At long last, the Toronto Blue Jays are back in a post-season spot.
Now, the task is to stay there.
That begins Sunday as the Blue Jays go for a three-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT).
The Blue Jays will turn to Spencer Arrighetti as they look to also set a season high with their fifth straight win.
Arrighetti, acquired in the Daulton Varsho trade with the Houston Astros at the deadline, has struggled amid injury in his short time with the Blue Jays, registering a 6.55 ERA over 11 innings with 10 strikeouts and five walks.
The 26-year-old last took to the mound Tuesday against the Cleveland Guardians, tossing 3.2 innings with two earned runs and two strikeouts.
Kansas City will counter with veteran Randy Dobnak, who allowed three runs over six innings in a loss to the Blue Jays in August. On the season, the righty holds a 2.65 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and 23 walks over 11 appearances (nine starts).
The Blue Jays exploded for a 9-2 victory in Friday's series opener before winning a tight 4-3 contest on Saturday, capitalizing on some Royals' shoddy fielding. Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto had four hits and two RBI in the most recent win as the Blue Jays offence continues to emerge from a season-long slump.
Toronto's lineup will look a little different Sunday as George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement will begin on the bench, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets a day off his feet in Springer's DH role.
Brandon Valenzuela will start behind the plate and bat ninth, while rookie slugger Sean Keys takes over at first base and utility man Josh Smith slots in Clement's usual spot at second base.
Lefty hitter Jesus Sanchez will man left field despite his much-maligned defensive prowess.
Behind their resurgent run-scoring ability, the Blue Jays have won seven of eight to move above .500 at 72-71 for the first time since they were 4-3 on April 3.
Toronto also holds the third and final American League wild-card spot entering action Sunday thanks to a season-series tie-breaker over the Cleveland Guardians (72-71), who will send out Gavin Williams in their series finale against the Detroit Tigers.
The Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins are all also within four games of the Blue Jays.
But it's Toronto that now controls its own destiny. After a trip to Sacramento to face the Athletics beginning Monday, the Blue Jays return to Rogers Centre for consecutive series against the Orioles and Tigers before hitting the road to face the Rangers and Orioles once again.
A sweep of the Royals Sunday would go a long way toward adding cushion ahead of that pivotal stretch.
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