Cease has been the rare bright spot in a lost Blue Jays season — an All-Star Game starter for the AL, leading the league in strikeouts, the first Jays pitcher to get that honor since Roy Halladay. Leahy, meanwhile, is the kind of arm St. Louis needs to figure out fast: the Cardinals are reportedly shopping veterans like Dustin May and Ryne Stanek ahead of the deadline, which makes every start from a cost-controlled, homegrown righty like Leahy matter more than the standings suggest.
The scoring stayed quiet into the middle innings. St. Louis broke through first, plating a run in the 5th to grab a brief lead, but Toronto answered with a run in the 6th to tie it and put it away with a 2-run 8th. The Jays out-hit the Cardinals 9-5 and neither team committed an error — a clean, low-event game that came down to which offense could scratch across the extra run late.
For St. Louis, this is starting to feel like a preview of the next few years. The Cardinals' own front office has signaled their competitive window is more 2027-2028 than right now, and Friday's loss — with the offense managing just a single run against a Cease-led staff — fits the pattern of a team playing out the string. Ramon Urias' elbow and JoJo Romero's bullpen absence only add to a roster that's thinner than its record shows.
Toronto's rotation has been held together with tape all year — Corbin, Berrios, Ponce and Francis have all missed extended time — which makes Cease's every-fifth-day dominance even more of a lifeline. It's not enough to change the Jays' outlook this season, but for a fan base watching a lost year play out, at least Friday gave them a win to hang onto.