Toronto Blue Jays Set for Elite Pitching Matchups in Critical Yankees Series

The Toronto Blue Jays host the New York Yankees in a critical four-game series that starts on Monday at Rogers Centre.

The American League East is up for grabs. The Blue Jays are three games back of the Yankees for first place and the series offers them a chance to make up some ground.

According to FanGraphs, the Blue Jays ranks fourth in average, fifth in OBP, and 11th in OPS. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is his usual self, Alejandro Kirk is having an exceptional year with contact, and Addison Barger has been one of the more pleasant young surprises in baseball.

But in this upcoming key series against the Yankees, the starting pitching will be up to the test, with some stellar matchups in all four games.

More News: Toronto Blue Jays Have Two Top Clutch Performers in Major League Baseball

Monday: Toronto's Max Scherzer vs. New York's Carlos Rodon

Max Scherzer (0-0, 5.63) will make just his third start of the season on Monday after spending most of the year on the IL. He returned on Wednesday, going five innings and allowing three runs in a 5-4 loss against the Cleveland Guardians.

He will take on Carlos Rodon (9-5, 2.92), who also has a 0.97 WHIP with 119 strikeouts. His last start against Toronto was turbulent, as he allowed 10 hits and eight runs a shaky start to the season. Now, he looks more like himself and will present a big challenge for the Blue Jays.

More News: Blue Jays Star Reliever Jeff Hoffman Reaches Career Milestone

Tuesday: Toronto's Kevin Gausman vs. New York's Max Fried

Kevin Gausman (6-6, 4.21) would rather forget his last outing against the Yankees. He allowed six runs in 2.2 innings, including a 53-pitch third inning with two bases-loaded walks and an ejection after he was pulled from the game. Now, he'll have the chance to redeem himself.

He'll take on Max Fried (10-2, 1.92), who is in pursuit of an AL Cy Young award and is almost certainly headed for selection to the AL All-Star team in his first year in pinstripes. Along with his gaudy record he has a 0.94 WHIP.

More News: Blue Jays Give Injury Update on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. After He Was Hit by Pitch

Wednesday: Toronto's Jose Berrios vs. New York's Will Warren

Jose Berrios (4-3, 3.26) has had one of the most unsung seasons by a starter in the Majors. He enters the game with a 1.21 WHIP and some confidence from his last start against New York on April 25. He went 5.1 innings with zero runs in his last start in the Bronx.

He will face Will Warren (5-4, 4.37), who has been one of the best rookie pitchers in baseball. He leads all rookies in strikeouts with 103 and has a 1.32 WHIP.

Thursday: Toronto's Chris Bassitt vs. New York's Clarke Schmidt

Bassitt (7-4, 4.29) is coming off a perplexing outing in which he gave up eight hits and eight runs in two innings against Boston. It let him to wonder if he was tipping his pitches. When he faced the Yankees on April 27, New York took him for six hits and four earned runs in 5.2 innings.

Schmidt (4-4, 3.29) hadn't allowed a run in three straight starts before he gave up four hits and four runs to the Athletics on Saturday. He was effective against Toronto back on April 27, as he allowed one hit and one run in five innings.

For more Blue Jays news, head over to Blue Jays On SI.