At least they'll have momentum after Brandon Morrow threw eight shutout innings at the Cardinals. Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 0. After the big lineup shuffle, Lind homered once, Wells homered twice, Adam Wainwright was chased after four innings, and the Jays avoided a Cardinals sweep.
Now they head to Philadelphia, where they will welcome the visiting Phillies for a three-game series. Litsch, Marcum and Cecil will face Halladay, Hamels and the eternal Jamie Moyer, another pitcher I hoped to see in person this weekend. It's probably the Jays' most difficult interleague assignment, but at least they get to bat last and use the DH. It raises some interesting questions about how much of home field advantage is the last ups, and how much is being able to suit your team to its home park, and how much is just playing in a familiar park with supportive fans.
Really, isn't it just wonderful that the unnecessary location of the G20 summit on Front Street has deprived Toronto of the most anticipated Blue Jays game of 2010. Oh, sure, the Phillies will be here next year, assuming the Jays' formal request is granted. And there's a 60% chance Halladay will pitch in that series, if he's healthy. That's better than a cointoss, though there's still the chance Roy Halladay never pitches in Toronto again. If he does pitch, and even if the Jays' lineup resembles the Halladay-era Jays even less than it does now, with Overbay gone and maybe a few new starting pitchers in the rotation and who knows how many injuries, and even if the Jays aren't over .500, and even if the weather isn't goddamn gorgeous on that day like it's supposed to be tonight, and even if our memories of Doc are a bit mustier, it'll still be an event. It will not make up for what should have taken place tonight.
Halladay, for his part, is on a bit of a cold streak. He still has a 1.51 ERA against National League teams, and he's averaging 7.9 innings per NL start. But he's been hammered in his three interleague starts. The Twins, Red Sox and Yankees have combined to hang a 6.86 ERA and three losses on Doc. Those teams do all have the advantage of being very experienced against Doc. The Jays have a lot of players who will be facing Doc in a competitive game for the first time ever: among their regulars, Wells, Hill, Lind, Bautista, Lewis and Hoffpauir.
They'll see a slightly different Doc than the guy they're used to watching, as Halladay has a new toy in his pitching arsenal. He's throwing 12.6% changeups this year. That's more than twice his previous career high.
I'd like to see the Jays force the issue on the basepaths tonight.
Jesse Litsch gets to take down the Doctor. He's looking to build on the seven shutout innings he threw at the Giants last weekend. Litsch and Halladay, Phillies -230, first pitch 7:05. Enjoy it.
