Blue Jays Lineup...
1. Kevin Pillar ® CF
2. Josh Donaldson ® 3B
3. Jose Bautista ® RF
4. Kendrys Morales (S) DH
5. Justin Smoak (S) 1B
6. Troy Tulowitzki ® SS
7. Devon Travis ® 2B
8. Darwin Barney ® LF
9. Luke Maile ® C
Joe Biagini RHP
Biagini had a pretty big breakthrough in his last outing. He reached career highs in innings (six) and pitches (95) and allowed just two runs. This will be his sixth start, and he's no longer on a strict pitch count.
Yankees Lineup...
1. Brett Gardner (L) LF
2. Aaron Hicks (S) CF
3. Aaron Judge ® RF
4. Matt Holliday ® DH
5. Starlin Castro ® 2B
6. Didi Gregorius (L) SS
7. Chase Headley (S) 3B
8. Austin Romine ® C
9. Rob Refsnyder ® 1B
Jordan Montgomery LHP
Montgomery is coming off his shortest outing of 2017, a 4 1/3 inning affair that required 100 pitches. The rookie has struggled with deep counts, but has walked one or fewer batters in three of his last four starts.
PREVIEW...
By Keegan Matheson / MLB.com
The Blue Jays and Yankees will send Joe Biagini and Jordan Montgomery to the mound on Saturday afternoon for their third of four games at Rogers Centre this series.
This should be the first start in which Biagini is able to push a full starter's workload after being stretched out from a bullpen role. Inserted into the rotation in early May as Toronto dealt with multiple starters on the DL, Biagini completed six innings his last time out and reached a new high of 95 pitches.
Biagini's final bullpen outing before the switch came against New York, who got to the right-hander for three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings. Toronto manager John Gibbons doesn't see that outing, or any past performances, impacting Biagini on his start days.
"I don't even think Joe realizes that, to be honest with you, knowing Joe," Gibbons said. "He's pitched pretty good. The last time he faced the Yankees, we were stretching him out anyways, and they got him late. I don't think it matters to Joe."
Montgomery has enjoyed mixed levels of success in his rookie season with the Yankees, but the future looks very bright for the 24-year-old left-hander. Over his first nine starts, Montgomery owns a 4.11 ERA while staying in line with his career strikeout averages, averaging 8.6 per nine innings.
In his last start against Baltimore, Montgomery allowed eight hits over 4 1/3 innings, but he limited the damage to one earned run with five strikeouts. Saturday will be his first career start against the Blue Jays
Things to watch for in this game
• Montgomery spreads his pitch selection very evenly, making him a unique pitcher in that regard. Beyond his fastballs, Montgomery has thrown 167 changeups, 152 curveballs and 149 sliders to keep opposing hitters guessing. His most effective pitch to date has been the slider, which has produced a .163 opponents' batting average, .245 opponents' slugging percentage and 22.8 percent whiff rate.
• Toronto catcher Russell Martin was held out of Friday's game with a neck issue, and his status for Saturday's matinee is not known. Gibbons said that this is not the same nerve issue in Martin's neck and shoulder that forced him to the DL earlier this season. Martin had really started to lock in at the plate recently, hitting home runs in two of his last three games against Cincinnati.
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*