Blue Jays Set Starting Lineup Ahead of Crucial Series in Arlington Against Rangers
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Unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, the fate of their season will likely be decided by the end of the weekend. But that is what happens when a ballclub relies on other teams to lose and doesn't take advantage of games that should be logged in the W column.
To say this series against the Texas Rangers this weekend is do-or-die would be an understatement. The Jays narrowly avoided a sweep at Rogers Centre against the Detroit Tigers, and they cannot fare the same in Arlington.
That said, the big guns will be available for this one as both Dylan Cease and Jose Soriano were moved up a day, so that Cease could take the series opener, and Soriano will be poised to take the overall victory before the team jumps on a plane to Baltimore to face the O's.
Sounds like the #BlueJays plan to activate Trey Yesavage when he's ready to pitch next.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 16, 2026
Could be Sunday in Texas, could be Monday in Baltimore.
If all goes well, Toronto will also welcome back a desperately needed arm to the starting rotation as Trey Yesavage is still on track to be activated on Sunday. Now, he isn't stretched out, so they aren't going to get six innings out of him, but John Schneider would rather use him in a bulk role than Spencer Arrighetti.
Originally, Arrighetti was supposed to kick off the series opener Friday, but he has found himself outside of the circle of trust with both Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker, so hopefully Yesavage is good to go on Sunday.
The staff is still begging for reinforcements, but they can no longer afford to have Michael Lorenzen take the mound, which is why he was designated for assignment before Friday's game, and in a puzzling countermove, they recalled Jose Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has posted an ERA over 8.00 since joining Buffalo. Meanwhile, Ricky Tiedemann is still pitching for the Bisons.
Pitching Matchup Friday Night and Starting Line Up
The off day on Thursday is always so beneficial for the Blue Jays, who have beaten and abused their bullpen all season long, so everyone will be well rested, and hopefully the offense can explode to take some pressure off of the pitching staff for once.
- CF Brett Bateman
- RF Nathan Lukes
- 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- DH George Springer
- C Alejandro Kirk
- 3B Kazuma Okamoto
- 2B Josh Smith
- SS Ernie Clement
- LF Myles Straw
Toronto's bats will have ample opportunity with righty Kumar Rocker on the hill for the Rangers, who have been riding the struggle bus as of late, as he has only pitched 12 innings over his last three starts with eight earned runs on 11 hits while walking six.
The pressure is on, and every game feels like a must-win for the Jays if they have any chance of playing October baseball. The only way to get there is to win games, so the team doesn't have to count on others taking losses, and that starts Friday with their ace on the bump.
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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.