Joey

Loperfido

It’s likely a typical rest day for the veteran. Joey Loperfido will move to center field and Davis Schneider will make yet another start in left field. Schneider has been hot of late and can be scooped up in leagues if people are trying to capture lightning in a bottle over the final days of the season.

Loperfido left Saturday’s game with adductor soreness, so it’s not a surprise to see the 25-year-old out of action a day later. With Daulton Varsho also out, Nathan Lukes is starting in center and hitting leadoff against St. Louis

Loperfido left in the fifth inning and appeared to have some discomfort after hitting a double two innings earlier. The 25-year-old will likely test the adductor/hip area to see if he can go Sunday against the Cards in the finale.

Although Loperfido is a left-handed hitter, he took a seat in favor of Nathan Lukes on Monday. He did start against a lefty on Sunday, though. He’s just 6-for-33 with one homer versus lefties during his time in the majors, but he did hit lefties a little better than righties in the minors both last year and this year. That’s probably part of the reasoning here.

Loperfido is in left field and batting ninth on Tuesday evening after missing a pair of contests on Friday and Saturday for precautionary reasons while undergoing evaluation for a possible concussion.

Loperfido passed his concussion tests after crashing into the outfield wall on Thursday, but has been held out of two straight games now out of an abundance of caution. Daulton Varsho will cover center field on Saturday night while Nathan Lukes will start in left field and bat eighth against Zebby Matthews and the Twins.

Loperfido passed initial concussion tests after hitting his head on the Green Monster during Thursday’s contest at Fenway Park, but was held out of Friday’s lineup out of an abundance of caution. He’ll continue to be evaluated this weekend to make sure he’s 100 percent before returning to game action.

Loperfido doubled in the first inning to score Vladimir Guerrero Jr., giving the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. He knocked another double in the third inning for his second hit of the game. The 25-year-old outfielder has been hot at the plate, with now five multi-hit efforts in his last six games.

Loperfido hit a triple off Mike Baumann in the second inning and later scored on an RBI groundout by George Springer. He has a hit in five of his last seven games. Loperfido is 8-for-19 (.421) with five runs scored, two triples, a home run, two RBI and a stolen base in that time. He had the day off on Wednesday, but Loperfido has started five of the last seven games. That playing time is ultimately the key to him having any value in deeper formats.

Loperfido’s homer off Shota Imanaga was his first for the Blue Jays and third in 51 major league games. He was starting against a lefty today for just the second time in six opportunities since joining the Jays. The nice showing might help him pick up some playing time there, especially since the Jays lack a quality platoon alternative.