Blue Jays at Tigers
The Toronto Blue Jays are buried in the cellar of the American League East and the Detroit Tigers are struggling to stay out of last place in the AL Central, yet both teams remain in striking distance of a playoff spot. Both teams will look to put disappointing first halves behind them as they open a three-game series in Detroit on Friday night.
The Blue Jays are five games out of the second wild card but face a daunting 10-game road trip that will be followed by stops at division leaders Boston and Cleveland. All-Star Justin Smoak had 23 homers and 56 RBIs in the first half but shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and third baseman Josh Donaldson missed a combined 76 games due to injury. While Toronto lost nine of its first 10 to open the season, Detroit was hovering around the .500 mark in mid-June before an eight-game skid started a spiral that has the team 6 1/2 games out of a wild card and fueled speculation that the Tigers will be major sellers at the trade deadline. Slugger Miguel Cabrera, who labored through a pedestrian first half, recently groused about the swirling trade rumors and made headlines at the break concerning the crisis in his native Venezuela, saying "they'll kill me" if he returns to his country while adding that he's "tired of paying protection money so they don't kidnap my mother"
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Toronto), FSN Detroit
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays RH Aaron Sanchez (0-2, 4.85 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Justin Verlander (5-6, 4.73)
Sanchez returned from an absence of nearly two months due to blister issues and was hammered by Houston, lasting 1 2/3 innings and allowing a career-high eight runs on seven hits. It was the first appearance since May 19 and only the sixth of the season for Sanchez, who went 15-2 in 2016. He has a 2.00 in five appearances against Detroit and has held Cabrera and Victor Martinez to a combined 0-for-16.
Verlander closed the first half with back-to-back starts versus Cleveland, getting shelled for seven runs in 3 1/3 innings on July 2 before rebounding with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball six days later in a hard-luck loss. The 34-year-old, who has won only once in his last nine outings (versus Kansas City on June 27), is 3-1 with a 3.61 ERA in eight starts at home. Jose Bautista is 6-for-19 with two homers off Verlander.
WALK-OFFS
1. Donaldson is 6-for-10 with a homer and six RBIs during a four-game hitting streak.
2. Cabrera has one extra-base hit over the last 10 games.
3. Smoak is batting .305 on the road - 20 points higher than at home.