The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to pad their lead, both in the American League East and for a top-two spot in the American League.
The Blue Jays are up five games on the Boston Red Sox in the division and four games on the Houston Astros for a coveted bye to a division series as they get set to take on the Marlins in Game 2 of a three-game series in Miami on Saturday.
Catch the action on Sportsnet, with Blue Jays Central coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT.
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Watch Blue Jays vs. Marlins on Sportsnet
The Toronto Blue Jays go for the series win against the Miami Marlins in a Saturday afternoon showdown. Watch Game 2 on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ starting at 4:10 p.m. ET / 1:10 p.m. PT.
José Berríos will take the bump for Toronto, aiming to recover from a rough Aug. 17 outing where he allowed six runs and 11 baserunners over 4.1 innings against the Texas Rangers.
The subpar start raised Berríos’s ERA to 4.00, the first time it has been at or above that mark since late May. The 31-year-old righty also has 121 strikeouts and 49 walks over 146.1 innings this season.
Starting opposite Berríos is right-hander Janson Junk. The 29-year-old journeyman has logged adequate innings for the Marlins this season, turning in a 4.04 ERA with 58 strikeouts and only nine walks over 82.1 innings.
Toronto took Game 1 of the series on Friday thanks to a dazzling Blue Jays debut by Shane Bieber — he allowed only two hits and one run over 6.0 innings while striking out nine — and a solid offensive performance, propelled by a home run from Daulton Varsho.
The 2024 Gold Glove winner is now up to 14 round-trippers on the season in only 41 games, which equals a 55-home run pace over a full 162.
Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his 28th save of the year.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remained out of the lineup Friday and hasn’t played since sustaining a left hamstring injury Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The all-star first baseman aggravated the injury when he did the splits to stretch for a Bo Bichette throw in the third inning, saving a run and recording the final out.
The star slugger has been day-to-day with hamstring inflammation since.
Manager John Schneider told reporters ahead of Friday’s game that Guerrero did pre-game sprints on the field and hit in the batting cage. The 27-year-old also took batting practice on the field, and Schneider added that he may be available off the bench.
