GDB 32.0: Blue Jays look to close series against Royals as victors

Daniel Vogelbach draws into the Blue Jays lineup Wednesday as the team looks to close out a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals.

After winning a nail-biter in which the Jays offence scored six runs for only the fourth time this season, it sputtered back to it’s struggling ways. Some of that comes from the fact they went up against one of the best young pitchers in the game, Cole Ragans, and some of it came from the Jays not being able to capitalize. Pinch me if you’ve heard that one before.

The Jays went 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, but with Ragans issuing three walks and four hits, they weren’t able to take much advantage of them. It doesn’t get much easier for them today, as Seth Lugo takes the mound for the Royals. He’s had a great start to his season, allowing a 1.66 ERA and getting most of the outs without striking out opposing hitters.

Chris Bassitt is the counter for the Jays as his up-and-down season continues. Allowing seven earned runs to the Dodgers in his last start sunk his ERA from 4.79 to 5.54, nearly identical to his FIP. A few strong outings can change that quickly, which is exactly what he’ll look to kick off today.

3:07 p.m. EST. TV & Radio: Sportsnet.

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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@thenationnetwork.com.