The Toronto Blue Jays have been on a roll over the last week and are now firmly back in the playoff picture despite a disappointing first half to the season. Despite being 14 games out of first place in the American League East, the Blue Jays are just a half-game out of the third and final wild card spot in the American League, with only the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers ahead of the them in the standings. Toronto's surge up the standings was boosted by a four-game series win against the Boston Red Sox and a three-game series win against the New York Yankees. That rise up the standings was spurred further by a 10-5 win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in the first of a three-game series. The victory Tuesday also snapped one of the worst streaks in franchise history for the Blue Jays. According to a post on "X" from StatsCentre, Tuesday's win was the first time in 33 games Toronto had scored more than eight runs. It was the eighth-longest game streak in franchise history the Blue Jays scored less than eight runs. In the same game, third baseman Kazuma Okamoto hit his 25th home run of the season, which set a record for the most in a single season by a Toronto rookie.
OKAMOTO-SAN! Number 25! pic.twitter.com/NYXC2X0KGH — Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 19, 2026 Even with the 10-run spurt, the Blue Jays entered Tuesday as one of the worst offenses in baseball from a statistical standpoint. Following the win, Toronto ranks 15th in the majors in batting average (.244), tied for 28th in the major leagues in runs (502), 29th in home runs (119) and tied for 28th in the majors in OPS (.683). A lot of the downturn in the Blue Jays offense this season has been to the series of injuries and regressions the team has suffered. Okamoto's 25 homers is the most on the team, more than double the amount of the second-highest player on the team in the statistic, designated hitter George Springer (12). Despite where the team stood entering this month, it's made it through the gauntlet that is the AL East. If Toronto wins game two or three of the series against Tampa Bay, it will mark the seventh series win in a row for the former (aside from a single game played against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 6). Following their series against the Rays, the Blue Jays will complete its AL East sprint with another three-game series against the Yankees.