The Toronto Blue Jays wrap up a 15-game stretch against teams with losing records with a three-game weekend set against the woeful Kansas City Royals at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays are 7-5 during this period, which is not horrible when you consider how many regulars have been out of the lineup. But it's also not great when you consider Toronto has played some truly terrible teams -- such as the Oakland A's and Colorado Rockies on a just-completed 4-2 road trip.
They've also been lucky that the Texas Rangers have completely lost their way, helping the Blue Jays leap into the third and final wild-card spot in the American League.
Here's a look at the Blue Jays-Royals series.
Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT: Toronto LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-5, 3.63 ERA) vs. Kansas City RHP Collin Snider (0-0, 4.22 ERA)
Saturday, 3:07 p.m. ET / 12:07 p.m. PT: Pitchers TBA
Sunday, 1:37 p.m. ET / 10:37 a.m. PT: Toronto TBA vs. Kansas City LHP Cole Ragans (6-4, 3.00 ERA)
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Latest on the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays (77-63) settled for winning two of three in Oakland after the lowly A's posted a 5-2 win in the series finale on Wednesday.
After 10 consecutive games with four or more runs (an eternity for inconsistent Toronto), the bats couldn't do much against A's starter J.P. Sears or the bullpen.
An Ernie Clement RBI single and Davis Schneider's seventh home run of the year accounted for Toronto's offence.
Carlos Perez hit a two-run homer off Toronto starter Hyun Jin Ryu and former Blue Jay Kevin Smith connected for a three-run shot off reliever Trevor Richards.
The Blue Jays are a half-game ahead of the free-falling Rangers for the third and final wild-card spot after Texas was swept by the Houston Astros in a three-game series this week.
Toronto is two games back of the Seattle Mariners for the second wild-card spot.
Latest on the Royals
The Royals, who are just ahead of the A's in the battle to avoid last place in the MLB standings, won their first series since Aug. 1-3 this week when they took two of three against the also-bad Chicago White Sox.
The Royals have lost 22 of their last 30 after falling 6-4 in the series finale against Chicago.
What's more, the worst road team in MLB hasn't won a series away from Kansas City since May.
There are bright spots, though, especially second-year shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who is two homers away from becoming the first Royal to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season. Witt, 23, was picked second overall in the 2019 MLB Draft.
Outfielder Nelson Velazquez, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in late July, has nine home runs in 23 games with the Royals and homered in all three games against the White Sox.
The Royals are 25th in OPS and 28th in team ERA -- ahead of only the Rockies and A's.
Kansas City hasn't made the playoffs since beating the Blue Jays in the ALCS and then downing the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series.
Injury Report
The Blue Jays announced Friday that star shortstop Bo Bichette (right quad strain) has been activated from the injured list. He's set to start at shortstop in the series opener
Designated hitter/first baseman Brandon Belt (back/illness) remained out of the starting lineup on Friday, but was expected to be available off the bench.
Third baseman Matt Chapman (finger) started to hit and throw on Friday. There is not a target date for his return.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays said catcher Danny Jansen (finger) has underwent surgery and will miss at least the rest of the regular season.
Reliever Erik Swanson (thoracic spine inflammation) is scheduled to throw a rehab outing for triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. The hope is he can return to the Blue Jays on Monday.
Ragans Rolling
Ragans, Sunday's starter for Kansas City, has thrown 21 consecutive scoreless innings.
The left-hander, 25, was the AL pitcher of the month in August with a 1.72 ERA across six starts.
The Royals acquired the hard-throwing Ragans from Texas in the deal for reliever Aroldis Chapman at the end of June.
The Rangers picked Ragans 30th overall in the 2016 MLB Draft. He underwent two Tommy John surgeries in 2018 and '19.
City of Good Neighbours
Despite all the injuries, the Blue Jays have avoided disaster thanks in large part to some call-ups from triple-A Buffalo.
Schneider has been the feel-good story of the season, while Clement (12 hits, including a homer and six RBIs in nine games since recall Aug. 28) and Spencer Horwitz (four hits, including a homer and three RBIs in five games since Sept. 1 addition) have also loomed large for Toronto.
The little-used Mason McCoy was sent down to Buffalo to make room for Bichette.
Season Series
The Blue Jays won three of four against the host Royals in the second series of the season in early April.
Kevin Gausman and Kikuchi both picked up wins in solid starts, while Jose Berrios was lit up for eight runs in 5.2 innings in a series-opening 9-5 loss. Alek Manoah, no longer a factor in Toronto, pitched well for the win in the other game.
Out of Town
The Rangers are home to the A's, while the Astros, who lead the Mariners by a half-game in the AL West, entertain the all-but-out-of-it San Diego Padres.
The Mariners are in Tampa for a tough series against the wild-card-leading Rays. Seattle won the opener 1-0 on Thursday. The Boston Red Sox, five games back of the Blue Jays, entertain the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles.
Up Next
A 10-game homestand continues with a huge four-game series against the Rangers, starting Monday.
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