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

The past two years have seen the Jays start the season at one of their minor league facilities, with the 2020 campaign beginning in Buffalo while the 2021 campaign started in Dunedin, Florida before switching to Sahlen Field in early June.

The Jays finally returned to the Rogers Centre on July 30th last year, finishing the last two months on home soil and posting a 91-71 record on the season which ended up being one win short of a tiebreaker playoff berth.

Heading into 2022, the Toronto Blue Jays will have a home opener North of the border for the first time since 2019, which has fans super excited for the season and opposing teams complaining about crossing the border.

With a full season at the Rogers Centre in front of the home crowd, here are six series Jays fans should circle on their calendars.

April 8th to April 10th – Texas Rangers

To start the 2022 campaign, the Blue Jays welcome the Texas Rangers for a three-game series. This weekend, the Jays will have a number of different promotions and fans will see some new updates to the Rogers Centre after some minor renovations over the winter.

The club welcomes the Rangers and former Jay Marcus Semien, who turned a one-year prove-it deal into an MVP calibre season with the team last year. Appearing in all 162 games and smacking 45 home runs to the tune of a .873 OPS, Semien signed a seven-year deal with the Rangers this past offseason that netted the Jays a draft pick in compensation after he rejected their qualifying offer. Fans will also see Corey Seager, the Rangers’ newest shortstop and right-hander Jon Gray, who is slated to be on the bump opposite Jose Berrios for tomorrow’s home opener.

FanGraphs projects the AL West club to post a 75-87 record this season, so two or three wins against the Rangers will go a long way for the Blue Jays who only have one day off between April 8th to May 8th and will face some tough teams in the Houston Astros, New York Yankees (twice), and Boston Red Sox to start the year.

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.