The Toronto Blue Jays will open with a southpaw against the left-handed-heavy New York Yankees lineup.
Mason Fluharty will open a bullpen game at Yankee Stadium on Friday, the Blue Jays announced.
Coverage of the game starts at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
It will be Fluharty's fourth start and the Blue Jays' 13th bullpen game this season. They've gone 9-3 when deploying the strategy this year.
Fluharty has pitched to a 3.71 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 20 walks over 51 innings while serving as the go-to lefty in Toronto's bullpen.
The 25-year-old sophomore is tied for the American League lead with 67 appearances this season.
The Yankees lineup is chock-full of left-handed hitters. Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Luis Garcia Jr. have made up three of the top four in their order in each of the last five games, and Jazz Chisholm and George Lombard Jr. often follow. They haven't started more than three right-handed batters within the last week.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said on Blair and Barker Friday that recently reinstated pitcher Spencer Arrighetti could pitch bulk innings behind Fluharty.
Simeon Woods Richardson could also factor in that role, given he's averaged over three innings across five appearances with the Blue Jays, and was previously a starter for the Minnesota Twins.
The Blue Jays enter the weekend's three-game series in New York 0.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the final AL wild-card spot.
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