| SEASON | CAREER |
| W7 | 8 |
| L8 | 11 |
| G21 | 31 |
| IP131.0 | 194.0 |
| BB35 | 43 |
| SO49 | 89 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W8 | 9 |
| L7 | 7 |
| G21 | 24 |
| IP124.1 | 133.0 |
| BB60 | 63 |
| SO118 | 133 |
Based on Matt Moore 's pitching of late, the Tampa Bay Rays could be in good position to continue their home dominance of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The left-hander tries to win a third consecutive start while looking to help the Rays complete a three-game sweep with a fifth straight home victory over the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Alex Cobb allowed one run over seven innings as Tampa Bay (58-52) secured its 16th straight winning home series over Toronto with a 3-2 victory Wednesday. The Rays are 35-12 against the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field since Toronto last won a series there April 6-8, 2007.
"We seem to struggle for some reason playing in this ballpark." losing pitcher Carlos Villanueva said.There's a good chance that success continues with the ball in the hand of Moore (8-7, 3.84 ERA), who has not allowed a run in 17 2-3 innings despite yielding six hits and three walks in 5 1-3 innings of a 2-0 win over Baltimore on Friday.
Moore last gave up a run in the second inning of a 2-1 home loss to Seattle on July 22. That's his only defeat while recording five wins and posting a 1.88 ERA during his last six starts at Tropicana Field.
"My goal is to compete every night out," Moore told the Rays' official website. "Whatever I have that night, it has to be 100 percent."
In his only previous start versus Toronto, at home, on May 22, Moore gave up two runs and walked four in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-5 victory.
It's uncertain if Rays star Evan Longoria will be in the lineup to support Moore. Longoria is 1 for 7 in two games as the designated hitter after missing 85 because of a partially torn left hamstring.
While manager Joe Maddon plans to be cautious with the slugger, Longoria is 4 for 6 with three home runs against scheduled Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez (7-8, 4.47). The right-hander has allowed 10 runs and three homers in 13 innings over two starts versus Tampa Bay this season. He is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA during his two-year career against the Rays - all in Toronto.
Alvarez is 4-2 with a 4.55 ERA in 10 road starts this season and allowed three runs and a season-high five walks in five innings of a 4-1 loss at Oakland on Thursday.
David Cooper hit his fourth home run and Edwin Encarnacion had an RBI on Wednesday for the Blue Jays (53-57), who have lost eight of 10.
Encarnacion is batting .290 with 29 homers and 75 RBIs this season, but .203 with six RBIs in 23 career games at Tropicana Field.
Out since July 17 with a wrist injury, Toronto slugger Jose Bautista will not return for the finale but has been cleared to resume swinging a bat after undergoing an MRI on Wednesday.
"At that point, it's still proceed with his tolerance to any kind of discomfort," manager John Farrell said. "This will be a cautious approach and we'll monitor it daily."The Blue Jays are 8-12 without Bautista, who has hit .244 with 27 home runs and 65 RBIs in 90 games.
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Brandon Allen | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Reid Brignac | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Desmond Jennings | 7 | .429 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .429 | 1.715 | 1.286 |
| Matt Joyce | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .533 | .200 |
| Jeff Keppinger | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Evan Longoria | 6 | .667 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 2.834 | 2.167 |
| Jose Molina | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Carlos Pena | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Sean Rodriguez | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Luke Scott | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| B.J. Upton | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Ben Zobrist | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .533 | .200 |
 Toronto Blue Jays |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 03, 2012 | Brett Lawrie | Day-to-Day | Left game - rib cage tightness |
| July 26, 2012 | Joel Carreno | 15-Day DL | |
| July 26, 2012 | J.P. Arencibia | 15-Day DL | Broken right hand |
| July 26, 2012 | Adam Lind | 15-Day DL | Mid-back strain |
| July 25, 2012 | J.P. Arencibia | Day-to-Day | Broken right hand |
| July 17, 2012 | Jason Frasor | 15-Day DL | Right forearm tightness |
 Tampa Bay Rays |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 05, 2012 | Ben Zobrist | Day-to-Day | Left game - upper back spasms |
| July 21, 2012 | Luke Scott | 15-Day DL | Right oblique strain |
| July 21, 2012 | Alex Cobb | Day-to-Day | Left game - right knee contusion |
| July 02, 2012 | Hideki Matsui | Day-to-Day | Left game - left hamstring tightness |
| June 30, 2012 | Jeremy Hellickson | Day-to-Day | Left game - bruised right shin |
| June 29, 2012 | David Price | Day-to-Day | Left game - lower back tightness |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Matt Moore pitched up to the lofty recent standards set by the Tampa Bay pitching staff. And when the Rays added some hits and runs, that made things look easy.
Moore threw six sharp innings, Jose Lobaton drove in three runs and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 Thursday for a three-game sweep.
"Our staff and our entire lineup right now, we're playing well," Moore said after winning in the finale of a six-game homestand. "It's a very good time for us in this clubhouse, and there's a lot of looking forward to going on the road right now."
Moore (9-7) gave up one run and two hits, retiring 14 straight batters during one stretch. He won his third straight start, striking out six and walking two.
That kind of pitching has become routine for the Rays, who have allowed more than one run in only six of their last 19 games.
Hitting has been another matter. The Rays took the AL's worst batting average (.230) and lowest scoring output (441 runs) into the game, but Evan Longoria drove in two runs and had three hits.
Jeff Keppinger also had three of Tampa Bay's 13 hits. The Rays got seven runs after scoring only nine in he first five games of the homestand.
Longoria, who missed 85 games with a partially turn hamstring, came inches short of his first home run since April. His RBI double in the eighth inning was close enough for the umpire crew to review before determining it had bounced off a rail and back into play.
It would have been the Rays' first home run in five games.
"With the addition of guys like Longo, I think everybody else is able to relax a bit and gain some confidence, and once you're able to do that, things start rolling," outfielder Matt Joyce said.
Tampa Bay has won 16 straight series against Toronto at Tropicana Field. The Rays have won six of eight games overall while the Blue Jays have lost 15 of their last 19.
"I truly believe it can become contagious, offensively speaking," manager Joe Maddon said. "It's all based on confidence."
The confidence of the Rays' pitching staff has never been higher. It has reached the point where Moore's first two innings on Thursday were considered something of a struggle.
"The start of the game wasn't the way I wanted to start - 27 pitches in the top half," he said. "I just didn't quite have the feel for things there in the first inning."
Rajai Davis led off the game with a double and scored the Blue Jays' run on Moore's balk. It was the only run given up by Moore in his last three starts. The rookie left-hander is 8-2 with a 2.92 ERA since the end of May.
"Obviously I'm extremely pleased with where I've come from the beginning of the season," he said. "After not putting together too many quality starts, now I'm getting a little more hungry for the eighth or ninth inning, just to see what those are like."
An error on first baseman Edwin Encarnacion opened the way for the Rays' three-run second inning off Henderson Alvarez (7-9).
Alvarez gave up 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings.
NOTES: The Blue Jays placed 3B Brett Lawrie on the disabled list in order to give him eight more days to recover from an injury in his rib/oblique area. Toronto will fill Lawrie's roster spot before Friday night's game ... Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann , on the disabled list since May 15 with a fractured right fibula, will make a second rehabilitation start Monday or Tuesday and hopes to return by the end of August. ... Rays DH Luke Scott (strained right oblique) will begin a rehab assignment Friday. ... Ben Zobrist played shortstop for the Rays for the first time since 2009 . . . INF Brooks Conrad has accepted his re-assignment, and the Rays released Matt Mangini to make room for Conrad on the Durham roster.
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Toronto Blue Jays
