Cubs vs Blue Jays Preview: Will Toronto Be Okay Without Bo Bichette?

The Toronto Blue Jays will welcome the Chicago Cubs to town in a crucial interleague matchup between two potential playoff teams.

The Blue Jays have played much more consistently this season. They’ve gone 65-52 but are still just third in the AL East. Despite being 13 games over .500, the Blue Jays are hanging onto the final Wild Card spot in the American League by 1.5 games.

They can’t take a breather. The foot has to remain on the gas.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs most recently lost a home series to the Mets. That pushed them .5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Therefore, every Cubs and Blue Jays series will be important down the stretch. Which team will earn the series win over the weekend?

Check out our Cubs vs Blue Jays preview as we break down all three games in the series.

Drew Smyly Headed to The Bullpen

The Cubs finally decided to send Drew Smyly to the bullpen following his start against the Mets. Smyly has allowed a .313 ISO and wOBA of .412 to his last 110 batters. He’s also allowed as many fly balls as ground balls induced in the previous 30 days.

Smyly is 8-8 on the year but has a .5.05 ERA in 23 games and 21 starts.

Cubs manager, David Ross, explained that Smyly might need a mental break. Ross was also adamant that Smyly likely won’t last in the bullpen too long and will be back as a starter at some point.

Chicago didn’t expect to be in the heat of the National League Wild Card race. But after two huge weeks in the second half, the Cubs want to earn a playoff spot. Marcus Stroman is out with a right hip injury, so the Cubs are now limited in the rotation.

Instead of Smyly, Javier Assad will get the starts as the Cubs hope to help their MLB team stats. Assad has a 3.35 ERA in 18 relief appearances.

Bo Bichette’s Injury Stint Could Be Lengthy

There’s no timetable for Bo Bichette’s return to the diamond for the Blue Jays. Bichette injured his knee and hasn’t played any games in August.

Bichette’s MLB player stats were excellent before landing on the injured list. He was batting .321 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs. He also had an OPS of .847.

On Thursday, it was reported that Bichette has been hitting in the batting cage and doing some jogging. But he hasn’t run at full speed. Therefore, it’s likely that his timetable is a bit longer than the Blue Jays had hoped for.

Bichette has been one of the most consistent hitters in the MLB this season. Toronto has performed fine without him. But how long can they keep that up?

Game 1

Javier Assad vs. Jose Berrios
Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET

As mentioned above, Javier Assad will get the start for the Cubs in Game 1. He’s only thrown about 43 pitches per appearance throughout the season. Therefore, it’s unlikely Assad will go deep in this game. However, he’s earned over 57% of grounders and has limited fly balls to 11.9% in the last month. That should go a long way in keeping the Cubs in the game early on.

Assad will face off against Jose Berrios of the Blue Jays. Berrios has a 3.38 ERA and has held teams to a .114 ISO over the last month. His strikeouts have stayed high at 23.5% in the previous 30 days, but he’s still walked 11% of lefties. Berrios has had his struggles against lefties throughout the season.

Meanwhile, the Cubs’ lineup has hit an ISO of .201 and a wOBA of .358 against righties in the last month. The projected lineup has hit at least a .318 wOBA or better against righties in the previous month. Cody Bellinger is one to watch for the Cubs in this game.

Toronto’s lineup isn’t nearly as good against right-handed pitching, especially without Bo Bichette. They can count on Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Matt Chapman, and Danny Jansen, but none have been putting up ridiculous numbers over the last month against righties.

The MLB odds for Game 1 of the Cubs vs Blue Jays Preview has the Blue Jays as -162 favorites. Chicago is sitting at +136, with the total at 9. The Over is also juiced at -118.

Game 2

Justin Steele vs. Chris Bassitt
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET

Chicago will pitch lefty Justin Steele for the second game. He has an ERA of 2.68 and a 13-3 record. Steele has turned into one of the MLB’s best pitchers. He’s struggled against lefties in the last month but has held righties to a .124 ISO. He’ll face mostly righties in the Blue Jays lineup.

On the other hand, Toronto will pitch Chris Bassitt. Bassitt has averaged over 100 pitches per start over the last month. He’s also held teams to a .132 ISO and wOBA of .307 over the previous month. His strikeout rate has increased recently, and he’s been able to limit line drives to 23% against his last 126 batters.

While both offenses have been impressive, Game 2 of the series should be lower scoring.

Game 3

Jameson Taillon vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu
Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET

In what could be the rubber match of the three-game Cubs vs Blue Jays preview, Jameson Taillon will get the start for the Cubs. Taillon currently has a 5.17 ERA. However, he’s held teams to a .136 ISO and wOBA of .291 over the last month. Taillon has improved in the second half, throwing an average of 94.60 pitches per start. On the season, he has only thrown about 84 pitches.

On the flip side, Hyun-Jin Ryu will get his third season start. He underwent Tommy John surgery last season and finally returned to the mound on August 1. However, on August 7, in his second start, he was hit with a comebacker.

Ryu had to leave his game against the Guardians after allowing no hits in four innings. Luckily, he escaped a severe injury and will pitch in Game 3 of the series. Ryu won’t earn high strikeouts, but he’s a veteran pitcher that will improve as he gets more comfortable on the mound.

While Chicago is getting power from Christopher Morel, Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, and Patrick Wisdom against left-handed pitching, the Cubs’ numbers against lefties aren’t nearly as impressive as their righty splits. Back Ryu and the Blue Jays in this one.

Cubs vs Blue Jays Preview

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