Blue Jays Lineup...
1. Kevin Pillar ® CF
2. Jose Bautista ® RF
3. Kendrys Morales (S) DH
4. Justin Smoak (S) 1B
5. Devon Travis ® 2B
6. Darwin Barney ® 3B
7. Ezequiel Carrera (L) LF
8. Ryan Goins (L) SS
9. Luke Maile ® C
Marco Estrada RHP
Estrada has gone at least six innings in all but one of his eight starts this season and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of those starts. The change is his go-to pitch and he went with it 40 times vs. Seattle in his last outing.
Braves Lineup...
1. Ender Inciarte (L) CF
2. Brandon Phillips ® DH
3. Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
4. Matt Kemp ® LF
5. Nick Markakis (L) RF
6. Tyler Flowers ® C
7. Adonis Garcia ® 3B
8. Jace Peterson (L) 2B
9. Dansby Swanson ® SS
Jaime Garcia LHP
Garcia's command has been as steady as it has been in the past, but his slider has not been as effective as it was last year. The lefty has primarily been a victim of one bad inning in each of his losses.
PREVIEW...
By Keegan Matheson / MLB.com
Marco Estrada and Jaime Garcia will face off Tuesday in the second and final game between the Blue Jays and Braves at Rogers Centre before the teams head to SunTrust Park in Atlanta to complete the home-and-home series.
Estrada has remained a source of consistency as the Blue Jays battle rotation injuries, posting a 3.12 ERA in his first eight starts. The right-hander has struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings, the highest full-season rate of his career, and has been getting slightly more ground-ball contact than he has in recent years.
Last time out against the Mariners, Estrada struck out eight batters over six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, and he has struck out at least seven batters in five of his last six starts.
Garcia enters his start in Toronto on a different trajectory; he has the lowest full-season strikeout rate and highest walk rate of his career. The left-hander has been allowing more contact through the air and walked five batters in both of his past two starts. In his last start against the Astros, Garcia allowed four runs on six hits over six innings.
• Garcia has been able to get to two strikes or two outs, but he has struggled to slam the door in those situations. With two outs, opposing hitters have posted a .327 average and .911 OPS against Garcia and are still managing a .217 average with a .692 OPS in two-strike counts.
One factor in this trend is Garcia's slider. Typically one of his best pitches, Garcia has given up a .375 average and .708 slugging percentage against his slider this season. Two home runs have been hit off that pitch in 2017, matching his total for 2016.
• With Steve Pearce on the 10-day disabled list after sustaining a calf injury, the Blue Jays returned to a nine-man bullpen for the series opener. This left them with a two-man bench, one being a catcher, but manager John Gibbons suggested the Blue Jays could add another position player as early as Tuesday to balance the roster. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is still tentatively scheduled to join Toronto in Atlanta for the second half of the series.
• Marco Estrada has recorded 19 strikeouts with his changeup this season, more than all but three other pitchers. However, when batters hit the pitch, their average exit velocity is up from 82 mph last year to 87 mph in 2017.
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*