An interleague series will get started on Friday night, when the Washington Nationals square off against the Toronto Blue Jays from Rogers Centre. On Wednesday, 19-year old rookie Juan Soto blasted two home runs to lead the Nationals to a 5-4 victory over the Yankees. Washington is nine games above .500 overall and trails Atlanta by a game for the NL East Division lead.
Thirty-two year old southpaw Gio Gonzalez (6-2 2.65 ERA) will take the mound for the Nationals in this matchup. Washington has won each of Gonzalez’s last four starts and he has allowed nine runs over his last 25 innings.
The Toronto Blue Jays were swept in Tampa Bay by a 13-5 combined score over the three games. On Wednesday, Toronto fell victim to a ninth-inning walk off single by Matt Duffy during a 1-0 loss. The Blue Jays are eight games below .500 overall and rank in the bottom third of the majors in team ERA at 4.56 runs allowed per game.
The Blue Jays will turn to twenty-five year old righty Aaron Sanchez (3-5 4.33 ERA) in the series opener. Last time out, Sanchez allowed two runs over six plus frames during a 4-3 victory versus Baltimore.
