The American League is extremely muddled beyond the top three teams, and it figures to be a competitive chase for the second wild card berth. The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers should be two teams in that mix and they will face off in a four-game series this week.
Both teams have dealt with some significant injuries this season but are getting healthier now and have the talent to really get something rolling in the coming months. They are pretty even in talent level, so the home field advantage will help Texas, although Toronto catches a break in that it won’t have to see Rangers ace Yu Darvish.
This will be an intriguing matchup between a pair of teams still aiming to get untracked in 2017.
This series will be contested from Monday, June 20 through Thursday, June 22, 2017 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
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Pitching Matchups
Toronto will begin the series by sending Marco Estrada to the bump. He is 4-5 with a 4.54 ERA on the season. Estrada has an impressive strikeout rate on the season and figures to pitch better moving forward. The Rangers are slated to start Austin Bibens-Dirkx, who is 2-0 with a 3.28 ERA but has the benefit of a small sample size currently and could struggle in this one.
In the second game of the series on Tuesday, the Blue Jays are scheduled to start Francisco Liriano. He is 3-2 with a 5.36 ERA on the year but has been really good in three starts since coming off the disabled list. The Rangers will send out Nick Martinez, who is 1-3 with a 4.67 ERA on the year and doesn’t have the type of stuff to dominate lineups.
On Wednesday Toronto is slated to send out Eric Biagini. He is only 1-6 on the season but has a 4.26 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP, which are solid numbers. Biagini was rocked last time out, giving up six earned runs in just one inning of work against the White Sox. The Rangers will send out Tyson Ross, who is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA after making his season debut last time out. Ross is a solid veteran who will help Texas be favored in this one.
In the series finale, the Blue Jays will start Marcus Stroman, who is 7-3 on the season with a 3.15 ERA. Stroman has solid peripheral numbers and is arguably Toronto’s best starter. The Rangers hope Martin Perez can match him pitch for pitch. Perez is 3-6 with a 4.72 ERA on the season. Perez isn’t a big strikeout guy, which can get him in trouble if ground balls find holes against him.
Getting Healthy
The Rangers were without Ross and Adrian Beltre for a long stretch to begin the season but both have returned to the team. Beltre is the team’s longtime star third baseman and is batting. 296 with a homer, nine RBIs and a .807 OPS in 15 games this season.
Texas lost outfielder Carlos Gomez to an injury early in the season as well but he’s back. Gomez is hitting .253 on the year with six homers, 21 RBIs and a .796 OPS. Cole Hamels is still on the shelf for Texas, though, so Toronto has to feel good about facing the Rangers and not seeing either of their elite starters.
The Blue Jays didn’t have infielders Josh Donaldson or Troy Tulowitzki for a prolonged stretch last month but they are back. Donaldson is batting .300 with eight homers and 16 RBIs on the year in only 28 games played. Tulowitzki has scuffled early on but has an upper-tier bat for a shortstop and should come around as long as he can stay healthy.
Liriano also was out with an injury for several weeks but hopes to help solidify the rotation upon his return.
Player To Watch
Elvis Andrus -- The Rangers’ shortstop is having a career year, adding some offensive pop to his usual stellar defense. Andrus is batting .288 with seven homers, 36 RBIs and 15 stolen bases on the season.
Andrus is known as a light hitter but if he can reach 12-to-15 home runs on the season he will be a valuable piece. The Blue Jays need to keep him in check since there are plenty of other imposing bats in the lineup.
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