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Inside The Blue Jays

Blue Jays Forced To Shake Up Lineup With Left-Hander on Hill for Padres

The starters are a little different whenever a lefty is making a start against the Blue Jays.
Maddy Dickens|
Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches to the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Rogers Centre.
Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches to the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Rogers Centre. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Toronto Blue Jays

If there is one thing that the Toronto Blue Jays are not in short supply of this year, it is left-handed bats, which means when a lefty takes the mound on the opposing side, they are forced to stray from their best lineup.

That is the exact case that is coming to be against the San Diego Padres in the series opener Friday evening in California as left-handed JP Sears is set to take the hill for his fourth start on the season, ready to duel with the Jays' righty Shane Bieber.

Sears was lit up by the Chicago Cubs offense, as fans saw with Kevin Gausman, who has his ERA creeping up on 5.00, but he went into the belly of the beast that is Dodger Stadium and held the reigning world champs to a scoreless five innings.

The year hasn't been exactly perfect for Sears by any means, but he has a small sample size, and some of it is more impressive than it isn't. The Blue Jays will need to keep the momentum rolling that they found against the San Francisco Giants with that little dragon in the dugout.

Toronto will also be welcoming Braydon Fisher back to the team as he is coming off the bereavement list. Fisher had been away from the team after his father suffered a stroke that ultimately proved fatal, and there have been no words for this situation.

Fisher's father, Normand, was in California for the road trip and was driving to his hotel when the unthinkable struck. He was the biggest fan of the Blue Jays, and they are definitely playing for him from here on out.

Starters for Opening Night in San Diego

George Springer hits a baseball in a grey Toronto jerse
Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer (4) hits a home run against the Chicago Cubs | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At home, the Padres are one of the worst in baseball collectively, from an offensive standpoint, as they sit at a .218 batting average, which is 29th in baseball. On top of that, they are the only team with an OBP under .300 on their home field.

If there is an opportunity for Shane Bieber to find his footing this season, it will be Friday night. He has been struggling in his pair of starts since returning from the injured list, and ultimately, there isn't a better opportunity for him, with the offense exploding right now.

  1. SS Ernie Clement
  2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr
  3. 3B Kazuma Okamoto
  4. DH George Springer
  5. C Alejandro Kirk
  6. CF Daulton Varsho
  7. 2B Luis Urias
  8. RF Myles Straw
  9. LF Jonatan Clase

So, with a lefty out there, Nathan Lukes and Andres Gimenez will take a seat, and the Jays will try to roll into the All-Star break on a positive swing.

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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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