GDB 97.0: Blue Jays look to avoid being swept by Padres in Thursday matinee

The hound is taking the mound on Thursday afternoon as the Toronto Blue Jays look to avoid being swept by the San Diego Padres.

The Padres opened the series with a commanding 9-1 win and they shut the Blue Jays out in the second game by a score of 2-0. This series has been a surprising shift for the Blue Jays who were coming off of an impressive sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks right out of the All-Star break.

Chris Bassitt will go for the Blue Jays while the Padres will counter with lefty Blake Snell. The former Cy Young winner will be looking to continue San Diego’s dominant run of pitching in this series. The only run that Toronto has scored against the Padres came off of Joe Musgrove in the first inning of the first game. They’ve been completely shut down since.

First pitch: 1:07 p.m. EST

Toronto Blue Jays: 53-43, 5.5 GB, 0.0 WCGB, +34 DIFF.

San Diego Padres: 46-50, 9.5 GB, 6.5 WCGB, +46 DIFF.

Moneyline: TOR (+100), SDP (-118)

TOR: RHP Chris Bassitt – 9-5, 4.12 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 115 2/3 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.3 SO/9

SDP: LHP Blake Snell – 6-7, 2.71 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 103 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 12.1 SO/9

TOR: George Springer DH, Bo Bichette SS, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B, Matt Chapman 3B, Whit Merrifield LF, Santiago Espinal 2B, Alejandro Kirk C, Jordan Luplow RF, Kevin Kiermaier CF

SDP: Fernando Tatis Jr. RF, Juan Soto LF, Manny Machado 3B, Xander Bogaerts SS, Jake Cronenworth 2B, Gary Sanchez C, Matt Carpenter DH, Trent Grisham CF, Alfonso Rivas 1B