The Toronto Blue Jays are back in action on Saturday, hoping to not only climb above .500 for the first time since June, but also inch even closer to an AL wild-card spot.
Toronto will take on the Kansas City Royals for Game 2 (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) of a three-game set after the Blue Jays walked away with a resounding 9-2 series-opening win on Friday, improving to 71-71 on the season.
It also marked the Jays' fifth win in their last six games, as they now sit just one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for a wild-card spot.
Veteran righty Max Scherzer will take the bump on Saturday, starting opposite Seth Lugo. Scherzer gets the ball on the heels of a vintage outing in his last start, when he pitched seven scoreless innings and racked up 10 strikeouts in a 7-0 win against the Seattle Mariners.
Aside from some more strong pitching from Scherzer and Co., the Blue Jays will also hope their bats can stay as hot as they've been of late — scoring five-plus runs in five of their last seven games and in three consecutive appearances. A welcome trend for the entire lineup, but especially Vladimir Guerro Jr., who's put up a pair of multi-hit games in two of his last three outings for the first time since July. He's also slashing .350/.364/.550 over his last seven days, with seven hits, seven RBI and one home run in that span. In Toronto's win on Friday, Guerrero Jr. finished with two hits and a run through his four at-bats.
Meanwhile, the trio of Alejandro Kirk, Ernie Clement and George Springer each drove in two runs of their own in the victory as the Blue Jays got contributions from up and down the roster.
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