After dropping the final two games of their series against the Houston Astros, the Blue Jays have lost two consecutive one-run games to the Texas Rangers to drop their record to 39-43 through 82 games.
Desperately needing to get back on track, the Blue Jays will hand the ball to right-hander Dylan Cease. Through 14 games, Cease is 4-3 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, and has held opposing teams to a .206 average against to this point in the season.
After being signed to the largest free agent contract in franchise history this past December, Cease has been everything the Blue Jays’ management could have hoped for. The 30-year-old has struck out 118 batters across his first 78.2 innings pitched, and even after missing time due to a hamstring strain, Cease still ranks tied for third among all MLB pitchers in strikeouts. The Rangers will counter with Port Hope, Ontario native Cal Quantrill. Through 16 games (one start), Quantrill is 3-0 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The 31-year-old has allowed a .252 average, and after a sparkling month of May in which Quantrill posted a 0.63 ERA, the month of June has been much tougher.
In seven outings through June, Quantrill has pitched to a 6.30 ERA over 10 innings and has allowed opponents to hit .286 to go with three home runs. Quantrill’s longest outing of the season has been 3.1 innings, so Saturday’s contest has the makings of a bullpen day for the Rangers.
While the Blue Jays’ offence has struggled for much of the past stretch, one player who is seeing the ball really well is Kazuma Okamoto. For the season, Okamoto is batting .245 with 19 home runs and 53 RBIs. Okamoto has homered in four of his past six games and is batting .455 with 11 RBIs during that stretch.
Blue Jays’ No. 14-ranked prospect Sean Keys was officially recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday afternoon. Keys is set to bat sixth and play first base during his MLB debut. Keys mashed his way into the Blue Jays’ lineup after hitting a combined 21 home runs across both Double-A and Triple-A this season, and will look to provide an instant boost on Toronto’s 23-man roster. The opening three innings of the first two games of the series have been unkind to the Blue Jays, as the Rangers have outscored the club 11-0 over the two contests, which has been too much for the Blue Jays’ late-game comebacks to overcome. With Cease on the hill, the Blue Jays need to hit the ground running in Saturday’s contest.
Location: Rogers Centre – Toronto, Canada
First Pitch: 3:07 PM EST
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Dylan Cease: 4-3, 2.75 ERA, 78.2 IP, 118 SO, 35 BB
Texas Rangers – Cal Quantrill: 3-0 record, 3.73 ERA, 31.1 IP, 20 SO, 10 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Nathan Lukes – RF
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – DH
- Daulton Varsho – CF
- Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
- Alejandro Kirk – C
- Sean Keys – 1B
- Ernie Clement – 3B
- Yohendrick Piñango – LF
- Andrés Giménez – SS
Rangers:
- Joc Pederson – DH
- Wyatt Langford – CF
- Corey Seager – SS
- Brandon Nimmo – RF
- Josh Jung – 3B
- Jake Burger – 1B
- Jarred Kelenic – LF
- Elias Díaz – C
- Nicky Lopez – 2B
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