The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the ALDS for the first time since 2016, and the schedule has already been released.

With the Blue Jays winning the AL East division crown, they have secured a bye through the MLB’s Wild Card round that is set to start on Tuesday. That means they will play the winner of the upcoming WC series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

No matter what happens there, the schedule for the ALDS has already been released by the MLB and will begin on Saturday at the Rogers Centre. First pitch times have yet to be determined.
mlb postseason bracket

The road to the World Series goes through New York or Boston (MLB.com)

Toronto will host the first two games of the best-of-five series as well as a definitive Game 5 if needed. The full schedule looks like this:

Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4 at Toronto
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 5 at Toronto
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 7 at New York/Boston
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 8 at New York/Boston
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 10 at Toronto

The added rest will help the Blue Jays prepare for the postseason in numerous ways. Manager John Schneider will now have more flexibility with a rested pitching staff, the team will have home-field advantage, and, most importantly, it will give players like Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt time to recover from injuries.

This will also be the first playoff series between the Blue Jays and either the Red Sox or Yankees, which is sure to be good no matter who it ends up being. The last two times Toronto has played in the ALDS (back in 2015 and 2016), they faced the Texas Rangers on both occasions.

Though the extra rest is sure to help the team out, Blue Jays fans will be itching to get the postseason underway as soon as possible.

Lead photo by

Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images