Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays: Series preview

The series will feature starts from a couple of the free agent acquisitions the Blue Jays made this off-season.

Game One: 

Tanner Roark is scheduled to start the opener on Friday night against Tampa and has had two very different results so far this season. He made his Blue Jays debut on July 28 against his former team the Washington Nationals and pitched five innings with five strikeouts, only giving up one earned run in a 5-1 Blue Jays win.

Roark’s second start didn’t go nearly as well, pitching against the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 7. He only lasted three innings and gave up four earned runs, three hits, and five walks.

Two of the three hits were for home runs. Roark will try to get back on track against Tampa’s mediocre offence.

Game Two: 

Chase Anderson will start game two on Saturday night. He made his Blue Jays debut last weekend against the Red Sox after starting the season on the IL with an oblique strain.

Anderson only threw three innings in his debut, and looked fine only allowing one earned run. It will likely take one or two more starts to get him up to the point where he can pitch deeper into games.

Anderson was signed to add depth to the back end of the rotation. He should provide plenty of this now that he’s healthy.

Game Three: 

Matt Shoemaker will start the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. He’s another pitcher who has had mixed results so far.

Shoemaker is coming off of a strong outing on Sunday against the Red Sox. He struck out six batters over six innings and only allowing two earned runs.

Shoemaker’s given up five home runs already and that number will need to come down if he’s going to be successful this season. However, he’s got the talent to be Toronto’s third best pitcher behind Hyun-Jin Ryu and Nate Pearson.