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Blue Jays Make Unfortunate Announcement Before Cardinals Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh E. Valdez | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 7:29 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays are playing their best baseball of the season. They're not only 8-2 in their last 10 games, but they're tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place in the AL East.

Toronto's been clutch recently, as four of its last five wins were by two runs or less. Its latest close victory was on Monday, when it beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 10 innings on the road.

The Blue Jays could move into sole possession of second place with another win over the Cardinals on Tuesday, but they'll have to do it shorthanded, via their social media.

"UPDATE: OF Nathan Lukes was removed from tonight's starting lineup with neck discomfort," they announced.

Alan Roden, Myles Straw, and Jonatan Clase will man the outfield from right to left and will hit in the bottom three spots of the order, respectively. Straw replaced Lukes in the lineup.

UPDATE: OF Nathan Lukes was removed from tonight's starting lineup with neck discomfort. pic.twitter.com/VqklVuqOeo
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 10, 2025

Lukes is slashing .267/.360/.392 with four homers and 21 RBI through 49 games this season after playing just 51 combined contests in his first two campaigns. The 30-year-old owns a career slash line of .270/.355/.401 with five homers and 33 RBI over 100 games.

Right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt (6-3, 3.56 ERA) will start on Tuesday for Toronto, while fellow right-hander Miles Mikolas (4-2, 3.96 ERA) will start for St. Louis.

The Blue Jays will continue their road trip vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday before hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox. After that, they'll hit the road again to face the Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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