Blue Jays Lineup...
1. Jose Bautista ® RF
2. Russell Martin ® C
3. Josh Donaldson ® 3B
4. Justin Smoak (S) 1B
5. Kendrys Morales (S) DH
6. Steve Pearce ® LF
7. Troy Tulowitzki ® SS
8. Kevin Pillar ® CF
9. Darwin Barney ® 2B
Marcus Stroman, RHP
Stroman pushed through a blister to throw 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in his last outing against Cleveland. That 117-pitch performance gave the red-hot right-hander a 1.37 ERA over four starts in July.
A's Lineup...
1. Matt Joyce (L) RF
2. Marcus Semien ® SS
3. Yonder Alonso (L) 1B
4. Khris Davis ® LF
5. Ryon Healy ® DH
6. Bruce Maxwell (L) C
7. Matt Chapman ® 3B
8. Adam Rosales ® 2B
9. Jaycob Brugman (L) CF
Sean Manaea, LHP
Manaea was on the hook for four runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Mets on Saturday, all of them coming in the sixth inning. The lefty yielded a season-high 10 hits, walked one and struck out two. He had a 2.92 ERA in his previous 11 outings.
PREVIEW...
By Keegan Matheson / MLB.com
The Blue Jays and Athletics will end their four-game series in Toronto on Thursday with a pair of standout young pitchers on the mound as Marcus Stroman and Sean Manaea begin the finale at 12:37 p.m. ET.
Stroman has been the Blue Jays' best starter this season with an ERA of 2.98, and his ability to work deep into games consistently has been especially valuable. Toronto's bullpen has been asked to carry a heavy load this season due to some short outings from the rotation, but Stroman has pitched at least five innings in 17 of his 20 starts.
Stroman has taken his game to another level over his last five starts with a 1.06 ERA, and last time out, he held Cleveland to one run on five hits over 7 2/3 innings of work. Stroman's walks have been slightly up recently, but his ability to produce ground balls has negated many of those extra runners.
Manaea has followed up his strong rookie campaign with an equally-impressive 2017 season, entering play with a 3.82 ERA over 106 innings of work.
The 25-year-old is coming off one of his more difficult outings, however, in which he allowed four runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings against the Mets. Manaea managed only two strikeouts in that game, though, and typically works closer to a rate of one strikeout per inning.
• One key to Manaea's progression this season has been his growing confidence in pitching inside to righties, especially with his nasty slider. In the 29 at-bats that have ended with a Manaea slider down-and-in to a right-hander's feet, those batters have mustered only two hits, struck out 21 times and whiffed on roughly 62 percent of their swings. It's a real weapon to watch for the young southpaw going forward.
• Stroman was dealing with blister issues in his last outing, but pushed through it and vowed to continue doing so. Blister issues have already forced teammate Aaron Sanchez to the disabled list four times this season, so all eyes will be on Stroman's right hand Thursday.
• Khris Davis has been a hard contact machine this season, and showed that again on Tuesday by hitting a pair of doubles with exit velocities of 104.3 mph and 108.0. His 41 extra-base hits with exit velocities above 100 mph trailed only Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*
LETS GO BLUE JAYS *CLAP, CLAP* *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*
Hey A's...
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img911/724/K02O1z.gif