The Toronto Blue Jays open a nine-game road trip tonight with a pivotal series against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Guardians enter play with a 1 1/2 game lead over the Blue Jays for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.
Cleveland, however, does have one game in hand with 25 games remaining in its regular-season schedule.
The Blue Jays are coming in on a three-game winning streak, having swept Seattle on the weekend, outscoring the Mariners 19-4 across their series.
Meanwhile, the Guardians have gone 8-2 in their last 10, but lost two of three against Kansas City. Cleveland closed out that series with an 11-1 win on Sunday.
Spencer Miles will serve as the opener for the Blue Jays with Spencer Arrighetti expected to follow. Miles, 26, has been a revelation for Toronto this season, entering Tuesday with a 2.92 ERA and 77 strikeouts across 83 1/3 innings. In his most recent start as the opener on Aug. 26 against the Royals, Miles pitched two scoreless innings.
Arrighetti, 26, acquired at the trade deadline from the Astros for outfielder Daulton Varsho, has appeared in two games for the Blue Jays, most recently on Aug. 27 against the Royals. He surrendered three earned runs across four innings, taking the loss.
Cleveland will counter with Gavin Williams on Tuesday and southpaw Joey Cantillo on Wednesday. The Guardians haven’t named a starter for Thursday, with Blue Jays right-hander José Soriano as the probable starter for that game. AL Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease is expected to start on Wednesday for the Jays.
Toronto will face Kansas City and then the Athletics after Cleveland.
With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews