August 15 Gameday: Blue Jays turn to bullpen day looking for series win over Yankees
Photo credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Aug 15, 2026, 12:43 EDTUpdated: Aug 15, 2026, 13:24 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays have life.
Following Friday night’s 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees, the Blue Jays are now 60-64 and find themselves only 1.0 game back of the Detroit Tigers for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Three weeks ago today, the Blue Jays were nine games under .500 and the playoffs felt like a distant dream rather than a reality. Fast-forward to today, the Blue Jays have the opportunity to win their sixth straight series, a run that has raised their playoff odds to 17.2% per FanGraphs.
Looking to secure their second in a row against the Yankees, the Blue Jays will be rolling out Braydon Fisher as an opener as they rely on a bullpen day to get through Saturday’s contest.
Through 58 games (seven starts), Fisher is 3-3 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The right-hander has struck out 57 batters across his 61 innings pitched and has held opponents to a .204 average.
Saturday afternoon will be Fisher’s second time working as an opener against the Yankees this season and eighth time overall this year. Over his seven outings working as an opener, Fisher has thrown 8.0 innings and allowed one run on three hits, seven walks and has struck out nine. Overall, the Blue Jays have gone 5-2 in the games started by Fisher.
While it remains to be seen who will follow Fisher, manager John Schneider said to the media last night that Simeon Woods Richardson will be part of the plan in some capacity. Since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins on June 3, the right-hander has pitched in four games with the Blue Jays and has gone 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.
Woods Richardson has thrown 13 innings, going at least three frames in all four of his outings, and has struck out seven batters and held opponents to a .190 average during that span.
Taking the mound for the Yankees is right-hander Cam Schlittler. Through 25 starts this season, Schlittler is 10-6 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. The 25-year-old has thrown 146.2 innings this season and struck out 182 batters, while holding teams to a .196 average.
Saturday will be Schlittler’s third time facing the Blue Jays this season, and his last outing back on June 13 at Rogers Centre was pure dominance. Schlittler turned in a pitching line of 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K and kept the Blue Jays’ offence in check for much of the afternoon.
Here’s how the lineups look Saturday at Rogers Centre:
Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Ontario
First Pitch: 3:07 p.m. ET
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Braydon Fisher: 3-3 record, 3.54 ERA, 61 IP, 57 SO, 33 BB
New York Yankees – Cam Schlittler: 10-6 record, 2.21 ERA, 146.2 IP, 182 SO, 31 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Brett Bateman – CF
- Nathan Lukes – RF
- Alejandro Kirk – DH
- Jesús Sánchez – LF
- Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
- Andrés Giménez – SS
- Brandon Valenzuela – C
- Josh Smith – 2B
- Charles McAdoo – 1B
Yankees:
- Trent Grisham – CF
- Ben Rice – DH
- Heliot Ramos – LF
- Luis García Jr. – 1B
- Spencer Jones – RF
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. – 2B
- George Lombard Jr.– SS
- Ryan McMahon – 3B
- Austin Wells – C
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Breaking News
- Blue Jays place Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on 7-day IL, recall Daz Cameron & DFA Lazaro Estrada
- August 15 Gameday: Blue Jays turn to bullpen day looking for series win over Yankees
- Blue Jays recall Ricky Tiedemann, option Chase Lee to Triple-A Buffalo
- 3 Blue Jays prospects who had strong Friday night showings
- Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sent for concussion testing after taking knee to head