Blue Jays Series Preview: Jays Need to Harpoon the Mariners

May 12, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(56) pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2: James Paxton (2-2, 3.69 ERA) vs Mark Buehrle (5-3, 5.36 ERA)

Canadian boy Paxton has had a rough go of it to start his big league career. Various injuries have kept him sidelined for much of the last couple seasons but when he was pitching he was pitching very effectively ( 13 starts, 3.04 ERA in 2014). This year he started off slowly but is currently working on a 20 inning scoreless streak and he is 2-1 with a 1.38 during that stretch. I am sure he will be extra amped playing against Toronto and may reel off a few more scoreless innings while pitching on the Rogers Centre mound.

Why Mark Buehrle is 5-3 is truly a testament to the Blue Jays league leading hitting machine. His 8 inning outing last start against the Astros was his longest outing by 2 innings so far this year. With the bullpen in a constant state of flux we need the vets to go 7-8 innings as often as possible…especially with the way the season has gone for Drew Hutchison and with Estrada still stretching out his arm for longer game action.  Buehrle is more than capable of keeping the Mariners off the scoresheet but with a BAA against of .326 and a WHIP around 1.5 it could be a loooong day under the sun at the Dome.