Blue Jays series preview and pitching matchups: Home for the Rays

Game 1:  Monday, May 16th   –   7:07 ET

J.A. Happ (5-0, 2.05 ERA) vs.
Drew Smyly (1-4, 3.63 ERA)

Few pitchers in baseball are throwing better than J.A. Happ in 2016, and he’ll take the mound on Monday night with an opportunity to both earn his sixth win of the year and bring his season ERA below 2.00.

Tampa can represent an ideal matchup for any pitcher — though Happ will need to watch the fly balls with the Rays’ power — and the Blue Jays’ lefty is coming off arguably his two strongest starts of the season.

His last time out against the San Francisco Giants, Happ pitched eight and two-thirds innings of shutout ball, allowing just six hits and striking out five. Prior to that against the Rangers at home, Happ allowed one earned run over seven innings with another five strikeouts.

These deep starts are extremely valuable from Happ, who is averaging over seven innings per outing. Depth of start was a worry for Happ, who hasn’t topped 172 innings in his career, so his ability to work deep into games will allow Blue Jays manager John Gibbons to use two of his stronger relievers as opposed to stretching out to three or more.

Coming from the other side will be Drew Smyly, a fellow lefty who is enjoying a fine 2016 of his own.

Smyly is looking for his first full season in Tampa Bay after coming over in 2014 as part of the deal that sent old friend David Price to Detroit. His season has been interesting, though, sandwiching some very strong pitching between two rough outings in his first start and most recent start against Seattle.

Against the Mariners last week, Smyly allowed six runs on ten hits over five innings. Prior to that, however, he did work five consecutive starts without allowing more than two earned runs. He also has a pair of 11-strikeout games under his belt in 2016.

Next up, a battle of the aces…

Next: Game 2 Preview: The marquee matchup