Max Scherzer is getting pushed out of the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation
Photo credit: AP News
The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox for a 2nd straight game in a row in a 6-1 win on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Easton Lucas stays hot while striking out eight batters and giving up only three hits in Tuesaday's win against the Red Sox at Fenway.
The Red Sox were going to be a tougher test for the left-hander compared to his previous start against the Washington Nationals.
Tyson Shushkewich from Blue Jays Nation writes that Lucas continued to sail through his start, punching out Rob Refsnyder and Trevor Story to start the second inning. He ran into a bit of a jam in the third, with a single and a walk with two outs putting a runner in scoring position, but Lucas was unfazed, getting Devers to chase a low fastball for a forceout at third.
Either the Red Sox were sitting fastball and just not picking up his other pitches, or the movement and mixing of his pitches kept them off balance, as Lucas struck out batters on a 50/50 split when it comes to his fastball versus the sweeper/slider. -Shushkewich
Shushkewich also writes that Lucas' changeup was used to vary speeds but didn't lead to any strikeouts in this outing. While both performances were solid, this start was quite different from his first.
Against the Nationals, his sweeper/slider failed to generate any swings and misses on five attempts, while his fastball had a 35% whiff rate (15% higher than in the Red Sox game), and his changeup was again at 33%.
Whatever Lucas is doing on the mound is working for the Blue Jays and is keeping the opposing bats off balance while he goes five-plus innings. -Shushkewich
If Lucas can keep minimizing hard contact and consistently generate double-digit swings and misses in each start, there would be no reason to take him out of the rotation.
Considering the current schedule, another test awaits Lucas, as the left-hander is poised to face the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
The Blue Jays are back in action against Boston on Wednesday.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 9 | 2834 ANSWERS Max Scherzer is getting pushed out of the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation Will Blue Jays' Easton Lucas win his game against Baltimore on Sunday? | ||
| yes | 2434 | 85.9 % |
| no | 400 | 14.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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