Toronto Blue Jays probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Atlanta Braves, April 16

The Toronto Blue Jays close out a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves with a rubber match Wednesday.

The Blue Jays stormed out to a 6-3 win over the Braves yesterday in what was their first multi-homer game of the year.

The Blue Jays will likely empty the tank today since they have an off day tomorrow (their first scheduled off day since April 3), so expect for them to throw everything at the wall in the hopes of picking up a series win.

First pitch for today's game is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. EDT, and will be available to stream on Sportsnet.

Probable starting pitchers

Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.98 ERA, 21 K) vs. Spencer Strider

Bassitt takes the mound looking to continue what's been a spectacular bounce-back season.

He's allowed just two runs over 12 1/3 innings this season over three starts, and is coming off a start where he allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings against the Red Sox.

One of the biggest reasons for Bassitt's success is due to him leaning into his splitter more. Hitters are batting just .143 against the pitch this year, and he has a whiff rate of over 40% on both his curveball and sweeper.

That said, the Braves lineup has plenty of hitters who have had some success against Bassitt in their careers.

Eli White (.400), Austin Riley (.273) and Bryan De La Cruz (.600) all have 10+ career at-bats against Bassitt. Riley, De La Cruz and Matt Olson all have hit home runs against Bassitt in their career.

He'll be going against Strider, who will be making his first start in more than a year after undergoing internal brace surgery on his UCL early last season.

He posted a 7.00 ERA in two starts last season before going under the knife, but he was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2023.

Strider posted a 3.86 ERA in a 186 2/3 innings in 2023 to go along with an MLB-leading 281 strikeouts (the most strikeouts any pitcher's had in a single season in the last five years) and 20 wins.

The year prior to that, he finished as the runner-up in the rookie of the year voting thanks to a breakout season (2.67 ERA in 131 2/3 innings). It's clear he's still working his way back to full health (his average fastball velocity in Triple-A was at 95.7 mph, which is two mph lower than the fastball velocity he had in 2023)

He's got a wipeout slider and curveball, and it'll be fun to watch how the Blue Jays lineup handles Strider.

Toronto Blue Jays starting lineup, April 16

• 1. SS Bo Bichette
• 2. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• 3. DH Anthony Santander
• 4. 2B Andrés Giménez
• 5. C Alejandro Kirk
• 6. LF Alan Roden
• 7. 3B Ernie Clement
• 8. RF Addison Barger
• 9. CF Myles Straw

Atlanta Braves starting lineup, April 16

• 1. CF Michael Harris Jr.
• 2. 3B Austin Riley
• 3. 1B Matt Olson
• 4. C Sean Murphy
• 5. 2B Ozzie Albies
• 6. DH Drake Baldwin
• 7. LF Bryan De La Cruz
• 8. RF Eli White
• 9. SS Orlando Arcia

Alan Roden is back in the lineup for the Blue Jays after mashing his first MLB home run yesterday. Addison Barger's also in the lineup for the second straight game after getting a call-up, and Myles Straw and Ernie Clement round out the bottom of the lineup while they're in the middle of hot streaks.

The Blue Jays have spent the first three weeks of the season riding the hot hand, which is good to see.