Halladay Takes on Bucs
No team has struggled more in interleague play than the Pittsburgh Pirates since the format’s inception in 1997.
Their experience with the AL in 2008 isn’t going any better.
The reeling Pirates will look to turn their luck around on Friday when they welcome the stumbling Toronto Blue Jays, losers of five straight, to PNC Park for the first time.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Toronto -159 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 74% of bets for this game have been placed on Toronto -159 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Pittsburgh (34-39) has just a .372 winning percentage against the AL in the 12th season of interleague play, far and away the worst mark of anyone in the major leagues.
The Pirates have only finished above .500 against the AL once – when they went 8-7 in 2001 – and they’re not off to a promising start so far this season.
They blew leads in each game in losing two of three to Baltimore over the weekend, then allowed 37 runs while getting swept in Chicago, falling to 1-5 against the AL.
Pittsburgh looked like it would salvage the third game of the series on Thursday afternoon when it jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning, but gave up six in the bottom of the inning and lost 13-8.
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The Pirates are 4-29 on the road in interleague play since 2004.
"We’ve almost got to act like it didn’t even happen and start over," first baseman Adam LaRoche told the team’s official Web site. "There’s obviously no momentum right now, and we’ve got to find a way to pull our team back together."
The Pirates’ pitching staff has a 5.14 ERA, the worst in the majors, but pitching at home compared to the road has made a big difference. Pittsburgh has a 6.59 ERA on the road, but that number dips to 3.79 at PNC Park.
Zach Duke (4-4, 4.24 ERA) has picked up all four of his wins in Pittsburgh, where he’s 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA. He didn’t factor in the decision in his last start, when he gave up four runs over six innings – two in the sixth – at Baltimore on Saturday in the Pirates’ 8-7 loss.
"I did all right," Duke told the team’s official Web site. "I had some bad pitch selections toward the end."
Duke is 1-1 with a 4.71 ERA in six career interleague starts.
While the Pirates can’t seem to get anybody out, Toronto (35-39) has the exact opposite problem. The Blue Jays are 25th in the majors in runs scored and 28th in homers.
Toronto had scored a total of 19 runs in its previous eight games heading into Thursday’s series finale in Milwaukee, and looked like it was on its way to being shut out – and at the time no-hit – in the eighth inning by former Blue Jay Dave Bush.
A two-run homer by Lyle Overbay and a grand slam by Joe Inglett in the ninth made it interesting, but Toronto’s comeback fell short 8-7, its fifth straight loss.
"That’s the last thing you want to do, is get no hit," said Overbay, who had the Blue Jays’ first hit, a triple, in the eighth. "Somebody was going to do it. He was doing a good job, but somebody was bound to get on base.”
Ace Roy Halladay (8-6, 3.09) will be on the mound for Toronto, and he’s coming off his first loss since May 9. Halladay lasted just five innings on Saturday against the Cubs, allowing six runs – two earned – while striking out five in a 6-2 loss.
Halladay is 16-8 with a 3.14 ERA in 27 career interleague starts.
The Blue Jays swept the Pirates in three games in Toronto in 2003, their only meetings.
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