Blue Jays' Lauer Bounces Back with Strong Performance

0:00It's April 18th. You're listening to Toronto Blue Jays News today, AI-powered coverage of your team. I'm Cory with the story. Toronto Blue Jays are banged up bad with starting pictures on the injured list, so they switch things up Friday against Arizona. Instead of letting Eric Lauer start, they send reliever Braden Fisher out as an opener for one inning, then brought Lauer in to handle the bulk from. Reinforcements might hit soon, with Trey Yesavage and Jose Barrios both on rehab assignments and eyeing a return by the end of April to shore up that rotation. Lauer was straight up frustrated with the piggyback setup, saying Eric is usual pre-game routine that all starters swear by to stay sharp and locked in. Turns out he'd been fighting to an illness in his last couple outings, like that April 5th start against the Chicago White Sox, where he only lasted two innings, but Friday was a turnaround, with his fastball velocity popping back to 91.5 miles per hour averages and he powered through five.

1:03Solid innings. Looks like he's got his stamina back, setting him up to slide right into the starters by next time and help the J steady the ship.