The Toronto Blue Jays will look to achieve something they haven’t done since late March: sweep a series.

They haven’t swept a series since their season opener against the Athletics, taking all three against the American Leauge East team. Now, they’ve had their chances this season, taking the first two against the Los Angeles Angels in both of their series against the team, but losing the third and final game in both series.

Once again, the Blue Jays positioned themselves to potentially earn a sweep Sunday afternoon, after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 6-2 on Friday, then 5-2 on Saturday.

The latter was the more impressive victory, as they scored four runs off Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young winner. On the Jays side, Patrick Corbin threw six one-run innings with seven strikeouts and 15 whiffs, eight more than Skenes’ total from the game.

Getting six innings from the back-end of the rotation is important for the long-term health of their bullpen, especially with an upcoming bullpen day. The good news is that Dylan Cease has also given the Blue Jays length in recently.

Cease’s most recent start was on May 19th against the New York Yankees, giving up five earned runs, as well as his second and third home runs of the season as he struck out nine. That snapped three consecutive games where he pitched seven innings, giving just four earned runs in that span.

Heading into this game, the right-handed pitcher had a 2.98 ERA and 2.30 FIP in 57.1 innings pitched over his first 10 starts, with a 35.1 K% and 10.5 BB%. Cease will have a chance to get back on track against a swing-happy team, as the Pirates’ 482 strikeouts are the third-most in the big leagues.

Starting for the Pirates is Mitch Keller, a pitcher that the Jays had success against last season. Over just three and one-third innings, the Jays scored five earned runs on seven hits and three walks, striking out four times. It was just the second start of his career against the Jays, having gone six innings of one-hit ball when the two teams matched up in Toronto in 2024.

Keller, a right-handed pitcher, enters this game with a 3.86 ERA and 3.50 FIP in 58.1 innings pitched over his 10 starts. If the season were to end today, both his ERA and FIP would be the best marks of his career, but he’s also rocking a career-low 17.7 K%. Patience is the name of the game for the Blue Jays on Sunday.

With a righty on the mound, the Jays will have several left-handed hitters in the lineup, including Daulton Varsho in the two-hole. The outfielder has been on-fire this month, slashing .324/.403/.471 with a home run in 77 plate appearances since May 3rd.

Yohendrick Piñango returns to cleanup duties after going 2-3 on Saturday, hitting his fourth double in the process. Jesús Sánchez bats fifth again, and he also went 2-3 on Saturday, but with two doubles. Andrés Giménez bats eighth and is playing shortstop, while switch-hitting catcher Brandon Valenzuela hits ninth.

George Springer has gotten hot in his last six games, hitting three of his five home runs this season, as well as two doubles. On Saturday, he hit his 65th career lead-off home run, as well as double. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needs to start hitting extra-base hits, as he bats third. Kazuma Okamoto returns to the lineup and bats sixth, while MLB doubles leader Ernie Clement bats seventh.

Let’s set up Sunday’s series finale as the Blue Jays look to complete the sweep!

Toronto Blue Jays – Dylan Cease: 3-2 record, 2.98 ERA, 57.1 IP, 84 SO, 25 BB

Pittsburgh Pirates – Mitch Keller:  4-2 record, 3.86 ERA, 58.1 IP, 41 SO, 16 BB