Shane Bieber, bettering Jays go for highway sweep of Phillies

The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t been shy about working overtime.

Fresh off venturing into extra innings for the third time in four games, the visiting Blue Jays — who have won seven of their last 10 games — will bid to secure a three-game series sweep on Sunday afternoon when they face the Philadelphia Phillies.

Toronto escaped Houston with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings on Wednesday before seeing a late uprising result the following day in a 3-2 setback in 11 innings against the Chicago Cubs. The Blue Jays held on for a 5-4 win over the Phillies in the series opener on Friday before rallying for a 7-5 decision in 11 innings on Saturday.

While Nathan Lukes belted a two-run shot in the 11th inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also went deep in his return from a three-game absence due to tightness in his right hamstring. Guerrero added an RBI single to give the Toronto offense a jolt.

“We are talking about one of the most important guys on our team,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Guerrero. “I always feel good with him in the lineup, his presence, what he can do.

“He’s got a pretty good feel for what’s best for him and the team. This is a big boy league, so if you’re feeling good enough to go and you can help us, we want you to do that.”

Guerrero admitted that his MRI on his hamstring Wednesday revealed only inflammation.

“It hurt. It was a lot of pain. I really wanted to find out what was going on in there,” he said. “Just a little bit of inflammation. I can play with that.”

Andres Gimenez followed up his homer in the series opener by driving in three runs on Saturday.

Philadelphia’s Trea Turner and Bryce Harper belted back-to-back homers as part of a four-run sixth inning on Saturday.

Harper, however, was given a break from his responsibilities in his return to right field. The slugger spent the past four games playing that position before serving as the designated hitter on Saturday.

“I still think we’re going to have to be careful,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said of Harper. “It’s a read that kind of goes back into our medical meetings every day, how he’s feeling and how everything’s going. There’s going to be days if he’s more sore, had more running. They’re tracking. We track everything nowadays, so we’re going to know if he’s been on his feet more.”

Toronto right-hander Shane Bieber (3-2, 5.11 ERA) will start on Sunday against Philadelphia left-hander Jesus Luzardo (10-5, 3.36).

Bieber improved to 3-1 in his last four starts after allowing one run in 5 2/3 innings in a 3-1 road victory against the Astros on Monday.

The former Cy Young Award winner emerged victorious in his lone career start versus the Phillies after allowing two runs on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings in 2019.

Luzardo improved to 7-1 in his last eight decisions after scattering four hits over eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.

He is 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA in two career appearances (both starts) against Toronto.

–Field Level Media