Blue Jays at Phillies
Although J.A. Happ enjoyed a brief but successful run with the Philadelphia Phillies to begin his major-league career, the 33-year-old also has made the most of his starts against the team that selected him in the third round of the 2004 draft. Happ will vie for his fourth win in as many career outings versus the Phillies on Thursday as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays look to continue their surge in the finale of the four-game interleague series
Edwin Encarnacion belted his fifth homer in as many contests and Josh Donaldson went deep for the second straight outing in Wednesday's 7-2 victory by the Blue Jays, who have won 18 of their last 26 games. Encarnacion is 9-for-20 with 10 RBIs and as many runs scored during his five-game hitting streak and Donaldson is 13-for-31 with 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored during his eight-game stretch. While Toronto is making a charge toward the penthouse in the American League East, stumbling Philadelphia (30-36) is heading in the other direction with 19 losses in its last 25 contests to drop a season-worst six games under .500. Cody Asche highlighted his three-hit performance on Wednesday by homering for the second time in four games, driving in three runs and scoring four times in that stretch.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Sportsnet-1 (Toronto), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (7-3, 3.70 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Aaron Nola (5-5, 2.98)
Happ overcame three homers and four runs overall on Saturday to record his team-leading seventh victory in an 11-6 triumph over Baltimore. The veteran looks to rebound versus Philadelphia, against which he has allowed three runs and posted a 1.56 ERA while limiting the club to a .194 batting average. Happ did struggle with his control in those outings, however, as he issued 10 walks in 17 1/3 innings.
Nola has alternated wins and losses over his last six starts, falling on the wrong side Saturday as he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings of an 8-0 shellacking by Washington. The performance was a far cry from his previous one as the 23-year-old struck out nine over six scoreless frames in an 8-1 rout of Milwaukee. Nola struggled in his one career start versus Toronto, issuing four walks to drive up his pitch count before exiting after five innings in a no-decision.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia's struggling rookie 1B Tommy Joseph is 0-for-16 with five strikeouts in his last four games.
2. Toronto 2B Devon Travis has recorded multi-hit performances in each contest of the series.
3. Phillies 2B Cesar Hernandez is 4-for-10 with a homer, two RBIs and as many runs scored in the set.