A pair of American League teams open up a weekend series on the diamond in search of a win in the Lone Star State. The Toronto Blue Jays are on the road as they travel to face the Texas Rangers in the opening game of a three-game series Friday night. Toronto took three of four on the road from Baltimore as they won the finale of the series 4-1 Wednesday night. Texas fell 4-3 in 10 innings on the road to Houston in the rubber game of their three-game set Wednesday night. In the first series this season between the teams, the Blue Jays took two of three at home April 8-10 in the opening series of the year.
Toronto won three of four from Baltimore in the first of three series with the Orioles in the final month of the season as they prevailed in the finale Wednesday night. The Blue Jays entered Thursday third in the AL East, 6.5 games behind the Yankees for the top spot in the division. They held a 4.5-game advantage over the Orioles for the final wild card spot in the American League playoff field. On Wednesday night, Alejandro Kirk (run, RBI) paced Toronto with three hits while Santiago Espinal (run) and Raimel Tapia each added a pair in the victory. Alek Manoah (14-7) was lights out as he threw eight innings, allowing one run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts to earn the win. Jordan Romano worked a 1-2-3 ninth, fanning two, for his 31st save of the year.
Ross Stripling is on the mound for the Blue Jays as he makes his 28th appearance and 20th start of t he season in this contest. He comes in 7-4 with one save, a 3.03 ERA, a 1.037 WHIP, 19 walks and 94 strikeouts over 107 innings of work on the year. Stripling earned the win in his last start, which came Sunday on the road against the Pirates. He threw six innings, allowing three runs on two hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in an eventual 4-3 Toronto victory. In his last three starts, Stripling is 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, four walks and 20 strikeouts over 18 innings of work. Stripling makes his fourth career appearance and second start against the Rangers in this contest. He comes in with no record, a 7.50 ERA, a 1.833 WHIP, six walks and three strikeouts over six innings of work against them. Stripling didn’t factor in the decision in his lone career outing at Globe Life Field, which was a start with the Dodgers on July 29, 2020. He threw four innings, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in a game the Dodgers won 7-4.