For a season that is down to 17 remaining games, the Blue Jays still have plenty of business to take care of beyond the present task of earning the best possible playoff position.

Top of mind (and discussion) is locking up the American League East title for the first time since 2015.

Then there is gaining one of the top two seeds in the AL to, at all costs, avoid the wild-card round that has been so humiliating in their three most recent playoff appearances.

But perhaps most importantly, is the concept of playing better and more consistently to charge into the post-season with some tangible momentum.

A gutting 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre was the latest evidence of uneven play through a 40-game stretch in which the Jays are 20-20, even if it came with yet another near miraculous comeback against the NL West-leading Astros.

Despite the setback, the Jays did not lose any ground atop the AL East as both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox also lost on Wednesday to remain three games back.

After scoring a pair of runs in the eighth to tie it at 2-2, closer Jeff Hoffman surrendered a solo homer to Yainer Diaz in the ninth to spoil what had the makings of something special.

So, yes, despite the relative security of their spot in the standings and despite the unyielding competitiveness the team continues to show, there is definitely an urgency to start heating up.

“I think that’s a real thing, that history has shown, that when you’re playing good at the right time, it matters,” Jays manager John Schneider said prior to Wednesday’s game. “I think momentum is a real thing so you definitely want to be playing well at the right time.”

Schneider is well aware that his team needs to be sharper in a few areas as the playoffs approach and to do so without shortstop Bo Bichette in the lineup for what sure sounds like weeks rather than days.

The absence of Bichette was certainly in evidence on Wednesday when the Jays’ lightweight attack could get little going early on before a midweek crowd of 36,760.

That throng was finally roused in the eighth when Ernie Clement mashed a ball to deep left field that was just inches beyond the foul pole for what would have been a game-tying, two-run homer. Clement would strike out, but four Jays singles later would tie it up and set the stage for a thriller.

Meanwhile, when it comes to bringing the heat into October, the most recent model for the Jays in that regard would be the 2015 team that won the wild-card over Baltimore (back when the single-game format was in play), swept the Texas Rangers in the ALDS before losing to the Royals in the ALCS.

That team, of course, was on fire for the second half of the season, going 40-16 in its final 56 games. Entering Wednesday’s game, the Jays were 20-19 dating back to July 27. In that same stretch of the schedule, the 2015 the record was 29-10.

“I think just trying to say as present as you can and I think this group is really good at it,” Schneider said of the task between now and season’s end. “That and ironing some things out as you see fit, whether it’s something on the bases, approach, limiting walks, things like that.

“It’s our job as a staff to stay ahead of those things. If there’s a couple games stretch where it doesn’t look the way it should, you address it.”

With this many games remaining and positions on the line, the present is primary. But there’s nothing wrong with working to hit peak form three weeks from now.

“I think you just take care of business from the standpoint of what you need to do to get yourself ready for right now,” Hoffman said before allowing his 15th homer of the season. “You’d like to have all your little tinkering and issue solving to be done at the right time and obviously that’s sooner than later.

“You want to be in your best position when you need to be in your best position.”

There’s work to do in that regard, including Hoffman. And the closer the Jays get to the post-season, the more pressing the improvements will become.

GAME ON

For the second consecutive night, the Jays offence was sleepy in the early going, this time without a rousing comeback. Astros starter Jason Alexander limited the Jays to just three hits through seven innings, facing the minimum from the third inning on … Jays starter Jose Berrios was steady enough in his 5.1 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. The biggest damage came on the final batter he faced, Carlos Correa, who hit his 200th career homer on a rope over the wall in left field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

WHAT ABOUT HOFFMAN?

Manager Schneider vowed to stand behind Hoffman, even as his propensity to surrender home runs continues.

“For him, I feel like a broken record,” Schneider said. “It’s just one bad pitch. The home runs are obviously going to hurt you … he’s got good stuff. Still trust him.

“He’s been throwing the ball really well.”

That said, Hoffman has allowed 15 homers in his 62.1 innings of work this season, a trend that is likely to haunt the Jays – or at least worry them – in the stretch drive and beyond.