Is today the most important game of Easton Lucas' career?

Last year, Easton Lucas was been a low-leverage king. Last year, he made eight appearances for three different teams, but only two of those came in close games.

Now he might be one of the most important players on the Blue Jays roster.

Today, Lucas will get the start in Toronto's series finale against the Nationals in the place of Max Scherzer, who was placed on the injured list last week with a thumb injury.

The last time Lucas took a mound for the Blue Jays, he ate three innings in a 15-5 loss to Miami last Septmeber. Now he'll step into the rotation spot previously held by a future Hall of Famer and one of the best pitchers of this generation.

No pressure.

Today's series finale is set to start at 3:07 p.m. EDT from Rogers Centre, and can be watched on Sportsnet. The Blue Jays will be going for their first sweep of the year.

Probable starting pitchers

Easton Lucas vs. MacKenzie Gore (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 K)

This is the first MLB start for Lucas, who had previously occupied the low-leverage swingman role in the bullpen at every other point in his career. He started Toronto's spring opener and spent all of camp getting stretched out as a starter before being sent to Triple-A at the end of camp.

He made four total appearances during the spring and allowed five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, but has had good numbers in Triple-A in his career.

He has a 3.74 ERA in 245 1/3 innings across his minor league career and had a 2.75 ERA in 68 2/3 innings in Triple-A last year. Nathaniel Lowe is the only National who has faced off against Lucas in his career and is 2-for-2 with two RBI.

He'll get the first crack at filling Scherzer's spot in the rotation.

Gore will be making his second start of the season after tossing six electric innings against the Phillies on Opening Day. His 13 strikeouts were a Nationals Opening Day record, and also set a career-high in strikeouts.

One of the returns in the Nationals trade of Juan Soto to the Padres, Gore pitched well last season (3.90 ERA in a career-high 166 1/3 innings) and will be making his third career start against the Blue Jays. He's allowed three earned runs in eight innings in his two previous career apperances against the Blue Jays. Both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Davis Schneider have hit home runs against Gore in their careers.

Toronto Blue Jays starting lineup, April 2

• 1. SS Bo Bichette
• 2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• 3. RF Anthony Santander
• 4. 2B Andrés Giménez
• 5. DH George Springer
• 6. 3B Ernie Clement
• 7. LF Davis Schneider
• 8. C Tyler Heineman
• 9. CF Myles Straw

The top four of the Blue Jays lineup is the same that it's been for most of the games this season, though there's some shuffling at the bottom of the lineup. Both Bichette and Guerrero have each had 27 at-bats this year, while Schneider, Heineman and Straw have had 13 combined.

Springer's had a strong start to the season and he'll get a quasi-day off at DH, while Clement once again is at third base.