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Twins-Blue Jays Preview

Sep 9, 2009 - 4:00 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (69-68) at Toronto (61-76), 7:07 p.m. EDT

Roy Halladay was at his best for the Toronto Blue Jays in his last outing. He's usually been dominant against the Minnesota Twins during his stellar career.

The right-hander looks to build off his best start of the season and remain perfect against the Twins when the clubs continue their series Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.

Mired in a personal three-game losing streak, Halladay (14-8, 2.98 ERA) tossed a one-hitter while striking out nine in a 6-0 win over the New York Yankees on Friday.

"To feel like, at any moment, I could make a pitch if I had to makes a big difference," said Halladay, who had a 7.94 ERA in his three previous starts.

The complete game was the sixth of the season for Halladay, tying him with Kansas City's Zack Greinke for the major league lead, and the 46th of his career.

"He's just a cut above a lot of other people," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said of his ace, who won for the first time since beating Tampa Bay on Aug. 14.

Halladay has had little trouble beating Minnesota, going 8-0 with a 2.58 ERA in 10 starts. He allowed one run and struck out eight in seven innings to earn the victory in a 9-2 win at Minnesota on April 16.

Halladay looks to help Toronto (62-76) to a second straight victory after evening this four-game set with a 6-3 win Tuesday.

John McDonald's three-run homer highlighted a six-run sixth inning for the Blue Jays, who've won 13 of 15 overall against Minnesota, and 10 of 12 versus the Twins at Rogers Centre.

"I've been (with the Twins) for five years and this has been a tough place," catcher Mike Redmond said. "A lot of bad breaks here."

The light-hitting McDonald is 4 for 7 this season against Minnesota (69-69), which has lost four of six overall and is 6 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

"I don't hit too many homers so they had a little fun with that," said McDonald, who has 11 career homers in 718 games. "We're not where we want to be so any positives you can take from these games is good for every guy in here."

Minnesota's Carl Pavano (11-11, 5.09) hopes to change his recent fortunes overall and against Toronto when he takes the ball in this contest.

The right-hander looks to avoid losing a third straight start after giving up four runs in six innings of a 5-2 loss to his former Cleveland team on Friday.

Pavano, 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA in six starts since being acquired from the Indians last month, is 2-4 with a 6.41 ERA in eight against the Blue Jays. He allowed seven runs - including four homers - in 4 2-3 innings and took the loss in a 10-6 defeat at Toronto on July 22, while with Cleveland.

Jason Kubel drove in two runs Tuesday for the Twins, who are batting .241 and averaging 3.0 runs during their last six games.

After pinch-hitting Tuesday, AL batting leader Joe Mauer is expected to be the designated hitter Wednesday for Minnesota. Mauer is batting .368 on the season, but is 1 for 10 against Halladay.