The Blue Jays have a chance to keep rolling Saturday night in San Diego, and they’re doing it with a lineup built to pressure Walker Buehler from the jump.
Toronto enters the game at 45-49 after taking a series from the San Francisco Giants, and a win over the Padres would give the club back-to-back series victories. The bigger picture still leaves plenty of ground to cover, but the Blue Jays are at least giving themselves a shot.
FanGraphs gives Toronto a 31.1% chance to reach the playoffs, with the clearest route coming through the American League Wild Card, where the team sits at 30.1%. Their odds of winning the AL East are just 1.1%, which leaves them fourth in the division.
On the mound for Toronto is right-hander Trey Yesavage, who has been especially sharp away from home. His road ERA sits at 2.36, and he’ll also be looking to bounce back after taking a loss against the Seattle Mariners in that ALCS rematch just over a week ago.
John Schneider’s starting nine puts Ernie Clement at second base and Nathan Lukes in right field at the top of the order, followed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base and George Springer as the designated hitter. Kazuma Okamoto hits fifth at third base, with Dalton Varsho in center field, Alejandro Kirk behind the plate, Andres Gimenez at shortstop and Jonathan Clase in left.
The matchup lines up well for Toronto’s power bats. Buehler has struggled for San Diego in 2026, carrying a 5.07 ERA overall and a 4.06 ERA at Petco Park. He’s also given up five home runs in two starts this month, which could matter against a Blue Jays lineup that has some real pop in the middle.
Okamoto has been Toronto’s biggest home run threat this season, and he’s done even more damage on the road, where he has 12 homers - two more than he’s hit at Rogers Centre.
Guerrero is still searching for a bigger July. He’s batting just over .200 this month and has one home run, though he does bring a three-game hitting streak into Saturday’s game.
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Higgins gives the organization another development project with some flexibility attached, since the Blue Jays have said they can try to build him up as a starter or use him as a relief option. For a club that has already taken two pitchers in the draft, it is another sign that Toronto is stockpiling arms and leaving itself room to sort out roles later, which is often where the real intrigue begins. [Read more 🡒]