The Toronto Blue Jays need to start winning games and have a three-game home series against the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
Toronto is coming off a disappointing series loss to the Kansas City Royals and likely needs to go 5-1 over their next six games against the Mariners and Cleveland Guardians to get back into contention.
Ahead of their three-game home series against the Mariners, beginning on Friday, the Blue Jays announced their probable pitchers.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Starting Pitchers
The Blue Jays are coming off a series loss to the Royals and will now kick off a three-game series against the Mariners.
In the series opener on Friday, Toronto will give the ball to Cy Young Award candidate Dylan Cease. Cease is in the first year of his seven-year, $210 million deal. The right-hander is 9-5 with a 2.37 ERA in 24 starts.
Seattle is expected to start right-hander Emerson Hancock, who’s 7-7 with a 3.37 ERA in 24 starts this season.
In the second game of the series, Toronto will start right-hander Jose Soriano. The Blue Jays acquired Soriano at the deadline, who’s 10-7 with a 3.43 ERA in 26 starts.
The Mariners are predicted to start left-hander Kade Anderson, who’s set for his second MLB start, as he’s 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA in 1 start.
In the series finale, the Blue Jays will start future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who’s 1-7 with a 7.02 ERA in 12 starts.
Seattle is expected to start Bryce Miller in the series finale. He’s 4-8 with a 4.12 ERA in 17 games, including 16 starts this season.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays are coming off a series loss to the Royals and are now 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.
Toronto is coming off a 13-2 loss to the Royals on Thursday in the series finale, which was a frustrating loss for the Blue Jays. Throughout the game, fans were loudly booing which caught the attention of manager John Schneider.
“For one, I understand. The fans are coming out every single night, which we love and appreciate,” Schneider said. “There’s no better fans in the sport. That’s evident, the support we have from coast to coast. They’re entitled to their opinion. When you’re getting your ass kicked pretty good, they’re allowed to have their opinion. We love their support every night.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. once again struggled as he went hitless and was removed from the game after the seventh inning.
“He’s been looking for something for a while now,” Schneider said. “He’s been doing a lot of work. I think it’s always good, when you’re looking for something, to try new things. He’s hit outside early a couple of times, but he’s looking for something to click and looking for something to hold onto and carry forward.”
The Blue Jays are 65-70.
Blue Jays Announce Starting Pitchers for Pivotal Mariners Series