New York @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Jun 5, 2010 ) NY Yankees 2, Toronto 3
Brandon Morrow and Javier Vazquez endured their share of struggles early in the season.
Both have turned things around since then - and they know a victory today would help build more confidence.
Morrow and Vazquez bring solid strikeout totals and bloated ERAs into today's showdown between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. The Jays are gunning for a sweep of the defending World Series champions, a development that would leave them just a half-game behind the Yankees for second place in the American League East.
For Morrow, today represents a chance to build on his previous outing, when he allowed just three hits over seven innings in a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. It lowered his ERA from 6.66 to 6.00, though he had just one strikeout after coming in averaging 11.7 Ks per nine innings.
Control issues have plagued Morrow in his first campaign with Toronto. The 25-year-old has surrendered 34 walks in 57 innings, which could explain why he has pitched into the seventh inning just twice in 11 starts this season.
To their credit, the Jays have done a good job of providing Morrow and the rest of their starting rotation with plenty of run support. Toronto leads the league with 96 home runs, a whopping 18 more than the second-place Boston Red Sox.
Continuing that could be a tall task if Vazquez (4-5) continues his recent success. The veteran right-hander has shown signs of overcoming his early-season struggles, having won two of his last three starts. That includes a gem of an outing five days ago, when he limited the Baltimore Orioles to four hits over seven innings in a 3-1 victory.
It's a dramatic turnaround from his first five starts, when he posted a 1-3 record with a 9.78 ERA and was actually passed over in the rotation in mid-May. Since then, the hard-throwing Puerto Rican has allowed eight runs over 26 innings to lower his ERA to a more manageable 6.06.
Vazquez is 4-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 14 career starts against the Jays. He hasn't faced them since 2008, when he posted a 1.98 ERA over 13 2/3 innings as a member of the Chicago White Sox but still lost both starts.
The Yankees could use a strong showing from the free-agent acquisition as they struggle to return to their early-season form. New York is just 13-14 since May 9, slipping from first to second - and with Toronto and Boston just 1 1/2 games back entering Sunday, the Yankees are a losing streak away from falling to fourth in the division.
The Jays get no respite after the Yankees leave town. Following an off day Monday, they continue their grueling month of June with a nine-game road trip that will see them visit the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. All three teams are over .500, and the Rays and Padres lead their respective divisions.
The Yankees visit the lowly Baltimore Orioles before returning to Yankee Stadium - where they're 19-7 on the season - for series against the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.