The battle for the true AL East titan starts here? The Toronto Blue Jays were the deserving AL East champ in the regular season and it was their first division title since 2015. They had the same 94-68 record as the Yankees -- tied for the best record in the AL -- but won the division based on winning the season series, eight games to five.
With that tiebreaker came the bye. The Jays rested up this past week while the Yankees had to battle the Red Sox in a tough three-game series in the Bronx. They prevailed, though, and we get to see a Yankees-Blue Jays playoff series. If that sounds rare to you, it is. In fact, this is the first-ever playoff meeting between the two AL East foes.
Yankees: The Yankees will look to avoid using their bullpen as much as they can and that's the area for opponents to exploit. It looks like Luis Gil will be the starting pitcher after the Yankees burnt Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Cam Schlittler in the Wild Card Series. The Yankees have a ton of offensive firepower, but only scored nine runs in three games with two homers in the first round. They'll be looking to bust loose here.
Blue Jays: The Blue Jays have the advantage in this one due to getting to start whichever pitcher they want while the Yankees have to use their No. 4 starter. The high-powered Blue Jays offense led the AL in batting average and on-base percentage in the regular season and will look to take advantage.
The Yankees have better starting pitching once we get past Game 1. Both offenses are outstanding. We might see some high-scoring games with light-tower power on display. Ultimately, I'll take the team with more home run power, but it's going to be very close.
Yankees in 5.[
www.cbssports.com]
