Blue Jays insider gives major reason why Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber are above two-time All-Star in pecking order

After an uphill battle in the American League East standings, the Blue Jays are now cruising on top of the division. At the time of writing, the Jays have posted a 70-51 record and are 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Red Sox.

In addition to their hot form, their pitching rotation is now slowly being pieced together as Kevin Gausman's consistency, Max Scherzer's leadership and Shane Bieber's addition will surely give the starting crew a boost. With that being said, one person is projected to take the bump down the line as Blue Jays analyst Keegan Matheson discussed on the most recent episode of TSN's "Overdrive."

"I don't know if we see that (being the rotation's No. 1) in Berrios right now," said Matheson. "Again, I'm being hard on a guy who's one of the most consistent pitchers in Major League Baseball," he added. (1:22-1:27)

Matheson argued that even though Berrios has impressed with his stable play this year, three top pitchers who can dominate games are needed when the team battles in the postseason.

"You're not talking about getting invited to the dance as the third wild card. ... It's about beating the Dodgers, the Brewers, and the big dogs. That narrows the conversation to games one, two, and three. Right now, I think that's Shane Bieber and Kevin Gausman one and two. And I think it's Max Scherzer in that third game." (0:45-1:05)

"I'm impressed by Jose Berrios, but you need someone who can take over a game. Gausman can do that. I think Scherzer can still do that once or twice more at age 41. If (Bieber) can come back 95% of normal, I think he's at least the number two (starter) here." (1:28-1:48)

Although they've dominated opponents through their high-octane scoring, the Blue Jays' pitching is something that needs stability. They're 21st in the league in terms of ERA at 4.25, so finding the right balance and mix is tantamount to their postseason hopes.

Blue Jays fall to Cubs in Cade Horton's one-hit masterclass

The Blue Jays fell to the Cubs in Wednesday night's game as Chicago exacted revenge for Game 1 courtesy of a masterclass by Cade Horton. The Cubs' rookie gave up just one hit, two walks and fanned eight in a 5 2/3 inning shift.

In addition, the run support came through for the Cubs in the contest as Michael Busch, Matt Shaw, and Seiya Suzuki each drove in runs as the visitors beat the hosts north of the border 4-1.