Blue Jays: Six can’t miss series at the Rogers Centre this season

May 16th to May 18th – Seattle Mariners

Marcus Semien is not the only former Blue Jays player coming back to play Toronto this season.

Southpaw Robbie Ray returns to the Rogers Centre for a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners to start the third week of May. While there is no guarantee Ray will pitch against the Jays, fans will remember the former Diamondback had a fantastic 2021 season with the club that saw him pitch to a 2.84 ERA through 32 starts that earned him the AL Cy Young Award, the first Blue Jay to bring home the honour since Roy Halladay back in 2003.

Former closer Ken Giles is also with the Mariners this year after missing all of last season on the IL due to Tommy John surgery. He is currently going to miss the next few weeks with a separate tendon issue in his finger so it is currently up in the air whether he will be making the trip to Canada.

The Mariners should be in the mix for the top spot in the AL West and fans will get to see potential Rookie of the Year candidate Julio Rodriguez and Canadian pitcher Matt Brash, who earned a spot in the starting rotation to begin the 2022 campaign. However, longtime Mariners’ third baseman Kyle Seager will not be with the club after retiring this past offseason.

For those of you interested in promotions, the first game of the series on Monday night is Jose Berrios new blue replica jersey giveaway night.

June 30th to July 3th – Tampa Bay Rays

Canada Day is always a spectacular event for the Blue Jays and this season, the club welcomes the always dangerous Tampa Bay Rays for a five-game series over the weekend.

With the first two series cancelled to begin the season due to the lockout and late start to Spring Training, the Blue Jays will make up some games by playing two doubleheaders against the Rays this season, turning two four games series into separate five games series with the other series being carried out in mid-September. The first doubleheader will be Saturday July 2nd, starting at 12:07 pm EST with the second game starting at 6:07 pm EST.

The Toronto Blue Jays will have a home opener at the Rogers Centre for the first time in two years. Here are six series fans shouldn’t miss this season.

The Rays will be a team to watch this year, highlighted by their young roster in Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe, and Shane McClanahan but still features some veterans in Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Zunino. Jason Adam is the only former player on the Rays roster while Harold Ramirez was once part of the Jays’ minor league system, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates alongside Reese McGuire and Francisco Liriano years ago.

Both teams will be able to add a player to their rosters for the doubleheader so it will be interesting to see if the Jays will bring up a pitcher to make a spot start to not mess with the rotation schedule.

July 26th to July 27th – St. Louis Cardinals

The Blue Jays and Cardinals will face each other for the first time since April 2017 when the Jays head south to face the Cards for two games in late May. Later in the summer, the two teams will switch places and St. Louis will head to the Rogers Centre for the first time since June of 2014.

Signing a four-year deal with the Cardinals this past offseason, southpaw Steven Matz returns to Toronto after spending one season with the Blue Jays. The former Mets starter had a solid campaign with the club, earning a 3.82 ERA through 29 starts, posting an 8.6 K/9 rate while anchoring the back end of the rotation. The likelihood is low that he will be pitching against the Jays as the Cardinals are only in town for two games but there is the potential Matz is on the mound depending on how the schedule shapes up.

Fans will also get to see the last season of Albert Pujols, who returned to the Cardinals for one last hurrah, as well as All-Stars Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina, and Nolan Arenado. Canadian Tyler O’Neill will also be on the Cardinals squad this season.

That being said, rumours should be at an all-time high as the trade deadline is only a week away, so there may be some new faces on the Jays roster and maybe some saying goodbye as clubs get set for the last two months of the season.

August 26th to August 28th – Los Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels head to Toronto for a three-game series late in the campaign, with this being the second meeting between the two squads this year (the Jays head to L.A. after their two games against the Cardinals in late May).

With the Angels coming to town, fans will get the opportunity to see two of the games’ brightest stars in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.

A two-way superstar, Ohtani could potentially find himself on the mound for one of those games while fans will also get a chance to see the 2021 MVP at the plate as well. Trout is also a fun player to watch, as the outfielder is coming off an injury-filled campaign last season that limited him to just 36 games.

Fans will also get to see infielder Anthony Rendon and young rising stars Reid Detmers and Jo Adell while also potentially getting to see former Jays’ prospect Noah Syndergaard make his first start at the Rogers Centre.

A weekend series, the Saturday game features a promotion honouring the Blue Jays’ 30th Anniversary of their 1992 World Series win with the first 15,000 fans receiving a vintage Jays bomber jacket.

September 30th to October 2nd – Boston Red Sox

Similar to the 2021 campaign, the Toronto Blue Jays will finish the season facing two AL East rivals which could have heavy implications on the division standings.

The New York Yankees head to Toronto for a three-game series earlier in the week but the Boston Red Sox will be in town for the last weekend series at the Rogers Centre before the Jays head to Baltimore to end the campaign.

FanGraphs currently projects the Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays to be within seven wins of each other (85 to 92), showcasing the absolute power held in the AL East. With the Red Sox projected to win 87 games this year (third in the division), these games late in the season can have a huge implication on the standings and whether the Jays can make the playoffs or their position entering the postseason.

The Red Sox features a solid lineup in Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and newcomer Trevor Story with their biggest downfall being the pitching corps, especially with the recent departure of Eduardo Rodriguez this offseason and ace Chris Sale beginning the year on the 60-day IL. Lots can change between now and the end of the year but inter-division games have lots riding on them, so earning a few wins against the Red Sox before finishing the year in Baltimore could be the icing on the postseason cake.

Promotions-wise, the Jays will be celebrating fan appreciation weekend and giving away a vest to the first 15,000 fans on Saturday night.