Blue Jays once again forced into depleted lineup against the Diamondbacks

That was the expected next step after Varsho left Friday's game with left knee discomfort, but it still matters because Toronto is trying to avoid a sweep at Chase Field. The Blue Jays entered the finale at 7-13, while the Diamondbacks came in 13-8.

Toronto's card again starts with Nathan Lukes in right, Ernie Clement at second, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first. Jesús Sánchez hits cleanup, Eloy Jiménez is the designated hitter, and Andrés Giménez stays at shortstop.

Kazuma Okamoto bats seventh, Myles Straw gets center field, and Brandon Valenzuela catches. Kevin Gausman gets the ball against Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson.

The biggest takeaway is still Varsho's absence. John Schneider said Friday the discomfort was “kind of in his quad, down into his knee,” and the club pulled him to be extra careful after he mentioned it before the game.

Toronto also got a little breathing room on the medical side. Schneider said there was no MRI, called Varsho day to day, and the Blue Jays sounded relieved they had likely avoided something heavier.

This lineup tells you the club is still choosing caution over urgency, even with the series already slipping away.

Straw is the clean baseball answer. MLB.com noted that if Varsho misses time, Straw would step in as the everyday center fielder, a role the Blue Jays are fully comfortable with.

The issue is what Toronto loses around that move. Varsho came into this series with 3 home runs in his last 6 games, giving the lineup badly needed life while George Springer, Addison Barger, and Alejandro Kirk stayed out.

That puts more pressure on Lukes, Clement, and Straw to lengthen the card around Guerrero. It also keeps the burden on Sánchez and Jiménez to do real damage in the middle, because this offense has not shown much cushion lately. That last point is an inference based on the injuries around the lineup and Toronto's 7-13 record.

There is still a path for this to stay small. Schneider's day-to-day label left the door open for Varsho to get back quickly, and the lack of imaging only added to that optimism.

But Sunday's lineup is the second straight reminder that Toronto gets thinner fast when Varsho is missing. He is not just a center fielder on this roster. Right now, he is one of the few Blue Jays who had been driving the ball with any consistency.

So the Blue Jays will head into the finale with Straw in center and Varsho still on the bench. For a club trying to dodge a sweep, that is not a small lineup detail. It is the story on the card.