Blue Jays Announce Ernie Clement Decision Before Facing Red Sox Ace

Ernie Clement is hitting sixth in the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup Saturday against Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray at Fenway Park, the 20th time this season manager John Schneider has placed him in the No. 6 spot.

Clement spent stretches earlier this season hitting leadoff and second while George Springer nursed an injury, according to a report by The Sporting News. Springer’s return shoved Clement back toward the bottom half of the order, and the sixth slot has become something close to his everyday address, regardless of who’s on the mound.

But in Friday’s game facing Red Sox left-handed starter Patrick Sandoval, Clement was back in the leadoff spot where he went 0-for-4, though he did get hit by a pitch from Boston reliever Greg Weissert and then scored on Kazuma Okamoto’s home run. The Jays lost the game anyway, 6-4.

Ernie Clement’s Numbers Against Sonny Gray

Clement has been frustrated in his career against Gray, but it’s a small sample size. The Blue Jays All-Star infielder is 0-for-3 in his career against Gray.

Gray, meanwhile, has been one of the American League’s most dependable arms since the Red Sox acquired him. He brings an MLB-leading winning percentage of .923 with a 12-1 record to go with a 2.48 ERA, fifth-best MLB. Coming into Saturday Gray has made 18 starts, with 90 strikeouts and a WHIP hovering around 1.12 over 101 2/3 innings.

Batting sixth probably means Clement will face Gray no more than three times, assuming Gray works deep into the contest. Had Clement stayed at leadoff, where he hit Friday, he’d likely see closer to four trips to the plate.

Blue Jays, Red Sox Trending in Opposite Directions

The two clubs arrive at this series heading in wildly different directions. Toronto sits at 47-57, fifth in the American League East and effectively out of contention. Boston, at 53-49 and third in the division, remains very much alive in the wild-card hunt after ripping off a franchise-tying 15-game winning streak earlier in July — and winning 21 of their last 23 —a run that upended the entire division picture.

The season series still belongs to the Blue Jays, who had won five of the first six meetings before Friday, according to head-to-head data from StatMuse. Whether Toronto can hold that edge over a full weekend against a rotation fronted by Gray is a different question, given how the Red Sox have been playing.

Clement, a 30-year-old Rochester, New York, native, was a fourth-round pick by the Cleveland Indians out of the University of Virginia in 2017 and debuted with Cleveland in 2021, before Toronto acquired him in 2023. He made his first All-Star team this season, hitting close to .295 with eight home runs, a record built on contact and defensive versatility across the infield rather than raw power.

Gray, a three-time All-Star out of Vanderbilt University, was Oakland’s 18th overall pick in 2011 and has since pitched for six organizations, landing in Boston via a trade last November. His career ERA sits near 3.52 with more than 2,000 strikeouts, and 2026 is shaping up as one of the finest seasons of his 13-year run at age 36.

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