TOR Blue Jays at CLE Indians (May 12, 2008)
2008-05-12 05:21:00
PA SPORTSTICKER AL PREVIEW
(TORONTO-CLEVELAND)
*Blue Jays hope to avoid fourth straight loss*
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Toronto (17-21) at Cleveland (18-18) 4:05 pm EDT
CLEVELAND (Ticker) - With their rotation starting to show some
cracks and Vernon Wells out for up to two months, the Toronto
Blue Jays hope their fortunes do not go down with them.
The Blue Jays hope to avoid their fourth straight loss when they
meet the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a doubleheader on
Monday.
Sunday's matchup was postponded do to rain, leading to the
fourth traditional doubleheader in Progressive Field history and
the first since August 13, 1997.
Wells was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a
broken left wrist after making a diving catch in Friday's series
opener. His injury is expected to sideline him for 6-8 weeks.
More disturbing for Toronto is that two of its top starting
pitchers have been knocked around over the team's first two
games of this series. After ace Roy Halladay allowed four runs
over six innings on Friday, Dustin McGowan surrendered nine runs
and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings of Saturday's 12-0 loss.
The Blue Jays will look to reverse their fortunes when they send
A.J. Burnett (3-3, 5.19 ERA) to the mound.
The righthander has fallen into a pattern of alternating wins
and losses over his last five starts. In Tuesday's 5-4 loss to
Tampa Bay, he allowed five runs and nine hits over six frames
despite striking out a season-high 10.
Cleveland will counter with Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.95 ERA), who
has been uncharacteristically wild lately. After issuing just
61 walks over 32 starts during in his breakout 2007 campaign,
the righthander leads the majors with 31 free passes after just
eight turns this season.
The sinkerballer absorbed his second straight no-decision when
he permitted three runs and six hits over five innings in a 5-3
win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
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