Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch for the Angels during this weekend’s series in Toronto

So much for Friday night’s ace-on-ace matchup.

Shohei Ohtani was expected to take the mound against Kevin Gausman in the first game of this weekend’s series between the Los Angeles Angels and the Blue Jays in Toronto but, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic, plans have changed.

The Angels are currently in Detroit facing the Tigers and they’ll head to Toronto following the conclusion of that series. The second game of a three-game set was rained out on Wednesday so the two teams will play a double-header on Thursday. Ohtani will take the mound for the Angels in the first game, so he won’t be available to pitch this weekend against the Blue Jays.

Given the Tigers aren’t a contending team and the Angels are chasing the Blue Jays in the standings, the decision to start their ace against Detroit on Thursday rather than against Toronto on Friday is somewhat strange. That being said, Ohtani has struggled lately as a pitcher, as he’s allowed 14 earned runs across 16 1/3 innings over three starts in July.

This is unfortunate news for the many Blue Jays fans who paid high prices to acquire tickets to see Ohtani pitch on Friday, though he’ll still likely be in the lineup as Los Angeles’ designated hitter for all three games in the series.