Blue Jays go for rare series win as Gausman's fate hangs in balance

The Toronto Blue Jays are in position for something that has become a rare feat this season: A series win.

After an electric one-hit, 12-strikeout performance from ace Dylan Cease on Saturday, leading the Blue Jays to a 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox, Toronto will get a chance Sunday to close out the weekend series in Fenway Park on a winning note (coverage starts at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).

A victory Sunday would mark the team’s first series win since taking two out of three games against the San Francisco Giants on July 7 and 8.

Heading to the mound for the Blue Jays will be Kevin Gausman (4-9, 4.51 ERA), who is coming off one of the roughest outings of his season thus far. He gave up five runs and nine hits while walking two and striking out just one batter across 3.1 innings on July 21 against the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a 12-2 rout.

Gausman will match up against Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.15 ERA) Sunday in what may be his penultimate start in a Blue Jays uniform as the trade deadline looms.

With the Blue Jays still just sitting on a 48-57 record and 5.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final American League wild-card spot, Toronto could look to be a seller when the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline rolls around, with Gausman a candidate to be flipped as a pending free agent after the season.

The 35-year-old has acknowledged this reality, but remains conflicted.

“I would love to finish here, but at the same time, I'd love to have another opportunity,” Gausman told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi earlier this week. “But at the same time, it wouldn't mean as much as it meant last year, you know?”

Following Sunday’s start, Gausman is in line to make one more appearance before the trade deadline at home on Aug. 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He said earlier in the week that he hopes to start in front of home fans at the Rogers Centre "one last time."

For the time being, he and the rest of his Blue Jays teammates will be looking to build on Saturday’s win that saw Toronto's offence break out for six runs thanks to a five-run third inning. George Springer did the brunt of the damage, smashing a three-run bomb (his 11th home run of the season) to give Cease the cushion he needed to go out and pitch the complete-game shutout.

Following this weekend series in Boston, the Blue Jays will travel to Washington, D.C. for a three-game set against the Nationals starting Monday.