Blue Jays face White Sox as playoff race intensifies

Jul 1, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Mark Buehrle delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Monday, July 6th   –   8:10 ET

Mark Buehrle vs. Chris Sale

Buehrle has quickly become the Blue Jays most valuable starter and their only source of consistently deep outings. If his left arm could take it, John Gibbons would roll him out every single night at this point.

Over his last four starts, Buehrle has been a model of consistency. In all four, he has lasted exactly 7.0 innings while allowing 4-6 hits and 1-2 earned runs. With the offensive capabilities of Toronto, Those starts will earn Buehrle a win in the heavy majority of his outings. On the season, Buehrle now sits at 9-4 with a 3.64 ERA.

Unfortunately for Toronto, they’ll be facing one of the game’s most talented pitchers in the left-handed Chris Sale. Outside of one tough outing in late June against the Minnesota Twins, Sale has been on an absolute roll as he’s brought his ERA to 2.87 and WHIP to 0.97.

Sale will feature a fastball that sits at 93-95 MPH with a dangerous slider and very nice changeup. Toronto has hit left-handers well throughout 2015, but this game may need to be a grind-it-out win as opposed to the smash and bash style that the Jays have relied on most often.

Next: Game 2: Doubront's starting debut