Cobb

Cleveland Indians
Next up: Kansas City Royals
Pitching matchup: Ian Kennedy vs. Corey Kluber

Detroit Tigers
Next up: Minnesota Twins
Pitching matchup: Buck Farmer vs. José Berrios

Texas Rangers
Next up: Los Angeles Angels
Pitching matchup: Jered Weaver vs. Derek Holland

Houston Astros
Next up: Oakland Athletics
Pitching matchup: Collin McHugh vs. Daniel Mengden

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If the playoffs started today…

Wild Card
Mets, Giants, Cardinals engage in three-team tiebreaker over multiple days

NLDS
Cubs vs. Mets, Giants or Cardinals
Nationals vs. Dodgers

Washington Nationals
Next up: Miami Marlins
Pitching matchup: Max Scherzer vs. Tom Koehler

New York Mets
Next up: Atlanta Braves
Pitching matchup: Ryan Weber vs. Bartolo Colón

Chicago Cubs
Next up: Cincinnati Reds
Pitching matchup: Robert Stephenson vs. John Lackey

St. Louis Cardinals
Next up: Colorado Rockies
Pitching matchup: Luke Weaver vs. Germán Márquez

Los Angeles Dodgers
Next up: San Francisco Giants
Pitching matchup: Matt Moore vs. Kenta Maeda

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