Toronto

Blue Jays

García threw just eight of his 21 pitches for strikes, but he did earn one strikeout. The 35-year-old is continuing to work his way back from elbow surgery and will likely need another couple of appearances at Triple-A before he is ready to return.

The Blue Jays simply did not have enough power to forge a comeback after falling down by six runs early against the Phillies. They chipped away and put some runs on the board, but ultimately couldn’t find that home run to get over the hump. In fact, they didn’t have a single extra-base hit, only eight singles. This is nothing new for Guerrero, who only has two extra-base hits in June and whose last home run came way back on May 17th. Him having just three homers and a .740 OPS in the middle of June is not what we expected.

Scherzer was not sharp at all in his return from the injured list. Bryce Harper wasted little time welcoming him back with a first inning home run and Alec Bohm hit a three-run shot in the third. Scherzer was missing plenty of bats with 13 whiffs, but these same home run issues that have plagued the twilight of his career remain. He’ll take a rough 10.23 ERA and 13 to 12 strikeout to walk ratio over 22 innings into his next scheduled start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Kirk played eight innings behind the plate during his latest rehab contest and appears to be trending towards a return to Toronto’s lineup at some point later this week. The 27-year-old backstop has been working his way back from thumb surgery back in early April.

Scherzer returns to take the ball for Wednesday’s series finale against the Phillies at the Rogers Centre following a six-week absence recovering from a forearm strain. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer’s durability remains his biggest obstacle to sustained fantasy value at this stage of his career, but he’s been an effective starter, when healthy. A wait-and-see approach seems like the best route given his struggles in five early-season starts, but he’ll offer some streaming appeal if he’s feeling right from a physical standpoint again.

Seabold loses his spot on Toronto’s roster with veteran starter Max Scherzer returning from the injured list for Wednesday’s game against the Phillies. The well-traveled 30-year-old struggled in five appearances with the Blue Jays after coming over from the Tigers in a trade back on May 27.

It doesn’t really make any sense for Toronto to send Varsho to the injured list at this point since he’s already sat out five straight contests. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to return for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees after missing time with a lingering left wrist issue. It’ll be Myles Straw in center field on Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre.

Springer was given a day off to reset mentally during Tuesday’s contest with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. moving up to the leadoff spot in his place. Guerrero is hitting second in this one followed by a red-hot Ernie Clement to face Phillies southpaw Jesús Luzardo.

Sañchez homered off Zach Wheeler to make it a 1-1 game in the sixth and then singled to open a two-run rally in the ninth. He’s batting .296/.328/.476, giving him the highest OPS among Jays regulars this season. Things might get crowded again in Toronto’s outfield after Addison Barger returns. but there’s little doubt now that Sañchez should keep starting in left or right against righties over the rest of the season.

Cease was excellent in allowing just three hits and one walk, but Zach Wheeler matched him to make it a 1-1 game after six. Those rostering Cease should still be very encouraged, as he allowed just four hard-hit balls and one walk while getting is 18 outs tonight. He’ll face the Red Sox in Boston next week.