MLB Standings: New York Yankees Surrender AL East Lead to Toronto Blue Jays

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Aug 13, 2015 02:43 PM EDT

Just like that, the Toronto Blue Jays have taken over sole possession of first place the American League East.

The Blue Jays have been on a remarkable hot streak lately, wining their last 10 consecutive games, and are now 63-52. With their latest victory over the Oakland Athletics, the Blue Jays are now half a game up on the Yankees, who are 61-51.

Many MLB experts credit the Blue Jays success to their incredible trade deadline additions. The Blue Jays were able to trade for Troy Tulowitzki and ace pitcher David Price. Some have gone as far as to say it was the greatest trade deadline of any team in MLB history. Since then, the Blue Jays have swept the Yankees and Minnesota Twins and are just one game away from sweeping the Athletics.

The Blue Jays are 7-2 against the Yankees so far this season with 10 more head-to-head games remaining.

Statistically speaking, the Blue Jays have the No. 1 offense in MLB with 611 runs scored. They also rank second in home runs, first in doubles, and first in slugging percentage. The Blue Jays pitching has improved dramatically over the last few weeks. At the beginning of July the Blue Jays' team ERA ranked outside the top 20, but today it ranks No. 14 in the league.

The Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs since their 1993 World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. They haven't even been able to hit the 90-win mark since that year. At the pace the Blue Jays are going on now, they will finish the season 89-73. The bottom line is, the Blue Jays control their own destiny going forward.

This is the latest into the season the Blue Jays have led the AL East since 1993, when they made their successful run towards the World Series.

As for the Yankees, it's been a tough road over the last two weeks. The Bronx Bombers are currently on a five game losing streak after dropping two in a row to the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees led the AL East for the majority of this season, but their slump combined with the Blue Jays surge has shifted the AL East standings.

General manager Brian Cashman has been criticized by many fans for not adding another quality starting pitcher like Johnny Cueto. CC Sabathia is having a terrible season, Masahiro Tanaka isn't staying consistently healthy, and the Yankees didn't add an ace. However, the Yankees pitching hasn't been their biggest problem lately.

The Yankees offense rank second in runs scored this season, but they're struggling big time over the last two weeks without much explanation. Alex Rodriguez's early season surprise feels like a distant memory, and he's starting to look like a 40-year-old hitter. Brett Gardner is the only Yankees player that has a batting average above .275, and he's only batting .281. Mark Teixeira, who has a team-leading 30 home runs, is now batting .259.

That's really the biggest issue with the Yankees right now. They are relying on the long ball too much. The Yankees rank third in home runs hit, but have dropped to 14th in batting average. They're simply not getting on base enough. Maybe re-signing Ichiro Suzuki would have been a good idea.

The Yankees have scored just nine runs in their last seven games.

The Yankees presently hold the first wild card spot ahead of the Los Angeles Angels, who are 59-54. The Tampa Bay Rays (58-56) sit just outside of the second wild card playoff spot.