TORONTO – A sore left Achilles for Ezequiel Carrera ushered Devon Travis back to the leadoff spot and Darrell Ceciliani to right field for his first start as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday.
Carrera’s now day-to-day and likely to get a full day off after jamming his leg on a base in Toronto’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Blue Jays had started experimenting with Carrera at leadoff and Travis batting second Tuesday.
“We would have at least given it another day,” manager John Gibbons said. Instead, Travis returns to the leadoff spot, where he started 22 games in 2015, his rookie season. The second baseman has been hitting particularly well of late with hits in 14 of his last 31 at-bats.
Carrera’s offensive production has been similarly impressive this year. Once Jose Bautista was placed on the disabled list with turf toe, the Blue Jays turned to the 29-year-old, who’s hitting .314 with three home runs and an .827 OPS in 48 games.
Ceciliani, a left-handed hitter like Carrera, hit .217/.271/.283 with seven steals in eight attempts at triple-A Buffalo before getting called up. He started 13 games for the New York Mets in 2015, but gets his first start with Toronto Wednesday, his 26th birthday.
ESTRADA ON TRACK: Marco Estrada’s on track to make his scheduled start against the Colorado Rockies Monday even after experiencing back tightness in Tuesday’s loss against Arizona.
The right-hander would risk aggravating his back by swinging the bat in National League parks, so the Blue Jays will be cautious. In fact, Gibbons wouldn’t mind seeing him leave the bat on his shoulder at Coors Field. “I hope so,” he said.
The Blue Jays are getting frontline starter production from Estrada, who has a 2.99 ERA since debuting with Toronto last year, best in the American League. He leads MLB starters with a .164 opponents’ average.
