San Francisco @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Jun 13, 2007 ) Toronto 7, San Francisco 4
The Toronto Blue Jays kick off one of the most unusual homestands in franchise history Friday against a guy who had their number during his American League days.
The Blue Jays welcome left-hander Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants to town for the opener of a three-game interleague series at the Rogers Centre. The teams are facing off for the first time since 2007, when the host Giants took two out of three games from Toronto.
It's the start of a unique home stretch for the Jays, who welcome the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to town before playing a home series in Philadelphia. The three-game set against the Phillies was originally scheduled to be held at the Rogers Centre, but was relocated because of the G20 Summit occurring in Toronto at the same time.
Toronto is coming off a dismal 3-6 showing on their pivotal nine-game road trip through Tampa Bay, Colorado and San Diego. The Blue Jays scored just 13 times in the first six games of the trip, losing five of them, before getting it together to take two out of three games in San Diego.
Despite the strong finish, Toronto still finds itself losing ground in the competitive American League East race. The Blue Jays begin the weekend 5 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees, who share first place. The surging Boston Red Sox are third in the division, two games back of the leaders.
The return to Canada doesn't start off easy for the Blue Jays, who must face a rejuvenated Zito (7-2) in the series opener. Zito has been impressive in his career against Toronto, with a 5-2 record and a 3.52 ERA in 10 starts all-time.
He hasn't faced the Jays since 2006, his last year with the Oakland Athletics before signing a megabucks deal with the Giants.
After three seasons ranging from inconsistent to downright awful, Zito is finally looking like the pitcher San Francisco thought it was signing in the first place.
The 32-year-old lefty has allowed more than three runs in a game just twice this season, though both instances have come within the last month. He was solid in his last outing, going seven innings to beat his former team for the first time in his career.
The Blue Jays did the Giants a favor by winning their series against the Padres earlier this week. That outcome, combined with San Francisco earning victories in five of its last six games, has created a logjam atop the National League West standings.
San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first while the Giants are alone in third, just a half-game back of the leaders.
Brandon Morrow (4-5) gets the start for the Blue Jays. He's enjoying one of the hottest stretches of his major league career, having allowed just three earned runs over his last three starts, spanning 20 innings. Unfortunately, he's been snakebitten by a lack of run support, leaving him just 1-1 in that span.
Morrow has never faced the Giants in his career.