Series Preview: Blue Jays square off against first place New York Yankees

Since the homestand began last Friday, Toronto is 5-1 as they finished off May with a record of 18-12. The Blue Jays will open up the month of June with a four-game series against the New York Yankees.

The Toronto Blue Jays (26-27) are a game a below .500, whereas the New York Yankees (30-19) is in first place in the AL East. These two division rivals will square off for a four-game series at the Rogers Centre.

What You Need To Know

TV: Sportsnet One (Thursday, Friday), Sportsnet (Saturday, Sunday)

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN

Probable Starters

Thursday, June 1 7:07 p.m. ET

RHP Marco Estrada (4-2, 3.15 ERA) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (5-2, 4.42 ERA)

Estrada has put together another strong season in the Blue Jays rotation. The 33-year old has allowed two earned runs or less in eight out of his 11 starts this season. His 78 strikeouts put him in third among American League leaders.

Sabathia had a great start on May 29 against the Oakland Athletics. The lefty struck out nine batters while allowing two runs on six hits. Although he’s inconsistent, he’ll look to continue to pitch well against a red-hot Blue Jay lineup.

Friday, June 2 7:07 p.m. ET

LHP Francisco Liriano (2-2, 6.35 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Pineda (6-2, 3.32 ERA)

Liriano will make his return to the rotation after being on the DL with left shoulder inflammation since May 10. He had one rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo.

Pineda pitched 31 innings in five starts in May. He struck out 29 batters and allowed 12 runs in those starts. The righty has not pitched against the Blue Jays this season.

Saturday, June 3 1:07 p.m. ET

RHP Joe Biagini (1-3, 3.64 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-4, 4.11 ERA)

Biagini reached career highs in innings pitched (6), and pitches thrown (95) in his last outing. The reliever turned starter allowed only two runs in that turn as well. Since it’s his sixth start in the rotation, there’s no need for a limited pitch count.

Montgomery pitched 4.1 innings and allowed one run on eight hits in his last start on May 29. The rookie did pitch against the Blue Jays in Spring Training but has yet to pitch against them in the regular season.

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Sunday, June 4 1:07 p.m. ET

RHP Marcus Stroman (6-2, 3.28 ERA) vs. RHP Luis Severino (4-2, 2.93 ERA)

Stroman is having a solid season. The “Stro-show” will have to try to go more than six innings against this tough Yankee squad. He hasn’t done so since April 28 but he has two complete games under his belt and he’s allowed two runs or fewer in eight out of 11 starts.

Severino pitched against the Blue Jays on May 1. He didn’t have a good start after he allowed five earned runs on eight hits. After that start, Severino has allowed at least one run or less in four of his last five starts.

Players To Watch

Jose Bautista and Aaron Judge are two right fielders who have a knack for hitting home runs lately. Both players are swinging hot bats with Bautista hitting nine home runs, 21 RBI, and a .317 average in May.

Meanwhile, Judge went 6-for-12 with three home runs and seven RBI against the Blue Jays last month.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/869274058441076736

The pitching staffs for the Blue Jays and the Yankees will have to do their best to keep these bats at bay.

Player Injuries

New York

RF Tyler Austin (60-day DL fractured right ankle)

1B Greg Bird (10-day DL right ankle bruise)

LHP Aroldis Chapman (10-day DL left shoulder/rotator cuff inflammation)

CF Jacoby Ellsbury (7-day DL concussion)

Next: Blue Jays: Should Sanchez go back to the bullpen?

The Yankees took two of three from the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium last month.  This time around, things will be are different as the Blue Jays are a little more healthy, also they have Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki in this series who missed the last one.