<p>It was an exciting Tuesday night contest at the Rogers Centre. Right-hander José Berríos struck out four of the six first batters he faced and didn&#8217;t allow a hit until the top of the fourth inning, and the Jays&#8217; offense came out of the gate hot, locking down an early 3-0 lead.</p>
<p>Things went askew a little later in the game, with Berríos surrendering two runs in the sixth before making way for the bullpen. The contingent was able to limit the damage to just one run the rest of the way while the bats tagged the Nationals&#8217; bullpen for two runs late, thanks in part to a Bo Bichette clutch single. Toronto had 12 hits on the day, and each one was a single &#8211; there were no extra base hits. The Blue Jays also played some small ball with the bat, dropping a couple of key bunts to move runners over, and Jeff Hoffman came in to shut everything down in the ninth.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays are running a three-game winning streak heading into today&#8217;s afternoon contest, with the first series sweep on the docket. These are the games Toronto needs to win if they want to be competitive this season, and getting key wins early before embarking on a road trip that starts in New York against the Mets is the perfect way to get things going.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">When Bo Bichette shows emotion of any kind, good or bad, you know it&#39;s important. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> </p>
<p>He&#39;s so back, man.<a href="https://t.co/oXNyJf3KxG">pic.twitter.com/oXNyJf3KxG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1907246622645346805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Easton Lucas will take the ball for Toronto, with the southpaw <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-max-scherzer-place-on-il-will-see-hand-specialist">recalled</a> from Buffalo this past weekend, with Scherzer landing on the IL. This will be his first outing of the year.</p>
<p>The Nationals will be sending left-hander Mackenzie Gore to the mound, a tough opponent for the Jays&#8217; bats. One of the key pieces of the Juan Soto trade between Washington and San Diego a few years back, Gore has emerged as the Nationals&#8217; go-to ace and he was dominant on Opening Day, tossing six scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies while allowing just one hit and striking out 13 batters &#8211; including Trea Turner, Bryce Harper (x2), J.T. Realmuto (x2), Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryson Stott. He faced the minimum number of batters through six innings.</p>
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<p><strong>Location: </strong>Rogers Centre &#8211; Toronto, Ont.</p>
<p><strong>First Pitch: </strong>3:07 PM EST</p>
<p><strong>Watch/Listen: </strong>CTV &amp; Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan</p>
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<p><strong>Toronto Blue Jays &#8211; </strong>Easton Lucas: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB</p>
<p><strong>Washington Nationals &#8211; </strong>Mackenzie Gore: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 13 SO, 0 BB</p>
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
<p><strong>Blue Jays:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Bo Bichette &#8211; SS</li>
<li>Vladimir Guerrero Jr &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Anthony Santander &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Andrés Giménez &#8211; 2B</li>
<li>George Springer &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Ernie Clement &#8211; 3B</li>
<li>Davis Schneider &#8211; LF</li>
<li>Tyler Heineman &#8211; C</li>
<li>Myles Straw &#8211; CF</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Washington Nationals:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>CJ Abrams &#8211; SS</li>
<li>Amed Rosario &#8211; 2B</li>
<li>Keibert Ruiz &#8211; C</li>
<li>James Wood &#8211; LF</li>
<li>Nathanial Lowe &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Josh Bell &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Alex Call &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Paul DeJong &#8211; 3B</li>
<li>Dylan Crews &#8211; CF</li>
</ol>
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It was an exciting Tuesday night contest at the Rogers Centre. Right-hander José Berríos struck out four of the six first batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until the top of the fourth inning, and the Jays' offense came out of the gate hot, locking down an early 3-0 lead.

Things went askew a little later in the game, with Berríos surrendering two runs in the sixth before making way for the bullpen. The contingent was able to limit the damage to just one run the rest of the way while the bats tagged the Nationals' bullpen for two runs late, thanks in part to a Bo Bichette clutch single. Toronto had 12 hits on the day, and each one was a single - there were no extra base hits. The Blue Jays also played some small ball with the bat, dropping a couple of key bunts to move runners over, and Jeff Hoffman came in to shut everything down in the ninth.

The Blue Jays are running a three-game winning streak heading into today's afternoon contest, with the first series sweep on the docket. These are the games Toronto needs to win if they want to be competitive this season, and getting key wins early before embarking on a road trip that starts in New York against the Mets is the perfect way to get things going.

https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1907246622645346805

Easton Lucas will take the ball for Toronto, with the southpaw <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/blue-jays-max-scherzer-place-on-il-will-see-hand-specialist">recalled</a> from Buffalo this past weekend, with Scherzer landing on the IL. This will be his first outing of the year.

The Nationals will be sending left-hander Mackenzie Gore to the mound, a tough opponent for the Jays' bats. One of the key pieces of the Juan Soto trade between Washington and San Diego a few years back, Gore has emerged as the Nationals' go-to ace and he was dominant on Opening Day, tossing six scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies while allowing just one hit and striking out 13 batters - including Trea Turner, Bryce Harper (x2), J.T. Realmuto (x2), Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryson Stott. He faced the minimum number of batters through six innings.

<hr />

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<strong>Location: </strong>Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ont.

<strong>First Pitch: </strong>3:07 PM EST

<strong>Watch/Listen: </strong>CTV &amp; Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<strong>Toronto Blue Jays - </strong>Easton Lucas: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB

<strong>Washington Nationals - </strong>Mackenzie Gore: 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 13 SO, 0 BB
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
<strong>Blue Jays:</strong>
<ol>
 	<li>Bo Bichette - SS</li>
 	<li>Vladimir Guerrero Jr - 1B</li>
 	<li>Anthony Santander - RF</li>
 	<li>Andrés Giménez - 2B</li>
 	<li>George Springer - DH</li>
 	<li>Ernie Clement - 3B</li>
 	<li>Davis Schneider - LF</li>
 	<li>Tyler Heineman - C</li>
 	<li>Myles Straw - CF</li>
</ol>
<strong>Washington Nationals:</strong>
<ol>
 	<li>CJ Abrams - SS</li>
 	<li>Amed Rosario - 2B</li>
 	<li>Keibert Ruiz - C</li>
 	<li>James Wood - LF</li>
 	<li>Nathanial Lowe - 1B</li>
 	<li>Josh Bell - DH</li>
 	<li>Alex Call - RF</li>
 	<li>Paul DeJong - 3B</li>
 	<li>Dylan Crews - CF</li>
</ol>

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