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Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles Game 2

By JR·2 min read
Toronto Blue JaysTOR(77-80)
Baltimore OriolesBAL(76-81)
AT
6:35 PM ET

TLDR: The Blue Jays' wild-card hopes are hanging by a thread and the Orioles are just playing out the string, but this doubleheader nightcap still closes the book on Camden Yards for the season.

WED SEP 23, 6:35 PM
Spread
WIN
Total
Blue Jays
(77-80)
LWLLW
Orioles
(76-81)
WLLLW

Two clubs on the outside of the playoff race close out Baltimore's home season in the back half of a rain-forced doubleheader, with Toronto's rotation and lineup both banged up and Baltimore nursing its own injury list.

Blue Jays
  • Beat Detroit before this stretch, showed life
  • Still mathematically alive for a wild card
  • Cease out with shoulder fatigue, no set replacement
  • Guerrero and Bateman both banged up
Orioles
  • Won series opener over Toronto, 4-3
  • Beat Mets before the Brewers series
  • Swept 0-3 by Milwaukee just before this set
  • Basallo ice-cold and playing through shoulder soreness

Both clubs are shorthanded for this one. Toronto lost Dylan Cease to shoulder fatigue after he got roughed up in Texas, and he flew home for an MRI that ruled out surgery but left his season status murky. That, plus a lingering back issue for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is why neither side has a name attached to the mound for Game 2 — this is shaping up as a bullpen game on at least one side of the field.

It's part of a split-admission doubleheader forced by Tuesday's rainout, with Max Scherzer having already started Game 1 for Toronto earlier Wednesday afternoon. This nightcap doubles as Baltimore's final home date of the season, so whatever's left in either tank gets emptied here.

Guerrero's back trouble is the bigger story for Toronto's lineup than anything happening on the mound. He sat out Monday's series opener in Baltimore, and center fielder Brett Bateman was also pulled from that game with right hip discomfort — a lineup already picking through a rotation crisis is now picking through position-player bumps and bruises too.

Toronto Blue Jays
(77-80)
09/21L@Orioles3-4
09/20W@Rangers7-2
09/19L@Rangers2-6
09/18L@Rangers1-7
09/16WvsTigers5-1
Baltimore Orioles
(76-81)
09/21WvsBlue Jays4-3
09/20LvsBrewers0-3
09/19LvsBrewers0-1
09/18LvsBrewers5-6
09/16W@Mets7-1

Baltimore isn't exactly rolling either. The Orioles were swept in three straight by Milwaukee before salvaging Monday's opener against Toronto, 4-3, and Samuel Basallo has been ice-cold since returning from injury — a .150 average with a 39 wRC+ in his last stretch, and he took a foul ball off his mask Monday for good measure. Jackson Holliday's wrist is bad enough that the club isn't counting on him again this year.

Toronto Blue Jays
(15)
  • Day-To-DayNewBrett Bateman (CF) — An MRI on Bateman's right hip came back negative.09/23
  • Day-To-DayDylan Cease (SP) — Cease does not need surgery on his injured right shoulder, but his immediate availability is up in the air.09/21
  • 10-Day-ILRudy Martin Jr. (RF) — The Blue Jays selected Martin's contract from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.09/14
  • 10-Day-ILLuis Urias (2B) — Urias (quadriceps) will be shut down for the next two weeks.08/10
  • 15-Day-ILShane Bieber (SP) — It "would be tough" for Bieber (shoulder) to return from the 15-day injured list before the end of the regular season.09/18
  • 15-Day-ILJameson Taillon (SP) — Taillon (elbow) revealed his "season is over" Tuesday and confirmed he'll be evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas on Sept. 22.09/15
  • 60-Day-ILAnthony Santander (RF) — Santander (shoulder/back) is scheduled to play in the outfield for Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.09/18
  • 60-Day-ILCody Ponce (SP) — Ponce (knee) would be a candidate to return from the 60-day injured list only if the Blue Jays make the postseason and advanced deep into October.09/07
  • 60-Day-ILPatrick Corbin (SP) — Corbin (shoulder) is a "long shot" to return from the 60-day injured list this season.09/07
  • 60-Day-ILJonatan Clase (LF) — The Blue Jays transferred Clase (foot) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.08/27
  • 60-Day-ILYimi Garcia (RP) — Garcia (elbow/neck/biceps) underwent thoracic outlet surgery Thursday and will miss the rest of the season.08/26
  • 60-Day-ILJake Bloss (SP) — The Blue Jays recalled Bloss from Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday and placed him on the 60-day injured list while he recovers from a right teres major strain.08/12
  • 60-Day-ILAddison Barger (RF) — Barger is expected to be sidelined six months following surgery Monday to repair his right elbow UCL.07/27
  • 60-Day-ILJose Berrios (SP) — Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery Wednesday in addition to having a stress fracture repaired.05/27
  • 60-Day-ILBowden Francis (SP) — The Blue Jays placed Francis (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08
Baltimore Orioles
(11)
  • 7-Day ILNewSamuel Basallo (C) — The Orioles placed Basallo (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.09/23
  • 10-Day-ILNewJackson Holliday (2B) — Holliday will undergo left wrist surgery next week.09/23
  • 10-Day-ILBlaze Alexander (3B) — The Orioles placed Alexander on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with low-back discomfort.09/09
  • 10-Day-ILLuis Robert Jr. (CF) — The Orioles placed Robert on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to left hamstring discomfort.09/06
  • 15-Day-ILKyle Bradish (SP) — Bradish was diagnosed with a sports hernia Wednesday.09/16
  • 60-Day-ILNewTyler O'Neill (RF) — O'Neill was given a PRP injection in his injured right shoulder recently.09/23
  • 60-Day-ILRyan Helsley (RP) — President of baseball operations Mike Elias said Saturday that Helsley (elbow) will be shut down for the remainder of the season.09/19
  • 60-Day-ILRyan Mountcastle (1B) — Mountcastle (foot/oblique) has resumed a hitting progression.09/08
  • 60-Day-ILColin Selby (RP) — Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Friday that Selby underwent right shoulder surgery Tuesday to repair his labrum and rotator cuff.07/31
  • 60-Day-ILKeegan Akin (RP) — Akin (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday.07/15
  • 60-Day-ILJordan Westburg (3B) — Westburg (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday.05/15

None of it changes the standings math much — Toronto's still chasing a wild-card spot it's running out of games to catch, and Baltimore's playing for pride and next season's roster questions. What's left to watch is whether either bullpen can hold up over a getaway doubleheader, and whether Guerrero and Cease's absences turn this into the kind of low-event, high-relief-innings game that late-September doubleheaders often are.

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