Toronto Blue Jays infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield is not in the lineup versus right-hander Zach Eflin and the Tampa Bay Rays in Thursday afternoon's series finale.
The Blue Jays are giving Merrifield a rare breather for the matinee. Kevin Kiermaier will return to center field and hit eighth while Daulton Varsho will shift to left field in place of Merrifield and bat second. Nathan Lukes will start in right and bat sixth.
numberFire’s models project Kiermaier ($2,900) for 9.3 FanDuel points on Thursday. Lukes ($2,000) is projected for 7.4 FanDuel points. Per our MLB Heat Map, the Blue Jays' implied total is 3.93 and the game total is 8.5. Eflin has twirled a 2.93 xERA with a career-best 28.4% strikeout rate this season.
Source: Baseball Press