VS
Kansas City Royals (5-8)
What: MLB Toronto Blue Jays Baseball!
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
Who: Jays VS Royals
The Jays started the season off with a bang. After dropping the first game in climactic fashion, they then went on to a 5 game winning streak, including a sweep over our friends known as the Baltimore Orioles. After coming home the Jays realized that the hotel food was gone and they are back to the mediocre-inconsistently young team that is rebuilding. After just being swept by the Angels, they now look to let out a little frustration on the all mighty Kansas City Royals. Go Jays!
Game 1
Brendan Morrow
VS 
Brian BannisterYahoo Preview
The Toronto Blue Jays’ bats have gone quiet after a hot start - resulting in three straight home losses - but they may be glad to see the next opponent to arrive at Rogers Centre.
Right-hander Brian Bannister(notes) hopes to help his Kansas City Royals reverse a troubling recent history at Toronto as the teams open a three-game set Monday night.
A productive offense was one reason the Blue Jays (7-6) won five of their first six, but Toronto was held to eight runs and 19 hits while getting swept in a three-game series over the weekend against the Los Angeles Angels.
The club was nearly blanked Sunday, scoring its only run on Adam Lind’s(notes) home run with two outs in the ninth inning of a 3-1 loss. The Blue Jays had four hits in the game as their team batting average slipped to .223.
Lyle Overbay’s(notes) struggles have been the worst. The first baseman went 0 for 3 Sunday as his average fell to .080.
“Our offense is good,” left-hander Ricky Romero(notes) told the Blue Jays’ official website. “When those guys get it going, we’re going to be good. It was just one of those days where the pitching shut us down.”
It may not be much easier if Bannister (0-0, 2.19 ERA) pitches like he did in his first two starts, both against Detroit. The Royals lost both games but Bannister allowed a total of three runs and 10 hits in 12 1-3 innings, leaving with the lead each time before Kansas City’s bullpen faltered.
In his only 2009 start against Toronto, Bannister limited the Blue Jays to one hit and one run, although he did walk six in seven innings of a 7-1 home win April 27.
The Royals have been less successful lately at Rogers Centre, where they’ve been outscored 132-63 while losing 17 of 21.
Kansas City (5-7) salvaged the finale of its series at Minnesota on Sunday, improving to 3-3 on its nine-game road trip with a 10-5 win. Infielder Alberto Callaspo(notes) sparked the Royals’ attack, going 3 for 5 with a pair of three-run homers.
Callaspo struggled out of the gates as the team’s No. 3 hitter, but has hit fifth or sixth in the last five games, going 9 for 23 (.391). He said through an interpreter that he is “starting to find (his) swing and get in a groove.”
He isn’t the only Royals hitter feeling good at the plate. Scott Podsednik(notes) and Jose Guillen(notes) each had three hits Sunday, with Podsednik improving his average to .457. Guillen is 14 for 30 (.467) with five homers and nine RBIs in his last seven games.
As a team, Kansas City leads the majors with a .309 average.
“The run production’s been nice and it’s also been needed because of the inconsistencies out of our bullpen,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said.
Toronto’s Brandon Morrow(notes) (0-1, 12.00) may have a hard time stopping the Royals after his dreadful start. The right-hander, who battled shoulder problems in March after Seattle traded him to the Blue Jays in December, allowed seven runs in four-plus innings of an 11-1 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday.
“We really never got to see him pitch a lot in spring training,” Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. “He didn’t pitch a lot. He’s still kind of having his spring training right now. We’ll see.”
Box Score: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=300419114 W 8-1
The Jays got some deceptively effective pitching from Brendan Morrow who showed some great flashes. The offense also came together as Bautista knocked 2 HR, Travis Snider also had a homer and Mike McCoy had a solid night with 3 hits. Lets also give credit to a crappy Royals bullpen and lukewarm start by Brian Bannister.
Game 2
Dana Eveland
VS 
Kyle DaviesYahoo Preview
Now that a miserable series is behind them, the Toronto Blue Jays may have their offense back on track.
With Dana Eveland(notes) on the mound looking for his third straight victory, Toronto will try to win its ninth consecutive series at home against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
After batting .192 and scoring nine runs while losing three straight to the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend, Toronto (8-6) tagged the Royals for 11 hits in Monday’s 8-1 series-opening victory.
Jose Bautista(notes) had his third career two-homer game and matched a career high with five RBIs, and Travis Snider(notes) and Lyle Overbay(notes) each broke out of slumps with two hits apiece as Toronto improved to 19-6 at home in this matchup since losing two of three to the Royals from Aug. 19-21, 2002.
Snider, who was 1 for 23 in his previous seven games, hit a solo homer and singled to lift his average to .143.
Hitting a team-low .080 coming out of the Angels series, Overbay reached safely five times, and raised his career batting average at home against Kansas City to .364 with a double and a single.
Overbay is 4 for 6 with a homer and two RBIs lifetime against Tuesday’s starter, Kyle Davies(notes) (1-0, 4.26 ERA).
The right-hander walked three and allowed three runs and seven hits over 6 2-3 innings in Wednesday’s 7-3 win at Detroit. Davies is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA in two career starts versus Toronto.
Looking for their first series win at home this season, the Blue Jays give the ball to Eveland (2-0, 1.35), who has emerged as a surprisingly solid fifth starter.
Acquired from Oakland in the offseason, the left-hander has won his first two starts for the first time in his career. He threw 7 1-3 scoreless innings in his season debut April 10 at Baltimore before surrendering two runs and three hits in six innings in Thursday’s 7-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
“I don’t think I’ve ever won my first two starts in a season, so that’s nice,” said Eveland, who broke a 23-year-old team record with 11 1/2 scoreless innings to begin his Blue Jays career. “Hopefully, I can just keep rolling with it.”
Eveland is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts versus Kansas City.
He’ll face a Royals club that was leading the AL in hits and batting average before Brandon Morrow(notes) and two relievers held them to a season-low five hits Monday.
“He made it hard on us,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said of Morrow. “He located his breaking ball down and out of the zone and he threw it for strikes.”
Outfielder David DeJesus(notes), who had an RBI single for Kansas City (5-8) on Monday, is batting .323 while hitting safely in seven straight games. He is 3 for 4 lifetime versus Eveland.
Scott Podsednik(notes), who leads the majors with a .457 batting average, could be back in the Royals’ lineup after returning to Kansas City for a family emergency.
Box Score:http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=300420114 W 4-3
After pretty much crapping through 6 innings, the Jays finally touched up Kyle Davies who was mowing them down. Dana Eveland battled the entire game to keep it close and the Jays eeked out a come back win! Yay!
Game 3
Shawn Marcum
VS 
Zack GrienkeYahoo Preview
Box Score:
Let Go Blue Jays!
