<p>It wasn&#8217;t pretty, but the Toronto Blue Jays got the series split against the Baltimore Orioles.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thankfully, the Blue Jays&#8217; schedule eases up for the next three days, at least briefly. They welcome the Washington Nationals for a three-game series before an off-day on Thursday.</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Sure, they may have been out-homered 10-3 in their first series, with their three home runs coming from unlikely sources (two from Andrés Giménez, the other from catcher Tyler Heineman), but wins are wins. You can lose one game 12-2, and win the next day 1-0, and it&#8217;s a 1-1 record. Getting a series split against the Orioles is nothing to laugh at either, as the formerly bad bird team has become a post-season contender the past two seasons.</p>
<p>Still, the lack of home runs from the Jays is a bit worrisome. Guerreo Jr., in particular, is slashing .267/.333/.333 through his first four games for an 88 wRC+. However, Guerrero Jr. also had a mediocre month of April last season before going supernova. It&#8217;s also worth mentioning that Bo Bichette and George Springer have had good starts.</p>
<p>One thing that can&#8217;t be overlooked after the first series is just the number of home runs the Jays have given up. Through four games, they&#8217;ve given up 10 home runs, the third-most in the league. José Berríos gave up three of them in his start, Max Scherzer gave up two, while relievers gave up the other five. This needs to be tightened up, and one way they may be able to do so is with the additional of Mason Fluharty.</p>
<p>Added to the 26-man roster on Sunday morning to replace Richard Lovelady, Fluharty has quickly surged up the Blue Jays&#8217; ranks and had a terrific Spring Training. The 23-year-old left-hander does an okay job of keeping the ball in the park, posting a HR/9 of 1.08 last season and 1.09 the season before.</p>
<p>Getting the start today for the Blue Jays is Bowden Francis. The 28-year-old was one of the lone bright spots last season, posting a 1.80 ERA and a 3.78 FIP in 65 innings pitched after being called up to replace Yusei Kikuchi after he was traded. From Aug. 12 until the end of the season, Francis had a 1.33 ERA and a 3.41 FIP in 54 innings pitched that included three games in a four-game stretch that saw him carry a no-hitter into the sixth. Two of those no-hit bids were broken up in the ninth inning.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s set up Monday&#8217;s showdown between the Jays and Nationals!</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Location: Toronto</strong></p>
<p><strong>First Pitch: 7:07 PM ET</strong></p>
<p><strong>Watch/Listen: Sportsnet/Sportsnet Radio</strong></p>
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<p><strong>Toronto Blue Jays &#8211; Bowden Francis:</strong> 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB</p>
<p><strong>Washington Nationals &#8211; Michael Soroka:</strong> 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB</p>
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
<p><strong>Blue Jays:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Bo Bichette &#8211; SS</li>
<li>Vladimir Guerrero Jr. &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Anthony Santander &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Andrés Giménez &#8211; 2B</li>
<li>Alejandro Kirk -C</li>
<li>George Springer &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Will Wagner &#8211; 3B</li>
<li>Nathan Lukes &#8211; CF</li>
<li>Alan Roden &#8211; LF</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Nationals:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>CJ Abrams &#8211; SS</li>
<li>James Wood &#8211; LF</li>
<li>Keibert Ruiz &#8211; C</li>
<li>Nathaniel Lowe &#8211; 1B</li>
<li>Josh Bell &#8211; DH</li>
<li>Luis García Jr. &#8211; 2B</li>
<li>Paul DeJong &#8211; 3B</li>
<li>Dylan Crews &#8211; RF</li>
<li>Jacob Young &#8211; CF</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</span></i></p>
<hr />
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It wasn't pretty, but the Toronto Blue Jays got the series split against the Baltimore Orioles.



Thankfully, the Blue Jays' schedule eases up for the next three days, at least briefly. They welcome the Washington Nationals for a three-game series before an off-day on Thursday.
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&nbsp;

Sure, they may have been out-homered 10-3 in their first series, with their three home runs coming from unlikely sources (two from Andrés Giménez, the other from catcher Tyler Heineman), but wins are wins. You can lose one game 12-2, and win the next day 1-0, and it's a 1-1 record. Getting a series split against the Orioles is nothing to laugh at either, as the formerly bad bird team has become a post-season contender the past two seasons.

Still, the lack of home runs from the Jays is a bit worrisome. Guerreo Jr., in particular, is slashing .267/.333/.333 through his first four games for an 88 wRC+. However, Guerrero Jr. also had a mediocre month of April last season before going supernova. It's also worth mentioning that Bo Bichette and George Springer have had good starts.

One thing that can't be overlooked after the first series is just the number of home runs the Jays have given up. Through four games, they've given up 10 home runs, the third-most in the league. José Berríos gave up three of them in his start, Max Scherzer gave up two, while relievers gave up the other five. This needs to be tightened up, and one way they may be able to do so is with the additional of Mason Fluharty.

Added to the 26-man roster on Sunday morning to replace Richard Lovelady, Fluharty has quickly surged up the Blue Jays' ranks and had a terrific Spring Training. The 23-year-old left-hander does an okay job of keeping the ball in the park, posting a HR/9 of 1.08 last season and 1.09 the season before.

Getting the start today for the Blue Jays is Bowden Francis. The 28-year-old was one of the lone bright spots last season, posting a 1.80 ERA and a 3.78 FIP in 65 innings pitched after being called up to replace Yusei Kikuchi after he was traded. From Aug. 12 until the end of the season, Francis had a 1.33 ERA and a 3.41 FIP in 54 innings pitched that included three games in a four-game stretch that saw him carry a no-hitter into the sixth. Two of those no-hit bids were broken up in the ninth inning.

Let's set up Monday's showdown between the Jays and Nationals!

<hr />

<strong>Location: Toronto</strong>

<strong>First Pitch: 7:07 PM ET</strong>

<strong>Watch/Listen: Sportsnet/Sportsnet Radio</strong>
<h2>Starting Pitchers</h2>
<strong>Toronto Blue Jays - Bowden Francis:</strong> 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB

<strong>Washington Nationals - Michael Soroka:</strong> 0-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP, 0 SO, 0 BB
<h2>Lineups:</h2>
<strong>Blue Jays:</strong>
<ol>
 	<li>Bo Bichette - SS</li>
 	<li>Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B</li>
 	<li>Anthony Santander - DH</li>
 	<li>Andrés Giménez - 2B</li>
 	<li>Alejandro Kirk -C</li>
 	<li>George Springer - RF</li>
 	<li>Will Wagner - 3B</li>
 	<li>Nathan Lukes - CF</li>
 	<li>Alan Roden - LF</li>
</ol>
<strong>Nationals:</strong>
<ol>
 	<li>CJ Abrams - SS</li>
 	<li>James Wood - LF</li>
 	<li>Keibert Ruiz - C</li>
 	<li>Nathaniel Lowe - 1B</li>
 	<li>Josh Bell - DH</li>
 	<li>Luis García Jr. - 2B</li>
 	<li>Paul DeJong - 3B</li>
 	<li>Dylan Crews - RF</li>
 	<li>Jacob Young - CF</li>
</ol>

<hr />

<i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.</span></i>

<hr />

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