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Orioles-Blue Jays Preview

May 29, 2010 - 3:49 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Baltimore (15-33) at Toronto (27-22), 1:07 p.m. EDT

A tough road trip didn't seem to hurt the Toronto Blue Jays' confidence at Rogers Centre. It isn't very surprising that their continued home success has come against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Blue Jays look to continue their home dominance against the Orioles and beat their AL East rivals for a fifth time in as many meetings this season Saturday.

Following a 3-5 road trip, Toronto (28-22) had to hope a nine-game homestand would help get it back on track. The Blue Jays opened that stretch with a 5-0 win over the Orioles (15-34) on Friday night.

It was Toronto's eighth win in its last 10 at Rogers Centre, and it improved to 4-0 overall against Baltimore this year. The Blue Jays have won six straight and 15 of their last 17 home games versus the Orioles, who have the major league's worst record.

Toronto got home runs from Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells in the opener of this three-game series to increase its major league-leading total to 81.

Hill, who went 3 for 33 during the Blue Jays' road trip, took extra batting practice before the game and finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. The second baseman is batting .164, but he does have seven homers after hitting a career-best 36 last season.

Hill is hitting .350 with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last 13 home games against Baltimore. He remained in the No. 2 spot in the order, but slumping first baseman Lyle Overbay was dropped from fifth to seventh.

"It's a tough call," manager Cito Gaston told the Blue Jays' official website. "You don't want Overbay to lose any confidence that he has."

Overbay is 0 for 15 with seven strikeouts over his last four games and 1 for 23 in his last six versus the Orioles.

The Blue Jays will now face Chris Tillman (2-5, 5.40 ERA, 2009), one of the Orioles' top pitching prospects. Tillman is making his season debut for Baltimore after going 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 starts with Triple-A Norfolk, including a no-hitter against the Gwinnett Braves on April 28.

The 22-year-old right-hander is taking over for David Hernandez, who was moved to the bullpen.

Tillman struggled last year after being called up July 29, surrendering four runs or more in four of his last five outings. He faced the Blue Jays twice, going 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA.

Toronto will counter with Brett Cecil (4-2, 4.10), who has posted a 1.32 ERA in winning his last two starts. The left-hander was particularly sharp in his last outing, allowing two hits in 7 1-3 innings of a 6-0 win over Los Angeles on Monday night.

Cecil, a native of Maryland, is 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA in two career starts versus the Orioles.

Baltimore will be trying to rebound after going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position Friday, making it 3 for 31 in such situations this season against Toronto. The Orioles were shut out for the fourth time this year despite Luke Scott's return to the lineup.

Scott went 1 for 3 after missing three games with a sore left shoulder. Scott is batting .429 with five homers and 11 RBIs over his last 13 games.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at a career-best 13 games. Jones is hitting .189 in 19 games at Toronto.