Athletics vie for season sweep over Blue Jays (Aug 01, 2018)
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Teams that took opposite approaches to the trade deadline meet for a seventh and final time Wednesday afternoon when the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics conclude a three-game series.
Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman (4-7, 5.20 ERA), who remained a Blue Jay despite being engulfed in trade rumors, and Oakland lefty Sean Manaea (9-7, 3.46) will duel in a battle of staff aces.
The A's have won six straight against the Blue Jays this season, including 10-1 and 6-2 the past two days while the visitors seemed more concerned about who was going and who was staying at the trade deadline.
The final tally was known when the deadline passed about six hours before the start of Tuesday's game. The Blue Jays (48-58) dealt five major leaguers for reliever Ken Giles, infielder Brandon Drury and seven minor leaguers.
"I think everybody knew (a selloff) was a possibility," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons admitted to reporters before Tuesday's game. "It's part of the business; you understand it."
Tuesday's loss left the Blue Jays 25 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East, 14 1/2 out in the AL wild-card race.
The A's (63-46), meanwhile, have used their wins in the first two games of the series against Toronto to move within five games of first-place Houston in the AL West and within one of Seattle in the wild-card race.
A's general manager David Forst said his team was active in trade talks, but in the end, Oakland didn't pull the trigger after having acquired reliever Jeurys Familia last week.
"A lot of things have to come together to make any deal," Forst explained after the deadline passed. "You can't just add anyone to the clubhouse, anyone to the 25-man roster. It has to be the right fit.
"It didn't come together today. But as we've seen in recent years, a lot of important deals get made in August, so we're still optimistic."
In the meantime, the A's will look to Manaea in their attempt complete a 7-0 sweep of the Blue Jays in the season series.
The 26-year-old didn't get a decision in a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto in May, allowing four runs in five innings.
He is 1-0 with a 4.30 ERA in four games (three starts) against the Blue Jays in his career.
Stroman hasn't pitched in Oakland since 2016, when he allowed three home runs, including one to Khris Davis, in an 8-7 loss in which he got no decision.
He's made three career starts against the A's, going 0-0 with a 4.96 ERA.
Davis enters Wednesday's series finale on a roll. He had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs on Tuesday.
The home run was the eighth in his last 10 games and his 29th of the season, the fourth-most in the AL. His two RBIs gave him 84, the second-most in the league.
