The Toronto Blue Jays will catch a break this week as the Philadelphia Phillies arrive in town.
Philadelphia will be skipping ace Zack Wheeler's scheduled start on Tuesday for the series opener as the right-hander's wife is expecting to give birth any day, according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb.
Wheeler has, once again, been one of MLB's top pitchers this season. The 35-year-old owns a 2.96 ERA and 94 strikeouts over 76.0 innings. Those impressive numbers stand despite the veteran giving up a six-spot to the Atlanta Braves last Thursday.
With the shift in their rotation, the Phillies are bumping Cristopher Sánchez to start Tuesday, rookie Mick Abel up to Wednesday and Jesús Luzardo to Thursday.
Philadelphia enters the series against the Blue Jays on a four-game losing streak after a weekend sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. However, the Phillies still hold a 36-23 record — good for second in the NL East.
Toronto will counter with Bowden Francis on Tuesday, José Berríos on Wednesday and Chris Bassitt on Thursday.
