Tampa Bay Rays (29-19, second in the AL East) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (23-22, fourth in the AL East)
Dunedin; Monday, 1:07 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Ryan Yarbrough (2-3, 4.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 35 strikeouts) Blue Jays: Ross Stripling (0-3, 7.20 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)
LINE: Blue Jays +101, Rays -119; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Toronto enters the matchup as losers of their last five games.
The Blue Jays are 8-9 against AL East opponents. Toronto has hit 63 home runs this season, sixth in the American League. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads them with 13, averaging one every 12.5 at-bats.
The Rays are 13-8 against the rest of their division. Tampa Bay has hit 61 home runs this season, eighth in the MLB. Austin Meadows leads the team with nine, averaging one every 17.8 at-bats.
The Rays won the last meeting 6-4. Josh Fleming notched his fourth victory and Francisco Mejia went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI for Tampa Bay. Tyler Chatwood registered his first loss for Toronto.
TOP PERFORMERS: Guerrero Jr. leads the Blue Jays with 23 extra base hits and is batting .331.
Meadows leads the Rays with nine home runs and is batting .225.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 4-6, .295 batting average, 4.65 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Rays: 10-0, .296 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored opponents by 46 runs
INJURIES: Blue Jays: Kirby Yates: (tommy john surgery), David Phelps: (right lat), Patrick Murphy: (shoulder), Tommy Milone: (undisclosed), Julian Merryweather: (left oblique), Tom Hatch: (elbow), Ryan Borucki: (forearm), George Springer: (quad), Cavan Biggio: (spine), Alejandro Kirk: (left hip flexor).
Rays: Chaz Roe: (shoulder), Cody Reed: (thumb), Colin Poche: (elbow), Luis Patino: (finger), Oliver Drake: (forearm), Yonny Chirinos: (elbow), Jalen Beeks: (elbow), Chris Archer: (forearm), Nick Anderson: (elbow), Kevin Kiermaier: (eye).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
