As the Toronto Blue Jays started second baseman Bo Bichette for Game 1 of the World Series, he would end up having a game to remember as part of the 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bichette would record a hit for the Blue Jays in his first at-bat in the World Series, which was a good sign since he'd been sidelined since last month, but the team will be going for a different look in Game 2.
Bichette will not start Game 2 of the World Series, whereas on Friday, he was fourth in the batting order; that spot is being filled in by catcher Alejandro Kirk, according to Buster Olney.
“Bo Bichette is not in the Jays' starting lineup for Game 2. Kirk, Varsho hitting 4-5 in the Toronto batting order,” Olney wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The decision could be because of easing Bichette back into the game after a knee injury that had out for seven weeks, or possibly a matchup issue against right-handed Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Blue Jays' John Schneider on Bo Bichette's return
After the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series, manager John Schneider is looking for any chance to keep that momentum against a top team. Still, Bichette received high praise from manager Schneider in his return, via MLB.com.
“I thought Bo, offensively, looked like him,” Schneider said. “He gets a knock on a 3-0 changeup and then working the walk, man, was really impressive. Bo's a tough guy to walk. He's up there ready to hit. So I thought he handled himself really well. His at-bats looked like him. The play up the middle was kind of the thing we were looking for, and he handled it, made a good throw.”
“That was kind of the plan going in, was to see if we can get him three at-bats against a starter, see how he's feeling, and probably play it a little bit cautiously from there,” Schneider continued. “So I loved the fact that he was the guy that kind of started that sixth inning.”
At any rate, Toronto looks to get a 2-0 lead on Saturday night.
