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Inside The Blue Jays

Blue Jays Enter Padres Series with Clear Rotation Advantage

The pitching staff that the Jays are trotting out against the Padres isn't their best, but it will
Maddy Dickens|
Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning at Rogers Centre.
Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage (39) delivers a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles in the third inning at Rogers Centre. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays finally found a little bit of an offensive spark in California as they posted 19 runs on the board in their last two games against the San Francisco Giants. Now, they are looking to keep that momentum rolling going into the last one before the break against the San Diego Padres.

Now, the rotation has had plenty of bumps in the road this season as both injuries and personal struggles have made the starting pitching look quite pitiful at times for the Blue Jays. But things are starting to turn around.

It isn't just Dylan Cease's near-perfect first half, but also Trey Yesavage continually going deep into games, and Kevin Gausman locked back in. A lot is starting to go right for the rotation, and it appears that the Padres are experiencing the opposite.

For this series, they have only one pitcher posting a sub-5.00 ERA on the year, but the sample size is small for JP Sears, as he has only made three starts this season and is posting a 4.70 ERA. The opener could be the most interesting, as the Jays will send Shane Bieber to the mound.

The biggest thing for the rotation is staying in games. They can't let the pitch count get out of control in the first or second inning, and all three of these guys for Toronto should have no trouble doing that, in theory.

Probable Starters For Padres Series

Kevin Gausman throws a baseball in a white Blue Jays jerse
Blue Jays starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (34) pitches to the Texas Rangers during the second inning at Rogers Centre. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now, on paper, it would appear that the smart bet for the opener on Friday would be Sears, as Bieber is posting a 9.00 ERA in his two starts this season. But that is a former Cy Young Award winner who is coming off a long stint on the IL.

So, it is going to be a toss-up on Friday, but that is the only one that is acceptable for said pitcher not to last at least six innings.

Fri, Jul 10 • 9:40 PM EDT Shane Bieber vs. JP Sears
Sat, Jul 11 • 8:40 PM EDT Trey Yesavage vs. Walker Buehler
Sun, Jul 12 • 4:10 PM EDT Kevin Gausman vs. German Marquez

Shane Bieber throws a baseball in a blue Blue Jays jerse
Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches to the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Rogers Centre. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Walker Buehler isn't trending in the right direction for his season, with 16 earned runs in his last nine innings. Meanwhile, Yesavage went nearly 13 combined innings in his last two and allowed a combined three runs.

Then, the better pitching duel will come in the finale as German Marquez has only allowed two runs in his last pair of games, but seven in the one prior. When teams break through on Marquez, they really bust it open, and he walks a lot of guys.

The Jays need to stay disciplined at the plate, stay aggressive, and put a squiggle on the board early. When they give some breathing room to the pitching staff, good things happen, and they can go into the All-Star break riding a bit of a high.

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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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