The visiting Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers each will start a pitcher seeking his first victory with a new team on Thursday in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-0, 9.00 ERA) gets the nod for the Blue Jays, while Milwaukee counters with right-hander Brandon Sproat (0-1, 10.45).
The Brewers evened the series with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night, scratching out two runs in the eighth inning off reliever Tyler Rogers to snap a six-game losing streak.
After being held to three hits through seven innings, the Brewers got two aboard on a single and error without either ball reaching the mound. William Contreras tied it with a single, the only hard-hit ball of the inning, and the go-ahead run scored on a ground out.
The Blue Jays managed just a first inning run off Chad Patrick, who combined with three relievers on a five-hitter.
“When you boil it down, you’ve got to score more than one run,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Corbin, signed as a free agent in early April, will be making his second start after one minor league outing. The 36-year-old allowed four runs on six hits, including two homers, in four innings in his Blue Jays debut, but did not get a decision in a 10-4 comeback win over the visiting Minnesota Twins last Friday.
“The dude has a feel for pitching,” Schneider said afterward. “He’s got a good tempo, he’s working with a new catcher, all that kind of stuff. If we didn’t score, he was going to go back out for the fifth. He wanted some more, too, which says a lot about him. But overall, I thought he was a savvy major league pitcher.”
Since going 14-7 with a 3.25 ERA in 2019 with the Washington Nationals, Corbin has a 40-81 record. Corbin was 7-11 last season with a 4.40 ERA in 31 games with the Texas Rangers, including 30 starts.
Corbin is 4-7 with a 4.72 ERA in 14 career appearances (13 starts) against the Brewers. He is 2-3 with a 5.51 ERA in seven games (six starts) at American Family Field in Milwaukee, allowing 39 hits in 32 2/3 innings.
Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in the first inning Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to six games. He is hitting .478 over that stretch with four doubles and three RBI.
Sproat, acquired from the New York Mets in the offseason Freddy Peralta trade, has pitched out of the bullpen his past two times out, but will be making his second start. The 25-year-old was effective in his last relief appearance, allowing one run on one hit in 3 2/3 innings, but issued three walks and struck out three in the Brewers’ 3-1 home loss to the Nationals on Sunday.
“He got his first taste of success in terms of pitching four innings,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said afterward. “He’s still learning himself.”
Sproat was tagged for seven runs on six hits, including three homers, in three innings in his lone start on March 29, walking four and striking out three. He did not get the decision in a 9-7 home win over the Chicago White Sox.
Designated hitter Contreras has a 10-game hitting streak, batting .350 with a homer, two doubles and six RBIs over that span.
Brewers second baseman Brice Turang, who walked once and drove in the decisive run with the groundout Wednesday, has reached base safely in a career-high 15 games.
–Field Level Media
