After winning two out of three games against the Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals to begin a pivotal nine-game road trip, the Toronto Blue Jays were looking to finish off the trip against the Athletics with another series win.After splitting the first two games in West Sacramento, the Blue Jays dropped the rubber game on Wednesday afternoon, 2-0, in a game where they were held to six hits by five Athletics pitchers. It was a disappointing end to a road trip where Toronto would have had a different feeling if they went 6-3 rather than 5-4. As the Blue Jays flew home, they got some good news when the Baltimore Orioles used an eight-run third inning to beat the Guardians, 9-5, to ensure that Toronto wouldn't lose any more ground in the compacted American League wild-card race and remained one game back. After the loss to the Athletics, veteran George Springer didn't mince words about the upcoming stretch over the next two-plus weeks that will determine Toronto's playoff fate.George Springer Drops Blunt Answer About Blue Jays Playoff HopesToronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer Credit: William Purnell | Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectTeams will look back at the end of the regular season if they miss the playoffs and wonder what might have been if they had won one more game. That could be the case from Wednesday's loss to the Athletics. However, given how bad and frustrating the season has been this season, Springer believes Toronto is still in a good spot.“We’re right there,” Springer said, per Theo DeRosa of MLB.com. “All you want is a chance in September.”After Toronto allowed single runs to the Athletics in the third and fourth innings, Springer pinch-hit for Nathan Lukes in the eighth inning and flew out on a deep fly ball. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a deep shot of his own, but it fell short. A little further by both players and the Blue Jays are going to extra innings. However, it was icing on the cake of a frustrating day in Northern California.Going back to Springer's quote, he's correct: all you want is a chance in September and Toronto has that. They return home for a six-game homestand against the Orioles and Detroit Tigers. After a six-game road trip against the Texas Rangers and Orioles, the Blue Jays close out the regular season at home with three games against the Cincinnati Reds. The third and final AL wild-card spot is well within reach; now it's just a matter of going out and taking it.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow