Lopsided 16-2 losses may hurt in the moment, but the great thing about baseball is that there’s usually a game tomorrow, and it starts, as they all do, at 0-0.
The Toronto Blue Jays will hope to paint a different picture on that blank canvas as they take on the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of their interleague series on Saturday (Sportsnet, 2:20 p.m. ET / 11:20 a.m. PT).
Patrick Corbin will take the mound for Toronto as he looks to eat some innings for a Blue Jays relief corps that certainly needs a break.
The 36-year-old hasn’t lasted past the third inning in either of his last two starts, with his most recent appearance coming Sunday in an 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees, where he gave up two runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings.
Toronto’s relievers have been feeling the strain after a bullpen day against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday and a rare Kevin Gausman flop on Friday, when the usually dependable hurler lasted only two innings after giving up seven runs on seven hits and four walks.
Corbin, who signed with the Jays as an emergency addition early in the season, will be making his 14th appearance. The lefty carries a 4.57 ERA and 1.48 WHIP with 43 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched in his 14th big-league season.
While giving up 16 runs in the opener sets a poor precedent, so does the two-run performance from the Blue Jays’ (37-39) bats, which were quieted by emerging righty Ben Brown.
George Springer was the lone Blue Jay on the board on Friday night, as his single in the third scored Andres Gimenez, and he added a solo shot — his eighth homer of the season — in the sixth.
Eyes will be on superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after he exited Friday’s game with a back issue in the sixth inning. He missed two games last weekend with back tightness.
More than just hoping for health, the Blue Jays will hope that Guerrero Jr. can begin to find his groove after finally breaking his home-run drought on Thursday against the Red Sox, hitting his first round-tripper in over a month. He went 0-for-3 on three softly hit balls before being replaced by Charles McAdoo on Friday.
The 27-year-old has struggled mightily with power the entire year, having hit only four homers, and is slashing .279/.367/.372, well below his career norms.
On the bump for the Cubs (40-36), meanwhile, will be righty Colin Rea, who has posted a 5.35 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 74 innings over 15 appearances this season.
The Blue Jays will hope to add to Rea’s recent string of poor play, as the 35-year-old has given up 11 runs combined over his last two starts. His last start came against the San Francisco Giants last Sunday, when he gave up four runs on six hits and three walks in 4.2 innings.
Rea has made two appearances against the Blue Jays over his eight-year career, once with the San Diego Padres in 2016 and most recently with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024. He has given up four runs in 13 innings of work while striking out eight in those games.
In the more recent start, Rea pitched seven innings of one-run ball — an outcome the Blue Jays’ bats hope won’t repeat itself as they look for consistency in an up-and-down season.
