Toronto acquired Upton prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline primarily so he could start against left-handed pitching. He posted an .874 OPS in 120 at-bats against lefties this season, and that was enough to start Game 5 over Saunders, even though Saunders had a .927 OPS in 109 at-bats against lefties.
"We talked about different things," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Upton's our left-handed guy, and then we have Saunders waiting. The only lefty they got down there [in the bullpen] is [Andrew] Miller. At a certain time, you're going to see him. Keeping those guys in the DH spot in case we see a righty or Miller later allows us to keep that DH spot alive.