September 8 Gameday: José Soriano gets the ball as Blue Jays look to bounce back against Athletics
Photo credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Sep 8, 2026, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 8, 2026, 19:56 EDT
The series opener for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Athletics didn’t go as planned.
The Blue Jays were walked off by the Athletics, 6-5, in the bottom of the ninth, which dropped them to 72-73 through 145 games and kept them 1.0 game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Monday night’s loss was sloppy as the Blue Jays committed three errors and Toronto’s two best pitchers, Dylan Cease and Louis Varland, both turned in their worst performances in recent memory.
Looking to bounce back on Tuesday night, the Blue Jays will give the ball to right-hander José Soriano. Since being acquired by the Blue Jays in August, Soriano has made six starts and has gone 2-1 with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The right-hander has struck out 24 batters across his 33 innings and been hit at a .276 clip.
Soriano is looking to rebound in his own right. The 27-year-old is coming off a start on September 3 against the Cleveland Guardians in which he turned in a pitching line of 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, requiring 98 pitches across his 4.2 frames.
Soriano’s first 22 starts of the season came as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, who like the Athletics, call the AL West home. Two of those 22 starts came against the Athletics. Against them, Soriano has thrown 11.2 innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on 12 hits, five walks while striking out 13.
One Athletics batter who has had Soriano’s number throughout his career is outfielder Lawrence Butler. Butler is a lifetime .300 hitter across 20 at-bats against Soriano with three home runs and six RBIs.
Opposing Soriano for the Athletics is right-hander Jack Perkins. Through 33 games (13 starts) this season, Perkins is 3-10 with a 6.50 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. The 26-year-old has picked up three saves in five opportunities and has struck out 116 batters across 98.1 innings.
The Blue Jays might be getting Perkins at the right time, as the righty has struggled over his last seven outings, having pitched to a 6.60 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. During that span, Perkins has allowed 38 hits and issued 20 free passes across 30 innings.
Here is how the lineups look on Tuesday night:
Location: Sutter Health Park – Sacramento, California
First Pitch: 9:40 p.m. ET
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – José Soriano: 11-7 record, 3.52 ERA, 156.0 IP, 151 SO, 70 BB
Athletics – Jack Perkins: 3-10 record, 6.50 ERA, 98.1 IP, 116 SO, 47 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Brett Bateman – CF
- Nathan Lukes – RF
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Alejandro Kirk – C
- Josh Smith – LF
- Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
- Andrés Giménez – SS
- Jesús Sánchez – DH
- Ernie Clement – 2B
Athletics:
- Henry Bolte – CF
- Jeff McNeil – 1B
- Zack Gelof – 3B
- Lawrence Butler – RF
- Carlos Cortes – LF
- Tommy White – DH
- Donovan Walton – 2B
- Alika Williams – SS
- Jonah Heim – C
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