Blue Jays vs Orioles: Today's Lineup - Game Preview
Photo credit: https://x.com/BlueJays
The Toronto Blue Jays descend on Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles in the battle of the birds today. Blue Jays phenom Bowden Francis is on the bump this afternoon versus Orioles rookie Tomoyuki Sugano. First pitch is at 4:05 PM ET on Sportsnet and MASN.
The forecast for today's game remains questionable, and while the weather looks better on Sunday, schedule makers chose to make the game up on July 29, when the Orioles and Blue Jays will play twice, two days before the trade deadline.
Bowden Francis had been scheduled to start Friday, but he will start for the Blue Jays today followed by José Berrios on Sunday.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. SS Bo Bichette
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. DH Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andres Gimenez
5. RF George Springer
6. 3B Will Wagner
7. C Alejandro Kirk
8. CF Nathan Lukes
9. LF Alan Roden
SP Bowden Francis
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. DH Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andres Gimenez
5. RF George Springer
6. 3B Will Wagner
7. C Alejandro Kirk
8. CF Nathan Lukes
9. LF Alan Roden
SP Bowden Francis
Bowden Francis (1-1) took the loss in his last outing versus the Mets, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out six.
Francis worked around six singles over his 90 pitches, out of which he generated 10 whiffs.
The New York lineup was unable to square up the 28-year old right-hander, as the pair of runs they were plated in the third inning came on a Pete Alonso single and Brandon Nimmo sacrifice fly.
Francis now sports a 3.18 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with a 10:5 K:BB over his first 11.1 innings.
Bo Bichette, Guerrero and Santander are each looking for their first home run, while slugging .357, .333 and .222 respectively.
«Not at my best right now but working hard to be able to feel when I'm at my best,» is how Santander, described where he's at right now. His focal point is to «be on time with the fastball. Don't let the ball get too deep on my hands. I've been working a lot with the hitting coaches to do that and try to not chase too many pitches.»
Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1) gets the ball tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. Sugano allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out four across 5.1 innings to earn the win in his last outing against the Royals.
Sugano had a shaky MLB debut that ended early due to cramps, but he managed to bounce back Saturday to earn his first MLB win.
He began 17 of the 23 batters he faced with a strike and induced several softly hit flyballs for easy outs.
Unsurprisingly, Sugano hasn't showcased overpowering stuff early in his big-league sample, but he has been capable of limiting runs and should be in line for plenty of wins with the support of the Baltimore offense.
Toronto had a 74-88 record overall and a 39-42 record in home games last season. The Blue Jays batted .241 as a team in the 2024 season with a .703 OPS.
Baltimore had a 91-71 record overall and a 47-34 record on the road last season. The Orioles pitching staff had a collective 3.95 ERA while averaging 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings in the 2024 season.
INJURIES:
Blue Jays: Max Scherzer: Day to day (Lat) Erik Swanson: 15-Day IL (hand), Ryan Burr: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daulton Varsho: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Chayce McDermott: 15-Day IL (lat), Trevor Rogers: 15-Day IL (knee), Andrew Kittredge: 15-Day IL (knee), Tyler Wells: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Bradish: 60-Day IL (elbow)
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 12 | 67 ANSWERS Blue Jays vs Orioles: Today's Lineup - Game Preview Who will win tonight's matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays? | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | 51 | 76.1 % |
| Baltimore Orioles | 16 | 23.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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