NEWS » The Blue Jays defeated the Washington Nationals 2-0 on

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays Will Grier Jersey , who have had trouble winning at home for stretches this season, have a chance for their second consecutive series sweep at the Rogers Centre,

Saturday afternoon and have won the first two contests of the three-game interleague series.

It was Toronto’s first shutout since Aug. 10, a stretch of 117 games.

Toronto (32-38) will send out right-hander Sam Gaviglio (2-2, 3.66 ERA) to try for the sweep Sunday afternoon. Washington (37-30) will counter with right-hander Tanner Roark (3-7, 3.63).

The Blue Jays swept the Baltimore Orioles in four games in their previous home series June 7-10 before dropping three in a row to the Tampa Bay Rays from Monday through Wednesday at Tropicana Field. Their home record for the season is 18-19.

Toronto’s six-game win streak at home followed an 1-10 drought at the Rogers Centre. The six-game win streak is their longest at home since they won seven in a row July 2-8, 2016.

The Nationals, meanwhile, have been shut out three times in their past five games and are in a 2-5 funk after an 11-4 surge.

“We’ve had some pitches to hit, we just didn’t hit them,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “It’s surprising http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-christian-miller-jersey , but it happens. You run into good pitchers.”

Washington outfielder Bryce Harper was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Saturday and is in a 1-for-11 drought with three walks. He also has been hit twice by pitches.

“I watch him and he gets a little frustrated,” Martinez said. “The biggest is just to keep him level-headed and let him go out there and just do his thing. He is one of the best players in the game, he’s going to carry us, I know he is.

“He had a couple of pitches to hit (Saturday) and fouled them back. Usually, he typically hits those pitches, and hits them really hard and really far.”

Said Harper: “They’ve thrown a lot of heaters the past two days, more than I think as a team we’ve generally seen. But you’ve got to make adjustments and get pitches we can hit and not miss them.

“Good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week. That’s baseball … just have to keep grinding, keep going. I’m feeling great, just missing pitches.”

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are getting production from second baseman Devon Travis Jordan Scarlett Jersey , who hit a two-run homer for the second game in a row Saturday. He was coming back from knee surgery last season and was being given one day off every three games.

“The plan was going into the season that we’d protect his knee a little bit until he started feeling good and we could extend that a little bit,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “We’re at that point now. The kid has always hit, he’s a real good hitter, everybody knows it’s just a matter of time. He might have been a little tentative early in the year, too, conscious of his knee a little bit. But two big games in a row here and he’s been really good since he’s come back.”

He had been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on April 29 as he struggled and returned May 22. In his past 18 games, he is batting .333 with one double, one triple, three home runs and eight RBIs.

Roark allowed three runs, six hits and two walks in six innings in a 3-0 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday. He has never faced the Blue Jays.

Gaviglio gave up five runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings Monday in a loss to Rays after shutting out the Yankees in seven innings of a no-decision June 6. He has one career start against Washington and took the loss on May 24, 2017 Jonah Williams Jersey , when he was with the Seattle Mariners. He allowed five runs (one earned) and six hits in six innings in the game at Washington.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP)Matthew Stafford is rolling along, and the Detroit Lions are starting to pick up wins. Just don’t ask coach Jim Caldwell about the playoff possibilities. The Lions visit Chicago and all that’s on his mind is beating the Bears and keeping the win streak going on Sunday. ”I’m not concerned with (the playoffs),” he said. ”I’m concerned with the Bears.” The Lions (5-4) come into the game with back-to-back wins after dropping three in a row. They beat Green Bay easily and followed that up by taking out Cleveland last week, with Stafford combining to throw for five touchdowns. Considering the Packers are missing the injured Aaron Rodgers and the Browns still are seeking their first win, Detroit took advantage of a lighter stretch in the schedule. That continues with Chicago (3-6). The Bears were starting to show some promise prior to their bye, posting back-to-back wins for the first time since 2015 and then hanging with NFC South leader New Orleans on the road. But a loss to the Packers last week wiped out the good vibe and renewed pressure on coach John Fox. Detroit, meanwhile, comes in tied with Green Bay for second in the NFC North, two games behind Minnesota. The Lions have a Thanksgiving date with the Vikings at home. But first, they have to avoid a letdown against Chicago. Here are some things to know as Detroit goes for its third straight win and the Bears attempt to avoid their third straight loss: ON TARGET: Stafford comes into the game ranked fourth in the NFL in passing this season and on quite a role in recent weeks. He has thrown for 1 http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-drew-sample-jersey ,033 yards five touchdowns and an interception the past three games. His completion rate during that stretch is 67.3 percent and his passer rating 111.6. Detroit is 3-5 at Chicago during Stafford’s career. He has only one 300-yard game at Soldier Field – in 2011, when he threw 63 passes in a lopsided loss – and he struggled in a 17-14 loss early last season. Stafford got intercepted twice and the Lions’ offense failed to score a touchdown in that game. ”We played about as poorly as we can play,” Stafford said. ”Their defense played well, we didn’t execute really at any position at a good enough level to probably win the game, so it’s a motivating factor looking at that tape.” HEATING UP: Fox won a replay challenge last week and cost his team possession near the goal line in the process. That plus the fact that Chicago was coming off a bye and Green Bay had a short week with a Monday night game raised the heat on him a few more degrees. Fox decided to challenge the spot after Benny Cunningham was ruled out near the end zone. The problem was the replay showed Cunningham lost control of the ball just before hitting the pylon. The result was a lost fumble and a touchback rather than a first-and-goal for Chicago. It was not a good moment for Fox. The coach who led Carolina and Denver to the Super Bowl is 12-29 in 2+ seasons with the Bears. ”He’s won places, too,” guard Kyle Long said. ”He’s got that knowledge, and I’ve never won so I don’t know what that’s like. But I know what it’s like when the outside’s turning on you on the inside. You’ve got to just kinda circle the wagons. That’s kind of the spot we’ve been in the last few years, unfortunately.” CATCHING ON: Tight end Eric Ebron put Detroit ahead to stay with a 29-yard touchdown catch last week. Maybe that can be a turning point for him. Though he has been a regular target for Stafford, the 24-year-old Ebron hasn’t delivered as consistently as fans would like. The Lions drafted him 10th overall in 2014 – two spots ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. Ebron’s reception totals increased from 25 to 47 to 61 in his first three seasons, but he has 20 catches for 234 yards this season. GROUNDED: The Bears will need to get more from their running game after managing 55 yards on 17 attempts. Just about all of it came from Jordan Howard Germaine Pratt Jersey , who had 54 yards on 15 carries. On the plus side for the Bears, the Lions have been struggling to stop the run since Haloti Ngata (elbow) went on injured reserve. They have allowed 136.8 yards rushing in past four games without him after holding opponents to 74.6 over the first five. HOLDING ON: Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw for a career-high 297 yards and a touchdown last week. But the rookie also got sacked five times, bringing his total to 16 in five starts. That’s not all on his line. ”The sacks are more so me holding onto the football than a breakdown in protection so they’ve been doing an awesome job,” Trubisky said. ”And I just have to continue to go through my progressions, get the ball out and find the check-downs.” —