The Toronto Blue Jays made some lineup changes ahead of their series finale against the Kansas City Royals.
Toronto is coming off a 4-3 win on Saturday to win the series as the Blue Jays will look for the series sweep on Sunday.
Spencer Arrighetti gets the start for Toronto, while Randy Dobnak starts for the Royals. First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. ET.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Ernie Clement Decision
With the Blue Jays looking for the series sweep against the Royals on Sunday, Toronto is making some major changes to the lineup.
The Blue Jays are giving Ernie Clement a day off as Josh Smith is starting at second base in place of Clement.
Toronto’s lineup on Sunday is as follows:
- B. Bateman CF
- N. Lukes RF
- V. Guerrero Jr. DH
- J. Sánchez LF
- K. Okamoto 3B
- S. Keys 1B
- J. Smith 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- B. Valenzuela C
Clement went 1-for-4 for the Blue Jays yesterday, as he has been struggling a bit at the plate, so Toronto is giving him the day off.
Clement is hitting .275 with 9 home runs and 46 RBIs this season with the Blue Jays. However, in his last 15 games, he’s hitting .196 with 0 home runs and 3 RBIs, while striking out 8 times.
Toronto in Playoff Spot
The Blue Jays have been playing great baseball as of late and are now back in a playoff spot.
Toronto is 72-71 and holding onto the final Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays have won three straight series, after sweeping the Seattle Mariners, taking two-of-three from the Cleveland Guardians, and now looking for the sweep against the Royals on Sunday.
“There are certain points of the season where you can get down a little bit. There are certain points where you feel good about what you’re doing and I think right now is one of those times where you feel good about what you’re doing,” said manager John Schneider.
“You don’t want to take anything for granted. This American League is crazy and it changes every single night. So I think just worrying about us is most important, but it’s nice to be in this position, for sure. You battle your asses off to get to this position with (19) games left, so you’ve got to keep doing what you’re doing because what we’ve been doing has been pretty damn good.”
Toronto will begin a three-game road series against the Athletics on Monday.
Blue Jays Bench Fan-Favorite Ernie Clement in Royals Series Finale