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Blue Jays: Gage Stanifer strikes out eight, including Francisco Lindor
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Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jun 20, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 20, 2026, 22:29 EDT
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Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching prospect, Gage Stanifer, had his best outing of the season on Friday evening.
Starting the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Stanifer threw four and two-thirds innings, allowing five hits and two runs (one earned). More importantly, he didn’t give up a free pass, all while striking out eight.
The biggest strikeout of the outing came against five-time All-Star, Francisco Lindor. Stanifer blew a fastball right past the rehabbing big leaguer to end his evening.
With that performance, the 22-year-old has a season ERA of 4.26, with a 4.58 FIP in 57 innings pitched. The 27.8 K% is impressive, but Stanifer has a worrisome BB% of 13.1%, which is what makes Friday’s performance so noteworthy.
As a whole, Stanifer’s numbers have been much better since his third start of the season. In his last 11 starts, the right-handed pitcher has a 3.02 ERA and 4.39 FIP, with a similar 26.8 K% and 13.2 BB% in 50.2 innings of work.
There’s still some things to work on for Stanifer, namely his command and tendency to give up home runs (he’s now given up seven as opposed to four last season), but he’s the real deal. At just 22, it wouldn’t be surprising if he spends all, or at the very least, most of the season in Double-A, but he’s a call-up candidate next season.

Other notes…

Despite Stanifer’s strong performance, he was tagged with his fifth loss in a 5-2 defeat. Mason Olson followed Stanifer, striking out six over three and one-third innings, giving up three runs, two earned. Eddie Micheletti Jr., Jorge Burgos, and Cade Doughty all hit a double. The Fisher Cats’ struggles continue.
The Buffalo Bisons also lost on Friday, dropping a 10-5 decision to the Charlotte Knights. However, their standout player in this game was Jay Harry, who went 4-5 with his first Triple-A home run and two doubles. Three balls in play had an exit velocity of over 100 mph. Josh Rivera hit his 13th double of the season.
In High-A, the Vancouver Canadians defeated Spokane by a score of 12-5. Every starter in the lineup notched a hit, with Sam Shaw and J.R. Freethy each hitting their fourth High-A home run of the season. Eric Snow hit two doubles, Tucker Toman hit his 10th double, while Maddox Latta, Alexis Hernandez, and Peyton Williams all hit a double as well.
As for the other “A” affiliate on Friday, the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays fell 10-1 to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Mustering just three hits, JoJo Parker hit his second triple of the season, the lone extra-base hit.
In the rookie leagues, the Florida Complex League Blue Jays won both their games, while both of their Dominican Summer League teams lost. 
Starting with the FCL Jays, they played a doubleheader thanks to a suspended game. That suspended game resulted in a 9-2 victory  Juan Rojas went deep, as did Kennew Blanco, his first FCL home run. Rojas hit his eighth double, Andres Arias hit his second double, and David Guzman also hit his second double.
In their 15-8 victory, Pascual Archila, David Guzman, and Juan Rojas each went deep, while Giaconino Lasaracina went deep twice. Arias, Archila, and Edgardo Villegas all hit a double, helping move the FCL Jays’ record to 25-10.
The DSL Blue Jays Blue fell 15-5 to the DSL Mariners. Shortstop Cristopher Polanco hit his second double of the season and had two of their five hits. In the DSL Blue Jays Red’s 4-3 loss, shortstop Gabriel Porras hit his first professional double and had a two-hit performance.
There are a few other notes from the preceding days as well. The C’s split lost Wednesday and won Thursday, but Toman went deep twice and hit two doubles in those two games. In Thursday’s 13-9 victory, Toman was one of four players with three or more hits, with Snow, Williams, and Hernandez joining him with three, while Edward Duran had a four-hit game.
Aside from Toman’s double on Wednesday, the other notable storyline from their 5-4 loss in extra innings was Johnny King’s start. The lefty went five innings of work, allowing three earned runs, but walking just one while striking out seven.
JoJo Parker also had strong games on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, a 9-5 D-Jays victory, Parker hit his fifth home run and 14th double, while Blaine Bullard hit his third triple. Juan Sanchez had a three-hit game as well.
On Thursday, which turned out to be an 11-3 loss, Parker hit his sixth home run and 15th double, two of the six hits the D-Jays had. He also drove in all three runs that they’d end up scoring.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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