TORONTO - The Oakland Athletics are not swinging the bats well and it could work in favour of Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada, who will be trying for his first win since May 27 in what might be his final start with the team ahead of Monday's trade deadline.

Estrada (4-7, 5.52 ERA), rumoured to be on the trade block as the Blue Jays player who generate the most interest from other teams, has started nine games since his last win, going 0-5 with a 9.52 ERA. The Blue Jays are 2-7 in those games.

"If it happens, it happens," Estrada said recently regarding the trade speculation. "You can't control that stuff. I'm not pitching good anyway. We'll see."

In his most recent start, a 13-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Friday at Progressive Field, Estrada began the game well enough. He pitched a decent four innings but did not survive the fifth. "The fifth inning came along and I got tired and it all fell apart, plain and simple," Estrada said of the outing at Cleveland. "All I can do is keep working hard. I shouldn't be betting tired by the fifth inning."

Estrada, who will become a free agent at the end of the season, has allowed a .341 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage in his past nine starts.

The A's will start Paul Blackburn (1-1, 2.88 ERA) as they try to even the season series with the Blue Jays. Toronto holds a 3-2 edge in games between the teams after a 4-2 win on Monday and a 4-1 victory on Tuesday.

Oakland (44-56) has lost 10 of its past 11 games at the Rogers Centre. The loss Tuesday marked the 17th time this season that the Athletics scored one or no runs in a game.

Oakland is batting .210 (147-for-700) in the past 22 games and .236 for the season.