Oakland @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( May 9, 2012 ) Toronto 5, Oakland 2

The Oakland Athletics are the hottest team in baseball and look to continue their torrid play when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays in Tuesday’s opener of a three-game series. Oakland has won five straight games and is 14-2 after completing a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees. The never-say-die Athletics have 11 walk-off victories. Toronto scored 28 runs during a three-game road sweep of the Boston Red Sox despite being without injured slugger Jose Bautista.

The Blue Jays scored 15 runs in Sunday’s victory over Boston and their potent attack will find a challenge in an Oakland pitching staff that has a 2.62 ERA over its last 32 games. Toronto is second in the majors with 137 homers, with Edwin Encarnacion (26 home runs) just one homer behind team leader Bautista. Oakland is on a high after its sweep of the Yankees and is seven games above .500. The Athletics are a bona-fide threat to land one of the two wild-card spots. The teams split a two-game series in Oakland in May.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet California (Oakland), Rogers Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Travis Blackley (2-2, 3.36 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Brett Cecil (2-2, 6.34)

Blackley is making his ninth start since joining the rotation in late May. He took a no-decision against the Texas Rangers in his last outing when he gave up three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Blackley has issued just 10 walks in 56 2/3 innings. His lone appearance against Toronto came in 2004, when he pitched for Seattle and took the loss while allowing five earned runs and seven hits in five innings.

Cecil hasn’t lasted longer than six innings in any of his starts. He lost to the New York Yankees in his last outing when he allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. Cecil has allowed seven homers in 32 2/3 innings. He is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA in four career starts against Oakland.

WALK-OFFS

1. Each game in Oakland’s five-game winning streak has been decided by one run.

2. Toronto C J.P. Arencibia is batting .342 with four homers and 11 RBIs over his last 12 games.

3. Athletics C Kurt Suzuki had gone a career-long 78 games without a homer before clubbing one against the Yankees on Sunday.