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July 31 Gameday: Blue Jays open series against St. Louis with Dylan Cease on the mound

Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

By Michael Coyle

Jul 31, 2026, 17:20 EDTUpdated: Jul 31, 2026, 18:24 EDT

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The Toronto Blue Jays have three games remaining until Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on Monday.

Fresh off a series victory over the Washington Nationals that saw the Blue Jays improve their record to 50-59, they will now turn their attention to the St. Louis Cardinals as they look to try to run down the American League’s final Wild Card spot.

Currently sitting 5.5 games back, and needing to pass six teams in the playoff picture, the Blue Jays face long odds with 53 games to go. FanGraphs gives the Blue Jays a 7.1% chance to make the postseason, so if the Blue Jays have any ideas of returning to the playoffs for a second straight year, they are going to need to get hot.

To open the series, the Blue Jays will hand the ball to Dylan Cease as he looks to follow up what was a masterful performance in his most recent start against the Boston Red Sox. During that outing, Cease tossed a complete game and allowed only one hit and three walks while striking out 12 Red Sox on 120 pitches.

After being signed to a seven-year, $210 million contract in December, Cease has given the Blue Jays ace-type outings almost every time he takes the mound. Through 19 starts, Cease is 7-5 with a 2.46 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Over his 113.1 innings, Cease has struck out 167 batters, the third-most in MLB, and has held opponents to a .186 average.

While not many Cardinals hitters have much experience against Cease, one player who has seen him well throughout his career is Iván Herrera. Herrera is 4-for-7 off Cease with two RBIs and a 1.428 OPS. For the season, the 26-year-old is batting .246 with 12 home runs, 46 RBIs, and currently in the midst of a hot stretch, having batted .310 over his past seven games.

Countering Cease for the Cardinals will be right-hander Kyle Leahy. After serving as a reliever for his first three seasons with the Cardinals, Leahy was moved to the rotation in 2026, and the experiment has gone well to this point.

Through 20 starts this season, Leahy is 7-4 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Over his 101.1 innings pitched, the 29-year-old has struck out 88 batters, issued 34 walks, and allowed opponents to hit .262. Leahy has really found his stride in his past seven starts, having gone 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP across 37.1 innings pitched.

While the 2026 season hasn’t gone the way anyone would have liked for George Springer, the 36-year-old has found himself in a groove over these past few weeks. In his last 15 games, Springer is batting .288 with four home runs, 13 RBIs and has reached base at a .354 clip. On the year, Springer is batting .234 with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs, and could be of interest for a club looking to add a veteran to its lineup ahead of the 2026 trade deadline.

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

Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Ontario

First Pitch: 7:07 PM EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590