The Toronto Blue Jays moved to 42-46 on the season with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.

If you're inclined to care about the standings right now, the Jays also pulled to within 2.5 games of the M's for the final wild card spot in the American League.

The Blue Jays didn't get much going on offense against Seattle, but they did enough, scoring two runs in the top of the third inning against Luis Castillo. The real story of the game? The work on the mound of Dylan Cease.

It's fair to say that this was Cease's best performance of the season, and it's the exact performance they thought he was capable of when they signed him to a seven-year, $210 million deal this offseason.

The 30-year-old went seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out nine. He attacked the zone, was pinpoint in his command with multiple pitches, and because he was in the zone so much, he had the ability to get hitters to go out of the zone with two strikes. In total, he threw 70 of his 102 pitches for strikes, a level of efficiency that we rarely see from the right-hander.

This is the Cease that the team hoped for when it signed him, and it's the version of Cease that they need moving forward if they are going to get back into the playoff picture over the final three months of the season.

He's now 5-4 on the campaign with a 2.79 ERA. Even with his issues going deep into games, he may find himself joining Ernie Clement as Jays representatives in the MLB All-Star Game later this month.

He leads the American League in strikeouts with 137.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Jays, who will get a day game on the July 4 (U.S.) holiday. Shane Bieber will take the mound for Toronto while Logan Gilbert pitches for Seattle. However, the Mariners are deploying their unique "piggyback" strategy, which means that Gilbert will start and be removed after five or six innings with Emerson Hancock coming in in relief.

Gilbert has pitched well of late, while Hancock has struggled a bit. 

First pitch is 4:10 p.m. ET.

Addison Barger, rehabbing from right elbow inflammation, will continue rehabbing until the All-Star break, but it's unclear when he could get back in games.

The 26-year-old Washington native has played in just nine games, going 1-for-22 (.045) with a double and two RBIs. 

He's missed significant time with bilateral ankle discomfort and is on the injured list now with that elbow inflammation. 

A breakout star of last year's playoff run, Barger hit 21 homers and drove in 74 runs. He hit .367 in the playoffs with three homers, nine RBIs and a .441 on-base percentage. The Blue Jays beat these same Mariners in seven games in the American League Championship Series.

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