Game #124 Preview: Borucki vs Happ

The Blue Jays look to avoid the sweep this afternoon at the hands of the Yankees in the Bronx. First pitch is set for 1:05 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Rookie Ryan Borucki is making his 10th career start. Through his first 9, he’s 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA, striking out just 33 in 52 innings. His ability to limit home runs thus far has been his calling card, allowing 1 to Major League Leader J.D. Martinez. However, he hasn’t pitched in New York before, where home runs are as prevalent as taxi cabs. Borucki being a lefty will probably help a little bit, but the Yankee lineup also features mountains such as Giancarlo Stanton.

Yankees’ Starter

The pain of seeing him in pinstripes will eventually wear away, but today we get our first close up look at J.A. Happ, New York Yankee. Since the trade that sent Happ to New York and brought back Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney, Happ has gone 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA over 3 starts, while also working around a bout of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. His last time out, he held the Rays to just 1 hit over 7 innings despite being a former Blue Jay and them being the Rays. It seems that maybe that curse only pertains to current Blue Jays.

Lineups

Russell Martin plays 3B and jumps up to the leadoff spot. His OBP plays there, so hopefully this turns out well.

Kendrys Morales gets the start at 1B while Teoscar Hernandez slides into his natural defensive position at DH. Billy McKinney makes the start in LF.

And Danny Jansen gets to catch his best friend again.

On the Yankee side, Kyle Higashioka draws the start behind the plate after Austin Romine left yesterday’s game early. I haven’t seen a roster move, so I’m assuming Romine is day-to-day.

Aaron Hicks slides into the leadoff spot while Brett Gardner falls down into the 9 spot against a lefty. Miguel Andujar jumps up into the 3 hole.

Yesterday’s Heroes

Marlins SS J.T. Riddle gets our Monster Bat award from yesterday. Riddle went 3-4 with a home run and a double while also drawing a walk and driving in 4. Riddle contributed a game tying double in the 5th inning, and then a go ahead home run in the top of the 9th. The Marlins scored 2 in the top of the 10th to take the lead 7-5, which was the final score. Riddle’s WPA King total was an impressive .759.

Jacob DeGrom went the distance last night, allowing just an unearned run on 7 hits, striking out 9 while walking none. And perhaps even most surprising, the Mets scored 3 runs and DeGrom went home with his 8th win of the season. The Major League ERA leader is now 8-7 to go along with his 1.71 ERA over 25 starts.

Find the Link

Find the link between Happ and Matt Cain.