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Inside The Blue Jays

Blue Jays Adjust Lineup for Orioles Finale as Daulton Varsho Remains Out

It all comes down to this lineup Sunday as the Toronto Blue Jays try to take a series from the Baltimore Orioles.
Maddy Dickens|
Apr 26, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Pinango (24) celebrates hitting his first single against the Cleveland Guardians during the fifth inning at Rogers Centre.
Apr 26, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Pinango (24) celebrates hitting his first single against the Cleveland Guardians during the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

The series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles started off great for the O's and a gut punch for the Jays, despite playing on their home turf. The Blue Jays dropped the opener 13-3 after an implosion in the sixth, but they bounced back Saturday.

Now, this AL East clash is split with Toronto still missing their center fielder, Gold Glove winner Daulton Varsho, who left Game 1 with an issue in his wrist. He was seen Saturday as a defensive substitution, but wasn't able to hit.

So, it seems like an IL stint isn't coming for Varsho, but the Jays have to play without him for at least one more day, meaning that Yohendrick Pinango is getting the start, but more importantly, so is Myles Straw.

Straw has to be the guy that takes over in center defensively, because both Pinango and Jesus Sanchez are not the defenders that either Straw or Varsho is, and that hole cannot be filled with an iffy glove.

The outfield is shaken up while the rest remains solidified as Toronto tries to take this series.

Blue Jays Starting Lineup Sunday

Ernie Clement hits a baseball in a blue Blue Jays jersey
Blue Jays shortstop Ernie Clement (22) hits a three run home run against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

George Springer has been the constant lead-off for this team, even when he is struggling, but he is starting to look like himself again as he reads baseballs better. So even when he isn't getting his hits, he is still getting on base, crucial to this team.

But ultimately, the heart of the order has been the saving grace for the lineup.

  1. DH George Springer
  2. RF Yohendrick Pinango
  3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
  4. LF Jesus Sanchez
  5. 2B Ernie Clement
  6. C Brandon Valenzuela
  7. 3B Kazuma Okamoto
  8. SS Andres Gimenez
  9. CF Myles Straw

There isn't enough time in the day or space on the page to explain how vital Ernie Clement is to the success of this team. In Saturday's victory, he hit a two-out, three-run homer to blow it wide open followed by an opposite triple the next at-bat.

Brandon Valenzuela has been quietly creeping up from last in the hitting order to now sixth, as he has posted the best OPS on the team over the last 30 games, now at .900. He could arguably be hitting cleanup, but seeing him progress up the order is promising.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still hasn't found a home run at Rogers Centre, and it is now June, so should be hitting third? Not necessarily, especially since he is grounding out into a lot of double plays.

A bigger move could happen again if this continues for Vlad, but for now, one can hope he finally sees that monstrous swing he is looking for.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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