O, Canada. The St. Louis Cardinals have crossed the border in search of some badly-needed momentum and Toronto just might be a great place to find it as the Blue Jays are reeling. But, if you look at both teams on paper, the Cardinals will need to find their A-game to win the series against the Blue Jays.
Here are the scheduled pitching matchups according to MLB.com:
Friday night – Kyle Leahy vs Dylan Cease
Saturday afternoon – Quinn Matthews vs Kevin Gausman
Sunday afternoon – Michael McGreevy vs Max Scherzer
It’s no secret that Dylan Cease is an all-star with a 7-5 win-loss record and a 2.46 ERA. His last 7 games he’s 4-2 and his last outing was a complete game win against Boston on July 25. Kevin Gausman, on the other hand, is struggling. He’s 4-10 overall and 0-6 in his last half dozen starts. His ERA is a hefty 4.51 and his last start was a loss against the Red Sox where he pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs. The Max Scherzer of 2026 is not the Max Scherzer of past seasons. Max is 1-4 with a stratospheric 9.49 ERA. He’s 0-2 in his last 3 starts with his last outing being a start where he didn’t make it past the 3rd inning.
For the St. Louis Cardinals, the real excitement this weekend is the MLB debut of Quinn Matthews. His start Saturday afternoon will be must-see TV.
Who are the Toronto Blue Jays players to watch?
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Tuesday’s game versus the Washington Nationals with hamstring tightness. Even when in the lineup, he has not been the same player we’ve come to know over the years as he’s batting .265 with just 6 home runs and none in his home ballpark.
Kazuma Okamoto leads the Blue Jays with 24 home runs, 68 RBI’s and an average of .231.
George Springer has 12 home runs with just 34 RBI’s and a slug of .403.
Second baseman Ernie Clement is tops for the Blue Jays in batting average as he’s hitting .294 as of today. He also has 8 home runs and 35 RBI’s.
Centerfielder Daulton Varsho has 7 home runs, 26 RBI’s and a batting average of just .247.
The Toronto Blue Jays are in the cellar of the American League East 14.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays and 5.5 games back in the Wild Card with 5 other teams between them and the final WC spot. They’ve lost 6 of their last 10 games and their clubhouse is showing the strain of underperformance. Veteran pitcher Kevin Gausman noted on the Deep Left Field podcast that the team is “not nearly as close-knit” as they were last year. All-Star Ernie Clement pointed out that the team sorely misses the intangible leadership and personality traits of players that left like Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt.
This weekend’s series against the Blue Jays should be an opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals to find some positive momentum, but the trade deadline looms. How many on the Cardinals roster will make the trip to New York once the Toronto series is done? We’ll find out soon enough.
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