Blue Jays' Donaldson: 'Our lineup is the best in baseball'

The Toronto Blue Jays' philosophy heading into a five-game war with the Texas Rangers is simple: score more than their opponent.

American League MVP front-runner Josh Donaldson plans to lead the offensive barrage for Toronto, but he won't be doing it alone.

"(The Rangers) have a good lineup over there as well. But I feel like our lineup is the best in baseball," Donaldson proclaimed Wednesday.

"Have you looked at our lineup? That's why I'm confident," he added. "Our lineup is legit."

The Blue Jays averaged a major-league best 5.5 runs per game, and also led the bigs in OPS (.797) and homers (232) during the regular season. Texas also boasts some big bats, averaging 4.64 runs per game - good for third in the majors.

Donaldson and Co. will have their hands full with Texas starter Yovani Gallardo in the series opener Thursday. The veteran right-hander has been spectacular against the Blue Jays this season, tossing 13 2/3 scoreless innings while holding Toronto batters to a .136 batting average over two outings.

Donaldson is well-aware of his club's struggles against Gallardo, and said patience will be the key against him this time around. Hitters plan to work long at-bats and foul off Gallardo's effective cutter in an attempt to get his pitch count high early.