Blue Jays and Rays play in series rubber match

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Tampa Bay Rays (19-23, fourth in the AL East) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (21-21, second in the AL East)

Toronto; Thursday, 3:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Zack Littell (2-5, 4.40 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30 strikeouts); Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (3-3, 3.97 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 40 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blue Jays -170, Rays +140; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays meet on Thursday with the winner claiming the three-game series.

Toronto is 21-21 overall and 12-9 at home. The Blue Jays have gone 3-6 in games decided by one run.

Tampa Bay is 19-23 overall and 8-6 in road games. The Rays are 12-1 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Thursday's game is the third meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has eight doubles and four home runs for the Blue Jays. Alejandro Kirk is 17 for 40 with a double and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Jonathan Aranda leads the Rays with a .339 batting average, and has nine doubles, six home runs, 17 walks and 20 RBIs. Taylor Walls is 9 for 30 with three RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 5-5, .289 batting average, 4.70 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

Rays: 5-5, .238 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored by nine runs

INJURIES: Blue Jays: Max Scherzer: 60-Day IL (thumb), Andres Gimenez: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Erik Swanson: 60-Day IL (hand), Ryan Burr: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Sandlin: 15-Day IL (back), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Rays: Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Jake Mangum: 10-Day IL (groin), Jonny Deluca: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kevin Kelly: 15-Day IL (glute), Josh Lowe: 10-Day IL (oblique), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.