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Blue Jays Gameday (May 16): Toronto turns to bullpen in must-win afternoon versus Detroit

Photo credit: © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

By Tristan Morgan

May 16, 2026, 12:15 EDTUpdated: May 16, 2026, 12:48 EDT

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Friday night did not go according to plan for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Spencer Torkelson’s ninth-inning single handed the Detroit Tigers a 3-2 win and sent the Blue Jays’ record to 19-25, losing eight of their last 11. The offence managed just five hits after a two-run second inning and went completely quiet from there. That’s been the story too many times this season, and it cannot happen again Saturday afternoon if the Blue Jays want to salvage a split before Sunday’s finale.

The Blue Jays go to the bullpen today, with Mason Fluharty expected to open things up before Spencer Miles handles a chunk of innings. Fluharty has become a dependable arm, primarily relying on a cutter-sweeper combination that limits hard contact, but starting a game is a different ask than entering in the middle of one.

His 5.40 ERA this season is underwhelming to say the least, though the arsenal is better than the number suggests, and his underlying contact numbers back that up. The cutter is his best weapon, sitting around 91 mph and biting in hard on right-handed hitters. The sweeper generates the whiffs, and when he’s commanding it, he can become very difficult to square up.

However, with limited changeup usage and not much true velocity separation, disciplined hitters can start sitting in lanes if Fluharty falls behind in counts. The Tigers own the American League’s lowest chase rate at 26.2%, and they are more than willing to take a free pass. Their top of the order, led by Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene, will work counts and punish anything predictable. Fluharty could go a maximum of two innings.

The Tigers are finally getting some help returning from the injured list. All-Star starting pitcher Casey Mize is returning on Saturday afternoon, making his first start since April 28 after suffering a right adductor strain against the Atlanta Braves. Before going down, Mize had posted a 2.90 ERA with a career-best 27.4% strikeout rate across 31 innings, making him one of the better starters in the American League through the first month of the season.

Mize has simplified things in 2026, leaning on a four-pitch mix of a four-seamer, sinker, splitter, and slider after scrapping the cutter and knuckle curve he experimented with in previous years. The result has been more movement across the board, more weak contact, and more strikeouts, as every one of his pitches is generating more lateral and vertical break than it did a season ago.

His splitter remains his best pitch, a plus offering with late, hard downward movement. The last time he faced the Blue Jays was May 2024, when he allowed three runs over 4.1 innings. This version of Mize looks quite different from the one taking the ball today.

The only real question is workload. Mize skipped a rehab assignment and has been throwing consistently since hitting the IL, but the Tigers will likely keep a closer eye on his pitch count than usual in his first outing back. If the Blue Jays can force deep counts early and get into Detroit’s bullpen before the fifth, it gives them a good chance to take this one.

There is also a potential roster move on the way. Adam Macko has a locker in Detroit, according to multiple reports, and appears to be nearing a big league debut, pending a corresponding IL stint to clear a spot on the roster, as Blue Jays manager John Schneider noted that a couple of guys are “banged up” in the bullpen, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

Keegan Matheson

@KeeganMatheson

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The #BlueJays have a couple of guys “banged up” in the bullpen, Schneider says. If Adam Macko is activated for today’s game, expect that to be for an IL move.

3:42 PM · May 16, 2026

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The 26-year-old lefthander has a four-pitch arsenal headlined by a cut-slider, with the ability to generate whiffs in and out of the zone. Across 18 innings of relief at Triple-A Buffalo this season, he carries a 4.50 ERA with a 31.4% whiff rate and a .266 xwOBA.

For the Blue Jays, the path forward starts with the offence finally finding its footing. They’re hitting just .245 as a team, scoring 4.2 runs per game, which sits 19th in MLB. The surface numbers are bad enough, but the underlying ones are worse. The Blue Jays have converted 67.7% of balls in play into outs, ranking 29th in the majors, while the defence isn’t helping much either, carrying a fielding percentage of .982, which puts them 27th.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the most visible symptom of a lineup-wide problem. Guerrero leads the team in OBP at .381, but his slugging sits at just .372, and he has not produced an extra-base hit all month. Against a pitcher as sharp as Mize, the Blue Jays need to be aggressive early in counts and make him work before his splitter starts disappearing into the dirt for strike three.

Both clubs need a win badly. Detroit wants to protect home turf and hand the Blue Jays a series loss on Victoria Day weekend. Toronto wants to get back to even and give itself something to play for on Sunday. This afternoon, and nearly every game in the near future, is a must-win for the Blue Jays.

Location: Detroit, MI (Comerica Park)

First Pitch: 1:10 PM ET

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet, SN590