GDB 153.0: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. again out of the lineup as Blue Jays go for sweep against Cy Young favourite Gerrit Cole

The Toronto Blue Jays will go for the series sweep over the New York Yankees in The Bronx on Thursday night.

They’ll be doing so without Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who’s out of the lineup for the second consecutive game with knee discomfort. Vladdy went 0-for-5 as the designated hitter in the series opener on Tuesday but left the game after reaching first base on an error in the ninth inning.

The Blue Jays have held the Yankees to just one run in both games so far this series and José Berríos will look to continue that trend. Berríos is coming off of an excellent performance against the Boston Red Sox in which he tossed seven scoreless innings while striking out eight. He faced the Yankees at home back in May and allowed three runs over six-and-two-thirds innings.

New York will send ace Gerrit Cole to the mound as they look to salvage this series. Cole is looking to put the finishing touches on a Cy Young season as he leads the American League with a 2.81 ERA and 192 innings pitched. He’s held the Blue Jays scoreless over two starts this season though both outings wound up as no decisions.

First pitch: 7:05 p.m EST — Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650.

Toronto Blue Jays: 85-67, 10.0 GB, +1.0 WCGB, +71 DIFF.

New York Yankees: 76-76, 19.0 GB, 8.0 WCGB, -24 DIFF.

Moneyline: TOR +118, NYY -139.

*Odds at the time of publishing. Odds are subject to change.

TOR: RHP José Berríos — 11-10, 3.49 ERA, 30 GS, 178 IP, 168 SO, 1.180 WHIP

NYY: RHP Gerrit Cole — 13-4, 2.81 ERA, 31 GS, 192 IP, 208 SO, 1.047 WHIP

TOR: George Springer RF, Bo Bichette SS, Cavan Biggio 2B, Davis Schneider DH, Matt Chapman 3B, Spencer Horwitz 1B, Whit Merrifield LF, Alejandro Kirk C, Kevin Kiermaier CF

NYY: DJ LeMahieu 1B, Aaron Judge DH, Gleyber Torres 2B, Jake Bauers RF, Anthony Volpe SS, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 3B, Estevan Florial CF, Oswaldo Cabrera LF, Ben Rortvedt C