Toronto @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2010 ) Toronto 3, Baltimore 11

The Toronto Blue Jays may have found themselves in the mix in this year's American League East race had Roy Halladay still been their ace.

Wednesday night, Jays fans will get their first look at the centerpiece of the offseason mega-deal that shipped Halladay out of town.

Kyle Drabek makes his major-league debut as the Jays look to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Wednesday's victory assured the Orioles their fourth consecutive series victory, something they hadn't done in more than six years.

The loss dropped the Jays back to one game above the .500 mark, well out of the playoff hunt and looking ahead to next season once again. Yet, the fact that Toronto is anywhere near a break-even record at this point in the season is a mild surprise considering most experts had the team pegged to lose 90 or more games.

Fans can only wonder how much better things would be had the team held on to Halladay, who was shipped to the Phillies in a trade that brought the Jays the talented Drabek, along with catcher Travis D'Arnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor. While Halladay leads Philadelphia to a late pennant charge in the NL East, the Jays have yet to see any of their spoils in action – until now.

Toronto management is giving Drabek three major-league starts in September with the hope that he'll compete for a spot in the 2011 rotation next spring. The 22-year-old Texas native went 14-9 with a 2.94 ERA for Double-A New Hampshire, a solid season that included a no-hitter in July.

The 2006 first-round pick is the son of former major-league hurler Doug Drabek. He underwent ligament replacement surgery in 2008 but has bounced back nicely, going 26-12 in two minor-league seasons since returning from the injury.

He'll try to turn around Toronto's fortunes after the team dropped the opening two games of the series to the resurgent Orioles. The Blue Jays won the first 12 meetings between the teams this season, but fell 4-3 in 11 innings in Monday's series opener and was drubbed 11-3 a night later.

The Orioles counter with right-hander Brad Bergesen (6-10), who has been solid over the past 2 1/2 months. He's 3-1 over his last eight starts while allowing two earned runs or fewer in six of those outings. His ERA, which once stood at an AL-worst 6.95, has shrunk to a more managable 5.29.

His previous start was impressive, as he limited the New York Yankees to a run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He went on to earn a no-decision as the Yankees edged Baltimore 3-2.

Bergesen hasn't had much luck against the Blue Jays in his brief career, going 1-2 with a 6.99 ERA over 28 1/3 innings. He was ripped for eight runs on 10 hits over five innings in his previous meeting as the Orioles went on to lose 9-5.