Upcoming Series: Mariners @ Blue Jays (July 20-22)

Well, taking 2 of 3 from the Orioles was good. We currently sit 2 games back in the AL West behind the slumping Angels. In the wild card chase, we are 1 back of the Wild Card leading Cleveland Indians, who aren't playing the best ball either.

Upcoming Series:

The upcoming series in Toronto should be a sweep for us. I would love to see that happen. My bias aside; do I believe it will happen? No. Here's why. Halladay, the prospective game 3 starter is always tough to beat. I hope I'm wrong and that we sweep though! The Jays start this next series rather cold, winning only 4 of their last 10. Their record at home is 26-19, so they are tough to beat in Rogers Centre. Their last series against the Yankees was very unsuccessful, dropping 3 of 4. We've GOT to beat the teams that we're supposed to beat, and the Blue Jays are one of those teams.

The Pitching:

They come in with the 7th best team ERA in the AL, which is in middle. They are at the league average in saves also, so they get their fair share of saves. One plus for us, the Blue Jays don't walk guys, so that fits right into our already, seemingly unbreakable habit of not walking. They are 10th of 14 in walks allowed. Batters don't hit well off them, seeing how they have the 4th lowest batting average against, and 10 points below league average. The bullpen does blow saves too, with BJ Ryan out for the season. It will be important to get the starters out of there ASAP. They don't give up all that many hits, but when they do, they give up the long ball. 3 in every 25 hits they give up leave the yard, which is a considerable amount. They have a low team WHIP and their K/BB ratio is great too. Tough pitching.

The Hitting:

Toronto currently sits in the bottom half of quite a few offensive catagories. They are 10th in runs scored, being about 15 runs below AL average. Likewise, they are 10th in hits, about 30 or so below AL average. They do, however, get their fair share of extra base hits. They are tied for 3rd in the AL with 108 long balls, and are also 3rd in doubles. That being said about their extra base hits ability, those teams tend to have lower averages (power numbers, average tends to go down), and they are no exception. They are way back in 11th in AL team batting average, about 10 points below league average. They are middle of the pack, literally, in walks drawn, at 7th. Our pitchers shouldn't have to worry about the Jays taking off when they get on base, they are rock bottom in the AL in that category.

The Individuals:

Their hot hitters coming into the game are the following: Alex Rios, who has basically just had a high average. Troy Glaus comes in with a lower average in the last week, but more RBIs and more long balls. Lyle Overbay comes in with a high average too, but no production other than an average. Aaron Hill has pretty much done it all, so look out for him. Frank Thomas, having recently reached the 500 career homerun milestone, is always a long ball threat with his long, powerful stroke. Roy Halladay. Need I say more? Despite an era higher than usual, he's still 10-3.

Keys to the Series:

The Mariners are going to have to continue to score early, which we've been fairly good at as of late. The quicker we knock out the starters, the better. We would love to see a lot of the Toronto bullpen and their long-haired relievers.

Notable Stats at Rogers Centre:

-Beltre: .321 3 homeruns
-Sexson: .347 5 homeruns
-Betancourt: Hit game winning homerun against BJ Ryan last year