Yankees vs Blue Jays: Starting Lineup - Opening Game Preview
Photo credit: https://www.sportsnet.ca
The Toronto Blue Jays take on the division rival New York Yankees in the first matchup of a three game AL East battle at Rogers Centre. Blue Jays veteran Kevin Gausman is on the hill versus Yankees lefty Carlos Rodon. First pitch is at 7:07 PM ET on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
The Blue Jays hold a three-game lead in the American League East and will seek to create further separation from the second-place Yankees.
«It'll be a fun series,» said Schneider. «They're obviously a really good team. In terms of messaging, I don't think I need to say much to this group. We've worked really hard to get to this point and I think we have to just play our game.
«It's going to be a hard series,» added the manager. «We know that. They got good pitchers going and they got a really good lineup. So, you kind of attack it one day at a time.»
The Yankees will throw their top two starters, Carlos Rodon and Max Fried, at the Blue Jays during the series, however, at least one thing is certain.
The hitters will arrive at the plate with a plan.
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
1. 3B Ernie Clement
2. DH George Springer
3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr
4. SS Bo Bichette
5. C Alejandro Kirk
6. LF Davis Schneider
7. CF Myles Straw
8. 2B Leo Jimenez
9. RF Joey Loperfido
SP Kevin Gausman
2. DH George Springer
3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr
4. SS Bo Bichette
5. C Alejandro Kirk
6. LF Davis Schneider
7. CF Myles Straw
8. 2B Leo Jimenez
9. RF Joey Loperfido
SP Kevin Gausman
Kevin Gausman has struggled to find some consistency since the beginning of June, posting a 4.95 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 43:22 K:BB through 43.2 innings over his last eight starts.
Hopefully rest over the All-Star break did the veteran 34-year old right-hander some good.
Carlos Rodon gets the ball for the Yankees tonight. In his last start Rodon (10-6) picked up the win over the Cubs after giving up four hits and a walk while striking out eight batters over eight scoreless innings.
After giving up seven runs to the Mets in his last start, Rodon looked like a completely different pitcher against Chicago. He terrorized the Cubs' lineup for eight innings, generating 17 whiffs in the process.
Key players to watch
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 19 doubles, 13 home runs and 58 walks while batting .278. George Springer has shown off his power as he leads his team with 17 home runs. Bo Bichette leads the Blue Jays with 55 runs batted in. Alejandro Kirk's .306 batting average paces his team. Addison Barger provides power from the middle of the lineup.
Yankees: Judge leads New York in batting average (.352), home runs (36) and runs batted in (82) this season. Cody Bellinger has collected 99 hits this season and has an OBP of .332. He's slugging .492 on the year. Paul Goldschmidt has collected 99 base hits, an OBP of .348 and a slugging percentage of .433 this season. Trent Grisham has 70 hits and an OBP of .357 to go with a slugging percentage of .476 this season.
INJURIES
Blue Jays: Paxton Schultz: 15-Day IL (middle finger), Bowden Francis: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daulton Varsho: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Anthony Santander: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Burr: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Yankees: Ryan Yarbrough: 15-Day IL (oblique), Oswaldo Cabrera: 60-Day IL (ankle), Yerry De Los Santos: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jake Cousins: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gerrit Cole: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Gil: 60-Day IL (back)
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 131 ANSWERS Yankees vs Blue Jays: Starting Lineup - Opening Game Preview Which team will win the opening game at Rogers Centre? | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays | 118 | 90.1 % |
| New York Yankees | 13 | 9.9 % |
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