Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 2, 2012 ) Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 4

The Tampa Bay Rays are struggling to stay alive in the American League playoff picture, but they showed they still have some fight in them by rallying for six runs in the ninth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The odds are still against the Rays, who trail wild card co-leaders Oakland and Baltimore by 5 1/2 games with only 12 left to play. Tampa Bay has zero margin for error at it prepares to host the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game set.

Tampa Bay fell back in the pack by losing seven of eight before winning the last two against Boston. The Blue Jays are in the midst of a nine-game road trip against the three AL East contenders. They were swept in a three-game series by the New York Yankees that guaranteed a second straight losing season. Edwin Encarnacion (toe) returned from a three-game absence and had two hits Thursday. His 40 homers are two off the major-league lead.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, RSN (Toronto), SUN (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Carlos Villanueva (7-5, 3.42 ERA) vs. Rays RH James Shields (14-9, 3.77)

Villanueva turned in a strong performance last time out against Boston but had nothing to show for it. He matched his longest outing of the season with seven innings and yielded only two runs on four hits in his second straight no-decision. His only win in his last nine starts came against the Rays, when he tossed six scoreless innings and struck out seven on Aug. 30.

Shields is coming off a loss at New York on Saturday, when he surrendered four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. It ended a stretch of eight straight starts in which he permitted three runs or fewer. Shields has turned in two stellar efforts against the Blue Jays this season, limiting them to one run on two hits in eight innings on Aug. 7 and striking out 10 on May 23.

WALK-OFFS

1. Shields is 10-5 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 20 career starts against Toronto.

2. The Blue Jays are 4-11 against the Rays and have lost five straight at Tropicana Field.

3. Tampa Bay's pitching needs three strikeouts to break the American League single-season record of 1,266 set by the Yankees in 2001.