Toronto @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2010 ) Toronto 3, NY Yankees 7

Curtis Granderson struggled for most of the season, but has caught fire in time to lead the New York Yankees to sole possession of the division lead.

Another player having a subpar campaign will be looking to do the same Saturday afternoon.

Javier Vazquez makes his return to the starting rotation as the Yankees resume their weekend series with the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. New York has reeled off seven consecutive victories to move 1 1/2 games up on the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League East standings.

Both teams appear to be locked into playoff spots, with the rest of the wild-card challengers at least seven games behind. Yet, the Yankees would love to finish atop the AL East to secure home-field advantage, and perhaps seize a psychological edge over the Rays in the process.

Granderson is doing his part after looking like a bust in his first season in the Bronx.

The 29-year-old center fielder is hitting below .250, and has just 17 home runs. Having hit 30 a year ago with the Detroit Tigers, and with a swing tailor-made for the Yankee Stadium fences, that total is well below what experts were expecting from Granderson coming into the season.

He has been on fire the last four games, hitting 7-for-14 with three home runs and seven RBIs. He had a pair of hits and drove in three runs to lead the Yankees to a 7-3 victory in Friday's series opener, and he has put together three consecutive multi-hit games for the first time since mid-April.

Granderson's numbers have improved modestly since the All-Star break. He hit .240 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 64 games before the break, but is hitting .262 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in 46 second-half games.

Vazquez (10-9) can only hope Granderson's recent surge will rub off on him. The 34-year-old was yanked from the starting rotation two weeks ago following a string of unimpressive outings, but has put together an ERA of 2.00 in the nine innings since to earn another chance to start.

Vazquez was signed to a lucrative deal in the off-season after winning 15 games and recording 238 strikeouts for the Atlanta Braves last season. His second go-round with the Yankees has been largely disappointing, as he boasts a 4.86 ERA and has just 111 strikeouts in 139 innings.

Vazquez is 5-7 lifetime against the Blue Jays, with a 3.98 ERA over 106 1/3 innings. He last faced them Aug. 25, allowing a run on two hits over 4 1/3 innings.

Toronto counters with young left-hander Mark Rzepczynski (1-3), who has been treated rather shabbily by the powerhouse Yankee lineup.

The 25-year-old is 0-2 lifetime against New York with a 10.22 ERA in 12 1/3 innings. That includes a three-inning whipping Aug. 24 in which he surrendered six runs on eight hits, three of which were home runs.

Since throwing seven innings of two-hit shutout ball against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 13, Rzepczynski has been torched for 13 runs in 13 innings, raising his ERA from 4.42 to 6.03.