Mets' Starting Pitchers for Blue Jays Series Announced: Manaea Draws Toughest Matchup in Toronto

Following an abysmal 2-8 stretch that included the trade of veteran David Peterson and the firing of third-year manager Carlos Mendoza, the Mets head north of the border to take on an equally disappointing Blue Jays team to begin the week. After a run to the World Series that came within a bounce or two of winning a title, Toronto is currently six games under .500 at 39-45.

The Blue Jays will enter the series 10.5 back in the American League East, 2.5 back in the Wild Card, and teetering on the edge of falling out of the playoff race. One of the biggest issues with the reigning AL Champions has been their starting pitching, with several key pieces either underperforming or altogether not on the active roster.

Beyond ace Dylan Cease, the Blue Jays have had three somewhat reliable arms so far this year, all of whom will go against the Mets in this series. It is a veteran Toronto rotation, and they’ll get the Mets’ two dependable veteran starters in this series, along with the latter’s top rookie starter.

Monday, June 29 (7:07 PM ET): LHP Sean Manaea (1-2, 4.87 ERA) vs RHP Trey Yesavage (3-3, 3.56 ERA)

Sean Manaea is coming off an uneven start against the Cubs, only going three innings with three earned runs allowed. He exited after 86 pitches, which was due in large part to the Mets' infield defense and their six-error performance. His overall workload as a starter has been solid, with a 4.40 ERA over 14 1/3 innings across three starts in the rotation.

Sean Manaea's final line today: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 84 pitches. His velocity was again in the 91-93 mph range, much better than earlier this season.

Over his last eight appearances, Manaea has a 3.33 ERA with four times as many strikeouts as walks. pic.twitter.com/xd23yuAPsx
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 13, 2026

Trey Yesavage is one of the better young starters in the game, but has struggled in June to the tune of a 5.70 ERA. His WHIP is actually lower in June than it was in May, a month in which he posted a 2.56 ERA, and his most recent start against the Astros ended in just one run allowed over 5.2 innings pitched with five strikeouts and five walks.

It is looking up for Yesavage, but there are still issues with his recent play that the Mets can exploit

Advantage: Blue Jays

Tuesday, June 30 (7:07 PM ET): RHP Nolan McLean (4-5, 4.03 ERA) vs RHP Kevin Gausman (4-6, 4.36 ERA)

Nolan McLean is fresh off one of the more interesting starts any Met has made in some time, totaling six earned runs over six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts. His season has been a considerable step back from his rookie season last year, but it shows the strides that the Mets' young ace still has to make. The key for McLean is homers: he allowed just three earned runs in his first three starts of June with no homers before giving up two long balls against the Cubs last week.

Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman is now in his fifth season with the Jays, and this has been by far his worst campaign. His 4.36 ERA is the highest of his career since 2019, and he is averaging roughly two fewer outs per outing so far this year. Most notably, his breaking ball value per Baseball Savant is staggeringly in the 3rd percentile of the league, meaning that 97% of breaking balls in baseball are performing better than his.

Advantage: Mets

Wednesday, July 1 (3:07 PM ET): RHP Freddy Peralta (5-6, 4.53 ERA) vs LHP Patrick Corbin (2-4, 5.09 ERA)

Freddy Peralta allowed an absurd 10 earned runs over eight recorded outs against the Philadelphia Phillies last week at Citizens Bank Park, but bounced back nicely with no earned runs in 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts against the Cubs at Citi Field. His season as a whole has been an incredible disappointment, but he can right the ship a bit and rebuild his trade value in this outing against Toronto. His fastball velocity could be a storyline to follow: he is averaging a full mile per hour less than he did in 2025.

Patrick Corbin is something of a seasoned veteran these days, and he has provided minimal value to Toronto this year. He averages under 4 2/3 innings per start and has been ineffective in his few innings per outing. He's allowed nine homers in that time frame, and his 1.551 WHIP is one of the worst marks in all of the game. The Mets have faced Corbin more than he has any other team in his career (31 times)

Advantage: Mets

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