Thanks to Yariel Rodriguez, the Blue Jays want to defeat the Cards

The Toronto Blue Jays hope that right-hander Yariel Rodriguez continues to show improvement as they attempt to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in three games on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Jays (71-78) followed a 4-3 win in 11 innings on Friday with a 7-2 victory over the Cardinals (74-74) on Saturday.

In his last game on September 8 against the host Atlanta Braves, Rodriguez allowed one run on two hits and six strikeouts in five innings and received a no-decision after the Blue Jays lost 4-3 in 11 innings.

Rodriguez (1-6, 4.42 ERA) will face St. Louis for the first time.

“I learned this year that you really have to work between pitches and stay ready and prepare with recovery,” Rodriguez said. “That's something I'm taking into next year, to start the year with a lot of energy and try to throw (well) and help my team win some games.”

St. Louis is scheduled to start right-hander Miles Mikolas (8-11, 5.55 ERA) on Sunday. He has a 7.20 ERA without a decision in two career starts against Toronto.

Mikolas will look to rebound from an eight-start streak in which he is 0-3 with a 7.23 ERA.

He is coming off a two-inning appearance on Sept. 8 in a 10-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners, allowing seven runs (six earned) and nine hits.

“He's a strike thrower,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. “There are days when he gets hit and there are days when he hits people. He just didn't have the ability to execute his throws and get them to the glove side like he wanted to, and they ran back across the plate and hit hard.”

Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 1-for-3 with an RBI single on Saturday. It was his 500th career RBI and he became the youngest Blue Jay to reach that mark. He is the 12th player in franchise history — and the fifth fastest with 806 games — to reach 500 RBIs. He has 96 RBIs this season.

“This year he's stepped up and been on a different level offensively,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “He's a really good hitter who knows how to score runs.”

Toronto right-hander Jose Berrios allowed one run and two hits in seven innings on Saturday to win his seventh straight start, tying his personal high with 16 wins this season. He has a 1.51 ERA during his seven-game winning streak.

Roy Halladay recorded the most wins in franchise history with 11 consecutive winning starts in 2003.

Blue Jays left fielder Joey Loperfido left Saturday's game after the fourth inning due to left adductor discomfort.

Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado suffered a bug bite in the eighth inning and was replaced by a pinch hitter in the ninth. He experienced swelling but is expected to play Sunday.

“A bee flew near my ear, I wiped it off with my glove,” Arenado said. “I thought it was gone, put my glove on and got stung. It got stuck in my glove and stung me in my little finger. When I pulled my hand out after the sting, the stinger was in my finger.”

Toronto outfielder Daulton Varsho (shoulder) is listed on a day-to-day basis. Infielder Leo Jimenez (bruised finger) was removed from the starting lineup at short notice on Saturday.

–Field level media