Toronto @ Kansas City preview
Kauffman Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2010 ) Toronto 4, Kansas City 5
Jesse Litsch must have a sore neck from watching home run balls launched off the bats of his most recent opponents.
He shouldn't have the same problem Tuesday night.
Litsch looks for his first victory in 22 months as he and the Toronto Blue Jays resume their three-game road series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals halted a six-game losing streak in Monday's series opener, scoring two runs in the 10th inning to top the Blue Jays, 5-4.
Though Litsch (0-4) has been mostly awful in his return from major elbow surgery last season, he comes into Tuesday's start having enjoyed plenty of success in his career against Kansas City. The 25-year-old is 2-1 all-time against the Royals, with a 1.19 ERA over 22 2/3 innings. He has limited Royals to a .217 average for his career, and has allowed just one Kansas City home run.
That's a good sign for the right-hander, who has seen plenty of his recent offerings become outfield souvenirs. Litsch has surrendered five home runs over his past three starts, a major reason why he is 0-2 with a no-decision over that stretch. His last major-league victory came Sept. 28, 2008 against the Baltimore Orioles.
Litsch asserted himself well in his previous start, scattering three runs on four hits over seven solid innings. It was the long ball that did him in, as he surrendered consecutive home runs to Darnell McDonald and David Ortiz. Those provided the Boston Red Sox all the offense they would need on the way to a 3-2 victory.
He's matched up against a Kansas City offense that ranks near the bottom of the major leagues in home runs. Only the Oakland Athletics have fewer home runs at home than the Royals, who have gone deep just 25 times in 43 games at home.
Kansas City didn't need the long ball to win Monday's opener.
After tying the game 3-3 in the seventh inning, the Royals fell behind in the top of the 10th on a run-scoring single by Jose Bautista. Jays closer Kevin Gregg came on to finish up, but he allowed a leadoff triple to Scott Podsednik followed by a game-tying sacrifice fly to Jason Kendall.
Two more runners reached base before Alberto Callaspo ended things with a single to center that scored Chris Getz from second base.
The Royals look to make it a winning streak as they counter with right-hander Anthony Lerew (1-3).
The 27-year-old is coming off his worst outing of the season, in which he was blasted for eight runs on nine hits while lasting just 2 2/3 innings in a 15-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Lerew has allowed 14 earned runs over his last two starts, skyrocketing his ERA to 7.56.
Lerew has never faced Toronto in his career.