The Pirates have been a pesky team for the Blue Jays to face this week, but Toronto is one win away from taking the series and getting to an off day. While the day off should benefit everyone, it will particularly give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. another day to recover from the hamstring injury he suffered during the first game of this series.

Locking back in on today’s game, the Blue Jays are turning to Chris Bassitt, the team’s win leader, to get the job done. Bassitt has appeared in 26 games this season, pitching to a 4.22 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 8.6 K/9 over 138 2/3 innings. Should Bassitt hold his spot in the rotation between now and the rest of the season, he’s on track to make at least 30 starts for the fourth consecutive season.

Opponents have been putting good swings on his sinker, a pitch that has surrendered a .304 batting average and 21 extra-base hits this year. He has had success with his curveball (mainly thrown to lefties) and his sweeper (mainly thrown to righties), generating 31.6% and 48.5% whiff rates, respectively.

Much has been made about Bassitt’s polarizing home and road splits this season, especially once you consider that he has allowed more than three earned runs in 7 out of his 11 road starts. Bassitt is hoping to rewrite that narrative in PNC Park, a venue in which he has fared very well throughout his career. In three starts there, the veteran righty has pitched to a 1.89 ERA with 14 hits, four runs, seven walks, and 21 strikeouts over 19 innings.

Much like the other two Blue Jays starters in this series, it’s been Isiah Kiner-Falefa with the best historical numbers against Bassitt; the former Blue Jay infielder has five hits with a double and an RBI in 16 at-bats against him. Elsewhere, Bryan Reynolds has logged four hits in 12 at-bats, but those two by far have the largest sample size against Bassitt relative to the remainder of the team.

The Pirates will counter with 27-year-old righty Johan Oviedo, who will be making only his second start of the season. Oviedo missed all of last season and the first four months of this season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and was activated off the Injured List in early August. He started an August 4th affair with the San Francisco Giants, but he only lasted one inning after throwing 43 pitches and allowing two runs, two hits, and three walks.

He was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis following that outing, but the Pirates officially called him back up to the majors a short while ago to give him another shot at ramping back up in the majors. Oviedo has made two starts since being sent down to Triple-A, allowing six hits, three earned runs, three walks, and 15 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings.

Along with a four-seam fastball that sits around 95 mph, Oviedo mainly throws a slider and a curveball, with the latter pitch thrown primarily to lefties. The Pirates needed Yohan Ramírez and Colin Holderman to cover 4 2/3 innings last night after a short outing from Mitch Keller, so they’re hoping to get a substantial outing from Oviedo this afternoon.

Despite missing time with injury, Oviedo has still built up over three years of service time since his debut in 2020. Several Blue Jays hitters have faced him, but not in a significant sample size. For those who have faced him, Bo Bichette is 1-for-4 with a double, Alejandro Kirk is 2-for-3 with a double, and Daulton Varsho is 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Speaking of Varsho, he’s back in the lineup today after only playing centre field in the final inning of last night’s game. The top of the order stays the same with Guerrero Jr. missing his second consecutive game, and Ty France takes his spot at first once again.

Nathan Lukes, who has three hits in seven at-bats in this series, slots in the seven spot for this afternoon’s game. Lukes is taking advantage of opposing teams starting right-handed pitchers lately, and that trend appears to continue into Toronto’s next series in Miami.

Location: PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA

First Pitch: 12:35 PM EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan

Toronto Blue Jays – Chris Bassitt: 11-6 record, 4.22 ERA, 138 2/3 IP, 132 SO, 39 BB

Pittsburgh Pirates – Johan Oviedo: 0-0 record, 18.00 ERA, 1 IP, 3 SO, 3 BB