Dome Sweet Dome.
At long last the agonizing wait for the Toronto Blue Jays’ home opener is over, and we’re just hours away from seeing the latest Rogers Centre renovations put to good use. It will see them play host to the struggling Seattle Mariners, who are coming off a series split against the Red Sox.
But the Jays can’t concern themselves about who they’re playing against, instead needing to focus on getting their own game right after three up-and-down games in the Bronx. They capitalized on mistakes made by the Yankees bullpen all weekend, managing to secure a win in game one and nearly mounting comebacks in games two and three.
There’s good to pull from it. The Jays big guns are taking their bases, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi are pitching excellent ball right now, and depth players like Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider are exceeding, now knocking on the door for more playing time.
There’s no denying the bad aspects of it, too. The Jays bats are struggling to drive in runs from scoring position, the back end of the current rotation, with Kevin Gausman and Bowden Francis struggling, and the big guns are noticeably quiet.
Berrios will take the mound tonight for the first game of the three-game set, as Chris Bassitt and Kikuchi will take games two and three.
First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST. TV & Radio: Sportsnet.
Weather: N/A
Moneyline: TOR -118; SEA +100.
Spread: TOR -1.5 +160; SEA +1.5 -200.
Over/Under: o8.5 +100; u8.5 -122.
*Odds available at the time of writing. Odds subject to change.
Starting pitchers:
| Name | Team | GS
|
W
|
L
|
IP
|
ERA
|
xERA
|
ERA-
|
FIP
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
BB/9
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| José Berríos | TOR | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12.0 | 2.25 | 6.79 | 62 | 5.01 | 1.33 | 6.00 | 3.00 |
| Luis Castillo | SEA | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10.2 | 6.75 | 3.45 | 192 | 4.21 | 1.78 | 10.12 | 2.53 |
Lineups:
It’s a pretty standard looking lineup from the Toronto Blue Jays, but there’s a few notable changes, as they’ll be starting Davis Schneider in left field. It marks his third start in 10 games this season, and his second batting out of the five spot. Alejandro Kirk, meanwhile, drops don to seventh in the order for the second time this season, as Cavan Biggio bats fifth for the second time this season, and second time in as many games.
TORONTO:
- G Springer (R) RF
- V Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
- B Bichette (R) SS
- J Turner (R) DH
- D Schneider (R) LF
- C Biggio (L) 2B
- A Kirk (R) C
- I Kiner-Falefa (R) 3B
- K Kiermaier (L) CF
- TBA
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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