San Diego
43-56 4th NL West
vs.
Toronto
55-44 3rd AL East
Pitching Matchup:
Colin Rea (5-4, 5.01 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez (10-1, 2.87 ERA)
It took 20 seasons of Interleague play, but with the Padres making their first trip to Toronto to begin a three-game series on Monday at Rogers Centre, every existing franchise will have visited every Major League city at least once.
The Padres send Colin Rea (5-4, 5.01 ERA) to the mound for the series opener, with the right-hander looking to rebound after allowing eight hits and four runs in six innings in a 4-2 loss in St. Louis July 20.
The Blue Jays counter with Aaron Sanchez (10-1, 2.87 ERA), who leads the American League with 15 quality starts in 19 outings. Sanchez has thrown 125 1/3 innings this season and is nearing his professional high of 133 1/3 thrown across three levels in 2014.
An innings limit on Sanchez, 24, may be the only way to slow down the right-hander, who hasn't lost since April 22 and enters his start Monday having won his last nine decisions. In his only start since the All-Star break, Sanchez threw seven innings of one-run ball with five strikeouts and no walks in a 5-1 win in Arizona July 19.
Padres Lineup:
CF T. Jankowski
1B W. Myers
RF M. Kemp
3B Y. Solarte
LF A. Dickerson
2B R. Schimpf
SS A. Ramírez
DH B. Wallace
C D. Norris
Blue Jays Lineup:
RF Jose Bautista ®
3B Josh Donaldson ®
DH E. Encarnacion ®
LF M. Saunders (L)
SS Troy Tulowitzki ®
C Russell Martin ®
CF Kevin Pillar ®
1B Justin Smoak (S)
2B Devon Travis ®
Game Notes:
• Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista is expected to return to the lineup after missing 30 games with a hyper-extended toe sustained June 16 in Philadelphia. Bautista, who appeared in three games with Triple-A Buffalo over the weekend, is hitting .283/.342/.501 with 12 home runs in 65 games this season.
• Padres second baseman and former Blue Jays prospect Ryan Schimpf set a San Diego rookie record with his ninth home run in a month on Sunday. The 28-year-old leads all qualified players with nine homers, .852 SLG and 1.249 OPS in July. Schimpf was Toronto's fifth-round Draft pick in 2009, and spent seven seasons in the Blue Jays' organization.
• The Padres have homered in a franchise-best 22 straight games, tied with the Boston Red Sox for the longest streak this season. San Diego's streak is the longest in the National League since the Atlanta Braves homered in 23 straight in 2006.
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