It’s a battle of AL East teams on the diamond down in Charm City with a playoff spot potentially hanging in the balance. The Toronto Blue Jays are on the road as they play the second game of a doubleheader, which marks the second game of a critical four-game set, with the Baltimore Orioles Monday afternoon. Toronto closed a three-game series on the road with the Pirates Sunday afternoon looking for a sweep. They earned a 4-1 victory Saturday night in the middle game of the series. Baltimore was in action at home against Oakland Sunday looking for a sweep of their own as they rolled to an 8-1 triumph Saturday night. This article was published prior to the conclusion of each team’s finales on Sunday, not to mention the first game of the doubleheader Monday afternoon.
Toronto won their second straight and their fourth in the last five games as they knocked off the Pirates on the road Saturday night. The Blue Jays entered Sunday third in the AL East, six games behind the Yankees for the top spot. They held the final wild card spot in the American League, 1.5 games behind the Orioles for that position, and look to maintain that spot. On Saturday, Toronto got two hits each from George Springer (run) and Bo Bichette (run, three RBI) in the victory. Bichette had the big hit, a bases-clearing double with two outs in the seventh, to snap a 1-1 tie. Trevor Richards got the start but didn’t factor in the decision as he threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and three strikeouts. Yimi Garcia (4-4) earned the win as he tossed 1.2 scoreless frames, allowing no hits or walks while striking out one. Jordan Romano fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 29th save.
Kevin Gausman is on the mound for his 26th start of the season for the Blue Jays in this contest. He comes in 10-9 with a 3.14 ERA, a 1.247 WHIP, 23 walks and 164 strikeouts over 140.1 innings of work on the year. Gausman earned the win in his last start, which came at home against the Cubs Tuesday. He threw six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in an eventual 5-3 Blue Jays triumph. In his last three starts, Gausman is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, two walks and 22 strikeouts over 18 innings of work. Gausman lost his lone career start against the Orioles, which came at home on June 16. He gave up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a game the Blue Jays lost 10-2. This marks his 71st career appearance and 63rd start at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Gausman has posted a 24-20 record with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.267 WHIP, 107 walks and 340 strikeouts over 3 82 innings of work in those outings.