September 13 Gameday: Dylan Cease takes the mound as Blue Jays look for series victory over Orioles
Photo credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Sep 13, 2026, 12:30 EDT
With each passing day, the stakes only rise for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Following Saturday’s 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, coupled with the Cleveland Guardians’ loss against the Minnesota Twins, the Blue Jays sit 1.0 game back of those Guardians for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Currently with a one game edge over the Orioles, a win on Sunday would push their season-series record with Baltimore to 6-4 with three games remaining at Camden Yards later this month.
Looking for the series win on Sunday, the Blue Jays will turn to Dylan Cease for his 28th start of the season. Through 27 starts this year, Cease is 10-5 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The right-hander has struck out 227 batters across 161.1 innings pitched and has held opponents to a .177 average.
Cease is coming off an outing against the Athletics that was very uncharacteristic of what Blue Jays fans have come to expect. The 30-year-old turned in a pitching line of 5.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, in what was his worst outing dating back to June 27, when Cease was charged with the loss against the Texas Rangers.
Having spent the past two seasons in the National League with the San Diego Padres, Cease hasn’t faced many of these young Orioles, but he has done well in his career against Pete Alonso. Cease has held Alonso to a .182 average with one home run and three RBIs during his at-bats.
The AL leader in RBIs with 99, Alonso displayed his power on Saturday when he launched his 35th home run of the year off reliever Paul Sewald to make it a 6-3 ballgame.
Countering Cease for the Orioles is left-hander Trevor Rogers. Through 27 starts this season, Rogers is 10-9 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Rogers has struck out 138 batters across 151.2 innings pitched and been hit at a .252 clip.
Rogers will match up with the Blue Jays for the second time this season after squaring off with them back at Camden Yards on May 29. During that outing, Rogers had cruised through six shutout frames before the wheels came off in the top of the seventh. The Blue Jays went single, home run, double, home run to make it a 5-4 game and put a dent in Rogers’ pitching line, which finished 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Here is how the lineups look for the series finale in Toronto:
Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Ontario
First pitch: 1:37 p.m. ET
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet One, SN590
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Dylan Cease: 10-5 record, 2.40 ERA, 161.1 IP, 227 SO, 67 BB
Baltimore Orioles – Trevor Rogers: 10-9 record, 4.15 ERA, 151.2 IP, 138 SO, 37 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Brett Bateman – RF
- George Springer – DH
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
- Charles McAdoo – LF
- Ernie Clement – 2B
- Andrés Giménez – SS
- Brandon Valenzuela – C
- Myles Straw – CF
Orioles:
- Dylan Beavers – LF
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Coby Mayo – DH
- Samuel Basallo – C
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 3B
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
- Leody Tavares – RF
- Colton Cowser – CF
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Breaking News
- September 13 Gameday: Dylan Cease takes the mound as Blue Jays look for series victory over Orioles
- Denis Samudio impressed with Single-A Dunedin following his mid-season acquisition
- Instant Reaction: Blue Jays slug two home runs to even up series with Orioles
- September 12 Gameday: Blue Jays turn to bullpen day looking to bounce back Vs. Orioles
- Former Blue Jay Eric Lauer shifted to 60-day IL, ending 2026 season