Back woes sideline Bichette as Blue Jays wrap up series with Rangers
Shortstop being kept out of Wednesday's lineup against Texas with what team says is lower-back tightness
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One bad back and a frustrating pile of poor at-bats has prompted Blue Jays manager John Schneider to shuffle his batting order as a six-game road trip winds up in Texas.
Schneider told reporters at Globe Life Field in Arlington that Bo Bichette was being kept out of the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Rangers with what the team described as lower-back tightness.
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Schneider told reporters in Texas that Bichette has been dealing with the issue recently and the shortstop is considered day to day.
With that notable absence — and a desperate need to manufacture runs somewhere, somehow — Schneider shook up the order for Wednesday’s contest with Daulton Varsho leading off, followed by Anthony Santander, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and George Springer hitting cleanup.
The Jays offence has been uneven at best for much of the season, but has been particularly troubled through the first five games of this road trip through Tampa and Texas, in which they’ve scored just four runs and been shut out twice while going 1-4.
Bichette had struggled through the first five games of the road trip with just one hit, while his team has been outscored 22-4.
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A 2-0 loss on Tuesday was particularly gruesome, a game in which they got the leadoff runner aboard in four of the first six innings and had runners on base in all but the third and the ninth innings. Worse, Jays hitters had leadoff doubles in each of the first two innings and couldn’t get home as Jays batters have gone 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position in the first two games against the Rangers.
As miserable as the road trip has been, the Jays have a chance to win the three-game series against the Rangers on Wednesday and an opportunity to creep back to within a game of .500. Paxton Schultz will get the start in what is expected to be a bullpen day for the Jays, who are just 10-16 on the road this season and 26-28 overall.
It won’t be an easy task for the Toronto offence to get on track as they face yet another top-tier starter in Rangers right-hander Tyler Mahle, who is 5-2 with a tight 1.80 ERA.
After a return to Toronto in the wee hours of Thursday, the Jays begin a four-game weekend series against the Athletics on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre.
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