It has been 22 years since the Toronto Blue Jays last saw action in the MLB postseason, when Joe Carter connected on a memorable ninth-inning, three-run walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series to clinch the Jays' second consecutive championship.
But with the most explosive offense in the majors and a young pitching staff that is beginning to show signs of coming together, this season may mark Toronto's return to October baseball.
Entering the final days of June, the Blue Jays find themselves in the thick of a tight race in the AL East standings, just one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles, and a solid 20/1 bet in World Series online betting.
Toronto has been particularly strong at Rogers Centre, taking the American League's third-best home record into a four-game series with the rival Boston Red Sox to wrap up a strong June.
However, with the 2015 Pan-Am Games taking center stage in Toronto in July, the Blue Jays face a stretch of 16 road contests in 19 games that will likely determine whether they can truly be considered contenders this year.
The Jays commence their trek with a visit to Detroit where they face the Tigers for three games over the Fourth of July weekend.
The Tigers have struggled since opening the season with strong 16/1 online betting odds to capture their first World Series since 1984, with the club's pitching staff amassing a mediocre 4.05 ERA, while opposing batter have hit a solid .258.
Conversely, Toronto leads the majors in runs scored by a wide margin, and has defeated the Tigers in five of their last six meetings, including a series sweep at Comerica Park a year ago.
Detroit is also just 5-5 in their last 10 heading into the final days of June, and need to find wins to avoid losing any more ground to the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals. The Blue Jays follow up with a four games in Chicago against the struggling White Sox.
It has been a long year for the basement-dwelling White Sox, who sit a full 10 games below .500 ahead of their two-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals to wrap up June.
The White Sox rank 28th in the majors in runs scored and 14th in the AL in team ERA, and surrendered 19 runs to the Blue Jays while losing two of three in Toronto last month.
The Jays face the toughest test of their upcoming journey when they travel to Kansas City for four games against the Royals immediately preceding the MLB All-Star Game.
The defending AL champion Royals have not set the world on fire with their bats, scoring over 100 fewer runs than Toronto this season. But with strong pitching and an ability to manufacture runs, they have taken five of their last eight against the Jays.
Following a three-game home set against the Rays, the Jays head west for a pair of three-game battles against the lowly Oakland A's and underachieving Seattle Mariners, who have tumbled to 50/1 in World Series betting after opening their campaign with promising 12/1 odds.
With just 16 wins in their first 37 road contests this season, the Blue Jays have been far from road warriors.
But with 12 of their upcoming 16 road contests coming against teams below them in the standings, the hard-hitting Jays have a golden opportunity to set themselves apart from the crowd at the top of the AL East, and earn a shot at the franchise's third World Series championship.
