The Jays and Tigers are set for a 3:00 Eastern first pitch, and Toronto has already started shuffling the deck on its pitching plans for the rest of the week.
Max Scherzer is still lined up to start today, but the rest of the rotation picture has been rearranged. After Thursday’s off-day, the Jays are now slated to go with Dylan Cease on Friday instead of Arrighetti and a bullpen game, then Jose Soriano on Saturday, and Arrighetti with the bullpen on Sunday.
The expectation is that Trey Yesavage will be back on the roster again Sunday or Monday and could be part of a bullpen day. Shane Bieber is also hoping to return before the end of the season.
With the bullpen day plans stretching and shifting, the offense has to start doing more of the heavy lifting. Toronto has run into a pair of strong pitchers in this series, but at some point the bats have to solve good arms too.
This is the lineup that will try to do it today.
Kevin Glew noted that W.P. Kinsella died 10 years ago today. Beyond Shoeless Joe, he wrote several books that were widely enjoyed, and the chance to meet him left a lasting impression: he was funny, personable, and full of interesting stories.
It is also Tim Raines’ birthday. He turns 67 today.
He was one of the players who helped shape a fan’s understanding of the game, showing the value of getting on base and getting into scoring position. He came up as a second baseman, but that was an era when baserunners were expected to go after the second baseman’s legs, so the team knew he was too valuable to leave there.
He also served as a reminder that teams can fixate on the wrong things. When Andre Dawson left, they moved Raines to center field.
He was excellent, but his throwing arm was not. Rather than blame the weak players around him for the team’s failures, they blamed his arm and sent him back to left.
Bad teams, as the point goes, often blame the wrong things.
In Other News...
Former Blue Jays Pitchers Death Brings A Somber Update For Fans
Brian Wolfes baseball life took him from a 1999 draft pick by the Twins to the Blue Jays, where he broke into the majors in 2007 and spent three seasons in Toronto before extending his career in Japan. For Blue Jays fans who remember that era, Wolfe was part of a roster that bridged different stages of the clubs recent history, and his path through the game reflected the long, winding route so many pitchers take to stay in it.
Wolfe died on September 15 at age 45, with his wife announcing the news on social media and former teammate Brandon Barnes later confirming it in a video. The loss lands with the kind of quiet weight that often follows a former player long after his final outing, especially for fans who tracked him from the big leagues to his years overseas and now have one more reminder of how quickly those memories become part of team history. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Bullpen Plan Fell Apart Fast And Fans Know Why
The Tigers came into the night with Michael Lorenzen lined up to handle the bulk of the work, but the plan unraveled almost immediately against the Blue Jays. Toronto knocked him around early, forcing Detroit to lean on its bullpen for extra innings in a game that quickly tilted out of reach, while the Blue Jays kept extending the pressure and never let up.
Torontos offense did enough to make the mismatch obvious, and the 10-1 final reflected how little the Tigers had to answer with at the plate. Detroit managed only six singles and one run, while Ernie Clement added a sharp defensive play at second base to help keep the Blue Jays in control of a game that never really felt close after the early blow. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Already Have A Big Kazuma Okamoto Question
Kazuma Okamoto arrived with the kind of profile that makes a winter signing feel bigger than a transaction, and his first season has already given the Blue Jays a little bit of everything. The power is real, and the rookie home run record he set for the franchise has shown why Toronto was willing to commit four years and $60 million after he was posted following the 2025 season.
The question now is what the Blue Jays are getting beyond the home run totals. Okamoto has also dealt with strikeouts and uneven work at third base, and the shape of his season has been as streaky as it is promising, with productive bursts followed by long cold stretches. For a team that expected a middle-of-the-order answer, the next step is figuring out whether the best version of Okamoto is the one that shows up often enough to anchor a lineup, or just in flashes. [Read more 🡒]