Gray faces Blue Jays as a Yankee this time

TORONTO -- A couple of weeks ago, Sonny Gray pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The right-hander was with the Oakland Athletics then, with trade rumors swirling around him as the July 31 deadline approached.

He took the loss to the Blue Jays on July 25, allowing five hits, two walks and four unearned runs while striking out nine in six innings.

Gray was traded to the Yankees on July 31, and Thursday he will make his second start for New York, pitching the rubber match of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.

He will oppose Toronto right-hander Marco Estrada, who is still trying to win for the first time since May 27, despite strong outings in his past two starts.

The Yankees evened the series with an 11-5 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, and the teams are also equal for the season series at 6-6.

Gray, 27, made his Yankees debut Aug. 3 against the Cleveland Indians, taking the loss after allowing four runs (two earned) over six innings. He gave up four hits and three walks while striking out six.

"I feel like I threw the ball OK," Gray said after his start in Cleveland. "At the same time, if I can shut that sixth inning down, it's a completely different ballgame. It's just one of those things that kind of got away from me for a couple of hitters. They took advantage. It gave them all the momentum for the last three innings."

Gray is 4-3 with a 1.59 ERA over his past seven starts. He is 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA in six career starts against the Blue Jays and is 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts at Rogers Centre.

Estrada is 0-5 with 7.39 ERA in 12 starts since his last win. Opposing hitters have batted .294/.380/.542 during that stretch.

He did not factor in the decision Saturday against the Houston Astros when he allowed five hits, two walks and three runs while striking out seven in seven innings.

"I threw the ball well," Estrada said. "Started off a little shaky the first few innings, felt better as the game went on."

He held the Chicago White Sox to four hits and one run in seven innings on July 31.

In three starts against the Yankees this season, Estrada is 1-1 with an 8.22 ERA. He is 4-3 with a 4.68 ERA in 13 career games (12 starts) against the Yankees.

Another outing of close to seven innings by Estrada would be welcomed as the Blue Jays' bullpen has become worn down. Things were so bad Wednesday that Taylor Cole was sent back out for the ninth after finishing the eighth in his major league debut. It wasn't pretty. The right-hander allowed four runs, six hits and one walk, and he hit a batter in a one-inning outing.

"We didn't have a whole lot left down there," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Our bullpen guys have been getting abused a little bit, so that's what happens. I made the decision to take (starter Nick) Tepesch out when I did. I could have gone with maybe one or two other guys a little longer; it might have covered us a little bit."

The Yankees, meanwhile, were feeling good about their 17-hit outburst on Wednesday.

"When our offense was really going good, that's what we were doing, we were getting production from everyone," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "That's good to see."

"Everybody came through today," said New York third baseman Todd Frazier, who had three hits, including a home run, and three RBI. "We needed that. That was a good win for us, a good offensive outburst. Hopefully we build on that."