Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( May 8, 2013 ) Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 10

The Toronto Blue Jays have a simple request for Thursday starter R.A. Dickey: hang around for a while. Dickey will look to give his beleaguered bullpen a rest as he faces off against David Price and the host Tampa Bay Rays in a showdown of reigning Cy Young Award winners. A line drive to the head knocked J.A. Happ out of Tuesday's game and Ricky Romero was ineffective Wednesday, forcing Toronto relievers to throw 15 1/3 innings over the last two games.

A long outing would be a welcome development for Dickey, who is struggling to regain the form that saw him win a career-best 20 games with the New York Mets in 2012. Price also is off to a slow start after posting a 20-5 mark with a 2.56 ERA a season ago. The Rays dropped the first two games of the series - blowing big leads in both - but chased Romero in the first inning Wednesday and cruised to a 10-4 victory.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet (Toronto), Sun Sports (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (2-5, 5.36 ERA) vs. Rays LH David Price (1-3, 6.25)

Dickey has dealt with lingering neck and back soreness for most of the season but has opted to pitch through it rather than go on the disabled list. Back-to-back solid starts in mid-April have given way to three straight rough outings, including a six-inning stint last time out in which he surrendered seven runs in a one-sided loss to the Seattle Mariners. Dickey is 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 27 1/3 career innings against the Rays.

Price has been mostly decent - posting four quality starts in seven outings - but his bad games have been terrible. His last start was his worst of the season, as he was torched for nine runs on 11 hits over 6 2/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies. A meeting with Toronto may be just what the 27-year-old needs to get back on track - he's 12-2 all-time against the Blue Jays, with a 2.29 ERA and an opposing batting average of .223.

WALK-OFFS

1. Price won all three of his starts against the Blue Jays in 2012.

2. Members of the Tampa Bay roster are hitting just .115 in 52 career at-bats against Dickey.

3. Rays 1B James Loney went 2-for-5 Wednesday and leads the majors with a .385 average.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 4, Rays 3