Orioles vs Blue Jays: Todays Starting Lineup - Game Preview
Photo credit: https://x.com/BlueJays
The Baltimore Orioles (1-1) take on the Toronto Blue Jays (1-1) in game three of a four game weekend set. Max Scherzer will make his Blue Jays debut this afternoon at Rogers Centre versus Orioles starter Dean Kremer. First pitch is at 3:07 PM ET
In Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios, Max Scherzer has four rotation mates who want to listen to him.
To be fair, they'd probably want to listen to any three-time Cy Young winner, including a retired pitcher like Pedro Martinez or Greg Maddux.
But augmenting Scherzer's credibility further, he's still pitching at a high level against the game's best hitters. There's a lot to learn here.
As Scherzer prepares for his first start as a member of the Blue Jays this afternoon, those discussions are about to ramp up even further, and his teammates are looking forward to the insights they can gain as the season unfolds.
«He's one of the best that's ever been, especially in my generation said Gausman, so I'm looking forward to watching his bulldog mentality on start days. That's more impressive to me than anything is that he still pitches like a rookie does with his mentality - kind of like he hasn't done anything, but obviously, he's done a lot in the game, so it's really cool to watch.»
«His attitude and his mindset is always about winning,» Berrios said. «He wants to compete and he wants to win.»
Pitching alongside Scherzer with the 2022 Mets, Bassitt got to know Scherzer pretty well.
«The best way to explain it is he's going to ask pretty simple questions, but you got to have a good explanation as to why (you did something),» Bassitt said. «And luckily for us, we have Bowden, who's somewhat young, but he's still old enough to not have it overwhelm him.
And then Gaus, Berrios and me, we're old enough where we're not a young staff, so I think it's going to be really big for us just to keep us accountable every single day and have us think about instead of a lot more basic stuff, a lot more in-depth detail, stuff that I think will translate to success.»
And then Gaus, Berrios and me, we're old enough where we're not a young staff, so I think it's going to be really big for us just to keep us accountable every single day and have us think about instead of a lot more basic stuff, a lot more in-depth detail, stuff that I think will translate to success.»
By way of contrast, there's Bowden Francis, who has enjoyed hearing Scherzer share his thought process on preparation, mechanics and pitch selection.
«Incredible,» Francis said. «And I'll throw some questions at him here and there just to see what he's got on that (topic). That's one of the best parts with him. I feel like no question is dumb to him, he's just open to answering it.»
Clearly, Scherzer has an interested audience. And since everyone in the Blue Jays' rotation has significant professional pitching experience, they can skip past some basics to more advanced topics.
«You've got to know who you're talking to because not everyone's going to grab onto every word you say,» Scherzer said. «So you've got to be careful sometimes. Sometimes, it's only giving one little thing.
It's really just perspective - how you think about how to execute pitches, how you can be process-driven. What am I actually trying to do with the baseball? How do I think about different pitch shapes?»
It's really just perspective - how you think about how to execute pitches, how you can be process-driven. What am I actually trying to do with the baseball? How do I think about different pitch shapes?»
Dean Kremer is on the bump for the Orioles today. Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in his breakout season of 2023, and went 8-10 with a 4.10 ERA last year.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde is expecting Kremer, 29, to take the next step up from solid to significant in 2025.
He has established himself in the rotation of a contending team, and is 30-30 with a 4.28 ERA in five seasons.
Last year, according to Baseball Savant, Kremer averaged 93.0 mph on his four-seamer, which tops his usage frequency list at 32 percent.
He throws the cutter 23 percent, splitter 18 percent, sinker 15 percent and curve 11 percent of the time.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. SS Bo Bichette
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. RF Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andrés Giménez
5. C Alejandro Kirk
6. DH Will Wagner
7. LF Davis Schneider
8. 3B Ernie Clement
9. CF Nathan Lukes
SP Max Scherzer
2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
3. RF Anthony Santander
4. 2B Andrés Giménez
5. C Alejandro Kirk
6. DH Will Wagner
7. LF Davis Schneider
8. 3B Ernie Clement
9. CF Nathan Lukes
SP Max Scherzer
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: 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), Gunnar Henderson: 10-Day IL (ribs), 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 | ||
MARS 29 | 98 ANSWERS Orioles vs Blue Jays: Todays Starting Lineup - Game Preview Who will win todays matchup between the Blue Jays and Orioles? | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | 77 | 78.6 % |
| Baltimore Orioles | 21 | 21.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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