Los Angeles @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Apr 16, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Toronto 5
You could say that Fred Lewis was a bit excited to join the Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, he couldn't wait to tell everyone about it.
Well, before the news services learned that Lewis had been acquired by the Blue Jays on Thursday, Lewis posted it on his Facebook home page.
"Fred is a now a Blue Jay," Lewis wrote.
Lewis may make his first appearance for the Blue Jays Saturday as they try to even up a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.
Los Angeles, which trails the American League West with a 4-7 mark, took the first game of the series Friday behind seven strong innings from Jered Weaver, who improved to 6-1 in his career against the Blue Jays.
Lewis was caught up in the numbers game with the rejuvenated San Francisco Giants.
Activated from the 15-day disabled list earlier on Thursday, the Blue Jays acquired Lewis for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Lewis batted .277 with 16 home runs and 81 RBIs over the course of four seasons for the Giants.
Toronto sent outfielder Jeremy Reed to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Lewis. Reed was recently recalled from the minors when Aaron Hill went on the 15-day disabled list. He was 1-for-4 in two games before being demoted.
The Giants would have had to place Lewis on waivers if they wanted to send him to the minor leagues.
Lewis was once viewed as the Giants' answer to the loss of Barry Bonds. His best season was in 2008 when he hit .282 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs. The San Francisco brass had hoped for more power and also questioned his defensive skills.
Lewis asked for a trade and will come off the bench for the Blue Jays.
Toronto continued its power surge on Friday belting three more home runs and took over the major league lead in the department with 17 round-trippers. Vernon Wells smacked his sixth home run of the season to open the scoring in the second inning. Wells is tied with Texas' Nelson Cruz and Philadelphia's Chase Utley for the major league lead.
Joe Saunders (0-2) gets the start for the Angels Saturday. Saunders was 33-14 over the past two seasons but has been hit hard in both prior starts this season, losing to Oakland and Minnesota.
Brian Tallet (1-0) gets the ball for the Blue Jays. He won his first start against the Rangers and then didn't get the decision while yielding six runs in six innings in an 8-7 loss to the White Sox earlier in the week.