It's almost possible to feel bad for the Toronto Blue Jays.
With a winning percentage of .523, they have a better record than four teams currently in third place, as well as the Oakland A's who are in second place in the AL West. That percentage would undoubtedly be even higher if they didn't have to play so many games against Tampa Bay, New York and Boston. In all likelihood, if the Jays played in any other division they'd probably be a playoff contender. Such is life within the toughest division in all of professional sports.
The Rays (80-50, tied for 1st in the AL East) are continuing a short home stand and just completed a 2-1 series win over the Boston Red Sox, capped by a 5-3 comeback win that saw Carl Crawford hit his 100th career home run. They are 6-4 in their last ten games and will be hitting the road after this series, visiting Baltimore, Boston and Toronto.
The Blue Jays (68-62, 4th) are beginning a road trip that will take them to Tampa Bay and New York and are coming off a split of a four game series with the Detroit Tigers. They are 5-5 in their last ten with two of those games going into extra innings. The Jays have beaten the Rays the last four times they've met but are only 2-4 at the Trop this season.
The Blue Jays will start left hander Brett Cecil (11-6, 3.80) tonight and the Rays will counter with Wade Davis (10-9, 4.41), who makes his second start since returning from a short stint on the disabled list.