The Toronto Blue Jays are bringing back the same nine batters from Game 6, with the lone change seeing right fielder Addison Barger pushed up to the No. 5 spot in the batting order for Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Barger was seventh in the batting order for the 3-1 loss in Game 6, and he will switch spots with centre fielder Daulton Varsho for Game 7.
There were questions coming into the game about the health of three key players – designated hitter George Springer, who missed Games 4 and 5 with right side discomfort, second baseman Bo Bichette, who was not in the starting lineup in Game 2 as he recovers from a knee sprain suffered at the beginning of September that cost him almost two months of playing time, and catcher Alejandro Kirk, who was taken for imaging after he was hit by a pitch in the wrist in the ninth inning of Game 6 on Friday.
The Blue Jays have elected to start all three in the deciding Game 7 of the World Series.
Barger has been one of the key contributors offensively for Toronto in this series, and he leads all Blue Jays hitters in hits (10), batting average (.476) and slugging percentage (.714) in this series. He hit two doubles in Game 6, including a ball that got wedged in the base of the outfield wall that resulted in a ground rule double in the ninth inning.
The 25-year-old lefty hitter went 1-for-3 against Dodgers Game 7 starter Shohei Ohtani in Game 4.
The Blue Jays look to win their first World Series in 32 years with a victory on Saturday, while the Dodgers try to become the first back-to-back champions since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
