The Toronto Blue Jays are changing up their lineup.
Toronto is in the midst of a pivotal three-game road series against the Cleveland Guardians. The Blue Jays lost the first game of the series 6-1 on Tuesday and likely need to win the final two games to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Toronto is set to start Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET.
Blue Jays Announce Alejandro Kirk Decision
Toronto is set to take on Cleveland in the second game of the series, and manager John Schneider is shaking up his lineup.
With left-hander Joey Cantillo on the mound, Toronto is trying to get right-handers in the lineup, and has catcher Alejandro Kirk batting cleanup. Kirk has spent the last few weeks batting second or third amid his hot stretch.
The Blue Jays lineup on Wednesday is as follows:
- B. Bateman CF
- G. Springer DH
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- A. Kirk C
- K. Okamoto 3B
- N. Lukes RF
- E. Clement 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- M. Straw LF
Kirk batting cleanup is intriguing as he has been Toronto’s best hitter as of late. The catcher is hitting .277 with 8 home runs and 32 RBIs this season. In his last 15 games, he’s hitting .321 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Blue Jays making a change to their lineup isn’t a huge surprise, as Toronto struck out 13 times and were limited to 1 run. So, after Tuesday’s disappointing result, Schneider is switching up the lineup, looking for a spark.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays are in a battle for the final Wild Card spot.
Toronto swept the Seattle Mariners over the weekend to bring them back into playoff contention. Schneider also felt like the team is already playing playoff baseball.
“We’ve been saying we’re playing post-season games the last three weeks,” said Schneider. “It’s kind of right there in front of us, so you got to enjoy the off day and rest up and be ready to just keep your foot on the gas.”
Toronto is now 2.5 games back of the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot, so Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt isn’t counting out the Blue Jays.
“They’re good,” Vogt said Tuesday afternoon. “So are we. And we’re fighting with each other, so it should be a fun series. … Good teams get better as the season goes on. And both these teams are getting better at the right time.”
The Blue Jays are 68-71 and 2.5 games back of Cleveland.
Blue Jays Announce Major Alejandro Kirk Decision During Guardians Series