TORONTO (AP) — Injured Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is not on the roster for the AL Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners that begins Sunday night in Toronto, but three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and right-hander Chris Bassitt are both active after missing the Division Series win over the Yankees.
Seattle made two changes to the roster that beat Detroit in the Division Series round, with ace right-hander Bryan Woo returning.
A first-time All-Star this season, the 25-year-old Woo hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19 because of pectoral inflammation. He went 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts across 186 2/3 regular-season innings.
Bichette ran the bases Saturday, the first time he’s done that since spraining his left knee last month. The two-time AL hits leader and two-time All-Star grimaced while rounding second base, pulled up and walked off the field while shaking his head.
Bichette finished second in the major leagues to New York’s Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average. Bichette was injured in a Sept. 6 collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells and hasn’t played since.
Toronto’s 13 position players for the ALCS are the same group that scored 34 runs in 34 innings against the Yankees.
Manager John Schneider told reporters that Bassitt will be coming out of the bullpen to start the series while Scherzer is more likely to be held for a Game 4 start.
Scherzer missed the end of the regular season and the Divisional Round Series against the Yankees with an injury, which has healed according to the Blue Jays.
An eight-time All-Star, Scherzer was 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts after agreeing to a $15.5 million, one-year contract. He didn’t pitch between March 29 and June 25 because of right thumb inflammation.
Scherzer was 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his final six starts.
Bassitt hasn’t pitched since Sept. 18 while dealing with a back injury. He went 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 32 appearances, all but one of them starts.
Scherzer and Bassitt take the spots of left-hander Justin Bruihl and right-hander Tommy Nance.
Besides Woo, the Mariners added utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni for the ALCS. They took the spots of outfielder Luke Raley and infielder Ben Williamson.
There are three catchers among Seattle’s 13 position players, including Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver and Harry Ford.
