Game #41 Preview: Angels @ Blue Jays

The Blue Jays return to the field against the Angels today trying to string some wins together after their horrid road trip against the O's and Astros. Aaron Sanchez is all rested up thanks to Todd Redmond taking the mound yesterday giving the lanky right-hander an extra day off. He'll face up against Hector Santiago, who is a 27-year-old lefty who seems to fly under the radar a bit thanks to sharing a rotation with some star-studded names.

The six foot starter was involved in the Mark Trumbo trade before last season and has pitched pretty consistently during his time in California. This year he sports a 2.41 ERA and a 3.98 FIP thanks to a .263 BABIP and a 10.2% BB-rate. In terms of frightening statistics, the southpaw has allowed one earned run or less in five of his seven starts this season.

Santiago throws a wide assortment of pitches including the occasional screwball, but mainly hitters see a fastball in the low-90's along with a changeup, curveball, and slider. He's very much a fastball and changeup pitcher when lefties step into the box against him, which is what you would expect although he won't be facing very many tonight. This season his hard slider/cutter has been doing well for him, racking up a lot of whiffs and yielding only one extra base hit off of it.

Something that seems kind of weird for Santiago is that a ton of his stuff is elevated in the strike zone, which is somewhat understandable when you consider his small stature. Against righties he stays up and away from them as you can see:

Hopeful Lineup

If Devon Travis is still out, the lineup that the Blue Jays rolled with yesterday will likely be used again today.

1. Josh Donaldson 3B
2. Jose Bautista DH
3. Edwin Encarnacion 1B
4. Russell Martin C
5. Danny Valencia LF
6. Chris Colabello RF
7. Kevin Pillar CF
8. Steve Tolleson 2B
9. Ryan Goins SS

Bullpen Usage

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