These Blue Jays would've beaten the Red Sox, too

"When the Wild Card round was happening, all I wanted was for the Sox to beat the Yankees. For the sake of the rivalry and the 20+ years of beating them in the postseason since the Evil Empire days, I was completely content with getting swept in the ALDS. I had-and have-a very real feeling that had we made it to the ALDS,"

"There were flaws with our one postseason roster, certainly, with injured players missing in action (namely Lucas Giolito and Roman Anthony) and a young core who hadn't ever been to the postseason struggling under the bright lights, whether in the batter's box or in the outfield. (There was that Nathaniel Lowe error also, but he's beside my point.) The current Blue Jays core has, for the most part, seen postseason action,"

"They're able to put the ball in play relentlessly and drive in runners on base, while the Red Sox had trouble with runners in scoring position all season. Their starters and bullpen got through a homer-heavy Yankees lineup. And while they had an error filled-game like we did, their timing was better; it was Game 3, when they were still up 2-1 afterward in a 5 game series."

During the Wild Card round, the priority was for the Red Sox to beat the Yankees and preserve the long postseason rivalry even at the cost of a quick ALDS exit. There was confidence that a matchup with the Blue Jays would likely result in a swift series loss, due to Boston’s injured players and inexperienced core. Key absences included Lucas Giolito and Roman Anthony, and young players struggled under postseason pressure. The Blue Jays' core has postseason experience, emphasizes contact hitting, and executes situational offense. Praise from analysts highlighted Toronto’s return to traditional baseball, while Boston needs health and targeted offseason moves to close the gap.

Read at Over the Monster