Blue Jays’ Estrada to miss All-Star Game with sore back

He was named to the AL’s team less than 24 hours before a sore back put him on the DL.

Marco Estrada (back) will not return to the rotation until the Blue Jays’ first homestand following the All-Star break.

“This is a huge honor”, Estrada told Toronto SportsNet on Tuesday.

“I know he was dying to pitch in the all-star game”. “My worst nightmare came true, unfortunately”, Estrada said Wednesday, July 6. Barney followed with a two-run single to centre field to extend Toronto’s lead to 4-1 and Donaldson brought home two more with a base hit to right.

Estrada first dealt with a sore back in spring training and aggravated the injury swinging a bat during an interleague start at Philadelphia. I couldn’t really do anything but once I had the cortisone shot it took a few days and I was fine after that, to be honest with you.

Estrada, who has the best hits-per-nine-innings rate (5.52) and opponents average against (.173) in all of baseball alongside a 5-3 record and a 2.93 ERA, said on Tuesday “the team has to come first and if I can’t pitch for the team then I shouldn’t pitch anywhere else”. I’m happy I made the all-star game.

Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles was named the starting AL third baseman. “So, right now, the best thing to do is to take some time off”. I’m happy for the guys who are the starters and I’m happy to be a part of the whole scene that’s there. “He’s feeling a little better, but we don’t want to push it”, Jays manager John Gibbons said of Estrada.

“My body feels good, it’s just the results haven’t been there”, he said. “We’ve got to worry about this team and it’s nice that we’ve got the break coming up”. RHP Drew Hutchison would like start for Toronto if Estrada can not pitch Thursday against Detroit.

Asked who he’d want to replace him on the all-star roster, Estrada immediately nominated two Blue Jays teammates.

Blue Jays: RHP Marcus Stroman (6-4, 5.08) allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings against Cleveland in his most recent start after allowing 38 earned runs in his previous eight outings. But obviously it’s not up to me. “We’ll see what happens”.

Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run blast and Toronto hit 4 home runs in a 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals Tuesday night. “It was important to him”, Gibbons added. “He’s definitely an all-star calibre type pitcher”.

OF Michael Saunders is one of five candidates for the Final Vote competition. During pre-game warmups most of the Blue Jays were wearing shirts supporting “Captain Canada”. Saunders had the early lead in voting, which ends Friday, with Springer second. The victor will be announced Friday.

The first-time all-star’s roster spot on the Jays will be filled by right-handed reliever Bo Schultz, who will join the club on Thursday from Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays close out their three-game series against Kansas City on Wednesday night.