Toronto @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 23, 2010 ) Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 5
Maybe the Toronto Blue Jays should play all their games on the road.
Facing Matt Garza and the first-place Tampa Bay Rays on the Friday night, Toronto jumped out to a four-run lead and held on for a 6-5 win.
The Blue Jays face the Rays again in the second game of a three-game series at Tropicana Field Saturday.
With the win, Toronto improved to 6-1 on the road for the season. The Jays apparently enjoy playing in front of crowds as their home attendance sank to record lows on their last homestand. Once a hot ticket, the Blue drew just over 10,000 fans at the Rogers Centre last week.
They've suddenly become road warriors.
On Friday, second baseman Aaron Hill returned to the lineup after missing 14 games with a hamstring injury. Hill, who has become a legitimate power hitter, cracked his first round-tripper of the year against Garza. Hill belted 36 home runs last season, easily the most of his career.
The Jays send up-and-coming Ricky Romero to the mound on Saturday. Romero (1-1) flirted with a no-hitter two starts ago in a 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. Last time out, Romero was solid once again, but dropped a 3-1 decision to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The hard-throwing left-hander appears completely healthy after a couple of surgeries and an extended stint on the disabled list last year with a strained oblique muscle. He has fanned 23 batters in 22 innings and is among the league's ERA leaders at 1.57.
Tampa Bay entered the series leading the AL East by a half-game over the New York Yankees.
The Rays signed right fielder Ben Zobrist to a five-year deal on Friday. The 28-year-old had his best season in 2009 when he was voted the team's MVP after hitting 27 home runs and driving in 97 runs.
Zobrist is one piece of the Rays' puzzle that they'll be able to keep. Most people feel that Tampa won't be able to re-sign outfielder Carl Crawford and slugger Carlos Pena, both of whose contracts expire after the season.
That makes the signing of Zobrist significant and Tampa's success this year crucial. The Rays went all the way to the World Series two years ago, but last season they didn't make the playoffs.
John Niemann could help the cause greatly. While Garza, youngster David Price and James Shields are top of the line starters, Niemann, who starts on Saturday, is still unproven.
The 27-year-old was 13-7 last year, his second in the majors. Niemann is 1-0 on the season with a 2.93 ERA.