Oakland @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 31, 2013 ) Toronto 5, Oakland 2

The struggling Oakland Athletics look to snap a three-game losing streak when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday for the opener of a four-game series. Oakland has dropped six of its last seven contests while losing all of a six-game lead in the American League West since July 29 to fall into a first-place tie with the Texas Rangers. The Athletics opened their six-game road trip by dropping a pair of tight contests in Cincinnati, the latest a 6-5 setback Wednesday.

The Athletics' slide began when Toronto took a pair of games in Oakland to finish July. That was part of a 5-5 West Coast trip for the Blue Jays, who had won three in a row before blowing a five-run lead and falling 9-7 at Seattle on Wednesday. The Athletics have won five of the last seven meetings in Toronto.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), SNET-1 (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Jarrod Parker (7-6, 4.02 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Esmil Rogers (3-6, 4.61)

Parker is 5-0 with a 2.79 ERA and a .188 opponents batting average over his last 12 starts. He rebounded from a rare rocky outing with six strong innings against Texas on Saturday, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings while recording a quality start for the 13th time in 15 appearances. The 24-year-old allowed two runs and four hits in seven frames in his only prior encounter with Toronto on May 8, 2012.

Rogers will be making his 12th straight start while still searching for some sort of consistency. He has given up 15 runs (13 earned) and 20 hits in 9 1/3 innings over his last two starts, including a rough performance at Oakland on July 29, when the Athletics got to him for eight runs in 4 1/3 frames. Opponents are hitting .366 against Rogers since the All-Star break.

WALK-OFFS

1. Oakland has scored 15 runs during the 1-6 stretch after recording 19 runs in the previous two games.

2. Blue Jays IF Brett Lawrie is hitting .417 during a 10-game hitting streak.

3. Toronto is 15-9 against AL West teams.

PREDICTION: Athletics 5, Blue Jays 3