New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 19, 2013 ) NY Yankees 9, Toronto 4

No major-league team has given Mark Buehrle more trouble than the New York Yankees. The Toronto Blue Jays hope a change of scenery will result in a change of fortune as Buehrle faces off against the visiting Yankees on Saturday afternoon. Toronto came out flat in Friday's series opener, surrendering solo home runs to former Blue Jays Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay on the way to a 9-4 drubbing. The loss was the Blue Jays' third in the last four games.

Buehrle has 175 wins and a perfect game on his resume, but he's off to a rocky start in 2013 and faces a Yankees team he has beaten once in 12 career starts. He'll oppose right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who is coming off a complete-game five-hit shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. New York has won eight of its last 10 games to take control of second place in the American League East, two games behind the division-leading Boston Red Sox.

TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, YES (New York), Rogers Sportsnet (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Hiroki Kuroda (2-1, 2.87 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH Mark Buehrle (1-0, 7.31)

The Yankees know they'll need a career year out of Kuroda to mount a serious challenge for the division crown. The 38-year-old Japan native had a rough go of it in his season debut but has surrendered only three runs on 10 hits over his last two outings. He threw his fourth career complete game against the Orioles, using his sensational sinker to induce 18 groundballs. Kuroda is 2-1 with a 4.67 ERA in three career starts against Toronto.

Buehrle's numbers against the Yankees are downright alarming. The 34-year-old is 1-8 with a lifetime 6.38 ERA, allowing New York batters to hit .333. That's the same average Buehrle has surrendered to opponents in 16 innings this season. Buehrle is coming off a significant personal milestone, having limited the Chicago White Sox to two runs over 6 1/3 innings to prevail in his first appearance against his former team.

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto's minus-30 run differential is second-worst in the major leagues, ahead of only the Miami Marlins (minus-41).

2. Yankees DH Travis Hafner is a .246 career hitter with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 69 at-bats against Buehrle.

3. Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista, who homered Friday in his return from a four-game absence because of a back injury, is expected to serve as the designated hitter for the weekend series.

PREDICTION: Yankees 6, Blue Jays 3