Just the thing to get the Jays back in the winning groove -- a trip to Detroit. Tonight, Cory Lidle faces that fearsome lineup -- the Tiggers are hitting .225 as a team (20 points worse than anyone else in the majors) and have scored less than half as many runs as the Jays this year. Lidle still must be better than he was against Baltimore last week to earn his 11th win of the season.
Hard-luck southpaw Mike Maroth has a much more difficult assignment. Josh Phelps finally gets to start; so does Dave Berg, as F-Cat and O-Dog get the night off. Reed Johnson moves up to the 2-hole. Chris Woodward is back at short (it was a sore thumb, I'm told, not his shoulder) and Eric Hinske also gets a rest, with Bordick shifting to third. Tosca's got eight righties and a lefty RBI machine in there, plus an absolutely awesome bench.
Tomorrow -- nothing like a Canada Day game in the U.S. -- Mark Hendrickson takes on RH Matt Roney, a 23-year-old making his third career start. That could be the highest-scoring affair of the series. The finale is a classic pitchers' duel; 11-2 Halladay vs. 1-11 Bernero. Anything less than a sweep will be disappointing.
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