Blue Jays host the Yankees to start 3-game series

New York Yankees (68-53, second in the AL East) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (59-64, fourth in the AL East)

Toronto; Friday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Yankees: Gerrit Cole (6-5, 3.35 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 87 strikeouts); Blue Jays: Shane Bieber (3-2, 5.48 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 32 strikeouts)

LINE: Yankees -155, Blue Jays +128; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays host the New York Yankees on Friday to start a three-game series.

Toronto is 59-64 overall and 31-32 at home. The Blue Jays have a 20-12 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.

New York is 68-53 overall and 37-26 on the road. Yankees hitters have a collective .411 slugging percentage to rank second in the AL.

Friday's game is the eighth time these teams square off this season. The Yankees are up 4-3 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ernie Clement has 28 doubles, a triple and nine home runs for the Blue Jays. Alejandro Kirk is 12 for 34 with a home run over the past 10 games.

Ben Rice has 20 doubles, three triples and 32 home runs for the Yankees. Trent Grisham is 12 for 42 with five doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jays: 6-4, .233 batting average, 3.69 ERA, outscored by five runs

Yankees: 6-4, .213 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

INJURIES: Blue Jays: Jake Bloss: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jonatan Clase: 10-Day IL (foot), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (foot), Lenyn Sosa: 60-Day IL (wrist), Luis Urias: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Jose Berrios: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trey Yesavage: 15-Day IL (knee), Patrick Corbin: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Cody Ponce: 60-Day IL (knee), Joe Mantiply: 60-Day IL (knee), Yimi Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Addison Barger: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Santander: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Yankees: Carlos Rodon: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kervin Castro: 15-Day IL (elbow), Clarke Schmidt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Aaron Judge: 60-Day IL (rib), Cody Bellinger: 10-Day IL (leg), Giancarlo Stanton: 10-Day IL (leg)

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