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Phillies-Blue Jays Preview

Jun 27, 2010 - 12:59 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Philadelphia (39-32) at Toronto (39-35), 1:35 p.m. EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays may not have been thrilled to be displaced from their home stadium because of the G20 Summit, but they've found Citizens Bank Park also suits their home run-happy ways.

It will only take one homer off Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer on Sunday to make history.

The next home run Moyer allows will give him sole possession of the all-time record in that category, and the Blue Jays hope to do the honors while deciding their three-game series with the Phillies.

The financial summit in Toronto forced this series to be moved from Rogers Centre, although the Blue Jays (40-35) are still wearing their home uniforms and batting last as the teams use the DH while finishing up interleague play.

Shut down by former Toronto ace Roy Halladay in a 9-0 loss Friday, the Blue Jays' bats were more comfortable in Saturday's 5-1 victory as Aaron Hill, Alex Gonzalez and John Buck all homered to extend the club's major league-leading total to 114.

"They obviously don't have the highest batting average, but when they hit the ball it goes out of the yard. That's their game," Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels said of the Blue Jays, whose .239 average is among the worst in the majors.

Philadelphia's cozy ballpark, where Toronto had won five straight before this series, has been especially prone to home runs. Since Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, only Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park and Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field have witnessed more homers.

Despite those numbers, Moyer (8-6, 4.43 ERA) may be happy for the extra start in Philadelphia.

The 47-year-old left-hander has gone 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA in his last four home starts, including a 2-1 victory Tuesday in which he limited Cleveland to one run and two hits over eight innings.

"He flat-out toyed with us," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "It's amazing what he's doing at his age at this level."

The only run Cleveland managed was a solo homer by Russell Branyan, the 505th allowed by Moyer during his lengthy career - tying him with Phillies legend Robin Roberts for the major league record.

"If you're around long enough stuff like this happens," Moyer said. "I always had a lot of respect for Robin."

A pair of homers hurt Toronto's Brett Cecil (7-4, 4.06) in his most recent start, a 9-4 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday during which he gave up six runs in five innings. The left-hander has a 9.00 ERA while losing his last two starts after going 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA in his previous five outings.

"Back to basics, two rough starts, time to start over," Cecil said. "I've got to get back to work on keeping the ball down."

Cecil is still holding left-handed hitters to a .154 average with one home run and 19 strikeouts in 65 at-bats. That may hurt the Phillies, whose lineup is anchored by lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

Although largely shut down by Shaun Marcum on Saturday, the Phillies (39-33) have still totaled 64 runs while winning seven of their last 10 games. Howard, who has had the rare experience of serving as the DH in his home ballpark this weekend, has five homers in that stretch.

The surge has helped Philadelphia remain in striking distance of first-place Atlanta in the NL East. With a victory Sunday, the two-time reigning NL champions would finish with a winning record against AL foes after going 10-23 in regular-season interleague games over the previous two years.