Interleague birds wrap a three-game series Sunday afternoon, as the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays (52–59, 5th AL East) have taken the first two games of the series and have won four of their last five contests. The Cardinals (54–57, 4th NL Central) have dropped three straight, extending their brutal second-half slide.
Looking at the pitching probables, we’ve got St. Louis southpaw Matthew Liberatore (5–8, 5.26 ERA) taking on Toronto right-hander Max Scherzer (1–4, 9.49 ERA).
First pitch is at 1:37 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays enter as slight -118 home favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, while the Cardinals sit at -102 on the moneyline. The game total is set at O/U nine runs.
Cardinals vs. Blue Jays Preview
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have stumbled out of the gates in the second half of 2026. Having dropped six of their last seven games, they’re a disheartening 4–12 since the break — second-worst in MLB behind the Phillies (3–10). The offense, albeit unlucky, has completely stalled, ranking dead-last in wRC+ and wOBA during that stretch. St. Louis will be hoping that a pair of multi-hit performances from Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson on Saturday can help stem the tide.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals’ pitching staff — primarily its bullpen — has struggled profusely, posting the sport’s ninth-highest ERA (4.34) since the break. Sunday’s starter, Matthew Liberatore, hasn’t done much to help the cause. The young southpaw, 26, is saddled with a swollen 5.26 ERA (5.13 xERA) and a 1.56 WHIP across 21 starts (102.2 IP) in 2026, ranking in the bottom one percent of hurlers in pitching run value (-19). Liberatore has coughed up eight earned runs across nine innings since the start of the second half.
Toronto Blue Jays
Last October must feel like a distant memory for the beleaguered Blue Jays. In just one year they’ve gone from American League champions to division anchors, liable for one of the most disappointing lineups in the game. Toronto ranks 26th in wRC+, 29th in wOBA, and dead-last in xwOBA this year — numbers that haven’t much improved since the All-Star break. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — mired in a shocking season-long slump — has yet to hit a home run at Rogers Centre this year. I repeat, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still hasn’t gone yard in his home ballpark.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ pitching staff remains largely hampered by batted-ball misfortune. Since the break, they rank 20th in ERA compared to sixth in xERA. Even so, there’s little confidence with Max Scherzer on the bump. It appears that Father Time has finally caught up with the three-time Cy Young winner, 42, who has posted a baffling 9.49 ERA (6.16 xERA) and a 1.82 WHIP across seven starts (24.2 IP) amid an injury-riddled 2026. In his first start back on Monday, the veteran right-hander labored through 2.2 innings against the Nationals, surrendering one earned run on 75 pitches.
Cardinals vs. Blue Jays Pick, Best Bet
The Cardinals and the Blue Jays have been swinging wet newspapers lately, though both lineups could resemble Murderers’ Row in Sunday’s series finale. Matthew Liberatore and Max Scherzer have been hemorrhaging runs all season, and since neither lineup strikes out much, we should see several crooked numbers in the box score.
