The Blue Jays snapped their three-game losing streak Saturday afternoon with a 1–0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Toronto now sits at 46–52 and remains 3.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot as the teams prepare for the rubber match at Rogers Centre.
On game preview 99 of Flight Deck, hosted by Dan Riccio, we break down Shane Bieber’s best performance since joining the Blue Jays. Bieber earned his first victory of the season after throwing six scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out six. Could this be the outing that finally gets Bieber’s season back on track?
Toronto’s bullpen made the one-run lead stand up. Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland combined for three scoreless innings, with Varland pitching a perfect ninth to record his 20th save of the season. After the pitching staff surrendered 12 runs in the series opener, how encouraging was this complete turnaround?
The offence did just enough to secure the victory. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubled in the fourth inning before George Springer drove him home with the game’s only run. Guerrero finished with two hits and showed more signs of breaking out, but Toronto managed only five hits overall. Can the Blue Jays produce a more complete offensive performance in the series finale?
We’ll also look back at a special afternoon at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays honoured the 1992 and 1993 World Series championship teams and unveiled a new statue commemorating Joe Carter’s iconic walk-off home run.
Looking ahead, Trey Yesavage takes the mound against Sean Burke in Game 3 of the series. Yesavage enters with a 4–4 record, a 3.72 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 75 innings. He’ll be looking to bounce back after walking seven batters and throwing only 20 strikes over 1.2 innings against San Diego in his shortest outing of the season.
Burke enters at 6–4 with a 3.41 ERA, 115 strikeouts and a 1.17 WHIP over 105.2 innings. Can the Blue Jays solve one of Chicago’s most reliable starters, take the series and build some momentum before beginning a four-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays?
Finally, with Toronto still seven games below .500 and the trade deadline rapidly approaching, is a series victory enough to keep the Blue Jays in the buyer conversation? Or does Ross Atkins need to see an extended winning streak before committing to this roster?
We finish with Dan’s picks presented by bet365.
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