Blue Jays host the Cardinals to open 3-game series

St. Louis Cardinals (74-72, third in the NL Central) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (69-78, fifth in the AL East)

Toronto; Friday, 7:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Erick Fedde (8-9, 3.39 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 138 strikeouts); Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.09 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 150 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Blue Jays -131, Cardinals +111; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays begin a three-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Toronto has a 35-37 record in home games and a 69-78 record overall. The Blue Jays have gone 23-10 in games when they did not allow a home run.

St. Louis has a 74-72 record overall and a 35-37 record in road games. Cardinals pitchers have a collective 4.13 ERA, which ranks ninth in the NL.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 28 home runs, 64 walks and 94 RBI while hitting .321 for the Blue Jays. Spencer Horwitz is 14-for-33 with four doubles, four home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games.

Alec Burleson has 18 doubles, 21 home runs and 73 RBI for the Cardinals. Pedro Pages is 5-for-25 with three home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 3-7, .276 batting average, 3.64 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Cardinals: 6-4, .236 batting average, 3.77 ERA, outscored by one run

INJURIES: Blue Jays: Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Romano: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bo Bichette: 10-Day IL (calf)

Cardinals: Willson Contreras: 10-Day IL (finger), Keynan Middleton: 60-Day IL (forearm), Drew Rom: 60-Day IL (biceps)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press