Athletics vs Blue Jays: Starting Lineup - Game 2 Preview

The Toronto Blue Jays kicked off their 50th season with a 3-2 Opening Day victory over the Athletics last night, courtesy of a walk off single from shortstop Andres Gimenez.

Kevin Gausman set a new franchise Opening Day record with 11K's, while Blue Jays new-comer Kazuma Okamoto got his first big-league hit and scored twice in the win.

In game two, strikeout machine Dylan Cease will toe the rubber his Blue Jays debut versus Atheletics lefty Jeffrey Springs. First pitch is at 3:07 PM ET on Sportsnet, NBC Sports, and Sportsnet 590 The Fan.

Right-hander Dylan Cease will make his Toronto Blue Jays debut on Saturday afternoon against the visiting Athletics.

In his last outing, Cease struck out six over five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks in a Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

The Blue Jays' big offseason signing fired 50 of 83 pitches for strikes in his final game of the spring.

Cease has been impressive in camp, posting a 0.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB over 9.2 innings, and he'll head into 2026 looking for his sixth straight 200-strikeout campaign in his first season with Toronto.

Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (11-11, 4.11 ERA in 2025) gets the ball for the Athletics this afternoon.

In his last outing, Springs allowed three hits and three walks across 4.2 scoreless innings in a Cactus League win over the Angels. He struck out four.

Springs turned in his longest outing of the spring, working through a bases-loaded jam in the first inning before ultimately pitching into the fifth frame without allowing a run.

It's been an up-and-down showing in Cactus League play, as the southpaw has delivered two scoreless outings but combined to allow 10 runs in his other two starts.

Walks have been an issue, with the 33-year-old issuing nine free passes across 11.1 innings after posting a respectable 2.8 BB/9 over 171 innings last year.

Springs is expected to slot into the middle of the rotation in the regular season for his second campaign with the Athletics in 2026.

Springs overcame a slow start last season. He was 2-3 with a 7.66 ERA in April before going 9-8 with a 3.72 ERA the rest of the way.

Also read on Blue Jays Central :
Toronto Blue Jays provide injury updates on Yesavage, Bieber, Berrios, Garcia, following Opening Day win