The Toronto Blue Jays talked about building momentum after winning the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.
That idea met a temporary roadblock when Tuesday night’s game was rained out.
So the teams will wrap up what’s now a two-game set Wednesday afternoon. The makeup date for the washout will be part of a July 29 doubleheader.
The Blue Jays won Monday night by 3-2 in 10 innings. They’re looking for back-to-back victories for the first time since April 28-29.
But a day off might not be a bad thing. The Blue Jays didn’t have any available reserve position players Monday night because of illness on the team. Manager John Schneider had a better mindset before Tuesday’s scheduled game.
“We’re ready to go whenever the game does start, if it does,” he said.
Toronto got some encouraging news before Tuesday’s scheduled game. Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier was slated to be back in action and had a spot in the starting lineup before the postponement. A night earlier, Schneider informed his team that there would be no pinch runners or tweaks regardless of the situation.
The Orioles have lost their past two games and they’ll try to avoid their first three-game skid of the year. Another mark that’s in jeopardy is Baltimore’s streak of not losing a series to an American League East opponent, a stretch that spans 16 series.
Baltimore’s offense has encountered a few rough patches, but there’s a new mix of outfielders available. Kyle Stowers was called up from Triple-A Norfolk at the beginning of the week and Austin Hays was activated off the injured list.
“What else would you want to do in this game than be on a team going for a playoff push and hopefully this year a World Series push?” Stowers said.
Stowers has belted 11 home runs with Norfolk this season.
“I feel ready to help this team win,” Stowers said. “Just going to go out there and give my all and have a good time. Play with a lot of gratitude.”
Baltimore had been busy with three of its past five games going to extra innings.
Baltimore right-hander Kyle Bradish (0-0, 1.86 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start of the season after missing all of April as he rehabbed an elbow injury. His five-inning stint last Wednesday at Washington included nine strikeouts.
Bradish faced the Blue Jays seven times. He is 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA in 36 innings in those outings.
Toronto’s scheduled starting pitcher is right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-5, 5.06). He’s coming off last Wednesday’s solid outing at Philadelphia, where he picked up the victory by going 6 1/3 innings while giving up two runs.
That was Bassitt’s lone road success this year. He’s 0-3 in his other three road outings.
Bassitt is 3-2 with a 4.79 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles. Both of the defeats came last year during his first season with the Blue Jays.
The Orioles will be off again Thursday, so their bullpen should be fully rested by the start of a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
Toronto is also off Thursday before returning home for a six-game homestand.
–Field Level Media