°Õ³ó±ðÌýBlue Jays will look to avoid losing their share of first place in the American League East when their three-game series against the Boston Red Sox wraps up Thursday night.
Jays have the tiebreaker, but they have also lost six of seven games.
Bieber pushed back
º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍømight have another pitching situation to worry about after it was announced on Wednesday that Shane Bieber was scratched from starting the series finale against the Red Sox.
Bieber was pushed back one day and will now start Friday’s series opener vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. On the surface, that might not seem like a big deal but it could come with major ramifications if the Jays don’t secure a bye through next week’s wild-card series.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The timing of Bieber’s next outing vs. Tampa Bay means he has already been ruled out for Game 1 of a wild-card series. It would also mean that if he starts Game 2 it would have to be on normal rest. That’s concerning because if extra rest was required this week, one would think it would be needed even more going into the playoffs.
“Talking to him, and him being pretty open and honest, we could have gone either way but we wanted to take into account his workload and coming back from the surgery,” Jays manager John Schneider said when explaining the decision. “We could have kept it but we decided to just give him an extra day.”
Bieber has only made two starts on regular rest since coming back from Tommy John surgery in late August. On Sept. 3, he allowed five runs in six innings against the Cincinnati Reds and on Sept. 14, the former Cy Young Award winner allowed just one run across six innings vs. Baltimore. His ERA on normal rest is 4.50 compared to 3.75 with one extra day and a 2.38 ERA with two or more.
Jays had a four-game lead in AL East with the Yankees 7 days ago, but New York has now grabbed a
Game 3 preview
With Bieber pushed back, the Jays have been forced to go with a bullpen game. Right-hander Louis Varland will get the start and possibly pitch into the second. Expect lefty Eric Lauer to be used in a bulk role, but he would likely top out around three innings because he hasn’t tossed more than 50 pitches in any outing this month.
The Red Sox will turn to right-hander Brayan Bello for the series finale. Bello previously faced the Jays on June 27 when he allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out one batter. The 26-year-old is about to put the finishing touches on what has become a breakout season. Bello has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 27 starts while his 3.34 ERA ranks 17th among all big-league starters.
In 10 career starts against the Jays, Bello is 3-5 with a 5.36 ERA. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has enjoyed plenty of success against his fellow countryman with a .407 average, two homers and a 1.206 on-base plus slugging percentage in 27 at-bats. George Springer has been almost as good with a .357 average, a pair of extra-base hits and an .857 OPS in 28 at-bats.
Game time, TV, probable pitchers
Thursday, 7 p.m. on Sportsnet: Louis Varland (4-3, 3.10) vs. RH Brayan Bello (11-8, 3.34)
Apple TV+ has exclusive broadcast rights to stream the game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Looking ahead
The Jays finish the regular season with three games at the Rogers Centre against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Friday. Bieber, who was initially scheduled to start on Thursday, will get the call in the series opener with rookie Trey Yesavage scheduled for Game 2. Kevin Gausman is tentatively scheduled to start Sunday’s regular-season finale, but he could get the day off if nothing is at stake in the standings.
Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the
Star. Follow him on Twitter: or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation