The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to best the division rival New York Yankees in a series for the first time since they enjoyed a historic postseason win.
In last year’s American League Division Series, the first-ever between the two rivals, the Blue Jays bested the Yankees in four games en route to the World Series. And as they look to turn their season around and propel another deep playoff run, the Blue Jays could use another series win this time around.
“Seven months later, as the Blue Jays return to the Bronx for the first time since that playoff win, the rosters look different — and so do the standings,” Ben Nicholson-Smith noted for Sportsnet.
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Both the Yankees and the Blue Jays look considerably different now than they did in the playoffs.
In the Bronx there are some new pitchers emerging, with Ryan Weathers and Cam Schlittler adding to a fearsome rotation. And young slugger Ben Rice has taken a significant step up as well. And north of the border, the Blue Jays have made some big roster changes, with Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto and Tyler Rogers all joining the roster.
The Blue Jays have also parted ways with franchise shortstop Bo Bichette, who was absent from the ALDS last year as he nursed an injury.
Perennial Gold Glove candidate Andres Gimenez replaced him during the playoff series. And now, with Gimenez playing shortstop full time this season, it seems the Blue Jays are aware that this matchup with the Yankees represents a whole new chapter.
“It’s one more series,” Gimenez said in response to the Yankees matchup, per the Toronto Star’s Mike Wilner. “What happened last year happened last year. We’re focused on this year.”
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Still, the Blue Jays might not be able to treat this set as just another one of the regular season series they will play this year. After the team proved its superiority pretty definitively last year, the atmosphere in the Bronx will hit a little different.
“It’s super exciting to go back to New York,” Mason Fluharty told Wilner shortly before the series began. “I think the atmosphere there is going to be electric. The fans are going to be way into it because they know what happened the last time they played us and they’re going to let us know.”
Ultimately, the Blue Jays will have to balance the extra pressure and attention of playing their division rival in New York with the fact that they have a lot of season left to go and some ground to make up in the standings. But following a surprising playoff result last year, the Blue Jays can hope for similar results even with a new cast of players.