Hutchison scratched again due to flu

SEATTLE -- Blue Jays right-hander Drew Hutchison was scratched from Friday's game against the Mariners, and the start instead went to Marco Estrada.

Hutchison has been dealing with a case of the flu this week. He was scratched from an outing against Oakland on Thursday afternoon and was considered questionable for the series opener in Seattle, a 5-2 loss by Toronto.

Estrada made Friday's start on normal rest because Toronto had an off-day Monday. The Blue Jays will need Hutchison to start Saturday afternoon against the Mariners to avoid making a roster move, because the next spot in the rotation belongs to lefty Mark Buehrle, and he won't be starting on three days' rest.

"We talked to him [Thursday] night and we thought he was going to be good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Friday afternoon. "He felt much better and then he got up, moving around feeling good, got to the ballpark a couple of hours before we got here and was just really weak."

If Hutchison still isn't ready to go Saturday afternoon, then the club will have to come up with a Plan B. Veteran lefty Randy Wolf is the probable starter for Triple-A Buffalo and could be a candidate to be temporarily added to the 40-man roster.

Worth noting

• Right-hander Aaron Sanchez remains on schedule to join the Blue Jays for Saturday's game. Sanchez completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday night and was scheduled to make the cross-country trip to Seattle on Friday.

Toronto could possibly delay his arrival an extra day if Hutchison doesn't start Saturday. That would allow the club to add a spot starter for one day before activating Sanchez from the 15-day DL. Sanchez is expected to partially share closing duties with rookie Roberto Osuna upon his return.