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Blue Jays-Angels Preview

May 6, 2009 - 7:00 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Toronto (19-10) at Los Angeles (12-13), 10:05 p.m. EDT

With their ace on the mound, the Toronto Blue Jays are ready for a test out west.

Roy Halladay looks for his sixth victory Wednesday night when the Blue Jays open a two-game set against the surging Los Angeles Angels.

One of the early surprises of 2009, Toronto (19-10) has lost just one series and hasn't dropped more than two games in row. The Blue Jays, who are 8-6 on the road, also haven't traveled further west than Kansas City.

Opening a five-game swing that includes a weekend series in Oakland, Toronto hopes to play better against the Angels this year after going 2-4 in Anaheim a year ago.

Coming off a 10-6 win over Cleveland on Tuesday for its fourth win in five games, Toronto faces a Los Angeles (12-13) club that's trying for a season-high fourth straight victory.

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston believes his team is in for one of its first true challenges on the young season.

"We're going to California - (the Angels) won over 100 games last year," he told the Blue Jays' official Web site. "They're off to a little bit of a slow start, but they're a tough team that you have to really deal with out there.

"Of course, we're fortunate enough to have Doc (Halladay) pitch one of those games, but they're tough with Doc out there, too."

Trying to join Kansas City's Zack Greinke as the only six-game winners in the major leagues, Halladay (5-1, 3.68 ERA) is 6-5 with a 4.63 ERA in 14 starts against the Angels.

The right-hander, who is 2-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts on the road versus the Angels, will try for a third consecutive victory overall. He allowed four runs and 10 hits while striking out six in eight innings of an 8-4 win over Baltimore on Friday.

"I think everybody would like to have about 10 Docs around," Gaston said. "That's impossible but we do have one, so we've got to enjoy him."

Though Angels catcher Mike Napoli went 0-for-4 in a 5-3 win at Oakland on Tuesday, he is 11-for-21 (.524) in his last six contests. Napoli also is 3-for-5 with a homer against Halladay.

Chone Figgins had three hits and two RBIs, while Gary Matthews Jr., drove in three runs Tuesday for Los Angeles, which has scored 27 times in its last four games.

Figgins went 6-for-9 with three runs scored during the two-game set against Oakland.

Rookie Anthony Ortega (0-1, 5.56) makes his third start for Los Angeles after allowing three earned runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 7-4 road loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday.

"Stay strong and stay confident," Ortega told the Angels official Web site. "That's my approach."

The right-hander will make his first appearance against Toronto.

Adam Lind hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs Tuesday for Toronto, which leads the majors in runs (176) and batting average (.295).

Lind went 5-for-8 with six RBIs in the two-game set against the Indians to raise his batting average to .333. He is 6-for-18 with a homer in five career games against the Angels.