Toronto @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 21, 2013 ) NY Yankees 4, Toronto 8

Fans at the Rogers Centre showered former Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells with boos in his first time back as a New York Yankee. Wells responded with a terrific series - and now he'll enjoy home-field advantage as the Blue Jays visit Yankee Stadium on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Toronto comes in having dropped two of three in Baltimore, while the Yankees suffered the same fate at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees send crafty right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to the hill in the opener. He is off to a solid start on the strength of his trademark pinpoint control. Toronto counters with lefty Mark Buehrle, who has a lifetime ERA of 6.03 against the Yankees but fared well against them in his previous outing. He'll face stiff competition from a surprisingly potent New York lineup - and Wells, in particular. He is a career .489 hitter in 47 at-bats against Buehrle.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, RSN (Toronto), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH Mark Buehrle (1-0, 5.87 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Hiroki Kuroda (2-1, 2.35)

A slow start has given way to some promising results as Buehrle reintroduces himself to the American League following a year with the Miami Marlins. The 34-year-old southpaw couldn't improve on his grisly 1-8 career mark against the Yankees last time out, but was still impressive in limiting them to three runs over seven innings. Buehrle has thrown back-to-back quality starts, earning a victory the Chicago White Sox - his former team - before settling for a no-decision five days later against New York.

Kuroda has been the Yankees' best pitcher since a comebacker knocked him out of his first start of the season. The 38-year-old native of Osaka, Japan, has posted back-to-back sensational starts, going the distance on a five-hit shutout against Baltimore before limiting to Toronto to a run on three hits over 7 1/3 innings five days ago. As always, command has been the key to Kuroda's success. He has issued one walk in his last two appearances, and six over his first 23 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto has won five of its last 22 games at Yankee Stadium dating back to 2010.

2. Wells batted 7-for-15 with a pair of homers as the Yankees took two of three from Toronto last weekend.

3. The Blue Jays are hitting .172 after the sixth inning in 2013.

PREDICTION: Yankees 5, Blue Jays 2