Blue Jays open second half against division rival Rays

Jul 11, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna (54) shakes hands with catcher Russell Martin (right) after beating the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays will exit the All Star Break with a three game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at home. Toronto trails the Rays by just one game in the AL East standings, but now sit 4.5 back of the division-leading New York Yankees after going 3-7 over their last ten games.

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Despite Mark Buehrle‘s incredible surge over the past several weeks the Blue Jays appear set to save the lefty for their next series in Oakland, instead opting to roll out Drew Hutchison, R.A. Dickey and Marco Estrada at the Rogers Centre.

There are clear implications on the AL playoff race here, but given the date, the Blue Jays desperately need to win a series and spark movement from their general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Creeping a game closer to New York while leapfrogging the Rays could push Anthopoulos to pull the trigger on a deal for starting pitching, but if the club falls 5.5 or 6.5 games back by the end of this series, there could be hesitation.

Hutchison will face Jake Odorizzi in the opener on Friday night before two straight matinees over the weekend. Before we dive into the pitching matchups, let’s take a look across the diamond at the Tampa Bay Rays.

Next: Checking out those pesky Rays

Jun 29, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Grady Sizemore (24) is congratulated by third baseman Evan Longoria (3) after he hit a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians at Tropicana Field. Cleveland Indians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Across the Diamond: Tampa Bay Rays

If the Tampa Bay Rays are going to beat you, it’s going to be with their pitching staff more often than their bats. Offensively, the Rays rank 24th in the MLB in runs scored and 25th in cumulative team average at just .240.

Evan Longoria continues to be dangerous at the heart of the lineup, hitting .276 with nine home runs and a team-leading 41 RBI on the season. Logan Forsythe has been another consistent source of offense, as well, posting eerily similar numbers with a .274 average, nine home runs and 35 RBI. Steven Souza Jr., the club’s greatest manufacturer of home runs and strikeouts, will remain on the DL through the Toronto series.

The pitching staff, led by the dominant Chris Archer, sits eighth in the Majors with a 3.54 ERA, which is extremely impressive given their early uncertainties and rash of injuries. The staff sits fourth in strikeouts and second in opponent batting average at just .236.  Gulp.

Next: Game 1: Hey, Hutch... Wake up!

Jul 3, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons (5) takes the ball to relieve starting pitcher Drew Hutchison (36) in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1: Friday, July 17th  –  7:07 ET

Drew Hutchison vs. Jake Odorizzi

Hutchison will get his expected start at home in this series, and does the team really have any other option? The tantalizing right-hander has been downright awful on the road, and couldn’t buck that trend in recent starts at Chicago and Detroit.

His 8-2 record should be thrown out the window as some timely run support has saved him from a worse fate more times than we can count, with his ERA sitting at 5.33 and WHIP at 1.49. Perhaps the greatest source of frustration is that the Blue Jays fans and management know that Hutchison has so much more to offer. Perhaps an opportunity to hit the reset button  with a vote of confidence in game one will boost him in the right direction.

Tampa’s Jake Odorizzi recently returned from a DL stint with an oblique injury and didn’t seem rusty. The righty lasted 5.2 innings against the Houston Astros, allowing just two hits and no earned runs. Pairing Odorizzi with Hutchison shows how misleading a pitcher’s record can be, as his moved to 5-5 with the recent win despite an excellent ERA of 2.30 and WHIP of just 1.01.

Next: Game 2: Dickey gets the matinee nod

Jul 3, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer (22) pitches against the New York Yankees during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Game 3: Sunday, July 19th  –  1:07 ET

Marco Estrada vs. Chris Archer

Let’s be blunt, the Blue Jays are wildly overmatched here in the pitching department. The heightened importance of games one and two is linked to this meeting with Archer, who is one of the league’s toughest wins.

Marco Estrada has stepped back since his near-no-hitter just four starts ago, but the damage has remained relatively minimal in the runs department. He did allow nine hits over 6.2 innings in his last start, however, and has struggled to create outs. Over his last three starts, Estrada has six walks and six strikeouts. A rest could do him some good.

The 9-6 Archer is one of the game’s best, but allowed a staggering nine earned runs on twelve hits in his last outing before the break. Let’s call that one an outlier. The right-hander boasts a 2.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. In his last outing against the Blue Jays on June 23rd, Archer allowed just one run on three hits over 8.0 innings.

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