Another awful road trip finds the Blue Jays needing a big homestand here to get back into the AL East race. They dropped two of three in Baltimore before pulling a no-show in Houston in a four-game set to drop their record to 17-22, dead last in the division but only five games back of the division-leading Yankees. The Angels lost in Baltimore Sunday but still took two out of three from the Orioles to stay above .500 at 19-18, 5-1/2 games behind the Astros for first place in the AL West.
The Jays have called up Todd Redmond from Triple-A Buffalo to start in the series opener and have designated lefty Jeff Francis for assignment. This move pushes everyone back a day in the rotation. Redmond made one start among his four appearances with the Bisons, posting a 1-1 record with a 4.50 earned run average. He struck out 13 batters, walked two batters and hit two others in 14 innings. The 30 year-old righty, whose birthday was yesterday, earned his first victory of the year with a one-run, five inning performance in relief in Buffalo against Durham one week ago. As for Francis, he lost two of three decisions with a 6.75 ERA with Toronto and was tagged with the loss in Saturday's game in Houston. The 34 year-old Vancouver native may be at the end of the line as he has not posted an ERA below 5.00 in the majors since 2011 with Kansas City.
Series Schedule / Probable Starters
Monday at 1:07 pm ET — C.J. Wilson (2-2, 2.63) vs. Todd Redmond (0-0, 16.62)
Tuesday at 7:07 pm ET — Hector Santiago (2-2, 2.41) vs. Aaron Sanchez (3-3, 4.26)
Wednesday at 7:07 pm ET — Jered Weaver (2-4, 4.44) vs. Drew Hutchison (3-0, 6.17)
Thursday at 7:07 pm ET — Matt Shoemaker (3-3, 5.63) vs R.A. Dickey (1-5, 5.76)
Extra Innings
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20150518094744702