The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to bounce back this afternoon after a frustrating walk-off loss to the Detroit Tigers on Friday night. Spencer Torkelsonâs ninth-inning single gave Detroit a 3-2 win and dropped Toronto to 19-25 on the season. Itâs also now eight losses in their last 11 games, and the margin for error is starting to feel a bit thinner every night.
The second game of this series at Comerica Park gives the Blue Jays a chance to split things heading into Sunday, but the offence is going to need to give them more than it did last night. Outside of a brief second inning, there just wasnât much sustained pressure.
Game Info
- Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026
- First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. EDT
- Location: Comerica Park â Detroit, MI
- TV: Sportsnet
- Radio: SN590 The Fan
Probable Pitchers
TOR: Mason Fluharty (2-0, 5.40 ERA)
The Blue Jays are expected to go with a bullpen game, with Mason Fluharty likely opening things up. The left-hander has quietly become a dependable arm out of the bullpen this season, though starting a game brings a different kind of pressure, especially on the road.
Spencer Miles is still expected to handle a decent chunk of innings afterward, but the early plan appears to be using Fluharty to try and disrupt Detroitâs timing right away.
DET: Casey Mize (2-2, 2.90 ERA)
Detroit will get Casey Mize back from the 15-day injured list, and he was pitching well before going down. The right-hander carried a 2.90 ERA into the injury absence and had been doing a good job limiting hard contact.
The bigger question is probably workload. In his first game back, the Tigers may not want to push him too deep, which means Torontoâs best path here could be forcing long at-bats early and trying to get into Detroitâs bullpen sooner than later.
Blue Jaysâ Projected Lineup:
Below is the projected Blue Jays lineup for the game against the Tigers. It can, however, change ahead of the first pitch.
- George Springer (DH)
- Yohendrick Pinango (LF)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B)
- Kazuma Okamoto (3B)
- Daulton Varsho (CF)
- Jesús Sánchez (RF)
- Ernie Clement (2B)
- Andrés GÃmenéz (SS)
- Brandon Valenzuela (C)
Bench: Tyler Heineman (C), Davis Schneider (Utility), Myles Straw (OF), Lenyn Sosa (1B/DH)
Injured: Shane Bieber (SP), Nathan Lukes (RF), Max Scherzer (SP), Jose Berrios (SP), Anthony Santander (RF), Lazaro Estrada (RP), Cody Ponce (SP), Bowden Francis (SP), Yimi Garcia (RP), Alejandro Kirk (C) & Addison Barger (RF)
Blue Jays Player to Watch: Andres Gimenez
Andres Gimenez was basically the entire offence for Toronto on Friday night, driving in both runs with a two-out double in the second inning. At a time where the lineup has struggled to cash in opportunities consistently, heâs been one of the few hitters still finding ways to contribute.
The Blue Jays are going to need more support around him this afternoon. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., in particular, feels like someone who needs a big game here as the offence tries to get going again.
Final Thoughts
One thing Toronto has to clean up quickly is its approach against Riley Greene. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games last night, which is now the longest active streak in baseball, and heâs been setting the tone for Detroitâs offence lately.
The Blue Jays entered this road trip sitting fourth in the AL East, and these are the kinds of games they realistically need to start banking. Especially against teams sitting below .500. The season is nowhere near over, but this stretch is starting to feel important.
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