The surging Toronto Blue Jays begin a six-game homestand with a mini-series against the short-handed St. Louis Cardinals at Rogers Centre.
Toronto has won six in a row and is now 7-1 under interim manager John Schneider.
The win streak has pushed the Blue Jays into the top wild-card spot in the American League, one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are clinging to the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.
Here’s a look at the series.
Probable pitchers
Tuesday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Jose Berrios (7-4, 5.22 ERA) vs. St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (3-4, 3.34 ERA)
Wednesday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman (7-7, 3.00 ERA) vs. St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (6-8, 3.40 ERA)
(Both games on Sportsnet)
Latest on the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (53-43) are coming off an impressive three-game sweep of the AL East rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Toronto outscored Boston 40-10 in the series, highlighted by a franchise record run total in a 28-5 win in the opener.
Raimel Tapia was the offensive star of the series, hitting a bizarre inside-the-park grand slam in the opener before connecting for a bases-clearing triple in Sunday’s finale – an 8-4 win.
Not only did the sweep push the Blue Jays to the top of the wild-card standings, it lowered Boston’s mark to .500 and might make the Red Sox think long and hard about being sellers at the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
Latest on the Cardinals
The Cardinals (51-46) dropped two of three in Cincinnati against the lowly Reds over the weekend.
A playoff team the last three years, the Cardinals now are in some danger of falling out of the post-season picture.
Canadian Joey Votto had the big blow against the Cardinals in the Reds’ 6-3 win on Sunday, connecting for a three-run homer.
The Cardinals finished the day with just three hits.
Meanwhile, Cardinals left-hander and former Blue Jay Steven Matz suffered a torn left MCL on Saturday after fielding a grounder. His return date is up in the air.
Cardinals missing key players
Another series in Toronto, another short-handed opponent for the Blue Jays because of COVID-19 vaccine rules at the border.
Three Cardinals players won’t make the trip because they are unvaccinated – all-stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado and backup catcher Austin Romine.
It’s a big break for the Blue Jays – especially when you consider that Goldschmidt has homered in each of the past four games.
He also had a walk-off grand slam in a Cardinals win over Toronto back in May in St. Louis.
In Toronto’s last home series, the Kansas City Royals were missing a whopping 10 players because of vaccine rules.
Of course, it should be noted the Blue Jays essentially can’t have an unvaccinated player – as they would not be eligible for half the team’s games because vaccine rules are almost identical when crossing into the U.S.
The biggest star is coming, though
Cardinals legend Albert Pujols will make his final appearance in Toronto.
The 42-year-old Pujols, who is retiring at season’s end, made it to the semifinals of the Home Run Derby last week.
Pujols pinch-hit Sunday for his 3,026th major-league appearance, tying Stan Musial and Eddie Murray for sixth on the career list.
Season series
The Blue Jays split a mini-series in St. Louis in May, using the same two starters in Berrios and Gausman.
Berrios gave up three runs in 6.1 innings and had a no-decision in the opener (a 7-3 loss in 10 innings), while Gausman got the win in the finale (an 8-1 victory), allowing no runs on four hits in six innings.
Canadian connection
Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill gets to play in his home country this week.
The native of Burnaby, B.C. drove in five runs in the series against the Reds.
O’Neill is hitting .302 over his last 15 games.
Up next
The Blue Jays complete the homestand with four games against the Detroit Tigers.
Before Tuesday’s game, Schneider said the Blue Jays could go with Yusei Kikuchi as starter for Thursday’s series opener against the Tigers after he had a rehab outing for triple-A Buffalo last week.
Kikuchi was struggling badly before going on the injured list with a neck strain earlier this month.
