The most pivotal series for the American League Wild Card race may be happening in Texas this weekend when the Toronto Blue Jays travel to take on the Rangers.
Currently, both the Blue Jays and Rangers hold 76-77 overall records, and with nine regular-season games remaining, they both sit exactly 2.0 games out of the final Wild Card spot behind the Cleveland Guardians, who begin a series at home against the Athletics on Friday night.
Ahead of Toronto’s series opener with the Rangers, the Blue Jays have officially listed their probable starting pitchers via MLB.com.
Blue Jays Announce Probable Starters
The only day Toronto has yet to list an official starter is Sunday afternoon. However, if it follows suit with who pitched after Soriano earlier this week, they could be in line for a bullpen game featuring Braydon Fisher or Spencer Miles.
Friday: RHP Dylan Cease (11-5, 2.38 ERA, 236 strikeouts) vs. RHP Kumar Rocker (5-11, 4.54 ERA, 132 strikeouts)
Saturday: RHP Jose Soriano (12-7, 3.56 ERA, 159 strikeouts) vs. RHP Cal Quantrill (9-5, 2.90 ERA, 81 strikeouts)
Sunday: TBD vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (11-9, 3.79 ERA, 194 strikeouts)
#BlueJays are pivoting their pitching plans now.
Dylan Cease will start the opener Friday in Texas, José Soriano on Saturday.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 16, 2026
Blue Jays’ Starting Rotation This Season
The Blue Jays’ rotation has been anchored all season by Cease, who is certainly one of the AL Cy Young candidates alongside Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees.
However, at the trade deadline, they made several notable moves, bringing in guys like Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti while parting ways with veteran Kevin Gausman. So, they’ve seen some shakeup across the board, along with injuries to key players like right-hander Trey Yesavage, who is currently working toward a return.
That said, they hold a collective team ERA of 3.92 across 1,360 innings pitched this season and have tallied 1,327 strikeouts with a 1.298 WHIP.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Starting Pitchers for Pivotal Series Against Rangers