Toronto @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 21, 2010 ) Kansas City 4, Toronto 3
Joining the league's top home-run hitting team has already rubbed off on newcomer Yunel Escobar.
The Toronto shortstop looks to maintain his torrid tear Monday as the Blue Jays continue their 10-game road trip with the opener of a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals. The teams last met in April, with Toronto taking two out of three games from the Royals at the Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays spent last week's All-Star break tinkering with their lineup as they prepare for the likelihood of another season without a playoff appearance. They dealt veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Escobar, who had a miserable first half that saw him hit zero homers and drive in just 19 runs in 75 games.
Apparently putting on the Blue Jay uniform agrees with Escobar. The 27-year-old went 6-for-13 in his first series with Toronto and belted his first home run of the season Sunday - a second-inning grand slam that lifted the Blue Jays to a 10-1 win over Baltimore, capping yet another sweep of the lowly Orioles.
Escobar's blast increased Toronto's league-leading total to 140, while leading the Jays to their ninth straight victory over the Orioles this season. He finished with five RBIs in the series.
The Royals are headed in the opposite direction, having dropped six consecutive games. They were swept at home by the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, and have surrendered a whopping 35 runs over their past four games.
Toronto sends left-hander Brett Cecil (8-5) to the mound in Monday's opener against the Royals.
Cecil ended a three-game losing streak his last time out, allowing a run on four hits over seven sensational innings as the Blue Jays cruised past the Minnesota Twins, 8-1. It was his second straight solid outing, after he limited the Yankees to a run over six innings but earned a no-decision in a 6-1 Toronto win.
The 24-year-old southpaw has never faced the Royals in his career, but he probably won't mind pitching at the cavernous Kaufmann Stadium. Cecil is 5-3 away from Toronto this season, with a sparkling 3.47 ERA over 57 road innings.
The Royals counter with veteran right-hander Kyle Davies (4-6).
The 26-year-old is 0-3 in seven starts dating back to his last victory May 28 against the Boston Red Sox. Davies surrendered three runs on four hits over six innings his last time out, earning a no-decision as the Royals earned a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Davies has been stronger in his last two appearances, allowing just four runs over 13 2/3 innings in that span. Prior to that, he had been torched for 31 runs over his previous 30 innings.
Davies is 1-2 all-time against the Blue Jays with a 5.02 ERA over 19 2/3 innings. He last faced them on Apr. 20, when he took the loss after giving up four runs in six innings as Toronto posted a 4-3 triumph.