Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 9, 2010 ) Toronto 1, Tampa Bay 10
The Toronto Blue Jays will have their hottest pitcher on the mound tonight as they try to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Unfortunately for the Jays, it might not matter what Brett Cecil does if his offense can't snap out of its deep funk.
Cecil brings a four-game winning streak into the finale of what has been a ridiculously one-sided series between American League East rivals. Tampa Bay has dominated every facet of the set so far, outscoring the Blue Jays 19-1 while dropping them into fourth place in the East.
Cecil (6-2) has been one of the best pitchers in the majors over the past three weeks. The 23-year-old has surrendered just five runs in his last 29 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA from 5.46 to 3.43. The hot streak comes on the heels of his shortest outing of the season, a two-inning stint in which he allowed eight runs to the Texas Rangers on May 14.
Cecil's last outing was a gem, as he limited the New York Yankees to a run on five hits in eight solid innings of a 6-1 Toronto victory. He's 2-1 all-time against Tampa Bay, with a 5.09 ERA in four career appearances (three starts).
Cecil's task is a tall one, to say the least.
The Rays' offense has been clicking of late, with 28 runs in its last three games. That includes last night's 10-1 drubbing, a game that saw David Price earn his AL-leading ninth victory of the season on the strength of three Tampa homers.
Carlos Pena has been the Rays' catalyst against visiting Toronto, homering three times in the first two games of the series after going without a long ball in his previous 11 contests. Pena has gone deep four times in his past three games overall, while Evan Longoria is 6-for-9 in the series and B.J. Upton has four hits and four runs scored.
Wade Davis is hoping his teammates have saved a little thunder for tonight's series finale. Davis (5-5) has struggled with inconsistency this season, alternating losses and wins over his last five starts.
Davis was at his worst the last time out, getting torched for eight runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings of a 9-6 loss to the Texas Rangers. It was the second time in the last three starts that Davis couldn't get out of the fourth inning, and it raised his ERA nearly a full run, from 4.04 to 5.03.
The Rays rookie has never faced the Jays, who are mired in their worst offensive drought of the season. Toronto has managed just five singles and a double in two games against the Rays, remaining stalled at a major-league-leading 97 home runs.