The Toronto Blue Jays are back on the road after losing two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers at home this past weekend. The Jays played some sloppy baseball at times, and the bullpen struggled through the first two games before the bats awoke on Sunday to help the club sneak out of the Rogers Centre without getting swept.

Manager John Schneider will now turn to veteran Chris Bassitt to help the Jays get back some momentum as they head into an afternoon contest this Labour Day Monday afternoon contest.

Bassitt enters today with a 4.14 ERA through 28 outings (27 starts and one relief appearance). He owns an 8.9 K/9 through 150 innings and has kept the walks limited to just a 2.6 BB/9 mark with 44 free passes allowed. The right-hander found a groove in August, albeit with skewed results, as Bassitt authored a 3.67 ERA with 11 earned runs across 27 innings, but the Jays lost four of his five starts. The bats either struggled to give him run support before he was lifted, or the bullpen couldn’t keep the game close, a common phrase in the clubhouse at the moment. His FIP sat at 4.83 thanks to four home runs allowed and 14 walks surrendered.

The 36-year-old is pitching in home territory, hailing from Toledo, Ohio, and is making his second career start at Great American Ball Park. In his lone outing, he allowed two earned runs off three hits while striking out six, earning the win.

Opposite Bassitt this afternoon will be one of the Reds’ top arms in right-hander Hunter Greene.

Greene is making his 15th start of the season after missing a significant portion of the season with a right groin strain. When healthy, Greene has been downright dominant, posting a 3.41 FIP and a 2.81 ERA through 77 innings. He has been striking out opponents at a high rate (11.0 K/9) and keeping the walks in check (1.9 BB/9) while working with a 0.974 WHIP. Opponents own a .645 OPS and a .392 SLG against the right-hander.

The bread and butter pitch for Greene is his four-seamer, which averages at 99.4 MPH, and has held opponents to a .226 xBA and a .279 wOBA while being used 55.3% of the time. His slider is his next go-to pitch, keeping hitters off balance to the tune of a .161 xBA, .291 sXLG, and .247 wOBA. Both pitches are in positive territory in pitching run value, sitting at +11 and +6, respectively. He rounds out his arsenal with a split-finger, but that pitch has struggled to find the same success this season (.340 xBA and .590 xSLG) and is his least-used pitch at 9.6%. The Jays should expect a heavy dose of fastballs today.

Toronto will be calling up Dillon Tate to join the roster, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa rounding out the two additional roster players for the September expansion. Daulton Varsho also returns to the starting lineup. He was used as a defensive replacement last night but is making his first start since being hit by a pitch earlier this week.

The Reds are calling up their top prospect, Sal Stewart, for his MLB debut today. He joins former Blue Jays top prospect Yosver Zulueta as the Reds’ September expansion roster additions.

Location: Great American Ball Park – Cincinnati, Ohio

First Pitch: 1:10 PM EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan

Toronto Blue Jays – Chris Bassitt: 11-7 record, 4.14 ERA, 150 IP, 148 SO, 44 BB

Cincinnati Reds – Hunter Greene: 5-4 record, 2.81 ERA, 77 IP, 94 SO, 16 BB