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Yankees-Blue Jays Preview

Jun 5, 2010 - 11:37 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

New York (34-21) at Toronto (32-24), 1:07 p.m. EDT

Neither Toronto's Brandon Morrow nor New York's Javier Vazquez got off to stellar starts to the season, but each pitcher is showing signs of turning things around. Given that their clubs just played 14 innings, strong outings Sunday would be a big relief for their respective taxed bullpens.

Coming off his best outing of the season, Morrow looks to help Toronto sweep the Yankees for the first time in seven years in a weekend series finale at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays (33-24) and New York received solid showings from their starters Saturday, but Andy Pettitte and Ricky Romero had long departed by the time Aaron Hill singled home the winning run in Toronto's 3-2 victory. The teams used a combined nine relief pitchers to throw 11 2-3 scoreless innings before Hill's hit with one out in the 14th.

"(Saturday) was one of the bigger wins of the year," Hill said.

Vernon Wells and Alex Gonzalez hit solo home runs Saturday for Toronto, which has won six of eight and leads the majors with 96 homers.

The Blue Jays, who won Friday's opener 6-1 behind two home runs from Jose Bautista and a solo shot from Edwin Encarnacion, can now sweep New York for the first time since winning four in a row at Yankee Stadium from May 22-25, 2003. They haven't swept a three-game set from the Yankees in Toronto since Sept. 19-21, 2000.

Just as significant, the Blue Jays are now closing in on the Yankees (34-22) and first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. Toronto is lurking 3 1/2 games behind the Rays, and will pull within one-half game of New York if it can complete the sweep.

Morrow (4-4, 6.00 ERA) may give the Jays a good shot. He's 1-0 in two starts against the Yankees, having limited them to two earned runs over 12 innings in those outings.

The right-hander had been 1-2 with a 9.18 ERA over his previous four starts, but bounced back in a big way Monday, limiting Tampa Bay to one run and three hits in seven innings of a 3-2 victory. He didn't allow his first hit until there were two outs in the sixth.

He'll try for a similar effort against a New York team that's suddenly struggling at the plate.

The Yankees (34-22) arrived in Toronto averaging 7.2 runs during a five-game winning streak, but have plated three runs and batted .169 in their two losses this weekend. The 3-through-6 hitters in New York's lineup - Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada - went a combined 2 for 24 with 10 strikeouts Saturday.

Vazquez (4-5, 6.06) appears in the process of righting his season after going 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in his first five starts. The right-hander has yielded two runs or fewer in three of his last four starts, including Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Baltimore. He allowed one run and four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings to defeat the Orioles.

"I think it's important for him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He got off to a rough start but he's bounced back. Three out of his last four starts have been very good."

Vazquez, who is 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA in five career starts in Toronto, has lost his last three starts overall against the Blue Jays despite a 2.11 ERA.

The Yankees have not been swept in any three-game series since July 10-12 at the Los Angeles Angels.