Blue Jays avoid A's ace Sonny Gray as they go for 11th straight win

Oakland Athletics ace Sonny Gray has been scratched from his start against the Blue Jays on Thursday afternoon because of back spasms, giving Toronto an easier path to matching its season high with an 11th consecutive win.

Right-hander Jesse Chavez will start against his former team in place of Gray for Thursday's game, which begins at 12:37 p.m. ET.

Chavez pitched in nine games for Toronto in 2012. He is 6-11 with a 3.73 ERA.

Gray is the AL ERA leader at 2.06. He's 12-4 in 23 starts and has lost just once in his past 10 outings.

The Oakland ace will miss his start against the highest scoring offence in baseball. Toronto leads the major leagues with 611 runs this season. The New York Yankees are second with 534.

Toronto, though, will be missing three big bats as shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, catcher Russell Martin and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion will all sit out. Tulowitzki and Martin are getting rest days, while Encarnacion is dealing with a finger problem that will cause him to miss his fourth straight game.

The sizzling Blue Jays, who are trying to match their 11-game winning streak from June, moved past the Yankees into first place in the AL East by drubbing Oakland 10-3 on Wednesday night while the Yankees lost 2-1 to Cleveland.

Toronto (63-52) holds a half-game lead over New York heading into Thursday's matinee against Oakland (51-64).

The Yankees wrap up their series in Cleveland at 7:10 p.m. ET.