É«É«À²

Schneider indicated the move was made for precautionary reasons after Scherzer experienced back soreness during a recent start against the Milwaukee Brewers. Chris Bassitt will swap with Scherzer and start Saturday.

“Just wanted to give Max an extra day with the upper-back thing,” Schneider said. “He’s feeling better and he threw a side (on Thursday). He’s on track for Sunday ... After Max’s last start, we wanted to make sure he was good with everything.”

The key point there is Scherzer has already thrown a side and felt good enough afterward that he’s still expected to start this weekend. If there had been more concern, or lingering tightness, the Jays likely would have skipped his turn through the rotation.

Then again, minor injuries for Scherzer have become bigger issues before. In the spring, he dealt with a sore finger and while Scherzer began the regular season in É«É«À², he lasted three innings before he was placed on the injured list and didn’t return until June 25.

For now, the Jays appear to be taking the common sense approach to protect a veteran pitcher. Bassitt’s outing will come on normal rest and Scherzer will still face the Yankees this weekend. If he gets pushed back again, then it’s time to worry.

Sunday would be normal rest for top prospect Trey Yesavage (5-1, 3.14 ERA), but it would come as a complete shock if he is considered to start. On the off-chance that Scherzer is unavailable, lefty Eric Lauer would be the presumed choice.

Musical chairs

The Jays are still trying to find ways to fix their beleaguered bullpen. Since trades are no longer an option, they have been forced to get creative. It started with a more prominent role for Tommy Nance, continued with the addition of lefty specialist Ryan Borucki and on Friday, Braydon Fisher was added back into the mix.

Fisher had been one of Schneider’s most trusted arms for much of this season, but he was one of the few players on the roster with minor-league options and was sent down when Shane Bieber debuted in mid-August.

The 25-year-old Fisher held a high-leverage job at times with the Jays, but prior to his departure he had a pair of rough outings that saw him allow four runs in a span of 2 2/3 innings.

Fisher, who closed out Friday’s victory with a scoreless ninth inning, had been battling fatigue prior to the demotion. His stint at Triple-A Buffalo, which didn’t include any appearances on back-to-back days, allowed for a refresh that should help him end the year strong.

“I threw, like, twice a week and they were spread out,” said Fisher, who was sent down on Aug. 20. “I got my lifts in on certain days and pitched on another. It resets the body. It’s still baseball, I was still doing all my stuff, but the fact that every day wasn’t high stress (helped). When you’re down there, you have the ability to shut off during the game because you’re not pitching — at least I had the opportunity to do that — and I think that helped a lot.”

Fisher and Nance might not have seemed that important to the Jays earlier in the year, but they’re crucial now. Following closer Jeff Hoffman’s well-documented struggles and Brendon Little’s continued lack of command, the Jays need as many options as they can get, especially at a time when starters don’t go as deep into games. Expect Fisher to have a big role now that he’s back.

Barger bouncing back?

Addison Barger was the Jays’ breakout star until his performance cratered in August. After batting .264 with an .824 on-base plus slugging percentage through 86 games, his production dipped to .211 and .583.

That’s what made Barger’s standout performance against the Reds in Cincinnati on Wednesday so important. The 25-year-old picked up a pair of hits, including his first home run in almost a month. That gives the Jays some hope that his cold streak will soon turn hot, although he went 0-for-4 with a walk in Friday’s opener.

“The biggest thing I saw was him dictating the at-bat,” Schneider said. “He wasn’t playing defence, is the best way I can say it. He was convicted in his approach and what he was trying to do. Hopefully he can keep it going. He was huge for us in the middle part of the year.”