Philadelphia @ Toronto preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2010 ) Philadelphia 1, Toronto 5
With Jamie Moyer on the verge of becoming the all-time leader in home runs surrendered, Brett Cecil would love nothing more than to see the record broken firsthand.
He could hardly be blamed, since he wasn't even around when Moyer surrendered his first long ball.
Two left-handers with 24 years separating them face off Sunday in the interleague series finale between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. The series was supposed to be held at the Rogers Centre, but the G20 financial summit forced Major League Baseball to relocate the series to Pennsylvania.
That means Phillies fans could be witness to history, albeit the kind they would prefer not to see in person.
With 505 home runs allowed in his career, the 47-year-old Moyer is one shy of surpassing late Philadelphia hurler Robin Roberts for the all-time mark.
Moyer surrendered No. 505 to Russell Branyan in his last start, but that was the only blemish on an otherwise sensational start as he went eight innings in a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Even as he rolls through his 25th major league season, Moyer is showing he is far from being finished. He already has two complete games this season, and has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts dating to May 30.
Yet, if Moyer is hoping to avoid setting the home run record for at least one more start, he's definitely facing the wrong team.
The homer-happy Blue Jays belted three more long balls in Saturday's 6-1 victory, helping them avenge an ugly 9-0 loss in the series opener. As it has for most of the season, Toronto continues to lead the majors in home runs with 114, well ahead of the runner-up Boston Red Sox (101). No other team has more than 90.
Toronto has traditionally given Moyer more trouble than most teams. Although he has a 14-9 career record against the Blue Jays, he also boasts a 5.41 ERA in 234 2/3 innings, with Toronto batting .284 against him all-time. They've also hit 40 home runs against Moyer in his career, second only to the Los Angeles Angels (45).
Toronto's starter was born on the same day Moyer made his third career major league start. Cecil (7-4) looked like one of the best hurlers in the majors over a five-start stretch that began more than a month ago, but has since lost his last two outings and hasn't looked sharp in doing so.
Cecil unraveled against a veteran St. Louis lineup in his previous outing, allowing six runs on eight hits over six innings as the Blue Jays fell 9-4 to the Cardinals. Back-to-back losses to St. Louis and San Diego ballooned the 23-year-old's ERA from 3.22 to 4.06.
Cecil has never faced the Phillies.
The teams return to action in their own leagues following today's finale. The Blue Jays travel to Cleveland for a series with the Indians, while the Phillies host the National League Central-leading Cincinnati Reds.