New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays: Michael King vs. Kevin Gausman

There’s only a few compelling stories left in the season worth watching, and two of them come in the opener of this three-game set with the Blue Jays. Michael King gets the ball for what may be the last time this season, depending on what the club wants to do in Sunday’s finale. This could be our final look at him before he heads back to the Tampa complex for spring training 2024 with a rotation slot in mind.

King is making his eighth start of the year, boasting a 1.78 ERA and astonishing 33.9-percent K-BB rate since moving into the rotation. That K-BB rate is the same Gerrit Cole put up in his legendary 2019 campaign. Now, King probably isn’t that good over a full season, but we’ve seen more than a few glimpses that he can be an asset in a major league pitching rotation. This is his fifth outing and second start against the Jays this year, with 14 strikeouts and two walks in 10.2 innings.

The other narrative in the game is putting a dagger in Kevin Gausman’s Cy Young case. Gerrit Cole will likely take home his first award, but Gausman will factor into a number of voters’ ballots. Our own Alex Eisert profiled KG at FanGraphs today, detailing his two-pitch approach and some of the challenges he’s dealt with regarding hard contact despite gaudy strikeout and walk numbers. Amusingly enough, both King and Gausman took the ball in last Wednesday’s game between the clubs, a 6-1 Jays win.

How to watch

Location: Rogers Centre — Toronto, ON

First pitch: 7:07 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES (NYY), Rogers Sportsnet (TOR)

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1280 (NYY), FAN590

Online stream: MLB.tv (out-of-market only)

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