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August 20 Gameday: Shane Bieber starts as Blue Jays look for series victory over Rays

Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

By Michael Coyle

Aug 20, 2026, 10:59 EDT

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The Toronto Blue Jays are going for a series win at Tropicana Field on Thursday.

Sitting at 62-66 after Wednesday’s 7-6 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Blue Jays find themselves 1.0 game back of the Minnesota Twins for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.

If the Blue Jays can secure a win in the rubber match against the Rays, that will make it seven straight series wins for Toronto and give them momentum as they head to New York for their final three regular season games against the Yankees this year.

Getting the ball for the Blue Jays this afternoon is right-hander Shane Bieber. In his most recent outing against the Yankees on August 14, Bieber dazzled, turning in a pitching line of 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, with the lone damage coming by way of Trent Grisham’s solo home run.

For the season, Bieber has made 10 starts and is 4-2 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The 31-year-old has struck out 37 batters across his 48.2 innings pitched and has allowed opponents to hit .271 during that span.

While the Rays hold the season series advantage 9-3, Bieber was largely responsible for one of the Blue Jays’ victories on July 23. Like today’s contest, Bieber pitched in the series finale in that four-game set and had the Rays lineup in fits. In a 3-1 Blue Jays win, Bieber turned in a pitching line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, in what was his best start of the season.

Countering Bieber for the Rays will be left-hander Ian Seymour. Through 39 games (10 starts) this season, Seymour is 9-3 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The 27-year-old has worked in a variety of roles this season, and has even posted two saves with one coming against the Blue Jays during a 3-0 win on May 6.

Across his 39 outings, Seymour has thrown 96.1 innings pitched and has struck out 115 batters during that span while holding opponents to a .218 average. While Seymour doesn’t throw hard by any means, highlighted by his fastball averaging only 91.4 MPH, the lefty relies on his changeup that he throws 31% of the time to keep hitters off balance.

The last time Seymour faced the Blue Jays was on July 23. Seymour followed opener Casey Legumina, who worked two innings and tossed the final six frames and picked up the loss after allowing two runs on five hits, one walk, while striking out seven.

One Blue Jays who has had his way with Rays pitching so far this series has been Alejandro Kirk. Through the first two games, Kirk is 5-for-11 with two home runs and five RBIs. In his career off Seymour, Kirk has hit one home run, driven in five and holds a batting average of .286.

After being removed following his groundout in the top of the third Wednesday night, Brett Bateman is out of the lineup due to right hamstring tightness. The 24-year-old has brought a spark to the Blue Jays’ lineup since debuting on August 7, having batted .274 with four RBIs across his first 48 career at-bats.

Here’s how the lineups look in the series finale:

Location: Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, Florida

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. ET

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590