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The Toronto Blue Jays have made an announcement about second baseman Ernie Clement before their game Monday against the San Francisco Giants.
With the Blue Jays struggling on offense they were shut out in their last two games against the Seattle Mariners manager John Schneider has switched up the batting order.
For the first time since April, Clement is hitting leadoff for the team, as they are hoping the All-Star can provide the club with a spark to get their offense back on track.
Blue Jays 7/6 E.
Clement 2B N.
Lukes RF V.
Guerrero Jr.
1B K.
Okamoto 3B S.
Keys DH A.
Kirk C D.
Varsho CF M.
Straw LF A.
Gimenez SS K.
Gausman SP Blue Jays 7/6 E.
Clement 2B N.
Lukes RF V.
Guerrero Jr.
1B K.
Okamoto 3B S.
Keys DH A.
Kirk C D.
Varsho CF M.
Straw LF A.
Gimenez SS K.
Gausman SP Ernie Clement Starting All-Star Game Clement is an All-Star for the first time this year, starting at second base for the American League in next Tuesdays festivities at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Not only is Clement starting the game, but he actually had the most votes of any player in the AL, so the fans truly wanted him to be there, and he earned the starting spot at 2B as a result.
He is one of the most popular players in the league, and Blue Jays fans absolutely love this man.
This year, Clement has hit .293 with a .745 OPS and a 105 OPS+ for the Blue Jays, while also accumulating 1.2 bWAR.
He also leads the AL in doubles with 22 so far this season, and he has hit 7 home runs, so he is on pace to break the career high of 12 that he set two years ago.
Blue Jays Need a Spark There is no question the Blue Jays need a spark.
Right now, this team is not playing well at all.
Their weekend series against the Seattle Mariners was downright embarrassing, as the team was not even able to scratch a run across the last two games.
It has been a really rough stretch for the teams offense, which last year was one of the best in baseball.
This year, however, things have gone downhill, and fast.
By switching up the lineup, Schneider is hoping that Clement can give the Blue Jays a spark to get going.
He is a table setter and is good at getting the bat on the ball, so hopefully for the Blue Jays sake, he can get a few hits tonight and get on base for the players behind him to drive him home.
If the Blue Jays are going to make a playoff run this season, then they need to get going right now.
With two more series left before the MLB All-Star Game break, its a good opportunity for Schneider to make some tweaks to the teams lineup and see if he can find something that can hopefully carry through to the second half of the season for the franchise as they try to make a Wild Card run in the AL with the AL East Division title essentially out of reach at this point.
Adam Martin Adam Martin is a sports journalist with over 15 years of experience.
He has a speciality in MMA, while also covering the Big 4 Sports.
Adam is currently a contributor to Heavy.com, with previous experience working for The Toronto Star, Sportsnet, theScore, Bookies, BJPenn.com, and MMAOddsbreaker.com.
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