Rockies vs Blue Jays: Starting Lineup - Series Finale Preview

Toronto Blue Jays veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman will make his second appearance of the season, after a dominant Opening Day franchise record 11K performance against the athletics last week.

The Colorado Rockies will counter with veteran southpaw Kyle Freeland. First pitch is at 1:07 PM ET on Sportsnet and Rockies TV, with the radio call available on Sportsnet 590 The FAN.

Kevin Gausman will make his second start of the season this afternoon.

In his last outing Gausman did not factor into the decision in the Blue Jays' 3-2 win over the Athletics.

He allowed one run on one hit while striking out 11 across six innings without issuing a walk.

Gausman was dominant right out of the gate, striking out the side in the first inning and punching out seven of the first 10 batters he faced.

His lone blemish came in the fourth inning, when he gave up a solo home run to Shea Langeliers, but the veteran right-hander struck out four more batters and finished the game with 17 whiffs on 83 pitches (60 strikes) while setting a new franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day.

Gausman was in line for the win after the Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead in the fifth, but he had to settle for the no-decision after Jeff Hoffman yielded a solo shot to Langeliers in the ninth.

Gausman will look for his first win of 2026 today.

Kyle Freeland will toe the rubber for the Rockies today. In his last outing Freeland took the loss Friday as the Rockies fell 2-1 to the Marlins, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

The veteran southpaw limited the damage against him, but Freeland needed 81 pitches (53 strikes) to record 13 outs before getting lifted.

Freeland's been a fairly reliable innings eater for Colorado, averaging 27 starts and about 145.1 innings over the last five seasons, but his 4.82 ERA and 1.43 WHIP during that time aren't just a product of calling Coors Field home.

Blue Jays: Cody Ponce: (right-knee) 15-Day IL, Mason Fluharty: day-to-day (knee), Anthony Santander: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Shane Bieber: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jose Berrios: 15-Day IL (elbow), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (elbow), Trey Yesavage: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Rockies: Blaine Crim: 10-Day IL (oblique), Tyler Freeman: 10-Day IL (back), McCade Brown: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Mickey Moniak: 10-Day IL (finger), Zac Veen: 10-Day IL (knee), Pierson Ohl: 60-Day IL (elbow), RJ Petit: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kris Bryant: 60-Day IL (back), Jeff Criswell: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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