The Toronto Blue Jays limped to an 11-2 drubbing earlier today, with Kevin Gausman and John Schneider both getting tossed early into the game after arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire. While their grips hold merit, the result was the Jays needing four pitchers to get through the outing, while the offense struggled to plate runs to a high enough level on the back of their 11 hits and three walks. They went 2 for 13 with RISP, a value that continues to trend in the wrong direction even after Friday night’s comeback win.
With the second game slated for a quick turnaround, Toronto is sending Chris Bassitt to the mound while Clarke Schmidt takes the ball for the Yankees.
Bassitt has been strong for the Blue Jays out of the gate, posting a 1.88 ERA through five starts and 28 2/3 innings, striking out 34 batters in the process. He held one of the best ERA’s in the game before the Houston Astros torched him for four runs earlier this week, allowing seven hits on the day. He will look to put things back on track with a strong outing in New York, where he has made just one start before and allowed just two runs through six innings.
Kevin Gausman says he struggled to adjust in the 3rd as his pitch count rose:
“If you try to get to 100 pitches and you throw 50 of them in one inning, that’s pretty crazy. I don’t even think I’ve been close to that. Not ideal. Your stuff is definitely going to waver.” #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 27, 2025
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Opposite of Bassitt will be right-hander Clarke Schmidt, who has made just two starts this season after beginning the year on the IL and owns a 7.45 ERA through the small sample size. He allowed three earned runs to the Kansas City Royals back on April 16th and followed that with a five-run performance against Cleveland earlier this week, striking out a collective nine batters while walking five. He owns a 1.66 WHIP on the season, and opposing batters are teeing off on his cutter and sinker to start the season.
For this game, Anthony Santander and George Springer will shift spots from the DH and the RF, respectively, while Will Wagner, Tyler Heineman, Nathan Lukes, and Alan Roden also find themselves in this game.
For the Yankees, Aaron Judge will be slotting into the DH spot while Ben Ríce will play first base, with Paul Goldschmidt coming out.
Location: Yankee Stadium – New York City, New York
First Pitch: 5:25 pm EST
Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan
Starting Pitchers
Toronto Blue Jays – Chris Bassitt: 1-1 record, 1.88 ERA, 28 2/3 IP, 34 SO, 6 BB
New York Yankees – Clarke Schmidt: 0-1 record, 7.45 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 9 SO, 5 BB
Lineups:
Blue Jays:
- Bo Bichette – SS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
- Anthony Santander – RF
- George Springer – DH
- Andres Gimenez – 2B
- Will Wagner – 3B
- Tyler Heineman – C
- Nathan Lukes – CF
- Alan Roden – LF
Yankees:
- Trent Grisham – CF
- Ben Rice – 1B
- Aaron Judge – DH
- Cody Bellinger – RF
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. – 2B
- Anthony Volpe – SS
- Jasson Dominguez – LF
- J.C. Escarra – C
- Oswaldo Cabrera – 3B