George Springer leads John Schneider's lineup tonight as Toronto opens its Orioles series at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays posted Springer at designated hitter, Nathan Lukes in right field, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base and Daulton Varsho in center.
The bottom half runs through Ernie Clement at second, Jesús Sánchez in left, Kazuma Okamoto at third, Andrés Giménez at shortstop and Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate.
That card is built for Trey Yesavage's start in the opener, with Toronto trying to stack enough contact and left-handed balance behind him. The Blue Jays and Orioles both come in at 30-33.
Springer staying in the leadoff spot matters because Schneider is still chasing a cleaner first inning from this offense. Putting him at DH also keeps his bat in the top lane without asking for outfield work.
Lukes in the 2 hole says plenty, too. Schneider wants a left-handed hitter between Springer and Guerrero Jr., then lets Varsho hit cleanup as the first real power swing behind Toronto's best on-base threat.
Clement batting 5th is another tell. Toronto is leaning on his steady at-bats to keep innings alive before the lineup drops into more volatile spots.
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John Schneider goes with a balanced look
Sánchez, Okamoto and Giménez make this a more interesting middle-to-late stretch than Toronto has shown on some recent nights. There is left-handed length there, but also some swing-and-miss risk if the traffic never builds.
Valenzuela hitting 9th keeps the bottom simple. Schneider is asking his catcher to turn the lineup over, not carry it, which makes Springer's first trip to the plate even bigger.
The other thing that stands out is what is not here. George Springer is at DH, not in the outfield, while Lukes and Sánchez handle the corners and Varsho takes center.
Toronto needed a fresh-looking card. At 30-33, every series opener has started to carry a little more heat, especially at home against a division club sitting on the same record.
The pitching matchup adds some edge. Baltimore is sending Brandon Young, who is 3-1 with a 3.35 ERA, while Toronto hands the ball to Yesavage at 2-2 with a 2.19 ERA.
Baltimore had not posted its lineup when Toronto's card went live, so the Blue Jays' order got the early spotlight by itself. That spotlight lands first on Springer, and on a lineup Schneider needs to keep moving tonight.
Should George Springer stay in Toronto's leadoff spot?
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