The Cleveland Guardians have thrown a curveball in their starting pitching plans, as they will turn towards Touki Toussaint instead of Tristian McKenzie for the series opener against the Diamondbacks on Friday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Touki Toussaint was originally drafted by the D-backs in the first round of the 2014 draft. However, he would quickly be traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for infielder Phil Gosselin.
The 26-year-old starting pitcher went on to play four seasons with the Braves before playing with the Angels in 2022. Now, he is set to make his first start of his career with the Guardians against the team that took him in the first round.
Toussaint was just pulled up from AAA earlier today as they elected to DFA catcher Mike Zunino. Last season, he recorded a 4.62 ERA through 25.1 innings.
On the flip side, the Diamondbacks will have their ace in Zac Gallen in hopes of ending their current three-game losing streak.
Gallen, who was leading in the NL Cy Young voting odds just a couple of weeks ago, has fallen into a bit of a slump as he has seen his season ERA rise all the way up to above 3.00.
The Diamondbacks and the Guardians hold an 11-11 all-time record against each other. First pitch for this three-game weekend series will be at 6:40.
