Tampa Bay @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( May 18, 2016 ) Tampa Bay 6, Toronto 3

The Toronto Blue Jays look to get their offense back in gear when they begin a six-game homestand with the first of three against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. The Blue Jays have recorded 19 runs in the last eight contests and just three in two straight losses at Kansas City over the weekend that have them sitting one game behind first-place Baltimore in the American League East.

“We really haven’t been swinging that good since the beginning of the last homestand,” Toronto manager John Gibbons told reporters. “We’ve been in kind of a rut, so we’re due to explode.” That won’t be easy against Tampa Bay’s scheduled Monday starter Jake Odorizzi, who has not allowed a run in three straight games spanning 20 2/3 innings. The last-place Rays have also won six of their last eight contests against the Blue Jays, including a three-game sweep May 16-18 in Toronto. Tampa Bay shortstop Brad Miller, who is slated to move to first base when Matt Duffy completes his rehab stint, is 8-for-21 with three homers and seven RBIs during a six-game hitting streak.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), Sportsnet (Toronto), TVA Sports (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Jake Odorizzi (6-5, 3.70 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (8-12, 4.49)

Odorizzi has been one of the league’s best pitchers since the All-Star break, going 3-0 with two runs allowed over 26 2/3 total innings with 23 strikeouts and three walks. The 26-year-old boasts 121 strikeouts overall with 37 bases on balls across 131 1/3 frames. Josh Donaldson is 3-for-14 – with all three hits leaving the park – against Odorizzi, who is 1-0 with a 2.04 ERA in three starts versus Toronto this season.

Dickey snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday when he permitted one run on six hits and no walks over seven innings to defeat Houston. The 41-year-old knuckleballer has struggled at home all season, going 2-8 with a 5.40 ERA in 12 games at Rogers Centre. Evan Longoria is 14-for-49 with two homers and eight RBIs versus Dickey, who is 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA in two games against Tampa Bay in 2016.

WALK-OFFS

1. Longoria has homered in back-to-back games to reach 25 on the season -- his highest total since 2013 when he finished with 32.

2. Toronto LF and former Ray Melvin Upton Jr. is just 4-for-32 with no extra-base hits in 11 games since being acquired from San Diego.

3. Tampa Bay CF Mikie Mahtook (hand) went 2-for-3 on Sunday in his first major-league game since June 20.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 5, Rays 3