The Blue Jays enter Friday's series against the Baltimore Orioles at one game back of the Cleveland Guardians.
The Toronto Blue Jays will open up a crucial three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Rogers Centre (7:07 p.m. ET).
The Blue Jays are one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final wild card spot in the American League while the Orioles are three games back.
A series win for the Jays obviously keeps them in the thick of the race, while a series loss for the Orioles would essentially eliminate them.
In the opener, veteran Max Scherzer will go for Toronto while old friend Chris Bassitt will pitch for Baltimore.
About Bassitt
Now 37 years old, the Ohio native is a 12-year veteran of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Blue Jays and Orioles. He spent three years with Toronto (2023-25), helping the Jays make the playoffs twice (2023 and 2025). He led the American League in wins in 2023 with 16 while also winning double-digit games in each of the other two years.
In total, Bassitt was 37-31 with a 3.89 ERA for the Jays, and he played a valuable bullpen role for the team in the 2025 playoffs as it advanced to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
The Blue Jays allowed Bassitt to walk in free agency last offseason and he linked on with Baltimore. The typically durable Bassitt had made 27 starts or more in each of the last five years, but he's made only 17 total appearances this season, going 6-5 with a 4.96 ERA.
Though he has not pitched as well this season, he's certainly capable of providing a big game - especially against the team that let him go.
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) throws during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn ImagesAs for Scherzer
The overall numbers don't look pretty (2-7, 6.03 ERA), but Scherzer has been better of late. He has allowed three runs or less in four of his last five starts, including seven shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 30.
He gave up three earned runs over 5.2 innings in his last outing against the Kansas City Royals (Sept. 5). Now 42 years old, there is a chance that these are the final starts of Scherzer's eventual Hall of Fame career.
Also in the news for the Blue Jays
Kazuma Okamoto hit his 30th home run of the season recently. He also has 83 RBIs, and while the batting average doesn't look all that great (.232), we took a look at how impressive his season is as a whole.
