Blue Jays Vs Athletics — Opening Day Pitching Duel Sets the Tone
Opening Day blue jays vs athletics kicks off at 7 p. m. ET with the Toronto Blue Jays handing the ball to Kevin Gausman and the Oakland A’s countering with Luis Severino. The GameThread posted ahead of the opener listed the starters and put a spotlight on Severino’s role as a tone-setter. FanGraphs projections frame this matchup as a test of Oakland’s pitching depth versus a proven Blue Jays starter.
Blue Jays Vs Athletics: Starting Pitchers
The Jays announced Kevin Gausman will take the mound while the A’s counter with Luis Severino, and first pitch is scheduled for 7 p. m. ET. That pairing turns Opening Day into an early measuring stick: Gausman represents a frontline, steady presence for his club, while Severino draws attention because of his history and the outsized expectations placed on him for this start. The GameThread’s lineup notes made the pitching matchup the central storyline going into the night.
A’s projections, lineup strengths and Severino’s arc
FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projection places the Athletics 20th in projected WAR and gives them roughly a 16% chance of reaching the postseason. FanGraphs highlights that Oakland’s lineup is the club’s strength: the team finished 10th by wRC+ last year and returns largely the same core. FanGraphs names contributors such as Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers (second-highest catcher wRC+ at 131), Brent Rooker (a third straight 30-plus home run season), Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler as reasons the offense projects into the next tier.
At the same time, FanGraphs projects the A’s batters 14th overall by WAR — within striking distance of the top 10 but not among the game’s elite lineups. Pitching remains the bigger question: Oakland finished last year in the bottom five by WAR for pitching and FanGraphs projects little improvement in 2026, ranking the starters 24th in positional power and the bullpen 26th. FanGraphs identifies a few arms who could change the outlook, including Luis Morales, Jeffrey Springs and Aaron Civale, but notes uncertainty about who will deliver above-average value.
Severino’s individual storyline is prominent in FanGraphs’ analysis. He was a top-five pitcher by WAR in 2017 and 2018 and once carried a high-end arsenal — a 98-mph four-seam fastball, a wipeout slider and a changeup. FanGraphs recounts a sequence of injuries that limited his work: nearly all of 2019 lost to a shoulder injury, all of 2020 and most of 2021 to Tommy John surgery, a partial 2022 halted by a lat strain, and a subsequent season compromised by lat and oblique issues. Over a five-year stretch he threw just 209. 1 innings. FanGraphs also notes he signed a prove-it deal with the New York Mets before the 2024 season, framing this Opening Day start as part of a longer comeback arc.
What’s next
Expect immediate attention on early innings and how Severino’s stuff plays against a competent A’s lineup and how Gausman handles Oakland’s approach; the outcome will be one early data point against FanGraphs’ projections. At 7 p. m. ET the first pitch will begin a series of tests that could reaffirm or reshape expectations for the season, and fans and analysts will be watching the blue jays vs athletics matchup for clues about both staffs’ trajectories and Severino’s capacity to set the tone.
