The Toronto Blue Jays have two games left until the All-Star break. The first of those two games will be on Saturday night. They will look to keep their winning streak going against the San Diego Padres. The team announced Blue Jays news regarding Luis Urias, Andres Gimenez, Nathan Lukes, and Myles Straw. Saturday night’s clash is the second Blue Jays vs Padres game of a three-game series.
Prior to their second game against the Padres, the Blue Jays announced their first selection in the MLB draft. With their 39th overall pick, they selected Cole Carlon. According to Baseball America scouting reports, he is a starting pitcher whose fastball sits at 96 MPH and touches 101 MPH. He also possesses a slider with incredible movement. The 21-year-old southpaw is listed as 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds.
Here is what you need to know about the roster moves that the team made in the middle of the Blue Jays vs Padres series.
Toronto Blue Jays News: Luis Urias & Myles Straw Out
The biggest change the Blue Jays are making (aside from the starting pitcher) is removing Urias and Straw from the lineup.
Both of those players were in the lineup for game one. Urias came up empty in four at-bats on Friday night. On the other hand, Straw scored one run and recorded two hits in his four at-bats.
Urias owns a .261 batting average in 11 games with the Blue Jays this season. In 83 games, Straw has a .236 batting average, three home runs, 32 RBIs, and 34 hits.
Blue Jays vs Padres: Full Lineup Featuring Andres Gimenez & Nathan Lukes In
Replacing Urias and Straw will be Gimenez and Lukes. Here is what the lineup looks like with the roster changes.
- 2B: Ernie Clement
- RF: Nathan Lukes
- 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- DH: George Springer
- 3B: Kazuma Okamoto
- CF: Daulton Varsho
- C: Alejandro Kirk
- SS: Andres Gimenez
- LF: Jonatan Clase
The Blue Jays are turning to Trey Yesavage for game two against the Padres.
San Diego Padres Lineup & Starter
On the other side of the ball, here is the Padres lineup for Saturday night’s clash.
- RF: Fernando Tatis Jr.
- CF: Jackson Merrill
- SS: Xander Bogaerts
- DH: Manny Machado
- LF: Gavin Sheets
- 1B: Ty France
- 2B: Jake Cronenworth
- C: Luis Campusano
- 3B: Sung-Mun Song
The Padres will go with Walker Buehler on the mound to start the game.
This game carries some big stakes. The Blue Jays need to keep the pressure on the Padres to stay in the mix with the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. Those two teams lead the AL East, and Toronto needs to make up ground to keep their playoff hopes alive.
If the Blue Jays can’t string together a couple of lengthy winning streaks between now and playoff time, it’s going to be a very different offseason for the organization.
Saturday night’s game against the Padres will begin at 6:40 PM Mountain Time, 8:40 PM Eastern Time. The game will be broadcast on select local stations in addition to Sportsnet.
Will the Blue Jays keep the good times rolling or be stopped fast in their tracks? All of that should be answered soon enough.
Blue Jays Announce Roster Shake-Up During San Diego Padres Series