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Blue Jays-Braves Preview

May 23, 2009 - 4:33 AM By JON PALMIERI STATS Editor

Toronto (27-17) at Atlanta (20-20), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Toronto Blue Jays leading the AL East this late into the season is one of baseball's biggest surprises. Unless their offense gets back in gear, they may not maintain that lofty spot too much longer.

Losers of a season-high four straight, the Blue Jays will start Casey Janssen in his first major league appearance since 2007 on Saturday night when they continue a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves.

Residing in the same division as high-payroll teams Boston and the New York Yankees and defending AL champion Tampa Bay, Toronto (27-18) figured to have a difficult time competing with some of baseball's best clubs.

A potent offense, Roy Halladay's continued brilliance and an unexpected boost from some young starting pitchers, however, have kept the Blue Jays atop the East most of this season.

While Halladay has maintained his dominance, Toronto's offense has been punchless lately, scoring five runs during the four-game skid. The Jays are batting .245 during their slide, including .133 (4 for 30) with runners in scoring position.

The offense was silent again in Friday night's series opener, collecting four hits off Kenshin Kawakami and Mike Gonzalez in a 1-0 loss despite seven scoreless innings from Halladay.

"We couldn't score any runs," manager Cito Gaston said. "We're having trouble scoring runs right now. (Kawakami) threw the ball well. You can't take anything away from him. They both pitched a very good game."

Unable to support their ace, the Blue Jays hope for better luck in Janssen's season debut. After missing all of last season while recovering from right shoulder surgery, the right-hander compiled a 0.76 ERA in five minor league starts between Class-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire before he was recalled Friday.

Janssen last appeared for the Blue Jays in 2007, going 2-3 with a 2.35 ERA in 70 appearances while serving as the team's setup man. He was 6-10 with a 5.22 ERA in 17 starts as a rookie in 2006.

Janssen, who has never faced the Braves, is 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA in three interleague starts.

Atlanta (21-20) has won three of four with its only loss in that span a 9-0 defeat to Colorado on Thursday.

The Braves have been held to one run in their last two games after setting a season high for runs in a 12-4 win over the Rockies on Wednesday.

A swollen right big toe kept Atlanta's Chipper Jones on the bench Friday and could sideline him again Saturday.

"I'm day to day right now," Jones told the Braves' official Web site. "It's like a sprained ankle, but it hurts to bend the toe up. I've got bad dogs to begin with, so baseball activities are pretty painful. I don't see it being a long stint out of the lineup, hopefully just a day or two and then be right back in the lineup."

Derek Lowe (5-2, 3.58) looks to rebound from his first loss in nearly a month for the Braves. Despite another strong performance, Lowe was unable to win his fifth straight start Monday against Colorado as he allowed two runs and three hits over eight innings in a 5-1 loss.

The veteran right-hander pitched at least seven innings and allowed three runs or fewer for the fourth time in his past five starts.

Lowe is 3-4 with a 4.94 ERA in nine starts against the Blue Jays but 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA in his past three outings versus Toronto.