Philadelphia @ Toronto preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2010 ) Toronto 5, Philadelphia 2
The Toronto Blue Jays will have the last at-bat for their three-game interleague series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
That's about the only home-field advantage they'll enjoy.
The Blue Jays and Phillies begin an unusual series Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. The showdown was originally scheduled to take place in Toronto, but security issues surrounding this weekend's G20 Summit in the city's downtown core forced the league to relocate the teams to Pennsylvania.
Toronto remains the "home team" for the weekend set and will enjoy the final at-bat in each game. In addition, the teams will use the designated hitter.
But it sure won't feel like a home series to the Jays, who are used to playing in front of modest, docile crowds at the cavernous Rogers Centre. They average just 17,698 fans per home game, fourth-fewest in the major leagues.
That's a long way from the jam-packed Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies have averaged more than 45,000 fans per game - second only to the New York Yankees. Philadelphia and the Boston Red Sox are the only teams in the majors to average over capacity for the season. By comparison, Toronto averages just 35 percent capacity.
That should give the Phillies a decided edge this weekend - and they'll enjoy an even bigger one in today's series opener when they send Roy Halladay (8-6) to the mound. It will mark Halladay's first game against the team with whom he had spent his entire career before a blockbuster off-season trade sent him to the City of Brotherly Love.
The strapping right-hander spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays, evolving from a struggling young phenom into one of the best hurlers in the game. He captured the American League Cy Young Award in 2003 and played in six All-Star games, earning 148 victories in a Toronto uniform but never competing in a postseason series.
Perhaps facing his former teammates will shake Halladay out of his recent funk. After starting the season on fire, the 33-year-old has cooled of late, losing his last three decisions. He was tagged for four runs on a season-high 11 hits in eight innings as the Phillies dropped a 4-1 decision to the Minnesota Twins.
The Phillies are coming off an impressive sweep of the visiting Cleveland Indians. They outscored their American League counterparts 21-10 in the series, capped by a 12-3 drubbing in Thursday's finale. It was their highest offensive output since they blasted Pittsburgh 12-2 on May 17.
The Blue Jays counter with veteran right-hander Jesse Litsch (0-1). Making his third start since returning from ligament replacement surgery, Litsch has run hot and cold so far, getting torched in his first outing before tossing seven shutout innings in a no-decision six days ago. He limited San Francisco to just three hits last time out in a game Toronto went on to win 3-0.
The Jays head to Philadelphia having dropped two of three to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, but rode eight shutout innings from Brandon Morrow to a 5-0 victory in Thursday's series finale.