The Toronto Blue Jays know their starting pitchers for their next two games after concluding their series in Baltimore on Wednesday night.
After that, it gets a bit hazy.
The Blue Jays have announced Ross Stripling will start Friday and Kevin Gausman will start Saturday against the Texas Rangers, beginning a stretch of 11 games in 10 days.
Toronto has not named a starter for Sunday in Texas, which is where things start to get a bit unclear.
Jose Berrios is one option. Mitch White could have been another, but the right-hander was optioned to triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday after his third consecutive shaky start on Tuesday in a loss to the Orioles.
Therefore, the Blue Jays could be looking at a bullpen day on Sunday for the second time this month -- though former starter Yusei Kikuchi also could be an option as a bulk pitcher.
The Blue Jays then begin a five-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays next Monday. With the Blue Jays chasing Tampa in the wild-card race, Toronto might want to save Berrios for that series -- as they did for the series versus the Orioles.
Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling reports the club is considering having Alek Manoah, Wednesday's starter in Baltimore, start on normal rest on Monday. That would line the All-Star up to make his next three starts in key series against the Orioles, Rays (again) and New York Yankees.
Next Tuesday, the Blue Jays have another doubleheader against Tampa, which makes for another unclear pitching decision.
Sportsnet's Blake Murphy, the host of Jays Talk Plus, speculated on potential pitching plans on Wednesday.
While White now must stay in Buffalo for 15 days, he is eligible to be called up as the extra man for the doubleheader.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.