Early clinch sets Blue Jays up for success ahead of ALCS

TORONTO — Most important of all, the Blue Jays made it through to another round.

They’re now one of MLB’s final four teams, about to play the Tigers or Mariners for the right to advance to their first World Series since 1993. That in itself is an accomplishment for a team that lost 88 games a year ago and hadn’t won a single playoff game in nine years.

But even beyond the obvious, the Blue Jays’ four-game win over the Yankees helps position them for further success in various smaller, harder-to-quantify ways.

Whether or not it was gamesmanship, Trey Yesavage and perhaps even Kevin Gausman were considered available in Game 4 of the ALDS, and both would almost certainly have pitched in a Game 5. But because the Blue Jays successfully navigated a bullpen game without that duo, they’re posi