Mason Fluharty (3-0, 3.97) gets the ball for Toronto, and "gets the ball" is doing a lot of work there — his last appearance went 1.1 innings on 18 pitches. This is a bullpen game dressed up in a starter's box. Sale (8-3, 2.01) comes in off a 5-inning, 8-strikeout win over Boston and is the clear lever in this matchup.
The Jays are 29-33 and have lost 4 in a row, including the first two games of this set by a combined 11-6. Atlanta is 42-20, on a 4-of-5 heater, and just keeps cashing at home. Pinnacle has the Braves at -247 on the moneyline with the total parked at 7.5 — fair, given who's pitching and who's piecing it together out of the pen.
Asking a reliever to navigate the Braves lineup multiple times isn't a plan, it's a hope. Toronto's rotation has been gutted — Scherzer, Cease, Bieber, Berrios, Francis are all on the IL — so the bullpen game isn't really a strategic choice. It's the only choice. Whoever follows Fluharty needs to eat the bulk of the night without letting Atlanta blow it open early.
- 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-ILAddison Barger RF — Barger (elbow) has been hitting in the batting cage at Toronto's complex in Dunedin, Florida, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- 10-Day-ILLenyn Sosa 2B — Sosa went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and an additional RBI on Saturday against the Twins in an 11-4 victory.
- 15-Day-ILMax Scherzer SP — Scherzer (forearm/ankle/thumb) expects to make his next rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILTommy Nance RP — Nance (forearm) threw live batting practice Tuesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
- Day-To-DayBlake Burkhalter RP — Triple-A Gwinnett placed Burkhalter on the 7-day injured list March 27 with back spasms, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
- 10-Day-ILDrake Baldwin C — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday that Baldwin (oblique) could be activated from the 10-day injured list during the team's June 16-21 homestand, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer DH — Farmer went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in Sunday's rout of the Guardians.
- suspensionJurickson Profar LF — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILSean Murphy C — Murphy had the cast on his left hand removed Tuesday and is now wearing a splint to protect his fractured middle finger, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reprots.
- 60-Day-ILHurston Waldrep SP — Waldrep (elbow) allowed no hits and walked two batters over two scoreless innings during a rehab start Monday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach SP — Schwellenbach (elbow) has begun throwing on flat ground, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver SP — Manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Smith-Shawver (elbow) has been throwing bullpen sessions, and the next step in his rehab is to face live hitters, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.
The one bit of light for Toronto: Alejandro Kirk is reportedly close to a return, with manager John Schneider saying he needs around 20 rehab at-bats before rejoining the lineup. That doesn't help tonight, but a healthy Kirk behind the plate is the kind of stabilizer this team has been missing. Atlanta, meanwhile, is still without Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin behind the dish, plus Profar for the full year — and it hasn't mattered one bit.
Bottom line: Sale at home against a patchwork pitching staff is the kind of spot that produces a quiet 6-2 final. If Toronto wants to avoid the sweep, they need Fluharty's opener stint to be clean and somebody — anybody — to make Sale work. Otherwise this is over by the 5th.