The Toronto Blue Jays have a chance to win their first series of the season on Tuesday evening.
In the series opener against the Washington Nationals on Monday, the Jays were able to defeat the 2019 World Series winners 5-2 to move to over .500 for the first time since late-April 2024. Since it’s the sixth game of the season, the Jays will have José Berríos on the mound, with the 30-year-old needing to rebound. He gave up three home runs in five innings pitched last Thursday.
There aren’t really any surprises in the lineup tonight. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander have to get going soon, but Bo Bichette leading off has been nice for the Jays. Andrés Giménez has suddenly become a power hitter, hitting three home runs in his first five games. He’s a third of the way from matching the total he had last season. After Giménez is Alejandro Kirk, who drove Giménez in once on Monday and brought him to third with a single. George Springer has also found success early this season, hitting two doubles.
The team’s 1-6 in the lineup looks like how it’ll be throughout the season, and boy, does it look good for the first time in years. Once they get Daulton Varsho back, he’ll slot in seventh, and if he can swing like he did in Spring Training, it’ll only make this lineup stronger. Roden is nice to have as the “second-lead-off hitter” that Kevin Kiermaier played in last season and the season before.
Still, home runs have been an issue for the team, both for their hitters and pitchers. Through five games, the team has hit four home runs, three of which belong to Giménez. They’ve also given up 12 home runs.
With all that being said, let’s set up Tuesday’s game!
Location: Toronto
First Pitch: 7:07 PM ET
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet/Sportsnet Radio
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – José Berríos: 0-1 record, 10.80 ERA, 5 IP, 5 SO, 2 BB
Nationals – Trevor Williams: 0-0 record, 0 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Bo Bichette – SS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Anthony Santander – LF
- Andrés Giménez – 2B
- Alejandro Kirk – C
- George Springer – CF
- Will Wagner – DH
- Ernie Clement – 3B
- Alan Roden – RF
Nationals:
- CJ Abrams – SS
- James Wood – LF
- Keibert Ruiz – C
- Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
- Josh Bell – DH
- Luis García Jr. – 2B
- Paul DeJong – 3B
- Alex Call – RF
- Jacob Young – CF
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.