With their wild-card hopes taking a hit in Chicago, the Toronto Blue Jays head to Tampa to take on the Rays in hopes of righting the ship.
The Toronto Blue Jays (59-65) are coming off a demoralizing three-game sweep at the hands of the Cubs. The Rays (61-65) recently dropped two of three to the Mariners at home. Toronto has a (25-36) road record this season, while Tampa sits with a (32-32) record at Tropicana Field this season.
Pitching: 2017 Totals
TOR – (Starters) 4.66 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 1.24 HR/9, 7.8 K/9, .270/.341/.444
TBR – (Starters) 4.08 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1.30 HR/9, 8.2 K/9, .246/.312/.421
TOR – (Relievers) 4.35 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1.17 HR/9, 9.7 K/9, .239/.316/.404
TBR – (Relievers) 4.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 0.97 HR/9, 8.0 K/9, .238/.315/.378
Offenses: 2017 Totals
Toronto – R/G 4.26 – .241/.316/.410 – 370 XBH – 7.9 K/G
Tampa – R/G 4.26 – .245/.318/.421 – 381 XBH – 9.6 K/G
Game 1
First Pitch – 7:10 EST
C. Rowley RHP (2017: 1-0, 2.61 ERA) vs. C. Archer RHP (2017: 8-7, 3.84 ERA)
Chris Rowley (6’1, 195 lbs – Atlanta, GA)
2017 season record: (1-0, 2.61 ERA, 1.452 WHIP, 5.2 K/9), ERA+ 180, FIP 3.72, SO/W 1.00
Opponents batting average against .225/.326/.350 – BABIP .265, 2017 bWAR 0.5
Last appearance – (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) – August 17th vs Tampa
Career vs Tampa – (0-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.800 WHIP, 5.4 K/9) – 1 GS
Last appearance vs Rays – (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) – August 17th in Toronto
2017 Road Record: Hasn’t made a road start this season.
Chris Archer (6’2, 195 lbs – Raleigh, NC)
2017 season record: (8-7, 3.84 ERA, 1.220 WHIP, 11.2 K/9), ERA+ 109, FIP 3.20, SO/W 4.14
Opponents batting average against .239/.299/.391 – BABIP .322, 2017 bWAR 1.8
Last appearance – (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) – August 17th vs Toronto
Career vs Toronto – (6-4, 3.16 ERA, 1.089 WHIP, 9.5 K/9) – 23 GS
Last appearance vs Blue Jays- (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) – August 17th in Toronto
2017 Home Record: (3-4, 3.43 ERA, 1.143 WHIP, 12.1 K/9) – 13 GS
Game 2
First Pitch – 7:10 EST
M. Stroman RHP (2017: 11-6, 2.99 ERA) vs. A. Pruitt RHP (2017: 6-4, 5.37 ERA)
Marcus Stroman (5’8, 180 lbs – Medford, NY)
2017 season record: (11-6, 2.99 ERA, 1.299 WHIP, 7.4 K/9), ERA+ 153, FIP 3.69, SO/W 2.62
Opponents batting average against .241/.323/.374 – BABIP .312, 2017 bWAR 5.1
Last appearance – (6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) – August 16th vs Tampa
Career vs Tampa – (5-4, 4.04 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 7.7 K/9) – 10 GS
Last appearance vs Rays – (6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) – August 16th in Toronto
2017 Road Record: (6-2, 3.42 ERA, 1.385 WHIP, 7.3 K/9) – 12 GS
Austin Pruitt (5’10, 180 lbs – The Woodlands, TX)
2017 season record: (6-4, 5.37 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 6.8 K/9), ERA+ 78, FIP 3.80, SO/W 3.13
Opponents batting average against .302/.350/.461 – BABIP .351, 2017 bWAR -0.7
Last appearance – (7.0 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) – August 18th vs Seattle
Career vs Toronto – (1-0, 4.26 ERA, 1.421 WHIP, 5.7 K/9) – 3 G
Last appearance vs Blue Jays- (2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) – June 13th in Toronto
2017 Home Record: (3-3, 5.13 ERA, 1.470 WHIP, 6.2 K/9) – 12 G, 3 GS
Game 3
First Pitch – 1:10 EST
T. Koehler RHP (2017: 1-5, 7.92 ERA) vs. A. Cobb RHP (2017: 9-8, 3.80 ERA)
Tom Koehler (6’3, 235 lbs – Bronx, NY)
2017 season record: (1-5, 7.92 ERA, 1.725 WHIP, 7.1 K/9), ERA+ 53, FIP 6.89, SO/W 1.52
Opponents batting average against .302/.395/.545 – BABIP .319, 2017 bWAR -1.6
Last appearance – (5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) – July 23rd vs Cinncinati
Career vs Tampa – (1-2, 4.50 ERA, 1.611 WHIP, 7.0 K/9) – 3 GS
Last appearance vs Rays – (5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 6 K) – May 24, 2016 in Miami
2017 Road Record: (1-4, 7.52 ERA, 1.763 WHIP, 8.4 K/9) – 7 GS
Alex Cobb (6’3, 205 lbs – Boston, MA)
2017 season record: (9-8, 3.80 ERA, 1.218 WHIP, 5.9 K/9), ERA+ 110, FIP 4.30, SO/W 2.59
Opponents batting average against .253/.306/.413 – BABIP .277, 2017 bWAR 1.7
Last appearance – (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) – August 5th vs Milwaukee
Career vs Toronto – (3-3, 3.56 ERA, 1.047 WHIP, 6.9 K/9) – 7 GS
Last appearance vs Blue Jays- (8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) – May 7th in Tampa
2017 Home Record: (5-4, 2.49 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 6.4 K/9) – 10 GS
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*All Pitcher vs Batter Stats provided by ESPN
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Wade is a long time baseball fan who has been involved with the game for over 30 years. Including as a former college player, amateur pitching coach, and blogger.