TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ will take the mound against Luis Severino on Saturday in a repeat of the Opening Day matchup won by the New York Yankees.

With the July 31 deadline for trades without waivers looking http://www.cardinalscheapstore.com/zach … rsey-cheap , Happ is considered a prime candidate to be dealt and the Yankees would be one of the interested teams, according to speculation.

The possibility of Severino (13-2, 1.98 ERA) and Happ (10-4, 4.03) soon becoming teammates adds another intriguing dimension to their matchup in the second game of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays started the series with a 6-2 victory Friday night with Justin Smoak capping a five-run second inning with a three-run homer.

The Yankees (56-29) are 7-4 against the Blue Jays (41-46) in the season series so far, including a 4-3 record at the Rogers Centre as they complete their third and final series of the season there this weekend.

The win Friday ended the Blue Jays’ four-game losing streak against the Yankees.

Severino is an obvious choice for the All-Star Game to be played at Washington’s Nationals Park on July 17.

Happ is one of the few Blue Jays with a legitimate chance to go to the game.

Severino will be a leading candidate to win the American League Cy Young Award if he continues his current pace. He leads the majors in wins and is second in ERA.

The 24-year-old enters Saturday with a scoreless streak of 13 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 15 straight starts, the longest such streak by a Yankees pitcher since Ron Guidry had a 15-game streak April 8-June 22, 1978. The only longer streak by a Yankee is 20 set by Russ Ford during the 1910 and 1911 seasons.

“I always feel great when Sevy’s on the mound,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The record in a lot of ways speaks for itself. The ability to get deep into games. He’s been really good against the elite competition Andy Isabella Jersey , it seems like, as well.

“He’s putting himself in that conversation as one of the best in the game. There’s no doubt about it.”

Severino is 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Blue Jays and 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two starts against them this season. In five career starts at the Rogers Centre, he is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA.

Happ had his worst start of the season Sunday when he allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

He did not allow a run until the fifth when Nicholas Castellanos did most of the damage with a grand slam.

“I felt like I was a pitch away from getting out of it,” Happ said after the game. “Again, I look at the hard-hit balls and there was two or three today. I didn’t feel like I was in the middle of the zone getting hurt today, but it is what it is. It’s not a pretty outing.”

His only start against the Yankees this season was a loss on Opening Day, March 29, when he allowed three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings as Severino picked up the win. In 17 career starts against the Yankees Jamel Dean Jersey , he is 8-3 with a 3.53 ERA.

The Yankees have lost five of their past seven road games and are 23-16 in away games this season. They are 7-8 when visiting American League East cities this season.

The Blue Jays are 13-20 against AL East teams. They are 4-3 on their homestand and are 23-22 at home for the season.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have invested a lot in tight ends, desperately hoping to turn a weakness into a strength.Detroit drafted Iowa star T.J. Hockenson early in the first round of the NFL draft in April a month after signing veteran Jesse James .“We did a great job this offseason, getting the pieces that we thought we were missing,” Lions tight end Michael Roberts said.Roberts was referring to the entire team, but improving the options at his position was clearly a point of emphasis for the front office one year after it appeared to make a mistake.The Lions let Eric Ebron go before the 2018 season and failed to effectively replace him, leading to one of the factors that slowed down Matthew Stafford and the offense. Ebron , meanwhile D.K. Metcalf Jersey , flourished with the Indianapolis Colts.Levine Toilolo, Luke Willson, Hakeem Valles and Roberts combined to make just 45 catches last season. Only the Miami Dolphins had fewer receptions from tight ends in the NFL last season.Toilolo, Willson and Valles didn’t return to play in Detroit, and Roberts’ job appears to be in jeopardy.“It’s just competition,” Roberts said. “It’s no secret we haven’t had the best couple of years at the tight end position. I’m hoping we’re one of the best tight end corps in the league.”Hockenson and James will likely play a lot, giving Stafford a pair of solid targets at tight end to go along with receivers Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola.The 6-foot-5 Nick Bosa Jersey , 251-pound Hockenson was a second-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten player last season. He led Iowa with 760 yards receiving and was second on the team with 49 receptions and six touchdowns.Hockenson is the first tight end taken No. 8 or higher since San Francisco selected Vernon Davis sixth overall in 2006.“I’m not putting any (pressure) on myself and no one is putting any on me,” he said.James had 120 receptions for 1,189 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.Roberts may be vying for one spot on the team with Logan Thomas, Jerome Cunningham and Isaac Nauta.“It’s a very competitive group,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said Wednesday before the second of three minicamp practices.Thomas said there’s a good mix of players at the position.“Some guys have played a lot of football and some guys that are new to the league,” said Thomas, who had 19 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown over the past two years with the Bills.“We got a bunch of guys that want it, they’re hungry and they want to have success. As a coach http://www.cardinalscheapstore.com/byro … rsey-cheap , I think that’s what you ask for out of your guys. And as a player, that’s what you want from the player beside you.”