<p>The stage is set for a big weekend in Toronto.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The Los Angeles Angels are coming to town fresh off of a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers. They&#8217;ve won nine of their 12 games since the All-Star break and are now only three games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.</p>
<p>Shohei Ohtani put together one of the most impressive performances you&#8217;ll ever see during Thursday&#8217;s doubleheader in Detroit. He pitched a complete game one-hit shutout in the first game and then came out in the second game as the designated hitter and went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs driven in.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shohei Ohtani out here blasting homers like he didn&#8217;t just fire a shutout an hour ago. <a href="https://t.co/gT4KGTlnz3">pic.twitter.com/gT4KGTlnz3</a></p>
<p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1684666593232420864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Though he was originally scheduled to take the mound against Kevin Gausman in the series-opener in Toronto this weekend, Ohtani won&#8217;t pitch against the Blue Jays. Instead, it&#8217;ll be Lucas Giolito, who the Angels acquired from the Chicago White Sox earlier this week.</p>
<p>Giolito posted a 3.79 ERA for the White Sox over 21 games this season before the trade. The hard-throwing righty has had some struggles with the Blue Jays in the past as he owns a 5.45 ERA in seven career starts against them. Most recently, Giolito faced the Blue Jays in Chicago earlier this month and scattered two runs over six innings.</p>
<p>After Giolito makes his Angels debut on Friday, Alek Manoah will go up against Reid Detmers on Saturday afternoon and Jose Berrios will take the mound against Tyler Anderson in the series finale on Sunday.</p>
<p>This series with the Angels is the first of three with serious implications for the Blue Jays. Next up, they&#8217;ll host the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles for a four-game set and then they&#8217;ll travel to Boston for a three-game series at Fenway Park with the Red Sox, another team right on their tail in the Wild Card race.</p>
<hr />
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" /></p>

The stage is set for a big weekend in Toronto.



The Los Angeles Angels are coming to town fresh off of a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers. They've won nine of their 12 games since the All-Star break and are now only three games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League.

Shohei Ohtani put together one of the most impressive performances you'll ever see during Thursday's doubleheader in Detroit. He pitched a complete game one-hit shutout in the first game and then came out in the second game as the designated hitter and went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs driven in.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Shohei Ohtani out here blasting homers like he didn't just fire a shutout an hour ago. <a href="https://t.co/gT4KGTlnz3">pic.twitter.com/gT4KGTlnz3</a></p>
— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1684666593232420864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Though he was originally scheduled to take the mound against Kevin Gausman in the series-opener in Toronto this weekend, Ohtani won't pitch against the Blue Jays. Instead, it'll be Lucas Giolito, who the Angels acquired from the Chicago White Sox earlier this week.

Giolito posted a 3.79 ERA for the White Sox over 21 games this season before the trade. The hard-throwing righty has had some struggles with the Blue Jays in the past as he owns a 5.45 ERA in seven career starts against them. Most recently, Giolito faced the Blue Jays in Chicago earlier this month and scattered two runs over six innings.

After Giolito makes his Angels debut on Friday, Alek Manoah will go up against Reid Detmers on Saturday afternoon and Jose Berrios will take the mound against Tyler Anderson in the series finale on Sunday.

This series with the Angels is the first of three with serious implications for the Blue Jays. Next up, they'll host the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles for a four-game set and then they'll travel to Boston for a three-game series at Fenway Park with the Red Sox, another team right on their tail in the Wild Card race.

<hr />

<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

The Angels roll into Toronto three games back of the Blue Jays in the Wild Card standings

Recent articles from Cam Lewis

Breaking News