Jenkins, Ortiz to start first two games against Rays

NEW YORK -- The Blue Jays have announced their starting pitchers for Monday and Tuesday's games against the Rays.

Right-hander Chad Jenkins will get the call on Monday and will be followed the next day by veteran hurler Ramon Ortiz. The decision previously had been on hold in case Toronto needed to use Jenkins out of the bullpen earlier in the week.

A pair of off-days on Monday and Thursday afforded Toronto the luxury of taking a wait-and-see approach while keeping Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey on normal rest. After Buehrle was able to pitch into the seventh inning on Friday night, there was no longer a need to keep Jenkins available out of the 'pen.

"We're good, we're fresh down there," manager John Gibbons said of his bullpen. "[Jenkins] was in case something happened to Buehrle really early or something."

Jenkins made his season debut on May 12 in Boston. He allowed just a pair of runs on seven hits while striking out two. The 25-year-old will still need to have his workload monitored after coming back from a right shoulder injury earlier this season.

Ortiz has been one of the surprise stories in the past couple of weeks after joining Toronto's starting staff. The 39-year-old has allowed just two runs on 10 hits in 12 innings for the Blue Jays after beginning the year with Triple-A Buffalo.