The Tampa Bay Rays begin a four-game set north of the border on Thursday as they head to Canada to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays are just four games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees, while the Blue Jays currently sit in last place in the division.
Tampa Bay will use this series to try and gain some ground on the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, who are tied in the AL Wild Card standings, one game ahead of the Rays. With one of the hottest pitchers in the American League in Matt Moore taking the mound on Thursday night, the Rays appear well positioned to close that gap.
Both teams have released their lineups for the game. First, the visiting Rays:
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 30, 2012
#Rays lineup: Jennings lf, Upton cf, Zobrist ss, Longoria 3b, Joyce dh, Keppinger 2b, Scott 1b, Lobaton c, Fuld rf, Moore p
And now, the lineups for the Blue Jays:
Lineup: Davis 7 Rasmus 8 Emcarnacion 3 Lind dh Escobar 6 Johnson 4 Sierra 9 Mathis 2 Hechavarria 5 Villanueva
— Blue Jays-Official(@BlueJays) August 30, 2012
First pitch will be at 7:07 p.m. ET.
For more on the Rays, visit DRays Bay and SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on the Blue Jays, check out Bluebird Banter. For even more baseball news, head over to Baseball Nation.