Toronto Blue Jays: 3 keys to beating Tampa Bay Rays

The Toronto Blue Jays now know their first-round playoff opponent and it presents a favourable matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.

For the first time since 2016, the Toronto Blue Jays will look to capture some of that October magic and attempt a run in the 2020 postseason.

There was a lot of skepticism going into this season considering the issues presented by COVID-19 and the Blue Jays didn’t even have a ballpark to start the season. However, with the expanded playoffs presented a unique opportunity, this was an opportunity Toronto had to take advantage of.

While they finished as the eighth seed in the American League, they did have a chance to move into the fifth spot if they beat the Baltimore Orioles. While that’s usually seen as an advantage, the Blue Jays might have actually benefited considering they will go up against the Tampa Bay Rays instead of the Cleveland Indians.

There aren’t many teams that would want to take on the top seed going into the playoffs but in the Blue Jays’ case, there are many benefits. Firstly, this is a team Toronto is very familiar with and while they had a losing record against Tampa Bay in the regular season (4-6) they were all really close games.

Between now and first pitch on Tuesday, there are still some questions that remain for Toronto and we will look at some of keys to beating the Rays.