The red-hot Toronto Blue Jays take aim at their seventh straight win on Monday when they open a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre. Rene Robert Avalanche Jersey . Toronto has moved two games up on the New York Yankees in the American League East and is atop the division this late into a season for the first time since July 6, 2000. The Jays enter this matchup on the heels of an impressive three-game sweep of the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics. On Sunday, J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings, Jose Bautista knocked in two runs and Toronto rolled, 3-1. Happ (4-1) scattered four hits, walked three and struck out seven, and Edwin Encarnacion homered in the Blue Jays ninth win in 10 tries. "Were playing together as a team, pitching good," Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes said. "Good defense behind the guys, timely hitting, winning teams do that kind of stuff." The Blue Jays lead the majors with 70 home runs and have homered in eight straight contests. They havent homered in nine consecutive contests since April 27-May 5, 2012. One player who wouldnt mind a few longballs on Monday is righty Drew Hutchison, wholl be shooting for his third straight win. Hutchison followed up his first-ever shutout by beating the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday to improve to 3-3 with a 3.45 ERA. Hutchison has split two starts versus the Rays, pitching to a 5.79 ERA in those meetings. Tampa, meanwhile, will counter with veteran lefty Erik Bedard, who is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA. Bedard has filled in nicely for the Rays in the wake of injuries to Matt Moore and Jeremy Hellickson and is 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA over his last five starts. Bedard, though, absorbed the loss to Oakland on Wednesday, as he surrendered three runs (1 earned) and just one hit - a home run - over 5 1/3 innings. He also walked three batters. Tampa comes into Mondays opener playing its best baseball of the season as well. The Rays swept the Boston Red Sox over the weekend and have won four in a row. Tampa completed the sweep on Sunday, as Sean Rodriguezs three-run, pinch-hit homer helped power a five-run seventh inning, and Tampa Bay sent the Red Sox to their 10th consecutive loss with an 8-5 decision. Evan Longoria went 3-for-5 with a homer and a pair of runs scored, and Yunel Escobar drove in two while setting off a benches-clearing incident late in the contest. The contentious victory was also Joe Maddons 700th as Rays manager. Joel Peralta (2-3), who blew a two-run lead in the seventh but was rescued by the Tampa offense, was credited with the win. Leading by five in the seventh, Escobar stole third and the Red Sox bench started jawing at him from the dugout. He talked back and started walking toward their bench, before Johnny Gomes ran in from left field and both benches cleared. Gomes, Escobar and Rodriguez were all ejected after the incident. "What was the score, 8-3? It was a five-run lead in the seventh inning. So thats not even nearly as egregious as last year in the playoffs," Maddon said of the incident. Tampa has split four games with the Jays this season. Gabriel Landeskog Jersey . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. A.J. Greer Avalanche Jersey . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-joe-sakic-avalanche-jersey/ . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field.EDMONTON -- Oilers captain Andrew Ference has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions. Ference has worked on behalf of the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and other charitable organizations since signing with the team last summer. The veteran defenceman, who brought the community fitness-oriented November Project to Edmonton from Boston, was named captain just a couple off months after signing a US$13-million, four-year deal with the Oilers. Tyson Jost Avalanche Jersey. . Ference is the third Oilers player to win the King Clancy. Ethan Moreau won the award in 2009 and current team president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe won in 1990. Former Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron was the 2013 recipient. The Edmonton native will be honoured at the NHL awards gala next week in Las Vegas. ' ' '