The Oakland Athletics came into this three-game set at Rogers Centre on the back of three wins at Houston. The Toronto Blue Jays had won eight on the bounce though and made it nine straight when they claimed the opener 4-2 last night. Odds are the Jays will take down tonight's contest as well I expect them to cover the runline in the process.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Blue Jays hand the ball to R.A. Dickey (6-10, 3.93) as originally scheduled starter Mark Buehrle's start has been moved back a day. Dickey is 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA in five starts against the A's in a Toronto uniform and he conceded only two runs on five hits in 8 2/3 innings at O.co. Coliseum less than a month ago. He's been extremely sharp since the All Star break going 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA over five starts. The A's will counter with Aaron Brooks (1-0, 2.41 ERA) who's impressed in two starts since joining the club from the Royals conceding two runs on nine hits in 14 1/3 frames. The Jays were one of two teams he faced last season and he was banged around for seven runs on five hits and three walks in just 0.2 innings of work.

2. Oakland's Errors - The A's were charged with two errors in last night's 4-2 loss and they have a major leagues-worst 96 for the season.

3. X-Factor - Edwin Encarnacion has missed the last two games with a finger injury but is likely to return to the lineup tonight. He has a .379 so far this month.

Selection: This is a play on the Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (10*)