Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer appears to be on track to return from his thumb injury before the end of the month.
In the meantime, Blue Jays manager John Schneider must cobble together a rotation. He has been using left-hander Eric Lauer (2-1, 2.08 ERA) to pitch bulk innings during regularly scheduled bullpen starts.
Schneider likely will add newcomer Spencer Turnbull to the bullpen-day equation on Wednesday afternoon when the Blue Jays try to complete a three-game road sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“This is such a cool group,” Schneider said of his players. “They don’t quit. They’re tight. They support each other. They’re happy for each other. … the sum of our parts is pretty damn good.”
The Blue Jays won 5-4 in 10 innings on Monday and 10-9 on Tuesday.
“We know going in … this might be one of our toughest series,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “This might be a tougher series for us as far as matchup goes than even L.A. (Dodgers).”
Turnbull, who signed with Toronto last month, made five minor league starts before the Blue Jays called him up this week.
“I threw a bullpen (session on Monday), so I’m still on my five-day starter’s routine that I was working with,” Turnbull said. “I’ll be available Wednesday, but I don’t know if I’ll be starting or in bulk relief to start out. We’ll see what they want to do.”
Turnbull posted a 7.13 ERA in his minor league outings, but he did some tinkering to integrate a sweeper into his arsenal.
“I feel like it added a whole other element to my swing-and-miss,” Turnbull said. “Before Tommy John (surgery), my slider was my out pitch. Coming back from TJ, it wasn’t as sharp and I was having a hard time finding it again. I didn’t have a lot of innings in ’23 to figure it out.”
Turnbull is 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA in three career games (two starts) against St. Louis. Lauer has faced the Cardinals eight times (seven starts), going 2-4 with a 7.27 ERA.
Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes was a late scratch from the lineup on Tuesday due to neck discomfort, but the team doesn’t believe the issue is serious.
The Cardinals’ Wednesday starter will be left-hander Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 3.82 ERA), who is looking to rebound from a difficult outing.
Liberatore allowed seven runs on eight hits, including two homers, in four-plus innings during a 7-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals in the second half of a split doubleheader on Thursday.
Marmol removed him from that game when Liberatore experienced a notable decline in pitch velocity. Liberatore insisted the issue was lost mechanics, not an injury.
“Over the course of the season, you’re going to have times where you feel synced up and kind of lose the feel for it and find it again,” Liberatore said. “I’m not concerned about it. I don’t think anybody else is overly concerned about it. It’s just a matter of finding it again and being able to stay consistent with it.”
Liberatore pitched three scoreless innings in his one previous career appearance against the Blue Jays, a relief outing last year.
Cardinals infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan is questionable for the series finale after exiting the Tuesday game with left big toe discomfort.
“Day-to-day,” Marmol said postgame. “I’ll know more tomorrow.”
–Field Level Media
