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Blue Jays riding high atop AL East standings
TORONTO – With 55 victories and a two-game cushion atop the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays are on track for a worst-to-first rebound this season.
The team has had significant contributions from unexpected sources while some big names have not performed up to expectations. Injuries have also been an issue but backups have often shone with the opportunity.
Here’s a look at five things to watch ahead of the unofficial start of the second half of the season on Friday night.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Never mind the wild-card series. The Blue Jays are aiming for a top-two finish in the AL standings and a direct berth in the divisional round.
Entering Friday’s series opener against the visiting San Francisco Giants, Toronto is just one game behind the West Division-leading Houston Astros and 3 1/2 games behind the Central Division-leading Detroit Tigers.
If the post-season started today, Toronto would be the top wild-card seed and host the Seattle Mariners in a best-of-three play-in round.
The wild-card series has not been kind to Toronto in recent years. The Blue Jays, who missed the playoffs with a 74-88 record last season, were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays (2020), Seattle Mariners (2022) and Minnesota Twins (2023) in their last three post-season appearances.
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Toronto hasn’t won a playoff game since reaching the AL Championship Series in 2016.
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SPRING SURGE
After a mediocre start to the season, the Blue Jays have come on strong over the last two months.
Toronto has posted a 39-21 record (.650 winning percentage) since May 8 and has led the major leagues in several offensive categories over that stretch.
The Blue Jays have won 13 of their last 17 games and 29 of their last 42.
BATTER UP
Addison Barger, Eric Lauer, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and Brendon Little have emerged as key players for the Blue Jays this season.
Barger is second on the team with 13 homers while Lukes is hitting .276 with a .371 OBP. Clement has a .288 average and offers strong defence with positional versatility.
Lauer, meanwhile, has become a reliable member of the starting rotation. With a 4-2 record and 2.78 ERA, the journeyman southpaw helped filled the void when Max Scherzer was out with a thumb issue.
Little (4-1, 2.03 ERA) leads the squad with 45 appearances and has held opponents to a .184 average.
BIG GUNS
Bounce-back seasons from George Springer (.270 BA, 16 homers, 53 RBIs) and Bo Bichette (.282 BA, 12 homers, 53 RBIs) have helped restore some pop to Toronto’s offence.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who signed a 14-year, US$500-million extension in April, has been steady if unspectacular while Alejandro Kirk has blossomed in a full-time catcher role.
Those successes have helped mitigate some of the challenges the team has faced due to injury and underperformance.
Slugger Anthony Santander (shoulder) struggled mightily before landing on the injured list. Second baseman Andres Gimenez (ankle), centre-fielder Daulton Varsho (hamstring) and setup man Yimi Garcia (ankle) are some of the other notable names on the IL.
The Blue Jays could get a boost as early as next month if right-hander Alek Manoah (elbow surgery) continues his progression after elbow surgery. He finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
COMING UP
Toronto will close out its six-game homestand next week with a big three-game series against the second-place New York Yankees.
That will be followed by a four-game set in Detroit against the Tigers, who lead the major leagues at 59-38.
Blue Jays fans will also be keen to see if general manager Ross Atkins can swing some deals ahead of the MLB trade deadline on July 31.
Toronto will close out its regular season on Sept. 28 against Tampa Bay.
The Blue Jays have an 83.4-per cent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs projections. The website gives Toronto a 37.1-per cent chance of winning the East and a 4.6-per cent shot at winning its first World Series title since 1993.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Ontario’s solicitor general says the province is adding 150 beds to three jails across the province using modular construction.
Michael Kerzner made the announcement Thursday at the Niagara Detention Centre, which will expand by 50 spaces, as will the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton, and the Cecil Facer Youth Centre in Sudbury, which is also being converted to an adult facility.
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Construction is expected to begin next year and cost the province more than $180 million.
The announcement comes not long after the province’s ombudsman raised concerns about an overcrowding “crisis” in Ontario’s correctional facilities, saying some are operating at more than 150 per cent of their capacity, compromising safety for inmates and staff alike.
Premier Doug Ford has also recently been pushing the federal government for stricter bail laws and urging judges and justices of the peace not to let violent, repeat offenders out on bail when they are charged with a new crime.
Provincial jails hold people accused of a crime but not out on bail, as well as those serving sentences of two years less a day, but the vast majority fit into the first category and have not been convicted.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A driving instructor may need to go back to school after he was recently pulled over on route to work while under “the warn range,” according to police in Thunder Bay.
In a social media post on Wednesday, police said that a traffic officer pulled a car over at 9:40 a.m. after the person behind he wheel was allegedly driving without their seatbelt while talking on a cell phone.
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“Bad yes, but things get worse,” the post went on to say.
“The officer detected an alcoholic beverage on his breath, and a roadside breath sample was taken.”
Police said the sample came back in the ‘warn range’ of 50-80 mg alcohol, which meant the driver receieved a three-day licence suspension.
According to Ontario’s website, the warn range is when someone has a blood alcohol concentration between 0.05-0.079 and requires an immediate three-day suspension and a $250 fine for first-time offenders.
If someone has a blood alcohol concentration over .08, they are considered impaired and the penalties increase.
The driving instructor was also ticketed for using a cellphone and not wearing a seatbelt.
“He will not be conducting any driving lessons today,” the post concluded.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Daytime temperatures from Windsor, Ontario, to St. John’s, Newfoundland, are going to remain hot a little longer.
Environment Canada has several heat warnings in effect this morning, along a 2,400-kilometre stretch of southeastern Canada.
The warnings forecast daytime highs in some areas between 31 and 34 degrees Celsius — with a humidex of 37 to 42.
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As with any heat warning, it is recommended that people watch for the early signs of heat exhaustion and check in with vulnerable family and friends to ensure their well-being.
For residents in Southern Ontario and southern Quebec, the heat wave is expected to start cooling off later today or this evening, while farther east the warmer weather will likely linger into Friday.
There was also one heat warning posted for the Northwest Territories — in the Hay River region — with highs forecast to reach 28 to 31.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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