Toronto @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2014 ) Toronto 3, Philadelphia 0
Despite boasting a productive offense over the past two weeks, the Toronto Blue Jays have fallen from the top of the American League East to the bottom. The Blue Jays, who visit the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday for the first of two contests before the teams travel to Toronto to complete the four-game interleague set, were tied with the New York Yankees atop the division at 10-8 on April 19. Despite averaging 5.62 runs and hitting .307 with runners in scoring position, Toronto is 4-9 since.
"It definitely stinks (because) we've been putting some runs on the board and that's all we can do as far as the offensive side,” Center fielder Colby Rasmus told the Blue Jays’ official site after hitting a grand slam during Toronto’s 7-2 win Sunday over the Pittsburgh Pirates to avoid a three-game sweep. The Phillies, who play 19 of their 27 games in May at home, enter this series with a bit of momentum after taking two of three from the Washington Nationals. Strong starting pitching keyed their two victories over the weekend as A.J. Burnett and Roberto Hernandez combined to allow one run over 13 1/3 innings.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNET (Toronto), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (0-0, 4.15 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 3.52)
With manager John Gibbons opting for a six-man rotation, Happ will draw his first starting assignment of the season against the team that he broke into the majors with in 2007. The 31-year-old Northwestern University product hasn’t appeared in a game since April 23, when he yielded a run on two hits and two walks over 2 2/3 relief innings during a 10-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Happ has tormented his former team, winning both of his career starts while maintaining a 2.19 ERA.
Kendrick saw his winless streak extended to 12 starts after he failed to factor into the decision in a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 24. Philadelphia’s seventh-round selection in the 2003 draft gave up two runs on a season-high 10 hits in the outing and has allowed 36 hits in 30 2/3 innings this season. Kendrick last faced the Blue Jays in 2012, but hasn’t fared well in three lifetime outings against them, going 0-3 with a 6.91 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. Toronto RF Jose Bautista has reached base in all 31 games – the longest streak to begin a season since the Cincinnati Reds’ Joey Votto accomplished the feat over 33 games in 2011.
2. The Phillies, who posted a 5.96 ERA against the Texas Rangers in their only other interleague series this season, recorded a major league-worst 5.68 ERA against the American League in 2013.
3. Jose Reyes (13-for-33, two homers) and Rasmus (4-for-11, one home run) are two of six Blue Jays hitting over .300 in their careers against Kendrick.
PREDICTION: Blue Jays 7, Phillies 5