Left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer will head to the hill Saturday as the Toronto Blue Jays look to bounce back against the Detroit Tigers.
Watch the game live starting at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+.
Meanwhile, outfielder Anthony Santander will be out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game.
Santander missed Friday's series opener against the Tigers, partly to rest a sore shoulder and partly to reset after a series against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he batted 1 for 12 with five strikeouts.
The switch-hitting outfielder is now being held out of the lineup due to left hip soreness and impingement, but manager John Schneider said he is “Hopefully available off the bench," Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reported Saturday.
Although Schneider could have called Santander to pinch-hit in the ninth inning Friday night, he left the struggling slugger on the bench.
"His shoulder was a little bit cranky still," Schneider explained. "So I didn't want to force him in there if he couldn't."
While Santander is known as a notorious slow-starter, his .187 batting average and .582 on-base plus slugging are both well below his usual numbers through the quarter-mark of the season.
Lauer, 29, signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays in December and earned a promotion to the big club after registering a 1-3 record, 4.50 ERA and five strikeouts in five starts with triple-A Buffalo.
The Elyria, Ohio native has made three relief appearances with the Blue Jays since he was added to the roster April 30 and holds a 2.00 ERA and nine strikeouts over nine innings of work.
Lauer has played 123 games, 112 starts, with a 37-37 record and 4.26 ERA over his seven-year MLB career with the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Blue Jays. He spent last season playing with the Kia Tigers in South Korea.
The Blue Jays fell 5-4 to the American League-leading Tigers (30-15).
Toronto (21-23) is five games back of the New York Yankees for the division lead.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.