Blue Jays at Royals
The Toronto Blue Jays elected against shuffling Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen and kept the 24-year-old in a now six-man rotation as the club attempts to continue its pursuit of the penthouse in the American League East. Sanchez, who has worked a career-high 139 1/3 innings this season, will look to keep an unblemished road record intact on Saturday as the Blue Jays vie for their fifth straight win and a series victory versus the Kansas City Royals.
Devon Travis belted a pair of solo homers in Friday's 4-3 win for his fifth multi-hit performance in his last 10 games. While Toronto has emerged victorious in nine of its last 12 to remain a percentage point behind Baltimore atop the AL East, Kansas City is showing little resemblance to the team that ended the Blue Jays' season in the 2015 ALCS en route to winning the second World Series title in franchise history. The Royals have lost 11 of their last 14 overall and seven of nine at Kauffman Stadium. Alcides Escobar is struggling alongside his team as the leadoff hitter was hitless in five at-bats in the series opener and is 1-for-13 in his last three games.
TV: 7:15 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Toronto), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Aaron Sanchez (11-1, 2.71 ERA) vs. Royals LH Danny Duffy (7-1, 2.98)
Sanchez settled for a no-decision on Sunday despite allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings against Baltimore. The promising hurler owns a 7-0 mark on the road and 8-1 performance at night this season while winning 10 straight decisions since recording his lone loss on April 22. Included in that dominant stretch is a stellar 6-2 victory against Kansas City on July 4, as he allowed one run on three hits in eight strong innings.
Duffy struck out a franchise-best 16 batters and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning in a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay on Monday. The 27-year-old has been sparkling at home (3-0), although his struggles versus Toronto leave plenty to be desired. Duffy is just 1-3 in his career against the Blue Jays and has yielded 16 runs on 23 hits and 17 walks in 20 2/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City RF Lorenzo Cain had an RBI triple in the series opener to extend his hitting streak to four games and is 17-for-52 in 13 career contests versus Toronto.
2. Blue Jays DH Edwin Encarnacion is riding an eight-game hitting streak.
3. Royals LHP Jason Vargas, who had Tommy John surgery in July 2015, is slated to make his first rehab start Saturday for Surprise in the rookie-level Arizona League.