Blue Jays host Yankees for the series of the season

Jul 19, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher

(25) gets ready to throw a ball during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Toronto Blue Jays won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Game 2:  Saturday, August 15th  –  1:07 ET
Marco Estrada (10-6, 3.21)  vs.  Masahiro Tanaka (8-5, 3.79)

The changeup guru Marco Estrada seems to be finding another one of his grooves, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Jays. Estrada got the best of Tanaka when the two met last in New York, pitching 6.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six.

This gives Estrada back-to-back strong starts of over six innings, which is a welcome sign after he’d struggled through his two outings before that. The home run ball will also be an important issue for the fly ball pitcher, but his changeup and developing cutter have helped him to combat that up to this point.

Tanaka was a hard luck loser on August 9th as he allowed just two earned runs on three hits through six strong, striking out five along the way. The right-hander allowed three or more earned runs in his four starts prior to the outing, but he seems to have overcome the health worries from earlier in the season. He’s usually a safe bet for six to seven innings and consistently keeps his team in the ball game.

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