The Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of a pivotal three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Toronto is coming off a 7-4 loss in the series opener on Friday. It was a frustrating loss for the Blue Jays, who are battling for the final Wild Card spot.
Toronto is 72-74 and 2 games out of the Wild Card spot.
Toronto Blue Jays Make Josh Smith Change
Toronto made some changes to its lineup on Saturday after Friday’s disappointment.
One of the changes is Josh Smith playing second base after he played left field in the series opener. He’ll replace Ernie Clement at second, as Clement has been struggling at the plate.
The Blue Jays lineup on Saturday is as follows:
- B. Bateman CF
- G. Springer DH
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- A. Kirk C
- N. Lukes RF
- K. Okamoto 3B
- J. Smith 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- R. Martin Jr. LF
Smith can play all over the field and will now be playing second base on Saturday. Baltimore is sending right-hander Kyle Bradish to the mound.
Toronto acquired Smith at the trade deadline from the Texas Rangers. With the Blue Jays, Smith is playing much better as he made a mechanical change to his swing. He’s hitting .256 with 5 home runs and 7 RBIs in 22 games with the Blue Jays.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing loss to the Orioles to fall 2 games back of the Wild Card race.
After the loss, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Toronto can’t afford many mistakes and losses.
“Everything is a challenge right now, everything is high stakes and it’s not going to be easy,” Schneider said. “But it’s about how you handle it, how you put your best foot forward and put guys in position to succeed. Everyone knows what’s ahead of us.”
In the opening loss, Max Scherzer got the start as he allowed 5 runs in the second inning which proved to be the difference.
“I’m accountable for my mistakes,” Scherzer said. “In that situation, the two-strike pitch to Gunnar [Henderson], I felt I could have made a better pitch. I got hit on that, but from then on, I felt like I executed. I wasn’t leaving pitches in the heart of the plate. That’s where I have to tip my cap to them. They got base hits on pitches I put in locations I’m comfortable with. It’s frustrating. That’s baseball, I’m not going to cry about it.”
First pitch is set for 3:07 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Josh Smith Change During Orioles Series