The Toronto Blue Jays lost 4-2 against the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.
They’ll now have a second game against the Orioles that doesn’t mean a whole lot for the Blue Jays anymore, as they entered the day one loss away from being eliminated from postseason contention.
Despite that, they still have to play four more regular-season games, and ahead of the series finale Wednesday night, Blue Jays manager John Schneider made some sudden lineup changes.
Blue Jays Announce George Springer Change
One of those moves by Schneider was to remove veteran slugger George Springer from the starting lineup after he hit cleanup in the first game of the day while serving as the designated hitter.
Also not playing after being in the lineup Tuesday afternoon is superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as Sean Keys will step in at first base in his place while Kazuma Okamoto serves as the DH.
Here’s Toronto’s starting lineup:
Via Underdog MLB: “Blue Jays Game 2 9/23 N. Lukes RF J. Smith 2B A. Kirk C K. Okamoto DH S. Keys 1B D. Schneider LF C. McAdoo 3B M. Straw CF E. Clement SS C. Van Eyk SP.”
Blue Jays Game 2 9/23
N. Lukes RF
J. Smith 2B
A. Kirk C
K. Okamoto DH
S. Keys 1B
D. Schneider LF
C. McAdoo 3B
M. Straw CF
E. Clement SSC. Van Eyk SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 23, 2026
Looking at Springer’s 2026 Season With Blue Jays
About to wrap up his 13th MLB season and his sixth as a member of the Blue Jays, Springer has stepped into more of a platoon role, especially defensively. But he still remains a productive player at age 37, which he turned four days ago.
He’s appeared in 123 games for Toronto this year and is hitting .251 with 113 hits, 15 home runs, and 54 RBIs while slugging .408 with a .732 OPS.
Springer will enter unrestricted free agency after the season, and it’s unclear whether Toronto will bring him back.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Sudden George Springer Change