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Blue Jays Gameday (April 22): Toronto looks to sweep series versus Angels
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Photo credit: © William Liang-Imagn Images
Tristan Morgan
Apr 22, 2026, 14:15 EDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2026, 14:44 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t bus five hours through the California desert just to take two out of three.
Their journey from Phoenix to Anaheim last Sunday didn’t involve their usual Air Canada charter jet or even a first-class cabin, it was three buses and a stretch of Interstate 10 that felt more like the Northwest League than the Major Leagues. After that slog, the defending American League champions have made it count. Two wins down, and now the Blue Jays stand one victory away from their first road series sweep of the 2026 season. 
So far, the Blue Jays have handled the Los Angeles Angels with authority. In Game 1, Dylan Cease was electric, striking out 12 in five innings while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits, including a two-run homer, in a 5-2 win. The Angels struck out a season-high 18 times in that one, a deeply troubling number for a team that’s already spinning its wheels offensively as of late.
In Game 2, Lenyn Sosa delivered a pinch-hit, two-run double in a three-run eighth inning, and reliever Louis Varland bailed out struggling closer Jeff Hoffman by inducing a game-ending double play to close out a 4-2 win.  Sosa’s emergence off the bench shut down the rest of that game in the biggest moment of his limited time with the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays enter today at 10-13 on the season, but on a three-game win streak and sitting 4-7 away from home, a number they’d desperately like to fix. Sweeping a series in Anaheim would be another meaningful step toward legitimizing this club as a true contender once again, as they wait for their cavalry to return.
Now, let’s get into today’s arms starting on the bump. Starting on the Halo’s side is perhaps the best starter in MLB right now. There’s no way to sugar-coat it; what José Soriano is doing right now is historically special. 
Soriano is 5-0 with a 0.28 ERA, having allowed just one run across 32⅔ innings this season. He leads the majors with 39 strikeouts while surrendering only 11 hits. The most recent pitcher to allow one earned run or fewer in each of his first five starts with at least 15 total innings pitched was Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, when Valenzuela won the NL Cy Young Award. Walter Johnson also did it in 1913. Nobody else.
The right-handed pitcher’s average exit velocity allowed this season sits at 87 mph, and opponents are hitting just a .170 wOBA against him. Hitters aren’t just failing, they’re failing pretty badly. Soriano pairs a 99 mph fastball with a sinker that ranks among the best in baseball, and he’s mixing in a curve that has been particularly baffling to opposing lineups. 
However, there was one crack in the armour from his last outing: the Padres drew four walks and forced Soriano to throw 99 pitches, and loaded the bases in the third before he escaped. Guerrero is hitting .354 with a .442 OBP this season, and a patient, disciplined approach will be the Blue Jays’ only realistic path to manufacturing offence against him.
Make him work. Make him uncomfortable. The moment he’s grinding through counts on his third time through the order, anything is possible, especially once the Blue Jays get to the Angels’ bullpen, which has the 21st-ranked bullpen ERA this season (4.65).
Now on the Blue Jays side, Eric Lauer gets the ball in this series finale, and this is, candidly, the hard part of the preview to write. 
Through three starts this season, Lauer has yielded 11 earned runs on 11 hits and nine walks while striking out 12 over just 12.2 innings.  The stuff has been there in flashes; his season debut against the Athletics was incredibly strong, with nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings and just two runs allowed, but he has not been able to sustain it since falling sick in Chicago. His most recent start against the Twins was a disaster, surrendering seven runs in 5.1 innings, including a three-run homer from Trevor Larnach. 
Batters are hitting Lauer at a 42.1% hard-hit rate this season, which is an alarming number for a lefty without real high-end velocity. The good news is that Lauer’s underlying profile, when he’s right, is that of a useful, crafty southpaw who can create soft contact. He posted a 3.18 ERA with a 102:26 K:BB ratio across 104.2 innings in 2025. That version of Lauer is genuinely capable of eating innings and keeping a game like this close. 
Against an Angels lineup that in the three games leading to this series struck out 39 times while collecting just 14 hits, there’s reason to believe Lauer can be effective. Mike Trout leads the Angels with a .415 OBP and .543 slugging percentage, among others like Jorge Soler and Zach Neto, that Lauer cannot afford to miss with. But if he can get his slider working early and keep the ball on the ground, the Angels’ impatient approach could play into his hands.
One of the key aspects of today’s game is, of course, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as he enters today’s game on an 11-game hitting streak. In that streak, he’s hitting .455 with four doubles, a home run, three walks and eight RBIs. He is locked in, and if the Blue Jays are going to make Soriano uncomfortable, it runs through Vladdy doing what he’s been doing all week.
This game could define the road trip. Everything has gone right for the last three games against the Diamondbacks and Angels. If the Blue Jays can sneak a win out today and have Jaime Campbell flipping a broom on Blue Jays Central postgame on Sportsnet, they roll back home with some serious confidence and momentum against the Guardians.  
It’s hard to imagine the Blue Jays would be favoured today against Soriano, but they’ll show up, and after five hours on a bus and three wins in a row, it might be time for the Blue Jays to officially catch fire. 
Location: Anaheim, CA (Angel Stadium)
First Pitch: 3:07 PM ET
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet One, SN590

Starting Pitchers

Toronto Blue Jays – Eric Lauer: 1-3, 7.13 ERA, 12.2 IP, 12 SO, 9 BB
Los Angeles Angels– José Soriano: 5-0, 0.28 ERA, 32.2 IP, 39 SO, 0.73 WHIP​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Lineups:

Blue Jays:
  1. Nathan Lukes – LF
  2. Ernie Clement – 2B
  3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – DH
  4. Jesús Sánchez – RF
  5. Lenyn Sosa – 1B
  6. Daulton Varhso – CF
  7. Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
  8. Andrés Giménez  – SS
  9. Tyler Heineman – C
Angels:
  1. Zach Neto – SS
  2. Mike Trout – DH
  3. Jo Adell – LF
  4. Jorge Soler – RF
  5. Oswald Peraza – 3B
  6. Nolan Schanuel – 1B
  7. Vaugn Grissom – 2B
  8. Logan O’Hoppe – C
  9. Bryce Teodosio -CF

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