The visiting Detroit Tigers look to continue their success against the Toronto Blue Jays this season when they vie for a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers, who took three of four from the Blue Jays in May, go for their season high-tying fifth straight win after a 7-3 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start right-hander Kevin Gausman (7-8, 4.50 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale. In 12 career starts against the Tigers, he is 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA. He is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA against them in one start this season.
Detroit is scheduled to start right-hander Keider Montero (1-2, 5.47), who will face Toronto for the first time.
The Blue Jays will be without shortstop Bo Bichette (right calf), who was put on the injured list on Saturday.
“It’s a moderate calf strain,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “All we know right now is he’s going to miss multiple weeks.”
Bichette, who missed the final four games before the All-Star break with a sore calf, left Friday’s series opener after six innings.
He was replaced by Leo Jimenez, who was 0-for-3 on Saturday.
Bichette was on the IL last month with right calf soreness. He is slashing .223/.276/.321 with seven homers and 30 RBIs this season in 79 games.
The Tigers, meanwhile, have concerns about right-hander Reese Olson (sore right shoulder), who left his start on Saturday after two innings. Olson will return to Detroit to be examined as the Tigers continue their seven-game road trip with a four-game series against the Cleveland Guardians starting on Monday.
“He came off the mound after the second inning kind of shaking his arm and said he didn’t feel very good,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Once he said his arm was bugging him, we immediately pulled him and had to scurry to get someone up and going.”
The Tigers got two innings each from Alex Faedo (5-1), Kenta Maeda and Tyler Holton and one from Shelby Miller.
“We have a great group of guys who are prepared to do anything,” Hinch said.
Only Maeda had problems, allowing three runs in the sixth after the Tigers scored six in the top of the inning, including a grand slam by Jake Rogers. It was his seventh homer of the season and third career slam.
In six career games against Toronto, Rogers is 7-for-20 (.350) with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs.
“We’ve all got to chip in,” Rogers said. “We’re a gritty young team and little things matter. Playing good defense matters. Getting runners in when we need to matters. I just wanted to get one or two in there and obviously, I got four. It’s great. We are having fun right now. Just have to keep it going.”
Most of Toronto’s offense on Saturday came from All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had three hits, including a two-run homer, and played third base instead of first. He has 16 homers this season, including two in this series to open a nine-game homestand for Toronto.
In his six games against Detroit this season, Guerrero is batting .542 (13-for-24) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs.
“I am glad we only have one more game with Vlad,” Hinch said. “That’s enough of Vlad Jr.”
–Field Level Media
