Blue Jays out to snap skid vs. Royals as AL East lead shrinks

Looking to bolster their lead atop the American League, the visiting Toronto Blue Jays begin their last regular-season series away from home on Friday against the Kansas City Royals.

After dropping consecutive games against the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto (89-64) saw its lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East shrink to three games after the Yankees blanked the Orioles 7-0 Thursday night.

With a postseason magic number of three, Toronto can smell a return to October baseball after missing out last year. Still, the Blue Jays will need to gain momentum offensively after a pair of losses that saw the team muster just one run across 18 innings.

Aiming to help lead the charge is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has enjoyed another stellar offensive year, but is just 3 for his last 20 at the plate.

"Vlad is one swing away," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "He's one swing away basically all the time. It was a frustrating series for him here and I think he let that show a little bit. Hopefully he can get that going tomorrow in K.C., but he's always close. We let things snowball here a little bit the last two days and Vlad wants to be right in the middle of everything we're doing."

Veteran Max Scherzer (5-3, 4.31 ERA) is slated to make his 16th start of the year for Toronto on Friday. After going 4-1 with a 3.34 ERA in six August starts, the 41-year-old is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two September outings. Last time out, Scherzer allowed two runs across five innings in a no-decision against the Orioles. The Blue Jays won 5-4.

In 24 career starts against Kansas City, Scherzer is 14-5 with a 3.15 ERA. He faced them on Aug. 2, allowing just one run in six innings in a 4-2 victory.

Kansas City (76-77) is nearing the conclusion of a disappointing season. After ending an eight-year postseason drought in 2024, the Royals are on the brink of mathematical elimination, trailing the final wild-card spot by seven games with nine games remaining.

Ranking last in the AL with 589 runs scored on the season, it's not hard to find a reason for the club's struggles.

"We're making contact and not getting hits or not producing runs. It's been a tough stretch," Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. "There's never that one answer for the whole team on why one thing is happening and one thing isn't."

Michael Lorenzen (5-11, 4.91 ERA) will make his 26th appearance and 25th start for Kansas City in the series opener. After permitting six runs in three innings in his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 12, Lorenzen was demoted to the bullpen.

The 33-year-old righty was inserted back in the rotation following one relief outing, as starter Ryan Bergert was placed on the injured list with a right elbow strain.

In four career appearances (two starts) against Toronto, Lorenzen is 0-1 with a 5.02 ERA.

--Field Level Media