St. Louis Cardinals at Toronto Blue Jays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
STL	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
TOR	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	—	3	9	0

Neither team came in playing like it mattered much. St. Louis is 9-15 in July and has quietly turned into a deadline seller, while Toronto is buried in the AL East and has spent most of the summer patching a rotation gutted by injuries. But Friday's pitching matchup at Rogers Centre was still worth the price of admission.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cardinals(54-55)

LWLLL

1

+1.5-131+170o7.5-102

Blue Jays(50-59)

WLWLW

3

-1.5+108-174u7.5-118

Best BetCardinals +158

Postgame

The pick missed — Cease's dominance outweighed the injury-thinned Jays lineup, and St. Louis managed just 1 run.

Pregame

We backed the Cardinals on the moneyline, banking on Kyle Leahy's recent strikeout stuff to keep this game close against a Blue Jays lineup that's missing several key bats. Toronto's ace neutralized that plan. St. Louis is priced like a team fading down the stretch, but road dogs against a rotation this beat-up were the value play here.

Dylan Cease drew the start for the Jays fresh off a complete-game gem against Boston, and he's been the one thing that's gone right for Toronto all year. Kyle Leahy got the ball for St. Louis coming off a 9-strikeout outing against Cincinnati, still building his case as a full-time starter after spending most of his career in the bullpen. First pitch was 7:07 PM ET.

Kyle Leahy

(9-4)·3.38 ERA

Jul 26 vs Reds

ND

6.0IP

2ER

9K

1BB

102P

07/31 Lineup

Dylan Cease

(7-5)·2.40 ERA

Jul 25 @ Red Sox

W

9.0IP

0ER

12K

3BB

120P

07/31 Lineup

Cease has been the rare bright spot in a lost Blue Jays season — an All-Star Game starter for the AL, leading the league in strikeouts, the first Jays pitcher to get that honor since Roy Halladay. Leahy, meanwhile, is the kind of arm St. Louis needs to figure out fast: the Cardinals are reportedly shopping veterans like Dustin May and Ryne Stanek ahead of the deadline, which makes every start from a cost-controlled, homegrown righty like Leahy matter more than the standings suggest.

The scoring stayed quiet into the middle innings. St. Louis broke through first, plating a run in the 5th to grab a brief lead, but Toronto answered with a run in the 6th to tie it and put it away with a 2-run 8th. The Jays out-hit the Cardinals 9-5 and neither team committed an error — a clean, low-event game that came down to which offense could scratch across the extra run late.

For St. Louis, this is starting to feel like a preview of the next few years. The Cardinals' own front office has signaled their competitive window is more 2027-2028 than right now, and Friday's loss — with the offense managing just a single run against a Cease-led staff — fits the pattern of a team playing out the string. Ramon Urias' elbow and JoJo Romero's bullpen absence only add to a roster that's thinner than its record shows.

St. Louis Cardinals

(54-55)

Jul 30Lvs Cubs2-4

Jul 29Wvs Cubs3-2

Jul 28Lvs Cubs2-10

Jul 27Lvs Cubs3-7

Jul 26Lvs Reds3-5

Toronto Blue Jays

(50-59)

Jul 29W@ Nationals5-2

Jul 28L@ Nationals6-8

Jul 27W@ Nationals3-2

Jul 26L@ Red Sox1-6

Jul 25W@ Red Sox6-0

St. Louis Cardinals

(3)

• 15-Day-ILJoJo Romero (RP) — The Cardinals do not expect Romero (appendicitis) to be ready for activation from the 15-day injured list when first eligible, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias' (elbows) rehab assignment has been paused after he was hit on the elbow by a pitch at Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.07/30
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23

Toronto Blue Jays

(10)

• 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa (2B) — Sosa (wrist) will resume taking live batting practice this week, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/27
• 10-Day-ILJonatan Clase (LF) — Clase (foot) isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.07/22
• 15-Day-ILPatrick Corbin (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Corbin on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left teres major strain.07/23
• 60-Day-ILJoe Mantiply (RP) — Mantiply (knee) has resumed throwing bullpen sessions, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/27
• 60-Day-ILYimi Garcia (RP) — Garcia (elbow/neck/biceps) has been pulled off his rehab assignment and will be examined by a doctor for possible thoracic outlet syndrome, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/27
• 60-Day-ILAddison Barger (RF) — Barger is expected to be sidelined six months following surgery Monday to repair his right elbow UCL, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.07/27
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander (RF) — Santander is still dealing with discomfort in his surgically repaired left shoulder and recently received another cortisone shot, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILJose Berrios (SP) — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery Wednesday in addition to having a stress fracture repaired, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.05/27
• 60-Day-ILCody Ponce (SP) — Ponce underwent surgery Friday to repair the ACL in his right knee, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILBowden Francis (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Francis (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08

Toronto's rotation has been held together with tape all year — Corbin, Berrios, Ponce and Francis have all missed extended time — which makes Cease's every-fifth-day dominance even more of a lifeline. It's not enough to change the Jays' outlook this season, but for a fan base watching a lost year play out, at least Friday gave them a win to hang onto.