The Toronto Blue Jays visit the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday night to open a three-game series that could have an impact on the jammed American League wild-card race.
The Blue Jays (68-70) will go into the series 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians (69-68) in the AL wild-card standings. Entering MLB play Monday, Cleveland held the third and final AL wild-card spot.
The Blue Jays lead the season series 2-1 after a three-game series at Toronto from April 24-26.
The Guardians, who are 3 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, are scheduled to start right-hander Gavin Williams (12-7, 3.98 ERA) in the opener.
Williams is 1-0 with a 4.43 ERA in four career starts against the Blue Jays. The win came this season when despite allowing six runs in six innings of Cleveland’s 8-6 win.
Toronto is slated to send right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-7, 4.81) to the mound. He is 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Guardians, going 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in two starts against them this season as a member of the Houston Astros.
The Guardians salvaged the finale of a three-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday with an 11-1 victory. They finished August on an 8-2 run.
“You’re going to have games where pitchers shut you down,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “You’re going to have games where you just don’t put it together. But we like what this offense is. We like what it’s trending to be, and we’re getting contributions up and down the line.”
The Blue Jays, who also lost two of three last week to the Royals, completed a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners Sunday with a 7-0 victory to finish a 4-2 homestand.
Toronto’s rotation, which has been beset by injuries, was given a boost when Max Scherzer struck out 10 over seven innings, while allowing one hit. With his final strikeout of the game, Scherzer passed Gaylord Perry to move into ninth on the all-time list with 3,535.
Toronto manager John Schneider said watching the 42-year-old dominate was like “hopping in a time machine.”
“This is what you play for; this is what’s fun,” Scherzer said. “When you’re in the hunt, you have to win. The pressure is on. You have to go out there and do something about it. I love these moments. We’re in a fight and we have to fight all the way until the end.”
The Guardians also had a big performance from a prominent veteran Sunday when Jose Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and four RBIs.
The homer was his first since June 6 in a span that included a stint on the injured list June 14-July 21 with a fractured left hamate bone that required surgery.
“Many times you feel that weakness when you’re hitting,” Ramirez said. “It’s only been two months. People forget that that’s a very serious injury. It takes some time to recover, but we want to be in a good spot trying to find ways to get better every day.”
–Field Level Media
