The Toronto Blue Jays have made a change to their catcher in the series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Toronto is set to kick off a pivotal three-game series against the Royals on Tuesday. In the series opener, right-hander Max Scherzer makes the start, and with that, Brandon Valenzuela is in the lineup and catching while Alejandro Kirk is out.
The Blue Jays lineup on Tuesday is as follows:
- B. Bateman CF
- N. Lukes RF
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- K. Okamoto 3B
- J. Sánchez DH
- E. Clement 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- B. Valenzuela C
- M. Straw LF
Valenzuela has been catching Scherzer, and a right-hander in Seth Lugo is on the mound, which is why Toronto is getting plenty of left-handers in the lineup. Yet, Kirk not being in the lineup is interesting, as he’s been the Blue Jays’ hottest hitter as of late.
Valenzuela is hitting .230 with 8 home runs and 21 RBIs this season with the Blue Jays. Kirk, meanwhile, is hitting .283 with 7 home runs and 29 RBIs, but has only appeared in 56 games due to injuries.
First pitch between Toronto and Kansas City is set for 7:07 p.m. ET.
Blue Jays Get Hit With Bad Injury News
GettyBlue Jays get bad injury news on Shane Bieber.
Before the Blue Jays’ pivotal series against the Royals, Toronto was hit with some bad injury news.
Toronto announced that right-hander Shane Bieber was placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 21, due to right teres major inflammation.
🔹 RHP Chad Dallas recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight
🔹 RHP Shane Bieber (right teres major inflammation) placed on 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 21
“ROSTER MOVES: RHP Chad Dallas recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight. RHP Shane Bieber (right teres major inflammation) placed on 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 21,” the Blue Jays wrote on X.
Bieber was set to start Wednesday’s game against Kansas City, but now Toronto has that listed as TBD. Thursday’s game was already looking like a bullpen game, with Spencer Arrighetti getting the bulk of the innings.
However, there is a chance that the bullpen game can be Wednesday, and Dylan Cease gets pushed from Friday to Thursday due to the off day on Monday, which is regular rest.
Bieber is 5-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts this season for the Blue Jays.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays enter their series against the Royals 2 games back of a Wild Card.
Toronto started the year poorly but has started to play better. The Blue Jays ended a tough stretch going 3-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees.
“It’s a tough stretch. It’s good teams,” Schneider said. “A .500 road trip against in-division teams that are at the top. You want to say that’s good, but we need to be a little bit better in certain situations. But, big picture, you get through this stretch and enjoy the off day. I like the way that we’re playing and hopefully continue to take another step forward when we get home on Tuesday.”
The Blue Jays have 30 games left and won’t play a team above .500 during that stretch.
Blue Jays Make Brandon Valenzuela Change Ahead of Royals Series Opener