Blue Jays relivers get rest after rain postpones game vs. Orioles
Due to rain in the Baltimore area, the first of a three-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Orioles has been postponed Friday.
BALTIMORE – With rain falling in Baltimore and bad weather expected late into the evening, the Orioles and Blue Jays postponed Friday night’s series opener and scheduled a doubleheader for July.
The forecast for Saturday remains questionable, and while the weather looks better on Sunday, schedule makers chose to make the game up on July 29, when the Orioles and Blue Jays will play twice, two days before the trade deadline.
What this means for the Blue Jays’ starting pitching plans is unclear, but if they keep everyone on turn, Bowden Francis would start Saturday, followed by Jose Berrios on Sunday. Easton Lucas had been scheduled to start Sunday and could simply be bumped until Monday’s series opener against Atlanta, or the Blue Jays could skip his turn in the rotation and start Kevin Gausman Monday on regular rest instead.
Manager John Schneider’s expected to detail those plans Saturday afternoon, but in the meantime, the rainout does allow some of the Blue Jays’ most heavily used relievers to get some rest. After pitching twice in a row during a hard-fought series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Nick Sandlin would likely have been unavailable Friday but because of the rainout he’ll get some rest as will Yimi Garcia and Chad Green, who threw 23 pitches apiece Thursday.
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As for the Orioles, they had a scheduled off day Thursday so their bullpen would have been fresh for the series opener with or without rain. Baltimore’s starting rotation has been depleted by early injuries to Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin, but their scheduled starters against the Blue Jays are presently Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich.
The pre-trade deadline series against the Orioles will be a physically demanding one, especially if the two AL East rivals are in contention. After a night game on July 28, there’s now a double-header on July 29 and a day game on July 30. Four games in 48 hours will test any pitching staff, but that’s a problem for another day as the Blue Jays can rest for the time being.
