Points To Ponder

Points To Ponder:
Rays v. Jays
July 18-20

• The Rays are 3-7 over their last 10 games, having lost 7 in a row coming into the break, while the Jays are 6-4 over that same span.
• The Rays are 8.5 games ahead of Toronto in the wildcard race.
• The Rays are 5-1 against Toronto so far this season.

Pitching match-ups:

• Tonight we get Shields v. Burnett. Shields has been a bit (just a bit) of a disappointment to this point so far this season, amassing a record of 7-6 with 5 of his 7 wins coming at home. His ERA stands at 3.83 and he is 3-0 in 4 career starts against the Jays. Burnett is 10-8 this season, but is only 3-5 away from Toronto, his career numbers against the Rays are; 6-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 starts.
• Saturday's match-up is Garza v. Halladay. Garza has been the most consistant Rays pitcher as of late and has shown a lot more composure on the mound since his little run-in with Navi in June. He (Garza) is 7-5 in 17 starts this season with an ERA of 3.96. Garza is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his career against the Jays. Halladay is the Jays Ace and is 11-6 with an ERA of 2.71 this season. In his last start he shut-out the Yankees, allowing just 2 hits.
• Sunday's match-up should be Kaz v. Parrish (although Jackson may get the start for Tampa if Kaz needs more rest coming off the all-star game). Kaz has also been a bit disappointing this season as he has struggled mightily with pitch-count, rarely making it into the sixth inning. Kid-K is 7-5 with an ERA 3.04 and hasn't won since June 27th. Parrish is 1-0 in 3 games while replacing the injured Marcum/McGowan.

I have a feeling that the Rays will be looking to re-establish their offensive prowess today, so I'd look for Tampa to come out swinging in a desperate attempt to end this losing streak right now, especially considering the fact that they face Toronto's Ace tommorrow night.

I give the series to the Rays 2-1 (but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Garza show up the Jays' Ace (Halladay) on Sat. and the Rays pulling off the sweep.)

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