ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mark Buehrle will start for the Toronto Blue Jays in their regular-season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays and is expected to pitch two innings.
Buehrle is taking the mound for the second time in three days as he tries to reach the 200-inning mark for the 15th consecutive season.
The veteran left-hander is two innings short.
Buehrle threw 6 2/3 innings on Friday night to approach the milestone, which has only been done four times before in major-league history.
Teammates voiced their support for Buehrle getting one final chance in recent days.
Manager John Gibbons said after Saturday's 4-3 loss that Buehrle would start as long as he felt good in the morning.
A report from a Chicago radio station Sunday morning said Buehrle would retire after pitching on the final day of the regular season.
Buehrle's playoff role for the Blue Jays has been the subject of much conversation.
The 36-year-old won't be in the playoff rotation, which will include David Price, Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey, and Buehrle hasn't pitched out of the bullpen since his rookie year in 2000.
"We're not ruling anything out at all," general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday of Buehrle pitching in relief in the post-season. "There's no harm in having a discussion to talk about it. We'll just continue to talk about it until we have to make a decision."
Drew Hutchison was expected to pitch after Buehrle on Sunday since he only threw 27 pitches in his start Thursday at the Baltimore Orioles.
The Blue Jays need to win and have the Kansas City Royals lose to the Minnesota Twins to clinch the top seed in the American League and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
