PLAYOFFS!!!1! Threat: Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit, Blue Jays (1-0) @ Rangers (0-1)

Oct 7, 2016, 12:50 EDTUpdated: Invalid DateTime
Yu Darvish is going to be a real handful for Blue Jays hitters this afternoon in Texas, and so despite all our elation after yesterday’s huge win, things could end up square awfully fast here.
The Jays aren’t helped by the fact that their lead-off hitter, Devon Travis, is a late scratch from the lineup with what the club is calling irritation in his right knee. But that just means we’ll see Zeke’s Thunder up at the top of the lineup, with Darwin Barney playing second and slotting into the nine hole. (Ryan Goins, in case you ICYMI’d it yesterday, isn’t on the roster for this series.)
But it’s not like the Jays are the only team due to face a tough pitcher in this one. J.A. Happ goes opposite Darvish, and he’s had a great season as we all know. This lineup, however, is a liiiiiiitle bit scary against left-handed pitching. Beltre has a 163 wRC+ in the split, Lucroy is at 154 since coming over in trade, Andrus is at 134, Desmond 129.
Shin Soo Choo, in a very small sample (57 PA), has the best wRC+ against lefties on the team this season, but is generally a poor hitter against them, has struggled in his career in a microscopic sample against Happ, and so Nomar Mazara (wRC+ of 44 against LHP this season) gets the call. Someone told me he’s 2-for-3 off Happ, so… sure, I guess. That was early season Mazara and not the one that went into the shitter for months, though.
Anywho, Happ is very good and this is fine. Everything will be fine!
Scuttlebutt
This is all the scuttlebutt you need — a delightful recap of Game One from the one and only Martha Stewart!
— Ian (@Ian_from_TO) October 7, 2016
TV: Sportsnet
Next Game: Sunday vs. Rangers, 7:38 PM ET
And now, the lineups…
Next Game: Sunday vs. Rangers, 7:38 PM ET
And now, the lineups…
Toronto Blue Jays
Ezequiel Carrera(L) LF
Josh Donaldson(R) 3B
Edwin Encarnacion(R) 1B
Jose Bautista(R) RF
Russell Martin(R) C
Troy Tulowitzki(R) SS
Michael Saunders(L) DH
Kevin Pillar(R) CF
Darwin Barney(R) 2B
J.A. Happ LHP
Texas Rangers
Carlos Gomez(R) LF
Ian Desmond(R) CF
Carlos Beltran(S) DH
Adrian Beltre(R) 3B
Rougned Odor(L) 2B
Jonathan Lucroy(R) C
Ryan Rua(R) 1B
Elvis Andrus(R) SS
Nomar Mazara(L) RF
Yu Darvish RHP
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