Athletics and Blue Jays square off in series rubber match

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Sunday, June 9, 2024

Toronto Blue Jays (31-33, fifth in the AL East) vs. Oakland Athletics (26-40, fourth in the AL West)

Oakland, California; Sunday, 4:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Bowden Francis (2-2, 9.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Athletics: Mitch Spence (4-3, 3.86 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 37 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.

Oakland is 26-40 overall and 15-19 at home. The Athletics have hit 75 total home runs to rank fourth in the AL.

Toronto has a 31-33 record overall and a 15-18 record on the road. The Blue Jays have a 19-29 record in games when they have given up at least one home run.

Sunday's game is the third time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: JJ Bleday has 18 doubles, three triples and nine home runs for the Athletics. Zachary Gelof is 7-for-36 with three doubles, two home runs and three RBI over the last 10 games.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the Blue Jays with a .294 batting average, and has 12 doubles, seven home runs, 36 walks and 30 RBI. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is 9-for-34 with six RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 3-7, .201 batting average, 3.63 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

Blue Jays: 6-4, .218 batting average, 3.73 ERA, outscored by eight runs

INJURIES: Athletics: Paul Blackburn: 60-Day IL (foot), Lucas Erceg: 15-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Muller: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ross Stripling: 15-Day IL (elbow), Esteury Ruiz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Darell Hernaiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Alex Wood: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Blue Jays: Jordan Romano: 15-Day IL (elbow), Alek Manoah: 15-Day IL (elbow), Yariel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (spine)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.