Seattle @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( May 20, 2010 ) Toronto 3, Seattle 4

On the surface, Toronto's three-game home series against Seattle is short on drama, with both teams well out of their respective pennant races.

A look at the stats, however, reveals the potential for a pair of significant milestones.

Jose Bautista and the Blue Jays look to put a rough road trip behind them Tuesday as they open a mid-week set against the visiting Mariners at the Rogers Centre. The teams have faced off just twice this season, with each team winning a game at Safeco Field back in May.

The Blue Jays are winding down a surprisingly successful season that has seen them lead the majors in home runs by a wide margin for the majority of the year. The biggest contributor to that total has been Bautista, who needs just one more long ball to become the Blue Jays' first member of the 50-homer club.

Bautista has already broken the franchise record of 47 set by George Bell in 1987, the year he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award. Breaking the 50-homer plateau might earn Bautista some MVP votes of his own, though he'll be hard-pressed to beat out Detroit Tigers sensation Miguel Cabrera, who sits in the top-3 in most offensive categories.

It has been a dream season all-around for Bautista, who has also established new career highs in RBIs (114), runs scored (100), walks (95) and even stolen bases (eight). He homered three times during the Jays' 2-4 road trip through Boston and Baltimore, and has six long balls in 17 September contests.

He'll try to make history Tuesday night against Mariners starter Luke French (4-5), who has been one of Seattle's most reliable starters over the second half of the season. The 25-year-old is 4-4 with a 3.51 ERA in nine outings since the All-Star break, allowing just six homers over 59 innings in that span.

French earned a no-decision in his last appearance, surrendering four runs on seven hits over six innings in a game won 9-6 by the Red Sox. He's 0-1 in his last two starts after allowing just one run over 14 innings in winning his previous two outings.

French has never faced the Blue Jays in his career.

The Mariners are playing out the string yet again, sitting 35 games below .500 with the worst record in the American League. Their 22 road wins are the fewest in the AL, and they rank last in the majors in batting average (.234), home runs (92) and total runs scored (472).

That bodes well for Toronto starter Mark Rzepczynski (1-4), who hasn't made a strong case to be part of the 2011 starting rotation. The 25-year-old picked up his lone win Aug. 13 against the Angels but has gone 0-3 in six starts since then, failing to reach the seventh inning in any of them.

Rzepczynski was solid in his last appearance, charged with two runs on five hits in a 4-3 loss to Baltimore. He has made one career start against Seattle, earning a no-decision after allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings while striking out eight on July 28, 2009.