TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette is not in the starting lineup for Game 2 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
A two-time All-Star shortstop and two-time AL hits leader, Bichette went 1 for 2 with a walk in his return to the lineup in . It was his first action since in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was expected to start at second base and bat eighth against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. Kiner-Falefa replaced Bichette as a pinch-runner in Toronto’s nine-run sixth inning on Friday.
Catcher Alejandro Kirk, who capped the nine-run frame with a two-run homer, took over for Bichette in the cleanup spot in Game 2.
“I don’t want to say it was part of the plan,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of taking Bichette out of the lineup. “Just kind of gauging how he’s feeling. He’ll be ready to play today, for sure. This is stuff we talked about, even leading up to the decision to put him on the roster. I thought he was good yesterday and just want to watch him physically, but he’ll be ready to hit and play whenever.”
Friday’s series opener was Bichette’s first game at second base in six years. He saved a run when he ranged to the shortstop side of second to glove Teoscar Hernández’s third-inning grounder and throw him out at first. Will Smith, who had been on second base, had to stop at third.
Bichette finished second in the major leagues to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average this season, hitting 18 homers with 94 RBIs in 139 games. The 27-year-old is eligible for free agency following the World Series.
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