Two months ago, the Blue Jays arrived at Tropicana Field for Opening Day against the Rays still not knowing where they’d call home for the rest of the summer.

Today, after a challenging season that eventually saw them settle into their Triple-A ballpark at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, the Blue Jays will be back in St. Petersburg to make their first postseason appearance since 2016. This isn’t exactly the path Toronto planned to follow to get here, but the end result is still just where they expected to be.

This young Blue Jays roster has been confident since Day 1 of Spring Training all the way back in February, when their belief that they could compete in 2020 seemed optimistic. A shortened season and an expanded playoff format changed those realities, though, and the Blue Jays earned their No. 8 seed in the American League with a 32-28 record.

Toronto won four of its 10 games against the Rays this season, but manager Charlie Montoyo, who spent nearly two decades with the Rays' organization before coming to Toronto, says his team wants another shot.

“They might be the best team in the American League, so they’re looking forward to the challenge and I love that about our kids,” Montoyo said.

It’s been a while for these two teams, though. The Blue Jays last faced the Rays on Aug. 24 at the end of a series they split two games apiece.

“For once, we’re healthy,” Montoyo said. “That’s great. That was my goal these last three days, that everyone would come out healthy, and they did. Now, we’ve got all of the kids here. They’ll be ready to play on Tuesday. That was my main goal and I feel good about that.”

How do they advance out of the Wild Card Series?
It’s hard to envision the Blue Jays advancing past their first series without getting a win from Hyun Jin Ryu, who will pitch in Game 2 of the series with Matt Shoemaker getting the nod in the opener. While the Blue Jays are fully capable of taking this series from the Rays, a No. 8 seed needs to do everything right when they’re playing a No. 1 seed, and that starts with their ace.

With this strategy, the Blue Jays are prioritizing two wins regardless of which order they come in. If they drop Game 1, then Ryu is there to keep them alive. If they win Game 1 with Shoemaker on the mound, then Ryu gets a shot to carry them to the American League Division Series. Shoemaker's outing is expected to feature a heavy bullpen plan behind his start, which could be as short as three innings, but Ryu is expected to have the reins taken off. 

Ryu’s contribution should be the easy part, given how well the veteran left-hander has pitched of late, but the Blue Jays’ lineup will need to get something going against the Rays’ starters early. This young group of hitters has understandably struggled against aces recently, and while Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow aren’t Gerrit Cole or Jacob deGrom, they still present a serious challenge.

The last time Snell saw the Blue Jays, he struck out nine batters over 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hitting a solo home run off of him. The Blue Jays haven’t seen Glasnow this season, but with a fastball averaging 96.9 mph, according to Statcast, and 91 strikeouts over 57 1/3 innings, he’s not going to be a comfortable matchup for anyone.

This means that the Blue Jays might need to win a low-scoring game, which hasn’t exactly been in their comfort zone. The Blue Jays were the kings of one-run games earlier this season, with seemingly every night coming down to the final inning, but a 2-1 or 3-2 pitchers' duel was rarely the case.

What does the blueprint for a championship run look like?
Ryu should be the Blue Jays’ “sure thing,” but their rotation depth behind Ryu is still unclear if they reach a longer series. For now, they'll line up Shoemaker and Ryu, with Taijuan Walker slated to start a potential Game 3 in the Wild Card Series.

Robbie Ray has looked great at times, but leads Major League Baseball in walks and is still a risk to lose the zone entirely, which would put a great deal of stress on the bullpen. Tanner Roark has struggled all season long while Chase Anderson and Ross Stripling are currently being used out of the bullpen, too. Toronto has a wealth of multi-inning bullpen arms, which has been at the heart of their pitching strategy in 2020, but this staff could really be relied upon to help Shoemaker, Ryu and Walker over the course of a five- or seven-game series. Toronto has never hesitated to lean on that bullpen, though, and how the Blue Jays map out Shoemaker's start in Game 1 could offer a much clearer picture of their strategy.

Beyond their pitching, the Blue Jays need to hit for power. This isn’t a lineup that has strung hits together all that often in 2020, and while they’re certainly showing more on-base potential than recent Blue Jays teams, this lineup does its best work when it’s delivering the big blows.

Nobody is confusing the Blue Jays for the Dodgers, as they still have plenty of development ahead of them, so they’ll need their best players to take over games at times. This means Bo Bichette, who is still getting his timing back after missing a chunk of the season with a right knee injury, and Teoscar Hernández, who also missed time with a left oblique injury, but has been one of the breakout hitters of 2020. From top to bottom, this lineup can hit for power. They’ll need all hands on deck.

What is one reason for concern?
The Blue Jays are a very young team, and at times, that’s exactly what they’ve looked like.

Baserunning blunders and fundamental defensive errors have been a major theme for the Blue Jays this season, which they’ve somehow managed to overcome more often than not. Especially through the middle portion of their season, it wasn’t uncommon to see the Blue Jays make two or three head-scratching plays, but still manage to come back late and steal the win. That won’t be as easy in the playoffs.

With stronger opponents rolling out their best pitchers, games will tighten up. In a 4-3 or 6-5 game, those errors will be much more magnified. Montoyo has preached a cleaner brand of baseball all season long and his club has started to turn the corner in some regards, but it’s still been too common.

The danger zone for the Blue Jays could be when an opponent tries to play small ball against them. We’ve seen Vladimir Guerrero Jr. make several incorrect reads this season as he adapts to first base, and he’s broken in or to his right on a few balls where he should have stayed by the bag. Toronto will need its offense to click if it hopes to make a deep run, but none of that will matter if they’re giving away free runs.