German_Force » at least play one game there

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays refuse to go away in the American League wild-card race and the Toronto Blue Jays will play a big role in how long they remain in contention.The Rays and Blue Jays play seven games in the remaining regular-season schedule starting Thursday with the opener of a four-game series at the Rogers Centre.The teams finish their schedules with three games against each other at Tropicana Field. The Rays are 9-3 against the Blue Jays this season.Article continues below ...The Rays defeated the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Wednesday afternoon but remain 5 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second wild-card spot. The Athletics routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-0 on Wednesday night. Tampa Bay had gained 3 1/2 games on the A’s in the previous four days.The Blue Jays had a four-game winning streak end Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.Tampa Bay is a major league best 31-13 since the beginning of August.“We need help Brian Roberts Jersey , there’s no doubt about that,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I like the way the guys have continued to go about their business day to day. That’s very cliche, but sometimes you have to go with that and control what you can control.”The Rays (85-66) will open Thursday night with right-hander Ryne Stanek (2-3, 2,49 ERA), who will pitch about an inning and will be followed by right-hander Yonny Chirinos (4-5, 3.89), who is expected to work most of the innings. The Blue Jays (69-83) will start right-hander Sam Gaviglio (3-8, 5.25 ERA).Tampa Bay has won five in a row, 14 of 17 in September and 23 of their past 28.The players are enthusiastic about their postseason chances despite the long odds against them.“I think everybody in this clubhouse is just getting ready for a wild-card game Thurman Munson Jersey ,” pitcher Tyler Glasnow told the Tampa Times.The Rays have some reinforcements joining them Thursday with Triple-A Durham having ended its season.Outfielder Austin Meadows, left-hander Hoby Milner and right-handers Chih-Wei Hu and Austin Pruitt will join the team in Toronto.Stanek has been used frequently as the opener this season and has made 26 starts with 28 relief appearances. He is the first pitcher with at least 25 relief appearances and 25 starts in a season since the Philadelphia Phillies Hugh Mulcahy (26 starts, 30 relief appearances) in 1937. He is the first American League pitcher with a 25-25 season since Eddie Rommel (31-25) of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1923.Stanek has opened four games against the Blue Jays this season and has made one relief appearance against them. He is 0-0 and has allowed no runs, two hits and one walk while striking out seven in six innings.Chirinos has made one appearance against Toronto this year, allowing four hits and one run over seven innings of relief on Sept. 3.Gaviglio will be making his third start of the season against the Rays and the fourth of his career. He is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA aginst Tampa Bay this season, and 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA against the Rays for his career.In three starts after winning Aug. 21 for the first time since May 25, he is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA.The Blue Jays have been using September to break in prospects from the minor leagues and that means catcher Russell Martin has barely played in September. He missed some time because he was on paternity leave, but mostly the Blue Jas are taking a good look at young catchers Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire. Martin understands.“We have a couple of young catchers that need work,” Martin told reporters Wednesday. “They probably haven’t played that many seasons deep into September, so it kind of gives them an idea of what it’s like http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-jorge-posada-jersey , how it taxes your body playing that extra month. But the obvious answer is, I love to compete. I do love to play, but I just feel in this type of situation, what’s best for the team is to see what the young players can do.” NEW YORK — When they left Yankee Stadium for a cross-country flight to Oakland following a tedious 11-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees held a decent amount of comfort in the wild-card race.Now they come back still occupying the lead in the wild-card race but hardly with a comfortable lead.Heading into the opener of a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics.Article continues below ...The Yankees are returning from a middling 4-5 nine-game trip through Oakland, Seattle and Minnesota. The uneven trip followed a disappointing 3-4 showing in a seven-game home stand against the Chicago White Sox and Tigers.“We know what’s at stake,” Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton said. “We know what we need to do. It’s not an ideal today or a trip. We know what we need to do. We’re going to come out on Friday and get it done.”By going 7-9 in their last 16 games, the Yankees have gone from 4 1/2 up on Oakland to hardly assured of hosting the one-game playoff on Oct. 3.Going back further, when the Yankees fell 9 1/2 out in the AL East after being swept by the Red Sox Don Larsen Jersey , they were 2 1/2 up and while they gained two games on the A’s, they were not able to shake their pesky challenger.While the Yankees scored enough in their last homestand at times, they did not hit well for most of the trip. They were no-hit until the eighth when Greg Bird ended Jake Odorizzi’s no-hit bid and were held to two hits in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss at Minnesota.During the trip, the Yankees scored 33 runs while batting .198 (56-for-283) while striking out 75 times. With runners in scoring position, New York batted and hit .169 (10-for-59).“We have the equipment in that room to be the club we expect to be. Baseball will punch you in the mouth every now and then,” Boone said. “We are clearly facing a little bit of adversity right now and we will be better for it. I expect us to come out Friday ready to turn the page.”Stanton, who was rested in the last home game, was 4-for-34 with 16 strikeouts on the trip. Gary Sanchez was 5-for-27 on the trip with three of those hits in a 7-2 Monday, Didi Gregorius is 3-for-15 since returning from a heel injury and Aaron Hicks went 3-for-27 on the trip.At least the Yankees can say good things may be happening on the injury front. Sanchez and Gregorius recently returned and Aaron Judge along with Aroldis Chapman appear close to returning.Judge took regular batting practice on the field before Wednesday’s game and could get into a simulated game soon. Since he fractured his right wrist on July 26, the Yankees are 25-20.Chapman has been out since Aug. 22 with tendinitis in his right knee but threw a bullpen session Wednesday in Tampa and could get into a simulated game if another bullpen session goes well.Masahiro Tanaka will start the opener and seeks his 12th win after allowing three hits and striking out 10 in eight scoreless innings last Friday in Seattle. It marked the eighth time in 10 starts he allowed two earned runs or less.Tanaka is 10-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 16 starts against Toronto http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-johnny-damon-jersey , which is the only opponent he owns 10 wins against. His last appearance against the Blue Jays in New York was Sept. 29, when he fanned 15 in seven innings of a 4-0 win.The Blue Jays (65-81) didn’t help the Yankees by losing three straight at Fenway Park, lowering the Yankees magic number for elimination in the AL East to six. The Blue Jays lost for the eighth time in 12 games when second baseman Yangervis Solarte committed a fielding error in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 4-3 loss.The next loss will clinch Toronto’s second straight losing season and they head into New York hoping to see what they have in players like Rowdy Tellez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Gurriel homered and is hitting .284 in 55 games while Tellez is 9-for-22 (.409) in his first eight games.“(Playing at Fenway) has been good for them and when we go into Yankee Stadium that’s going to help them,” Toronto manager John Gibbons said. “Whether they start here next year or when they make it. Next time they go in there at least play one game there. It helps. People get in awe of these places. I still do. I think that definitely helps.”Marco Estrada starts for Toronto and hopes to end a three-game winless streak. Since beating Baltimore Aug. 20, he is 0-2 with a 9.49 ERA, though he allowed two runs in six innings in a no-decision last Friday against Cleveland.Estrada is 7-3 with an 8.15 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) against the Yankees.The Yankees have won 12 of the first 16 meetings with Toronto and six of seven at Yankee Stadium.