Monday’s series opener against the Colorado Rockies didn’t go so great for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Through two and one-third innings, Cody Ponce was generating swings and misses left and right, as he had a whiff rate above 50%. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury attempting to field. The Jays tied it, the Rockies restored their lead, and the score was kept close until a seven-run top of the sixth. In the end, the Jays fell 14-5.

There aren’t a lot of positives to take away from Monday’s game, but Davis Schneider and Andrés Giménez each hit their first home run of the season, while George Springer and Kazuma Okamoto hit their second home runs of the season.

Last night saw Tomoyuki Sugano start for the Rockies, going four and two-thirds innings while giving up just one run. On Tuesday, Ryan Feltner will make his season debut after posting a 4.75 ERA in six starts last season. His only full season in the big leagues came two seasons ago, where he had a 4.49 ERA in 162.1 innings pitched. Felter was better on the road that season, posting a 3.93 ERA.

Also making his season debut in this game will be Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old signed early in Spring Training, where he threw 13.2 scoreless innings with an 18.4 K% and 10.2 BB%. Scherzer’s 2025 had its ups and downs, but he pitched great in the postseason.

The Blue Jays also made some tweaks to their batting order. Their top third of Springer, Jesús Sánchez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remains the same, but there is movement elsewhere. Batting cleanup for the second time this season is Okamoto, as Addison Barger starts this game on the bench. With Alejandro Kirk also on the bench, Nathan Lukes bats fifth.

Ernie Clement was elevated in the batting order, hitting behind Lukes. Daulton Varsho moved down a spot, batting seventh, while Tyler Heineman and Giménez hit eighth and ninth respectively.

The Blue Jays have an easy schedule to start the season and they need to take advantage of it. They can do just do that by winning the next two against the Rockies. Let’s set up Tuesday evening’s game.

Toronto Blue Jays – Max Scherzer: 0-0 record, 0 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB

Colorado Rockies – Ryan Feltner: 0-0 record, 0 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB