Toronto @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2010 ) Toronto 8, NY Yankees 6

Ricky Romero watched from the dugout Monday as his Toronto Blue Jays teammates pounded out seven runs in the fifth inning of a win over the New York Yankees.

Romero would love to atone for the big inning the Yankees hung on him in their last meeting.

The Toronto left-hander looks for his ninth win of the season Tuesday as the Jays resume their series with their American League East rivals at Yankee Stadium. Toronto has won seven of its last 10 games, while the Yankees come in having dropped two straight.

The Jays made a statement in Monday's opener, as the major league's top home-run hitting team opted to rely on the two-base hit instead. Toronto hit six doubles in their seven-run fifth frame, equaling the AL record. Edwin Encarnacion added a two-run homer as the Jays held on for an 8-6 win.

Toronto will turn to Romero (8-7) as they look to wrap up the series win Tuesday night. The 25-year-old is 2-1 over his last three starts, surrendering just five earned runs in 21 2/3 innings over that span. He was excellent in his previous outing, charged with two runs on nine hits over 7 2/3 innings in an 8-2 drubbing of the Baltimore Orioles.

Romero makes his return to Yankee Stadium exactly one month after his last start there – and he could hardly be blamed for wanting to forget all about it.

The Yankees torched Romero for eight runs, all coming in a huge third inning, as New York cruised to an 11-3 victory. It was the shortest outing of his career – until the following start, when he coughed up nine runs in just 2 1/3 innings in a 14-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Romero has had trouble with the Bronx Bombers throughout his career, owning a 1-2 career mark with a 6.91 ERA over five starts.

Romero will try to prevent Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez from reaching history, which hasn't been a difficult task for the last dozen starting pitchers Rodriguez has faced. The 35-year-old slugger has gone homerless in his last 11 games, leaving him stuck on 599 long balls for his career.

Rodriguez hasn't done much of anything over that span with just nine hits in 43 at-bats. He went 0-for-5 in Monday's series opener, grounding out to third base to end the game with the tying run on deck.

The Yankees will counter with right-hander Dustin Moseley (1-0), who will make his second start of the season. He was solid in his previous outing, limiting the Cleveland Indians to a run on four hits over six innings of an 11-4 triumph.

Moseley is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in three appearances against the Blue Jays. His only start against Toronto came Aug. 15, 2007, when he surrendered two runs over six innings but dropped a 2-1 decision in a pitcher's duel with Shaun Marcum.