Duel on deck in Detroit 💪 #lightsupletsgo
Blue Jays GDB – 105.0: Toronto goes for series win against the Tigers
Photo credit: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Jul 26, 2025, 16:13 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays will take on the Detroit Tigers for Game 3 of their four-game set at Comerica Park on Saturday with first pitch flying at 6:10 p.m. ET.
As unstoppable a force as Toronto’s offence has been, they will meet with an immovable object in this game: Tarik Skubal. The Blue Jays are first in most major offensive categories since May 1st, including OPS (.780), wRC+ (117) and runs scored (387). Meanwhile, Skubal leads qualified starters in K-BB% (30.7), FIP (1.91), and his 2.19 ERA is second only to Paul Skenes.
Easily the hottest team in baseball right now, the Blue Jays have won 18 of their last 22 games; meanwhile, the Tigers are the coldest, having lost 11 of their last 12. Toronto is 3-2 this season against Detroit, and a win tonight would clinch the season series and tiebreaker between the two teams. As potential contenders for the top two spots in the American League and byes to the ALDS, securing the tiebreaker adds an important cushion to the Blue Jays’ existing lead. And that goes without mentioning that Toronto can take the series with a win on Saturday.
Skubal is devastating against either side of the platoon, allowing similar contact and on-base rates, but has been particularly adept at limiting slugging against left-handed hitters. The reigning AL Cy Young winner is yet to allow a home run to a lefty this season and is holding them to a .217 slug and .447 OPS.
That is why the Blue Jays are sitting the left-handed side of the platoon. Yet, this does not include Addison Barger, who has only one home run and a .633 OPS against southpaws this season.
Toronto has also placed Will Wagner on the restricted list – he will be attending his father Billy Wagner’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony – and recalled Alan Roden from triple-A Buffalo in his place.
Kevin Gausman is coming off one of his best starts of the season.
The line wasn’t as clean as his eight-inning shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on June 26th or his 10-strikeout, zero-earned run effort over eight innings against the Boston Red Sox in April, but considering the opponent, it was formidable. The 34-year-old right-hander threw seven innings of one-run ball, walking two and striking out eight in a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees. Gausman needed only 86 pitches and pounded the zone, throwing 61 of them for strikes. He located his fastball with precision at the bottom of the zone, and his 18 called strikes tied for his third-highest mark of the season.
After taking down the Tigers 6-2 on Friday, the Blue Jays find themselves in a place they haven’t been in for over three decades, atop Major League Baseball this late into the season.
They also put more of a buffer between themselves and both the Tigers and Houston Astros, who are now 2.5 and 2 games back of the Blue Jays for the top spot in the AL, respectively.
Location: Comerica Park – Detroit, Michigan
First Pitch: 6:10 PM EST
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Gausman: 7–7 record, 4.01 ERA, 116.2 IP, 112 SO, 36 BB
Detroit Tigers –Tarik Skubal: 10-3 record, 2.19 ERA, 127 2/3 IP, 164 SO, 16 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Davis Schneider – LF
- George Springer – DH
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Bo Bichette – SS
- Alejandro Kirk – C
- Addison Barger – RF
- Ernie Clement – 3B
- Myles Straw – CF
- Leo Jimenez – 2B
Tigers:
- Gleyber Torres – CF
- Riley Greene – LF
- Spencer Torkelson – 1B
- Colt Keith – DH
- Matt Vierling – CF
- Wenceel Perez – RF
- Javier Baez – SS
- Zach McKinstry – 3B
- Jake Rogers – C