First pitch: 7:07 p.m.
TV/Radio: Sportsnet East, Ontario, West & Pacific, 6:30 p.m. ET. Sportsnet 590 The Fan.
Starters: Henderson Alvarez (2.77 ERA, 0.923 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 4 K, 2 BB) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (3.29 ERA, 1.244 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 5 K, 7 BB).
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The Blue Jays will turn to Henderson Alvarez Thursday as they try win their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays in a matchup of two of the more promising right-handers in the American League.
The Rays will counter with Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 3.29 ERA), who allowed three hits in 8.2 innings of a 3-0 win over New York in his season debut April 8, then gave up five runs on three homers and walked three in five innings of a 13-5 loss at Boston on Saturday.
Hellickson is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts against the Blue Jays – both at Toronto.
As for Alvarez (0-0, 2.77), who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Wednesday, he has recorded two quality starts this season and left with the lead in both but has nothing to show for it.
The Venezuelan allowed a solo homer in six innings of a 4-2 loss to Boston on April 9 and yielded three runs in seven innings of a 6-4 defeat to Baltimore on Saturday.
“I feel I pitched well and gave us a chance to win the game,” Alvarez told the Blue Jays’ official website after his last start. “After that, it’s out of my hands.”
Alvarez gave up four runs on three homers in six innings of a 6-1 loss in his only previous outing versus Tampa Bay on Aug. 26.
Tampa’s Luke Scott is 6 for 20 with three homers and nine RBIs in his last five games since missing three with hamstring tightness. He’s hit .389 (7 of 18) in his last five games at Toronto.
Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is 4 for 5 with a double, triple and home run against Hellickson. He homered for the first time this season at home in Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Rays then went 1 for 3 with an RBI on Wednesday.
Yunel Escobar was 4 for 5 as Toronto (6-5) was held to fewer than three runs for the second time in 2012.
