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Blue Jays RHP Dylan Cease tasked with slowing fast-starting Rangers
The Toronto Blue Jays aim to flip the script Saturday afternoon after two similar losses to the visiting Texas Rangers.
The Blue Jays fell behind 5-0 on Friday night before coming close with a four-run eighth inning against the bullpen in a 5-4 loss after Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi struck out nine in seven scoreless innings.
“It was the same game as (Thursday) with the same bad ending,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, whose team has lost four in a row.
The Blue Jays fell behind 6-0 in the opener of the four-game series on Thursday before a ninth-inning rally fell short in a 6-5 loss.
The early innings have been the Blue Jays’ downfall as they dropped to 1-4 to open their 10-game homestand. They have been outscored 14-1 in the first inning over the past seven games.
The Rangers are 3-2 halfway through a 10-game road trip. They have scored first in six consecutive games. They are 30-10 when they score first this season.
Right-hander Dylan Cease (4-3, 2.75 ERA) is Toronto’s scheduled starter on Saturday. He is 3-2 with a 5.97 ERA in seven career starts against Texas.
Schneider said he wants Cease to “trust his stuff in the zone, knowing they’re an aggressive team and, hopefully, he can get some quick outs.”
Right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-0, 3.73) is slated to make his second start of the season for Texas on Saturday. He is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in two career starts against the Blue Jays but has not faced them since 2022.
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, who returned from a concussion on Thursday after missing 12 games, did not play on Friday. His workload is being managed, but he is scheduled to play the final two games of the series.
“He feels good,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “He checked out last night, checked out this morning, which is good news. We fully anticipate him being ready to go for the rest of the series.”
Justin Foscue drove in three runs for Texas on Friday. He had an RBI single in the three-run first and a two-run homer in the third.
Toronto left fielder Jesus Sanchez left the game in the seventh with what Schneider said was a sprained right ankle. He crashed awkwardly into the wall making an inning-ending catch on Brandon Nimmo’s drive. Davis Schneider batted for him in the bottom of the seventh.
The Blue Jays recalled left-hander Adam Macko from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday and he pitched around two walks in the eighth.
Right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson was designated for assignment to make room for him. He pitched three scoreless innings on Thursday.
“Always tough when you’re losing depth and length,” Schneider said. “Availability plays into it, wanting another lefty. … reset the pen a little bit. He did a really good job here.”
The Blue Jays are expected to promote corner infielder Sean Keys from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.
He is batting .284/.409/.619 with 21 homers and 51 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A.
“He’s probably farther along than we would have thought or I would have thought,” Schneider said. “He’s doing really well, obviously (and) a little bit ahead of schedule from where we thought he would be. So, definitely on the radar.”
It is not certain where or when he would play with five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. established at first and Kazuma Okamoto, who hit his 19th homer of the season on Friday, at third base.
–Field Level Media
