With the American League East title out of reach, the Jays and Red Sox, who open a three-game series in Toronto on Friday, must be satisfied with battling for second place.
The Blue Jays trail the second-place Red Sox by 11/2 games and are hoping to finishing higher than third for the first time since winning the East in 1993 en route to a World Series title.
''We've been stuck in that third-place rut for years now,'' said manager John Gibbons, whose team has finished in third place in seven of the last eight seasons.
Six months ago, both the Jays and Red Sox were optimistic about challenging the New York Yankees, who wrapped up their ninth straight AL East crown earlier this week.
Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi spent oodles of cash in the off-season, luring big-name free agents like A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan to Toronto.
The deep-pocketed Red Sox, with stars Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett in tow, also figured to give the hated Yankees a run for their money.
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Jays, Sox vie for 2nd place
Jays, Sox vie for 2nd place
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