Detroit @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 28, 2010 ) Detroit 4, Toronto 5

Rick Porcello probably wishes the Detroit Tigers were only playing a three-game series at the Rogers Centre this weekend.

The second-year hurler looks to improve a dismal road mark Sunday afternoon as the Tigers wrap up their four-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit opened the series with an impressive 7-1 victory Thursday but dropped a pair of one-run decisions over the next two days to slip back below the .500 mark for the season.

The Tigers didn't put up much of a fight against Jays hurler Brandon Morrow in Saturday's 5-4 loss, mesmerized by the hard-throwing right-hander for six tough innings. Detroit finally made a game of it in the ninth – pushing three runs across to close to within one – but couldn't produce the equalizer as the team fell to 3-4 against Toronto so far in 2010.

Porcello (6-11) will look to draw the Tigers even in both the weekend and the season series, though history is not on his side. The 21-year-old has been abysmal away from Comerica Park this season, going 1-6 with a 6.79 ERA in nine road starts.

Porcello's only road victory this year came May 23 against the Los Angeles Angels. That victory ran his record to 4-4, but he has just two victories since then and is 0-2 in four road starts since returning to Detroit following a stint with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in June and July.

Opponents are hitting .319 against Porcello on the road this season, and his three shortest outings have all taken place outside Michigan.

Porcello should have some momentum heading into Toronto after putting together his best game of the season last time out. The 6-foot-5 righty limited the Royals to a pair of hits over seven shutout innings as the Tigers cruised to a 9-1 victory. It was his first win over a divisional opponent since beating the Cleveland Indians on April 9 in his first start of the year.

Porcello has a 1-2 career mark against Toronto with a 4.76 ERA in 17 innings. He absorbed the loss in their last meeting July 24, allowing three runs in six innings of a 3-2 defeat.

The Jays counter with left-hander Mark Rzepczynski (1-2), who will celebrate his 25th birthday Sunday by dueling a team he has never faced. Rzepczynski is coming off back-to-back stinkers against Oakland and the New York Yankees, allowing nine earned runs in 7 1/3 innings over those two starts.

Poor pitch placement has been his sore spot of late. Rzepczynski struck out 60 batters in just 61 1/3 innings in his rookie 2009 campaign, but allowed five walks without striking out a batter against Oakland 11 days ago and served up three home runs in an 11-5 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday.

The Tigers have Monday off before opening a series against the AL Central-leading Twins in Minnesota. They follow with a visit to Kansas City before hosting the Chicago White Sox, the other divisional rival they're trying to catch.

Things get a lot tougher for the Blue Jays after Detroit leaves town. Toronto embarks on a six-game road trip that will see them face Tampa Bay and the Yankees, co-owners of the best record in Major League Baseball.