GDB 109.0: Toronto Blue Jays place Bo Bichette on 10-day IL as they look to salvage series against Baltimore Orioles

It’s been an ugly two days on the ball diamond for the Toronto Blue Jays dropping two straight against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles.

This, mind you, without star shortstop Bo Bichette, who injured his right knee during a Sunday game against the LA Angels.

And on Wednesday, the club placed Bichette on the 10-day IL with what they’re called right patellar tendinitis. The good news is that it’s not believed to be an injury that will keep Bichette out for long, and in the short term, it helps alleviate a 40-man roster crunch.

Jay skipper John Schneider said Wednesday afternoon that they’re taking Bichette’s injury on a day-to-day basis with no clear timeline on how long his IL stint will last.

“The quicker we can get him back, the better for us obviously, but we got to see how he does you know, with each day, with each treatment, with each activity.”

Far from ideal that he’s landing on the IL in the first place, but it could easily be considered a best-case scenario considering how things initially looked.

Newcomer Paul DeJong will don a Blue Jays uniform for the first time this evening as he will be active and he will wear number 10. He will become the 15th Jay to wear that number with prior notables being Marcus Semien, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Edwin Encarnación and Vernon Wells.

The Jays will look to get themselves back in the series this evening as Yusei Kikuchi, who is playing the best baseball of his time with the team, takes the mound.

First pitch: 7:07 p.m EST —Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650.

Toronto Blue Jays: 59-49, 7.5 GB, – WCGB, +41 DIFF.

Baltimore Orioles: 66-41, – GB, – WCGB, +60 DIFF.

Moneyline: TOR -122; BAL +105.

Blue Jays to win the series +120
Series correct score: +200

TOR: Yusei Kikuchi LHP – 8-3, 21 GS, 109.1 IP. 3.79 ERA, 4.78 FIP, 1.280 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 9.5 SO/9.

BAL: Grayson Rodriguez RHP – 2-2, 13 GS, 62.1 IP. 6.21 ERA, 68 ERA+, 5.04 FIP, 1.572 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 10.1 SO/9.

Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio as the crew talks about the Jays’ latest series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.