Philadelphia @ Toronto preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 25, 2010 ) Philadelphia 9, Toronto 0
Friday must have been a strange one for the Blue Jays, facing a pitcher who had spent 12 years in a Toronto uniform while batting last in a stadium nearly 500 miles from home.
The trouncing they absorbed couldn't have felt very good, either.
Shaun Marcum will look to get the Blue Jays back on track Saturday afternoon as they resume their three-game interleague series with the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The series was originally supposed to be held at the Rogers Centre, but was shifted to Pennsylvania due to complications stemming from the G20 Summit being held this weekend in Toronto.
If the sensation of taking the field first in front of 43,000 pro-Phillies fans wasn't strange enough, the Blue Jays also had the unenviable task of facing a pitcher who won 148 games for them over the past 12 seasons. Predictably, it didn't end well: the Jays dropped the opener, 9-0, and lost for the fourth time in the past five games.
Enjoying the comforts of his new home over what would have been a circus-like atmosphere in Canada, Halladay had one of his strongest performances of the season. The tall right-hander, making his first start against the only other team for which he has ever played, tossed seven shutout innings to earn his first victory since June 4 against the San Diego Padres.
Halladay wasn't the only star to shine for Philadelphia.
Ross Gload had three hits, including a bases-clearing double in the Phillies' six-run fifth inning. Gload finished with four RBIs, while Chase Utley drove in a pair and Shane Victorino added a solo homer.
Looking for its fifth victory in a row, Philadelphia will turn to left-hander Cole Hamels (6-5). The 26-year-old is just 1-3 over his last five starts, though he has improved of late, allowing just six earned runs over his last 22 innings.
Hamels surrendered four runs on five hits over seven innings in his previous outing, but picked up a no-decision as the Phillies fell, 13-10, to the Minnesota Twins. He walked two and struck out seven.
The southpaw hasn't had much luck against Toronto, owning an 0-1 record with a 5.06 ERA in two career starts. He last faced the Blue Jays exactly a year ago, and was tagged for four runs in just 4 2/3 innings of a 6-1 loss at the Rogers Centre.
Marcum (6-3) gets the call for the Blue Jays, looking to regain some of the magic that led to a 5-0 record in May. The right-hander is just 1-2 so far in June, though he deserved a better fate his last time out. He permitted just two runs in five innings, but didn't factor in the decision as the Jays fell 9-6 to the San Francisco Giants.
Marcum is 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. His last appearance against Philadelphia lasted just one inning, as a two-hour rain delay knocked him out of the 6-5 Toronto victory back on May 18, 2008.