The Toronto Blue Jays, on pace for their first division title since 2015, will go for a three-game sweep of the host Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon.
Toronto will start right-hander Kevin Gausman (8-9, 3.78 ERA) in the series finale.
Gausman, who is 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA in eight career appearances against Miami, has been inconsistent this season. He had a 4.50 ERA at the end of April and followed that with a 2.81 ERA for May. June featured another dip in performance (5.46 ERA) and in July came a bounce-back (2.51). So far in August, Gausman has a 3.60 ERA.
Of note, Gausman has reverse splits. Right-handed hitters are batting .244 against him with a .693 OPS. Lefty hitters are batting just .176 with a .574 OPS.
As a team, Toronto already has won more games this year (76) than it did all of last season (74) when the Blue Jays finished last in the American League East.
The Blue Jays are hoping for a quick return for star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has been out since sustaining a mild hamstring strain on Monday.
In the 12th inning of Toronto’s 7-6 win over Miami on Saturday, Guerrero was on deck. He did not get in the game, but that could be an indication that he will return to the lineup on Sunday.
Prior to the game, though, Guerrero said: “I need to take ground balls (before I’m all the way back). I need to run the bases.”
Getting Guerrero back would be huge for Toronto. Since the All-Star break, he has been impressive, batting .362 with nine homers, 23 RBIs and a 1.125 OPS in 30 games.
Meanwhile, the Marlins on Sunday will start right-hander Eury Perez (5-3, 3.48).
Perez has faced Toronto just once in his career, recording a no-decision despite pitching six innings of scoreless, three-hit baseball. Perez struck out nine batters and walked none of a 2-0 home loss on June 20, 2023.
The Marlins are just 7-6 this season when Perez pitches. Perez was at his best in July, when he went 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts. This month, he is 2-0 with a 4.35 ERA in four games.
Perez, who missed all of last season due to elbow surgery, has a much better ERA at home this year (2.08) as opposed to on the road (4.42).
As Perez is just 22 years old, Miami’s projected starting lineup for Sunday is extremely young. Among the rookies who could start on Sunday for the Marlins are catcher/designated hitter Agustin Ramirez, catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks, shortstop Maximo Acosta, third baseman Javier Sanoja, center fielder Jakob Marsee and left fielder/first baseman Troy Johnston.
Sanoja had a huge game on Saturday as his final three hits all drove in runs. He had an RBI double in the seventh, a score-tying RBI single in the ninth and a score-tying RBI single in the 11th inning.
“I’m running out of superlatives for Javi,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Sanoja. “He’s incredibly tough. We’ve talked about his defense and versatility a lot this season.
“He’s going to put the ball in play, and he is not afraid of any moment that comes up.”
–Field Level Media
