Anthony Gose will make his first major league start of the season Wednesday, playing left field and leading off in place of Melky Cabrera, who will rest in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Gose, 22, was called up to the big leagues Monday. He made his season debut the same day, appearing as a defensive replacement and flying out to left field in his lone at bat.
Cabrera has been dealing with soreness in his right quadriceps and left hamstring. He has been playing through the discomfort and has posted a .342/.364/.507 batting line in May.
Gose had been hitting .227/.343/.325 at triple-A Buffalo when he learned that he was joining the MLB team. He wasn’t expecting the promotion.
“Definitely surprised,” he said Monday. “I didn’t even know what to think. They called me this morning, told me I was going up. I kept asking ‘was it real.’ I didn’t know what was happening. But it’s definitely good to be here.”
Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson opposes left-hander Mark Buehrle in the game, which begins at 4:37 p.m. E.T. and can be viewed on Sportsnet Ontario and heard on Sportsnet 590 The FAN.
Gose has hit right-handers better than left-handers as a professional.
The Blue Jays, now 18-27, won the series opener before losing to the Rays Tuesday night. They’ll host the Baltimore Orioles in Toronto starting Thursday.
