Blue Jays play Rays, look to build on Stroman's strong outing
Tampa Bay Rays (58-47, second in the AL East) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (39-65, fourth in the AL East)
Toronto; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Diego Castillo (1-6, 3.96 ERA) Blue Jays: Jacob Waguespack (1-0, 5.68 ERA)
LINE: Rays favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Toronto heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Marcus Stroman. Stroman pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits with six strikeouts against Cleveland.
The Blue Jays are 14-26 against AL East teams. Toronto has a team on-base percentage of .297, led by Eric Sogard with a mark of .363.
The Rays are 24-23 against teams from the AL East. Tampa Bay has a team on-base percentage of .322, led by Tommy Pham with a mark of .370.
TOP PERFORMERS: Freddy Galvis leads the Blue Jays with 37 extra base hits and is batting .270. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is 10-for-40 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Pham leads the Rays with 16 home runs home runs and is slugging .460. Travis d'Arnaud is 7-for-27 with a double, five home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Tampa Bay.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 4-6, .235 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Rays: 3-7, .206 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored by 23 runs
Blue Jays Injuries: Trent Thornton: 10-day IL (elbow), Ryan Tepera: 60-day IL (elbow), Matt Shoemaker: 60-day IL (knee), Justin Shafer: day-to-day (elbow), Clayton Richard: 10-day IL (lat), Elvis Luciano: 60-day IL (elbow), Clay Buchholz: 60-day IL (shoulder), Devon Travis: 60-day IL (knee).
Rays Injuries: Ryne Stanek: 10-day IL (hip), Blake Snell: 10-day IL (elbow), Tyler Glasnow: 60-day IL (forearm), Anthony Banda: 60-day IL (elbow), Jose Alvarado: 10-day IL (oblique), Kevin Kiermaier: 10-day IL (thumb), Daniel Robertson: 10-day IL (knee), Brandon Lowe: 10-day IL (leg), Yandy Diaz: 10-day IL (foot), Christian Arroyo: 60-day IL (forearm).
