Tampa Bay @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Apr 25, 2010 ) Toronto 0, Tampa Bay 6
After shattering a long-standing franchise home-run mark, the Toronto Blue Jays are hoping they've saved some offense for the difficult month ahead.
The Jays look for their fifth straight win as they wind up an amazing May by welcoming the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays to the Rogers Centre. Toronto is coming off a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, a series in which they outscored their opponents, 16-3.
The Jays have swatted 53 home runs in May, easily surpassing the franchise record for a single month. They had nine against the Orioles, bringing their season total to 88 - far and away the most in the majors.
A quick look at Toronto's June schedule and it's clear the Jays' feverish home-run pace may slow down. The Jays will play eight straight series against teams with winning records - a nightmarish stretch that includes three division leaders (Tampa Bay, the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres) and the defending World Series champion New York Yankees.
They'll kick things off against the Rays, who own baseball's best record and have been terrorizing teams in their own ballparks. Tampa Bay is 19-5 away from Tropicana Field, with the team ERA nearly a full run lower on the road than at home.
Few players personify this wild home-road split more than Rays starter Matt Garza (5-3), who gets the first crack at ending the Jays' recent winning ways. The 26-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a sparkling 2.04 ERA on the road, but is just 2-2 with a 4.20 ERA in Tampa.
Garza has struggled of late, going 0-2 with two no-decisions in his last four outings. He was tagged for six runs in just five innings in his last start, an 11-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
The recent cold spell negated a fast start that saw Garza win five of his first six games, with his lone loss coming to Toronto on April 23. Garza is typically stingy against the Blue Jays - he's 6-4 with a 2.16 ERA all-time, and one of his two career shutouts have come against Toronto.
The Blue Jays answer with right-hander Brandon Morrow (3-4), who may be fighting to keep his job in Toronto's starting rotation. With Jesse Litsch and Mark Rzepczynski returning from injuries and expected to challenge for spots on the big club, Morrow may be the odd man out.
The 25-year-old is still striking out hitters at a ridiculous pace - 65 in just 50 innings - but that's about all he has done well lately. Morrow has surrendered 20 runs over his last 22 innings, going 1-2 with a pair of no-decisions over that span.
The right-hander was at his erratic best in his previous start against Tampa Bay last month. He allowed just two runs on three hits in six innings, but added six walks as the Rays went on to win 6-0.