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Halladay hopes to end struggles vs. Rays

Aug 26, 2008 - 2:57 PM Toronto (67-63) at Tampa Bay (79-50) 7:10 pm EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- While Roy Halladay has dominated most teams this season, he has struggled against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.

On Tuesday, Halladay seeks his first win in four attempts this year against the American League East leaders, who return home after taking two of three in Chicago.

The 2003 American League Cy Young Award winner, Halladay (15-9, 2.68 ERA) is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his career, ranking third in the AL in each of the pitching "triple crown" categories (ERA, strikeouts and wins). However, the righthander is 0-3 with a 5.32 ERA against the Rays, who are 10-3 overall against the Blue Jays in 2008.

Halladay posted his second straight convincing victory on Thursday, striking out nine over seven innings in a 14-3 win over the Yankees. He allowed three runs and five hits after posting his major league-leading eighth complete game in his previous outing vs. Boston.

The Blue Jays' ace will have his hands full against James Shields (11-7, 3.68), who has been nearly unbeatable at home, going 8-1 with a 2.21 ERA in 14 outings. In six career starts against Toronto, he is 4-1 record and 2.63 ERA. The righthander was sharp in last Tuesday's 4-2 triumph over the Angels, yielding two runs and nine hits over eight frames.

Tampa Bay, which has a 4 1/2-game lead over Boston in the AL East, opens a nine-game homestand. The Rays boast the best home mark in the major leagues at 47-18. After this homestand, however, they will have only seven home games remaining.