The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles haven’t made a convincing case lately that they’re playoff worthy, as both teams reside on the outskirts of the American League wild-card picture.
But they’ve done enough to hang around, and that makes their three-game series that begins Monday night in Baltimore crucial for both teams.
The Blue Jays (77-79) have lost four of their last six games and are three games out of the AL’s final wild-card position with six to play.
Toronto used seven pitchers in Sunday’s 7-2 victory against the Texas Rangers.
The Blue Jays have other lineup concerns after first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Sunday’s game in the fourth inning with lower back stiffness.
“We just wanted to be careful, and hopefully he’s good for (Monday),” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
The Orioles (75-81) must win their final six games to finish at .500 under first-year manager Craig Albernaz. They are five games out of the final wild-card spot in the AL.
“Obviously we haven’t really given ourselves a big shot after getting swept here,” Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson said after the team’s three-game series sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
The Orioles haven’t scored in their last 19 innings. They were blanked 1-0 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday night by the Brewers. Baltimore has been shut out four times this month.
“It just sucks because the starting staff and the bullpen, they all threw exceptionally well this series,” Henderson said of the lack of offensive production.
Toronto won two of three meetings at home with Baltimore earlier this month. The Blue Jays lead the season series 6-4.
Toronto will turn to right-hander Trey Yesavage (5-5, 3.65 ERA) to start the series opener. It will be his first big-league outing since Aug. 4, when he left the game against Houston because of a left knee injury that later required surgery to repair his meniscus, but his late-season success last year might give the Blue Jays some confidence.
Yesavage, who went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three outings last September, is expected to be limited to 50 pitches and probably three innings on Monday, Schneider said.
Yesavage last won a game July 29. He also was tagged with a loss to the Orioles on June 5, when he allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings. He was on the mound the previous week when he limited Baltimore to one run in five innings in a no-decision.
Yesavage didn’t face the Orioles last year, but he emerged for his first major league action in September and pitched for the Blue Jays into the World Series. Toronto held a 7-2 record when he pitched last season in those crucial games.
Baltimore will start right-hander Shane Baz (6-15, 4.11 ERA) in the series opener. He had a scare in Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets when Bo Bichette’s comebacker bounced off his right elbow, but he’s still scheduled to start on Monday.
That outing of four-plus innings is his shortest in his last six stints. In seven career starts vs. the Blue Jays, Baz is 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 38 innings. The loss came when he gave up five runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 innings June 7 in Toronto.
Orioles reliever Felix Bautista appears to be available for a couple of more opportunities out of the bullpen this week after he made his season debut Sunday, giving up one run and two hits in two-thirds of an inning in his team’s loss to Milwaukee. He has been out since shoulder surgery last year.
“Knowing how long I was out, all the hard work I had to put in to get through that, and being here now, seeing the fruits of all that hard work, it feels incredibly satisfying,” Bautista said.
–Field Level Media
