GDB 125.0: Toronto Blue Jays host old friend Santiago Espinal and the Reds for three game series
Photo credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
By Zach Laing
Aug 19, 2024, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 19, 2024, 17:37 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays will see an old friend early this week, welcoming the Cincinnati Reds and Santiago Espinal to town.
It’ll mark his first trip back to Toronto since the team traded him to Cincinnati in March in exchange for minor leaguer Chris McElvain. Espinal has put together a good season for the Reds, playing 82 games slashing .253/.296/.384 for a .680 OPS and a 87 OPS+, up seven percentage points than his 2023 season with the Blue Jays.
Espinal will bat ninth in their order tonight, but it’s a player well up the order the team needs to worry about in Elly De La Cruz. Slashing .259/.342/.484 for a .826 OPS, De La Cruz is a menace on the base paths, stealing an MLB-leading 59 bags this year — a whopping 22 more than the second-placed Shohei Ohtani. The issue? He also leads all of baseball with 165 strikeouts.
Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Jays Monday night, looking to continue a solid stretch since the beginning of July, going 5-1, posting a 3.17 ERA, 4.05 FIP, while allowing a .629 OPS to opposing hitters. Despite below-average strikeout numbers, he’s still finding ways to be successful.
The Reds, meanwhile, send out righty Julian Aguiar for his first major league start.
First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST.
TV & Radio: Sportsnet, SN590, TVA Sports.
Starting pitchers:
| Name | Team | GS | W | L | IP | ERA | xERA | ERA- | FIP | WHIP | K/9 | BB/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Gausman | TOR | 24 | 11 | 8 | 139.1 | 4.20 | 4.87 | 105 | 4.05 | 1.26 | 8.14 | 2.65 |
Julian Aguiar (AAA) | CIN | 9 | 3 | 1 | 47.0 | 4.40 | 4.70 | 1.26 | 7.85 | 3.06 |
Lineups:
BLUE JAYS:
- G Springer (R) RF
- D Varsho (L) CF
- V Guerrero Jr. (R) DH
- S Horwitz (L) 1B
- A Kirk (R) C
- W Wagner (L) 2B
- E Clement (R) SS
- J Loperfido (L) LF
- A Barger (L) 3B
REDS:
- J India (R) 2B
- E De La Cruz (S) SS
- T Stephenson (R) C
- T Friedl (L) CF
- S Steer (R) LF
- J Candelario (S) DH
- T France (R) 1B
- J Fraley (L) RF
- S Espinal (R) 3B
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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.