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Rolling Blue Jays open four-game set against Royals

Apr 27, 2009 - 12:16 AM By Kate Hedlin Stats Writer

Toronto (14-6) at Kansas City (9-9), 8:10 p.m. EST

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- After finishing near the bottom of their respective divisions last season, the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals both got off to surprising starts. Only the Blue Jays have been able to maintain it.

Toronto looks to hang on to the best record in the majors and win its sixth straight over the Royals on Monday when the teams open a four-game series.

The Blue Jays (14-6) finished in fourth place in the AL East last season, but they're at the top of the division this year and are a half-game ahead of St. Louis and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball.

Toronto won its sixth straight series Sunday following a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Scott Rolen singled home Vernon Wells in the eighth inning of a tie game and Roy Halladay retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced after giving up three runs over the first three innings.

"Everything just seems to be working right now," said second baseman Aaron Hill, who has hit safely in 19 of Toronto's 20 games and is batting a team-high .367. "Guys are doing their jobs on the mound and we're doing it on a day-to-day basis at the plate. It happens to be working right now."

Toronto's rotation has keyed its success lately. Excluding Brian Burres' season debut Saturday against Chicago when he allowed six runs in 4 1-3 innings, Blue Jays starters are 6-1 with a 2.99 ERA in their last 11 games.

The only Toronto pitcher with at least three starts to go winless is David Purcey (0-1, 6.10 ERA), who takes the mound Monday.

Purcey pitched 5 1-3 innings against Texas on Wednesday, allowing three runs and seven hits in an 8-7, 11-inning win. The left-hander hadn't made it out of the fifth inning in his previous two starts.

This will be Purcey's first time facing Kansas City (9-9).

The Royals ended up fourth in the AL Central last year and haven't finished with a winning record since 2003, but they opened this season 7-4 and were leading the division.

Kansas City has since stumbled, however, dropping five of seven. It lost a second consecutive series with a 3-2 defeat to Detroit on Sunday.

The Royals have scored 13 runs in their last five games while hitting .205. They went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position in losing the last two games to the Tigers.

"The bottom line is we've got to get the big hit," manager Trey Hillman said. "We've got to get the offense going and plate some runs. It's not just one guy. We're not clicking."

The Royals were awful offensively in losing the final five meetings with Toronto last season, getting held to six runs while batting .214 with no homers.

Brian Bannister (1-0, 0.00) hopes that trend doesn't continue as he makes his second start after being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

The right-hander, who got a spot in the rotation when Horacio Ramirez was sent to the bullpen, allowed four hits in six innings of a 2-0 win at Cleveland on Wednesday. Bannister made a career-high 32 starts last season and was 9-16 with a 5.76 ERA.

"It wasn't a spectacular outing, but I did what I needed to do," he said. "I know my role. I'm glad to contribute and try to earn my way back."

Bannister was 0-6 with a 5.89 ERA in his final eight starts at Kauffman Stadium last season. He lost his only career outing versus the Blue Jays on Aug. 12, 2007.