Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 24, 2011 ) Toronto 2, Tampa Bay 6
THE STORY: The Tampa Bay Rays have received two remarkable five-inning stints from rookie pitchers Matt Moore and Alex Torres in the last three days to inch closer to a playoff spot. Now the ball is handed to Wade Davis as the Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of the three-game series on Sunday. Tampa Bay trails the free-falling Boston Red Sox by 1 1/2 games in the American League wild-card race with four to play. The Red Sox have five contests left - all on the road. The Rays have beaten the Jays 11 of 17 games in 2011.
TV: 1:40 p.m. EST; SNO (Toronto), SunSports (Tampa Bay).
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH Brett Cecil (4-10, 4.56 ERA) vs. Rays RH Wade Davis (10-10, 4.55 ERA).
Cecil is 0-6 since July 29, allowing four runs in three innings in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels. He gave up three runs in six innings in his lone start against Tampa Bay in 2011. Cecil is 4-2 lifetime with a 4.66 ERA in 46 1/3 innings against the Rays. Evan Longoria is 10-for-20 with five RBIs against Cecil.
Davis has lost his last two starts, giving up a total of nine runs in 11 innings. He has 99 strikeouts and 61 walks in a career-high 176 innings. Davis is 0-2 against the Blue Jays this season with a 4.91 ERA in 25 2/3 innings. In his career, Davis is 2-3 lifetime with a 3.80 ERA. Adam Lind is 6-for-17 with five RBIs against Davis, but he was still in Toronto on Saturday for the birth of his child and is unlikely to play.
ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS (80-78): Jose Bautista broke out of a mini-slump Saturday with his 43rd homer in the first inning. He now leads Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees by two for the major league lead. Bautista was on base three of four times he came to the plate, pushing his average to .305. Kelly Johnson also had his fifth two-hit game in his last six outings on Saturday. He is 10-for-23 in that stretch. Shortstop Mike McCoy, who made just three errors his first 74 games, made two in his last contest. Toronto has made 109 errors – 38 more than the major league-leading Rays.
ABOUT THE RAYS (87-71): Johnny Damon continues to come up with clutch hits for the Rays. His three-run homer in the eighth gave closer Kyle Farnsworth the breathing room he needed to finish it. Farnsworth looked good, striking out two in the ninth, after missing two weeks with a sore right elbow. Damon had three hits to give him 2,720 in his career, one short of Lou Gehrig for 57th on the all-time list. Ben Zobrist belted two homers in his last three games and has 88 RBIs, three from his career high in 2009. Reliever Joel Peralta has allowed just one run his last 16 appearances over 17 innings.
FINAL PITCH: Tampa Bay is 38-30 against the American League-East, a half-game behind the Yankees (38-29) for the best record versus division foes. Toronto is 33-38.