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August 2 Gameday: Blue Jays turn to Max Scherzer looking for series sweep against St. Louis

Photo credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

By Michael Coyle

Aug 2, 2026, 11:40 EDTUpdated: Aug 2, 2026, 11:54 EDT

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The Toronto Blue Jays are looking for their first sweep since the first series of the season, when they opened the year by taking three straight from the Athletics.

After winning the series finale in Washington on Wednesday, then taking two straight from the St. Louis Cardinals, the Blue Jays find themselves riding a three-game winning streak that has pushed them to a 52-59 record.

The Blue Jays now sit 3.5 games out of the American League’s final Wild Card spot and have gone from looking like automatic sellers to a team that could continue on this path to try to make a late-season run.

On Sunday, Max Scherzer will start for the Blue Jays in what will be his second outing since being activated off the injured list on July 27. In Scherzer’s first start in the majors in over a month, the 42-year-old turned in a pitching line of 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K and was forced to throw 75 pitches before being lifted for Mason Fluharty.

While it wasn’t the cleanest outing, Scherzer showed his toughness by battling through his 2.2 frames and came out healthy, allowing him to make his scheduled start in the rotation. Through seven starts this season, Scherzer is 1-4 with a 9.49 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. The future Hall of Famer has struck out 18 batters over his 24.2 innings but has allowed opponents to hit .307 against him.

Countering Scherzer for the Cardinals will be left-hander Matthew Liberatore. Through 21 starts this season, Liberatore is 5-8 with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The 26-year-old has struck out 100 batters over his 102.2 innings pitched but has been hit hard, highlighted by an opponents’ average of .296.

In his most recent outing on July 27 against the Chicago Cubs, Liberatore turned in a pitching line of 3.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. While there was a ton of traffic on the basepaths, the 26-year-old was able to limit some of the damage.

While no Blue Jays player has more than six at-bats off Liberatore, the small sample size has gone in Toronto’s favour. Ernie Clement is 3-for-5 off the lefty with one home run and one RBI. The 2026 All-Star is batting .292 with eight home runs, 35 RBIs, and has picked up 10 hits over his last 10 contests.

Here’s how the lineups look for the series finale at Rogers Centre:

Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Ontario

First Pitch: 1:37 PM EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590