Blue Jays Turn to Max Scherzer With Chance to Move Above .500 in Kansas City
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The Toronto Blue Jays have won seven of their last nine games and will look to secure the weekend series after beating the Kansas City Royals 9-2 on Friday in the first game at Kauffman Stadium.
Toronto continues on the road and still has five of its nine scheduled games remaining, which include the two in Kansas City and a three-game series against the Athletics.
The Blue Jays’ .625 winning percentage since July 23 (25-15) is tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the best in the American League during that period.
Toronto now has a 71-71 record on the season, 34-36 as a visitor and 12-14 against opponents from the American League Central Division.
Veteran Max Scherzer will start for Toronto, who comes in with a 2-7 record and a 6.16 ERA. However, he has had a great recovery in his last six starts since the beginning of August, lowering his ERA to 3.62 with 28 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings.
Scherzer is coming off his best start of the season, when he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed just one hit and struck out 10 against the Seattle Mariners to lead Toronto to a 7-0 victory last Sunday.
In his last five starts against the Royals, he is 3-2 with a 3.80 ERA, but the last time he pitched at Kauffman Stadium he allowed seven runs in 2/3 of an inning on September 19, 2025.
Kansas City will respond with right-hander Seth Lugo, who comes in with a 6-8 record and a 5.03 ERA, but in his six outings since last August 2, he has been bombarded, allowing an 8.31 ERA.
His best start in that same span was precisely against the Blue Jays, with five solid innings in which he allowed one run and struck out five opponents to earn the victory last August 25 at Rogers Centre.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. at Kauffman Stadium.
JUST. KEEP. WINNING. #BlueJays50 pic.twitter.com/eqpCia4OGH
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 5, 2026
Toronto Blue Jays Starting Lineup
- Brett Bateman, CF
- George Springer, DH
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
- Alejandro Kirk, C
- Nathan Lukes, RF
- Kazuma Okamoto, 3B
- Andrés Giménez, SS
- Ernie Clement, 2B
- Myles Straw, LF
Max Scherzer, SP
Roster Moves
The Toronto Blue Jays activated left-handed pitcher Ricky Tiedemann, who was called up from Triple-A and will be available tonight. To open a spot for him on the roster, right-hander Jameson Taillon was placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow.
In addition, Toronto claimed catcher Shawn Ross from the New York Mets off waivers. Ross was sent to Triple-A.
Lineup Notes
The Blue Jays have limited their opponents to three runs or fewer in 69 games this season, the fifth-highest number in the American League, and they have a 56-13 record in those games.
Toronto also has a 21-25 record in series finales and 11-12 in deciding games. In series where they played as visitors, they have a 9-10-4 record and a 21-21-4 record in series overall, while they have won nine of their last 11 series, excluding the one-game series in Chicago on August 6.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Royals
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is batting .285 for his career against the Royals in 43 games, with seven doubles, eight home runs, 20 RBI, 22 walks and 18 strikeouts. He has a .481 slugging percentage and a .853 OPS against Kansas City.
Five of his eight career home runs against the Royals have come from the sixth inning onward, including a grand slam in the ninth inning against Josh Staumont on July 30, 2019.
The Blue Jays lost two of three games against the Royals last week at Rogers Centre, so this road series represents another opportunity for Toronto to change the course of this matchup.
Toronto’s Recent Road Numbers
The Blue Jays have a 34-36 record as visitors this season and rank seventh among American League teams, with a .4868 winning percentage away from home.
Toronto hitters rank second in the American League in strikeout rate as visitors (19.2%), second in contact rate (77.0%) and third in batting average (.247). They are also 10th in slugging (.385), 12th in OPS (.685) and 14th in OBP (.300).
In pitching, Toronto ranks fourth in road FIP (4.06), fifth in ERA (3.99), fifth in opponent batting average (.240), sixth in whiff rate (25.7%), sixth in WHIP (1.35), ninth in strikeout rate (21.4%) and 13th in walk rate (10.4%).
Another Tough Road Trip
The Blue Jays are in the middle of a nine-game road trip, with a 1-2 record so far, as they go through Cleveland, Kansas City and Oakland.
Toronto comes into the series against the Royals with a 34-36 road record and will look to take advantage of a stretch in which it has won nine of its last 11 series.
The Blue Jays have already faced Kansas City three times this season, with a 1-2 record. Toronto also had a 1-2 record in its last visit to Kauffman Stadium, from September 20 to 23, 2025, although the Blue Jays secured their postseason berth with an 8-5 victory over the Royals on September 23.
With Toronto playing one of its best stretches of the season, today’s game represents another opportunity for the Blue Jays to maintain that momentum on the road.
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Yirsandy is a baseball writer specializing in MLB coverage with experience across multiple teams and storylines. He currently writes for Diamond Centric, where he covers the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. My work focuses on game coverage, player analysis, and storytelling that connects performance with context. My Substack has also been an important part of my writing development, where I’ve built much of my baseball coverage and storytelling voice over time. I’m passionate about combining reporting, research, and thoughtful analysis to produce engaging baseball content for readers.
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