Los Angeles drops in at 15-25, Toronto sits at 18-21, and both clubs have been bleeding starting pitching all month. The Jays already grabbed Friday's opener 2-0, the Angels punched back Saturday, and now you get a 12:37 first pitch with a real "who blinks first" feel.
José Soriano is the headliner. He was the AL Pitcher of the Month for April with a sub-1.00 ERA and five wins, then the White Sox finally got to him for 5 runs over 4 innings on Monday — his shortest start of the year and his first real dud. He's still carrying a 1.74 ERA into this one, which tells you how absurd the start of his season was. The question now is whether that Chicago start was a blip or a scouting-report adjustment catching up.
Toronto's plan is messier. Spencer Miles, listed as the starter, is actually being used as the opener — he's a rookie reliever with a 3.50 ERA across 18 innings out of the pen, and the Jays are expected to hand the ball to Eric Lauer behind him for bulk innings. With Scherzer (forearm cortisone), Berríos (elbow inflammation), and Bieber (still rehabbing) all parked, this is what the rotation looks like right now.
- 10-Day-ILLogan O'Hoppe C — O'Hoppe (wrist) will begin a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Monday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud C — The Angels placed d'Arnaud on the 10-day injured list Friday with right foot plantar fasciitis.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Johnson SP — Johnson (hamstring) completed five innings in a rehab outing with Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, allowing three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out five batters.
- 15-Day-ILBen Joyce RP — Joyce (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday, Taylor Blake Ward of TheSportingTribune.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILGrayson Rodriguez SP — Rodriguez (shoulder) is scheduled to throw up to five innings during a rehab start in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Tuesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi SP — Kikuchi (shoulder) will be shut down from throwing for 3-to-4 weeks, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson RP — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon 3B — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
- Day-To-DayGeovanny Jesus Planchart C — no
- Day-To-DayChay Yeager RP — Yeager will undergo season-ending UCL surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- Day-To-DayCJ Stubbs C — The Blue Jays signed Stubbs to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.
- Day-To-DayJaven Coleman P — no
- 10-Day-ILNathan Lukes RF — Lukes (hamstring) has begun a running progression, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILAlejandro Kirk C — Kirk (thumb) is expected to begin hitting this weekend, Brian Murphy of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Scherzer SP — Scherzer was given a cortisone shot in his injured right forearm and will be shut down from throwing for five days, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 15-Day-ILJose Berrios SP — Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that an MRI on Berrios' right elbow showed inflammation and "small changes to that initial injury with the elbow," Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Offensively, Toronto leans on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and offseason add Kazuma Okamoto, who's already at 10 homers and an .824 OPS. They've been scuffling at the plate during the recent skid, but they showed signs Friday by shutting the Angels out. The Halos lineup, meanwhile, has been a Mike Trout / Jorge Soler / Zach Neto operation since the Taylor Ward trade — and they're dealing with both catchers (O'Hoppe and d'Arnaud) on the IL.
The market is screaming Toronto here — DK has the Jays at -186 on the moneyline despite Pinnacle pricing this thing essentially as a coin flip at -105 a side. That gap is doing a lot of work, and the EV math doesn't love either side. The total is also split between books at 8 and 8.5, which makes sense when one team is rolling out an opener-bulk combo and the other has an ace coming off a rough outing. Bullpen day vs. bounce-back start — pick your poison.