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Blue Jays rest Estrada as Dickey starts finale
- Updated: July 27, 2016
TORONTO — Marco Estrada was originally scheduled to start Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Padres, but the fact he was pushed back a couple of days was not specifically related to his previous back issues.
Estrada will now pitch against the Orioles in the series opener at Rogers Centre on Friday night, while R.A. Dickey started in Wednesday’s finale against San Diego. The decision to switch the order of the rotation was because of several factors, including the upcoming opponent and the status of catcher Russell Martin.
Martin missed a couple of games earlier this week because of a sore knee. Toronto wanted to give him a day off on Wednesday, and because Josh Thole is the personal catcher for Dickey, it made sense to switch the order instead of having Martin miss the next two games.
“With Russ’ knee, he wasn’t going to catch today no matter what, so that factors, too,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “Now you can catch Thole, and we’ll go with our three best guys over the weekend, too. And it gives Marco — who has had the back issues but feels much better — another day, too.”
Dickey made Wednesday’s outing on three days’ rest, but the lack of rest was not considered an issue because he pitched just three innings and tossed 72 pitches during his last start against Seattle.
The ability to move Estrada’s start …
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