The Toronto Blue Jays (38-36) will try to continue their torrid streak and win their 12th consecutive game tonight when they open a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays (39-37) at Tropicana Field tonight. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game can be live streamed here. Blue Jays fans can tune in on SN590 while Rays fans can hear the action on WDAE 620.
The Blue Jays will throw Esmil Rogers (3-2, 3.14 ERA) on the mound against the Rays, who just took two out of three games from the Yankees and are fighting tooth and nail to avoid being passed by Toronto in the American League East standings.
The Rays will be countering with Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 5.50 ERA), who has had a very tough season so far. Hellickson has not been lucky this year, posting a career high .302 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), and has surrendered a career high 1.28 home runs per nine innings.
That should worry him with two of Major League Baseball's premier home run hitters, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista staring at him from home plate. Encarnacion has belted 21 home runs this year, while Bautista has swatted 16.
Hellickson, however, isn't overly concerned and believes his stuff is fine. "I'm right where I want to be," said Hellickson. "I just want to eliminate the big inning that I've been giving up."
Rogers, meanwhile, is a recent addition to Toronto's rotation and has done well, going 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA in four starts. A victory tonight would be his third straight. "I've got unbelievable confidence right now, Rogers said. "I can throw any pitch in any count."
This season, the entire AL East is bunched up in the standings; these two squads are bringing up the rear but are only three games back of first-place Boston. Each team in the division is above .500.
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