Blue Jays Gameday (May 29): Toronto looking for fourth straight win as Charles McAdoo makes MLB debut
After Thursday night’s 2-1 win over the Orioles (26-31), the Blue Jays have pulled themselves one game back of .500 with a record of 28-29. The club hasn’t been at .500 or above since April 4, when they were 4-4.
The Jays’ pitching staff continued to pick up the team’s offence, a trend that has been evident through the Blue Jays’ opening 57 games. On Thursday, the Blue Jays rode an Andrés Giménez solo home run and Yohendrick Piñango’s bases-loaded walk to give them a one-run lead that was enough to pull out the victory.
Even in the midst of a slow start to the season, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson always feels like a threat to do damage. The Blue Jays’ pitching staff held the 24-year-old in check last night, but Henderson leads the Orioles with 13 home runs and is not too far removed from the 2024 season in which he hit 37 long balls.
Adam Macko is something between an opener and a starter on Friday. “He’s not going to go five,” says Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Austin Voth will pitch in a bulk role.
Varland, Hoffman, Rogers all on back-to-back’s. Current plan for Sunday is [opener] + Spencer Miles.
The Orioles will hand the ball to left-hander Trevor Rogers for Friday night’s contest. After compiling a 9-3 record and a 1.81 ERA over 18 starts last year, the 28-year-old has struggled to replicate that same success. Over nine starts this season, Rogers is 2-6 with a 6.96 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across 42 2/3 innings pitched. Opposing teams have been able to hit the lefty at a .295 clip, giving the Blue Jays’ offence a chance to turn some of their fortunes around.
Macko has worked exclusively as a reliever with the Blue Jays and in Triple-A with the Bisons this season. With the Blue Jays, Macko’s longest outing was 1 1/3 innings, topping out at 20 pitches, and with the Bisons, Macko completed 2 1/3 innings once, requiring 25 pitches to get through those frames.
Here’s how the lineups look on Friday night:
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
First Pitch: 7:05 PM EST
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet One, SN590
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Adam Macko: 1-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 SO, 0 BB
Baltimore Orioles – Trevor Rogers: 2-6 record, 6.96 ERA, 42.2 IP, 35 SO, 17 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- George Springer – DH
- Ernie Clement – SS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Kazuma Okamoto – 3B
- Daulton Varsho – CF
- Charles McAdoo – 2B
- Myles Straw – LF
- Yohendrick Piñango – RF
- Brandon Valenzuela – C
Orioles:
- Taylor Ward – LF
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Adley Rutschman – DH
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- Samuel Basallo – C
- Leody Taveras – CF
- Colton Cowser – RF
- Coby Mayo – 3B
- Jackson Holliday – 2B