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The Blue Jays look to get back in the win column today, as they’ve lost 2 in a row and 5 of 6. Today’s game kicks off at 4:10 ET in Cleveland.
Blue Jays’ Starter
The Blue Jays will give lefty Thomas Pannone the start this time through the rotation. Last time through it was Sean Reid-Foley, who had a very difficult time. Next time through, Clay Buchholz may be ready to join the rotation, so if Pannone wants to remain in the rotation for another start, he will need to build off the success he had in relief last Monday.
In that game, coming on in relief of Reid-Foley in the 3rd inning, Pannone threw 4 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 5 batters.
Cleveland’s Starter
Power righty Carlos Carrasco gets the start for Cleveland, looking to bounce back from a very rough outing his last time out in Minnesota. The Twins touched Carrasco up to the tune of 6 runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings.
Carrasco is looking to log his 3rd consecutive healthy season, as he pushes the injury prone label further and further away from him. Last season, in 32 games, he pitched 192 innings, earning a 17-10 record with a 3.38 and an even more impressive 2.94 FIP. He got there with a great strikeout rate (10.31 per 9 innings), an equally great walk rate (2.08 per 9 innings) while allowing just under 1 home run per 9 innings.
Blue Jays’ Lineup
Socrates Brito for whatever reason was moved up to the leadoff spot in the order last night, and despite a great catch in RF (see above) he was pretty disappointing in his second game as a Blue Jay. I’m not sure how much rope they will give him, but I’m sure it’s a lot longer than most fans would like to see. I think he needs a day off today, but he’ll probably be back out in RF (or maybe even CF?) this afternoon.
Danny Jansen got the night off last night, so he’ll be ready to go today.
Justin Smoak, who has missed the last 2 games with a stiff neck, will likely be a gametime decision again today, so don’t be fooled by a preliminary lineup that shows him in there.
Cleveland’s Lineup
With the lefty Pannone on the mound for the Jays, Max Moroff and Jordan Luplow are likely to be in the lineup for Cleveland.
Jose Ramirez missed the start of yesterday’s game with a sore foot, but was able to come in as a pinch hitter, earn a walk, “successfully” steal second, and stayed in the game to play 3B. So he’ll likely be good to go today too.
Yesterday’s Heroes
Jorge Polanco went 5-5 yesterday, hitting for the cycle and then chipping in another single. Strangely, he scored only once though, as his Twins got thumped by the Phillies 10-4.
Joe Musgrove and Kevin Gausman get the co-Pitcher of the Day honours. Musgrove threw 7 shutout innings against the lowly Reds in the Pirates 2-0 win, while Gausman threw 7 shutout innings against the lowly Marlins in the Braves 4-0 win. Musgroves’ game was the lower scoring affair, so he accumulated more WPA and gets the WPA King title with his .428 mark.
Find the Link
Find the link between Carrasco and Octavio Rojas.