(Interstat) — Friday’s game: St. Louis Cardinals (54-55) at Toronto Blue Jays (50-59), 7:07 p.m. EDT at Rogers Centre.

Two teams hovering near .500 open a three-game interleague series Friday, with both desperate to gain ground in their respective playoff chases. The Cardinals have dropped four of their past five, including a 4-2, 10-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, took two of three from the Washington Nationals, capped by a 5-2 victory Wednesday.

St. Louis will send right-hander Andre Pallante to the mound. Pallante is 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA this season. He has been inconsistent of late, lasting only five innings in a loss to Milwaukee on July 9 (8 hits, 6 earned runs) but rebounding with a dominant seven-inning, two-hit shutout of Cincinnati on July 25. In his most recent start Thursday, he took the loss despite allowing just two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings, striking out three.

Toronto counters with right-hander Trey Yesavage, who is 3-5 with a 3.91 ERA. Yesavage has shown flashes of dominance, striking out nine over six innings against the Chicago White Sox on July 19 despite taking the loss. He earned a win Wednesday at Washington, holding the Nationals to one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. However, he was tagged for four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings at San Diego on July 11.

The Blue Jays offense was powered Wednesday by first baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. For St. Louis, second baseman JJ Wetherholt homered in Thursday’s loss, going 2-for-5.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 4-3 victory for Toronto. The Blue Jays are installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under is 7.5 runs.

The series continues Saturday and Sunday before St. Louis heads to New York for three games against the Yankees, while Toronto travels to Houston for a set with the Astros.