Playoff Spots & Major Awards On The Line in Two Huge Series

Six games to play in the season. Three playoff spots and two major individual awards could be determined this week, beginning with two huge head-to-head series over the course of the next three days.

AL Wild Card:

In the American League, the New York Yankees are at the Rogers Centre to face the Toronto Blue Jays for three games. The Yanks lead the Jays by two games for the 1st Wild Card spot, and they lead the Boston Red Sox by one game. 

The Blue Jays are in desperate need of a sweep to take back control of their own destiny. With the Red Sox facing last-place teams in their final six (and the Mariners looming just a half-game back), a sweep might be the only door into the playoffs for Toronto. 

But three individual players have big stakes on the line as well:

AL Cy Young Award:

The New York/Toronto series is also a meeting between the two top contenders for pitching's top honor. The favorite (according to the betting lines) is the Jays' Robbie Ray. At 13-6, 2.68 ERA, Ray starts in the 3rd game of this critical set, while the current underdog, Gerrit Cole, starts the 2nd game of the series. A big-time performance by one, and a middling outing by the other could swing this race for good.

AL MVP:

Blue Jays' first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. is still a longshot to take the MVP from overwhelming favorite Shohei Ohtani, but a huge series and a huge week by Vlad to lead the Jays into a playoff spot could still swing a lot of ballots. Many voters do believe that team success should play a major role in determining an award like this.  

NL East Division Title:

The Atlanta Braves lead the Philadelphia Phillies by 2.5 games as they get set to host three at Truist Park. The Phillies absolutely must have a sweep if they want to make it to the postseason. 

And the first game is a whopper of a pitching matchup: Zach Wheeler for the Phils is 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA. Big-game Charlie Morton is on the mound for the Braves. He's 13-6 and has pitched so many huge games like this in his career he's probably lost count. 

So much on the line this week around the majors, and so much of it will be focused on these two locales. 

Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports