Blue Jays hit the road looking to Buck the Orioles

Sep 22, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada (25) pitches against New York Yankees in the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

Monday, September 28th  –  7:05 ET
Marco Estrada (13-8, 3.13)  vs.  Chris Tillman (10-11, 5.16)

Estrada takes the hill in the series opener with his final opportunity to nail down a spot in the playoff rotation, although that’s already been well taken care of in my books. The right-hander is coming off 6.2 inning start against the Yankees where he allowed two earned runs on six hits and threw 8.0 shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves in his appearance prior to that.

Arm fatigue continues to be a quiet concern with Estrada, but as of right now, that’s looking for worry in a spot where there is none. Let’s wait to see it first, shall we? One area that Estrada will need to clean up is his control, as the changeup specialist has allowed three or more walks on three of his past six trips to the mound.

Chris Tillman probably just wants 2015 to end, but he won’t escape without facing the Blue Jays one last time. The big right-hander has struggled mightily this season, and while he’s managed to limit the batted-ball damage to some extent over his past two starts, he’s walked three batters in each. When Tillman and the Blue Jays last met, they roughed him up to the tune of six runs on eight hits over 3.0 innings.

Next: Game 2 Preview: The Stro Show hits the road