TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 28: CJ Van Eyk #58 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates the win with Brandon Valenzuela #59 after a game against the Seattle Mariners at Rogers Centre on August 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) Getty
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - AUGUST 18: Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on August 18, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) Getty
The Toronto Blue Jays are starting a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals, with Game 1 taking place on Friday night. The team has announced a few decisions regarding Brandon Valenzuela and Alejandro Kirk before the big game.
Game 1 will feature the return of Jameson Taillon, who goes head-to-head against Daniel Lynch. The September 4th, 2026, game begins at 6:10 PM Mountain Time, 8:10 PM Eastern Time.
GettyTORONTO, ON – AUGUST 28: CJ Van Eyk #58 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates the win with Brandon Valenzuela #59 after a game against the Seattle Mariners at Rogers Centre on August 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
Before the first game of the series started, the Blue Jays announced their lineup for tonight's game.
Underdog MLB revealed the batting order:
"Blue Jays 9/4: B. Bateman CF G. Springer DH V. Guerrero Jr. 1B A. Kirk C K. Okamoto 3B C. McAdoo 2B E. Clement SS N. Lukes RF M. Straw LF J. Taillon SP," the social media account published on September 4, 2026.
As you can see from their post, the Blue Jays took Valenzuela out of the lineup and replaced him with Kirk.
Valenzuela is a 25-year-old catcher , while Kirk is his 27-year-old counterpart.
GettyST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – AUGUST 18: Alejandro Kirk #30 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on August 18, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Considering that this song and dance has been happening all year, the change isn't surprising.
There have been some intriguing reactions to the Blue Jays lineup for tonight.
"Honestly putting Ernie over Gimenez against lefties doesn't make sense anymore. U get Platinum defense and pretty much the same bat against lefties with Gime," wrote one user on X.
One humorous response came from one user.
"You guys aren't making the playoffs without me," an X account named 'Jeff Hoffman' wrote.
One user named Kayla wrote, "same relentless energy from the last series needs to carry straight over into tonight's opener. watching vladdy play at that level is mandatory viewing, need him to keep this exact stretch going. bateman back at the top setting the table and dictating the pace, love to see it."
At this point in the season, it seems like most people don't react to Valenzuela and Kirk playing musical chairs with the catcher position.
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