Rays news and notes

The dish

Tonight: Rays vs. Blue Jays

When/where: 7:10; Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg

TV/radio: Ch. 66; 1250-AM, 680-AM (Spanish)

Probable pitchers

RAYS

RHP James Shields (11-7, 3.68)

BLUE JAYS

RHP Roy Halladay (15-9, 2.68)

Rays tickets: $9-$210, available at Tropicana Field box office (no service charge), by phone (1-888-326-7297), all Ticketmaster outlets and on raysbaseball.com; $2 surcharge for purchases within five hours of that day's game.

Up next: Blue Jays

Today-Thursday

What's new: The Blue Jays (67-63), having lost two of three to the Red Sox, have fallen eight games out of the wild-card spot and can ill afford to lose any more ground. Like the Rays, they boast one of the majors' top pitching staffs: They rank first in ERA at 3.63. The Jays are strong defensively, tied for second in fielding percentage (.987).

Key stat: The Jays have hit .211 on the road against Tampa Bay this season. In nine games against the Rays, they've hit just .233.

Connections: LHP Trever Miller and OFs Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross are former Jays. Jays RHP Shawn Camp is an ex-Ray, and RHP Jesse Litsch, who starts Thursday, is a Pinellas Park product and former Rays batboy.

Series history: Rays lead 9-3 this season, 5-1 at home (3-0 at Disney); Jays lead overall 95-84, 53-38 at Tampa Bay.

Watch for

Strong Shields: Rays starter James Shields has fared well against the Jays in his career (4-1, 2.63 ERA in six starts). The Jays' typical starting lineup has combined to hit .158 (16-101) all time vs. the right-hander.

Acing the ace: Jays ace Roy Halladay may be tough to face, but the Rays have made him look human this season, going 3-0 against the Cy Young Award winner. Halladay is 15-6 against the other AL teams.

Joe Smith, Times staff writer

On deck

Wednesday: vs. Blue Jays, 7:10, Ch. 66. Rays — RHP Matt Garza (10-7, 3.71); Jays — LHP David Purcey (2-4, 6.55)

Thursday: vs. Blue Jays, 7:10, FSN. Rays — RHP Edwin Jackson (10-8, 3.93); Jays — RHP Jesse Litsch (9-7, 4.01)

Friday: vs. Orioles, 7:10, FSN. Rays — LHP Scott Kazmir (9-6, 3.27); Orioles — TBA

Turnaround time

The Rays have made huge strides among MLB teams:

20072008

Runs allowedLast (944)2nd (515)

ERALast (5.53)2nd (3.71)

Opponents BALast (.290)2nd (.244)

Bullpen ERALast (6.16)4th (3.32)

Opponents' BA vs. bullpenLast (.303)1st (.217)

Fewest blown saves12th (21)Tie-2nd (9)

Fielding percentage27th (.980)6th (.986)