On Deck will be here all season to provide you with everything you need to know (and a few things you don't) about every Rangers series during the 2015 season.
The Opponent: The Jays just reclaimed first place in the AL East by sweeping the Angels. In the process, they scored 36 runs in the three-game set to show why they've had the league's best offense all season.
Past 2015 Meetings: The Rangers are 1-2 this season with their last meeting coming in Toronto just before the all-star break.
Pitching Matchups: Tuesday — Derek Holland (1-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. Mark Buehrle (13-6, 3.45); Wednesday — Colby Lewis (14-5, 4.29) vs. David Price (3-0, 1.78); Thursday — Yovani Gallardo (10-9, 3.25) vs. Marco Estrada (11-7, 3.27).
What's Hot: Mike Napoli isn't an everyday player, but when he plays, he produces. Napoli is batting .455 in his last four games (11 at-bats) and has two homers and three RBIs in that time. Rougned Odor is batting .360 in his last seven games. Yovani Gallardo and Colby Lewis each worked scoreless outings their last time out of six and seven innings, respectively.
Noted Rangers nemesis Josh Donaldson is in the midst of an MVP season, and in his last five games he's batting .524 with four doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs. Edwin Encarnacion is also getting in on the Blue Jays' homer party with three bombs of his own to go with a .450 batting average in his past five games. David Price struck out nine in eight innings his last time out to improve to 3-0 as a Blue Jay.
What's Not: Delino DeShields is batting .133 with 11 strikeouts in his last 30 at-bats, while Mitch Moreland is hitting .130 in his last six games.
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Mark Buehrle gave up four runs in four innings on seven hits his last time out. Troy Tulowitzki, who always murdered Rangers pitching as a member of the Rockies is now a Blue Jay, but he's batting just .217 in his last five games.
Familiar Faces: Former Rangers prospect Justin Smoak, who was the prized piece in the Cliff Lee trade with Seattle back in 2010, is now a member of the Blue Jays. He has 12 homers and 42 RBIs this year with a .215 batting average.
