Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 8, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 0, Toronto 1

A division co-leader would normally be pleased with the prospect of hosting the fourth-place team in a three-game series.

The Toronto Blue Jays are no ordinary fourth-place team.

The Jays look to play the spoiler role Monday as they open a series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The teams have split their previous 12 games this season, with Toronto coming off an impressive and entertaining three-game sweep of the Rays earlier this month.

Tampa comes into the series with a share of the American League East lead, dead even with the New York Yankees. The two teams own the best records in the majors, and will likely battle for the division crown right down to the final weeks of the season.

They'll both get a crack at the Blue Jays this week before playing seven head-to-head meetings later in the month. Yet, although Toronto is well out of the playoff race, it would be wise for both teams to take their divisional opponent seriously.

The Blue Jays enter the series six games above .500 in a year when most experts picked them to finish with 90 or more losses. On the strength of a league-leading home run barrage, Toronto has posted an impressive 29-22 mark against the rest of the AL East.

Sophomore left-hander Brett Cecil (11-6) gets the start for the Blue Jays. He was part of Toronto's sweep a few weeks ago, opening the series with seven innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 victory. The 24-year-old has a 4-1 record all-time against the Rays, with a 3.45 ERA over 31 1/3 innings.

Cecil has rebounded from a string of no-decisions with victories in three of his last four starts. More impressive is the fact that those victories came against the Rays, Yankees and Boston Red Sox, the three teams ahead of Toronto in the AL East. Cecil was solid last time out, limiting the Yankees to a pair of runs over eight innings in a 6-3 victory.

While Toronto is coming of a home split with the Detroit Tigers, the surging Rays enter having won 11 of their last 15 games, including two out of three against the Red Sox over the weekend. Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford had homers and James Shields earned his 14th win of the season as the Rays won Sunday's rubber match 5-3.

Wade Davis (10-9) takes the mound in Monday's series opener against Toronto. The right-hander has caught fire of late, riding a personal five-game winning streak that has turned around what was looking like a dismal season.

Davis is coming off a victory over the Los Angeles Angels, where he surrendered two runs over 5 1/3 innings while striking out five. The 25-year-old hasn't lost to an American League team since June 10, when he was outdueled by Cecil in a 3-2 Toronto victory.

Tampa has dominated Toronto at the Trop, winning 21 of their last 26 head-to-head meetings there.