Just Can’t Get A Break
The Toronto Blue Jays have their cleanup hitter back, but now they’ve got another hole to fill in their lineup as they try to bounce back from a frustrating weekend.
With third baseman Scott Rolen on the disabled list, the Blue Jays will be trying to rebound from a weekend sweep when they open a four-game road series with the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Detroit -155 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 82% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -155 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
The Blue Jays (59-59) had center fielder Vernon Wells in the lineup Sunday for the first time since July 9, when he injured his leg stealing third base against Baltimore. Wells started at designated hitter, but went 0-for-4 as the Jays lost 4-0 to Cleveland.
"Good to be back, bad game to be back," Wells said. "Felt good some at-bats, a little tardy on other ones."
Wells, who also missed 26 games earlier in the season due to a fractured right wrist, is batting .283 with nine homers and 42 RBIs. Manager Cito Gaston said he could be back in the outfield Monday.
Although Wells returned Sunday, the Blue Jays lost another regular in Rolen, who was scratched with soreness in his surgically repaired left shoulder and placed on the DL after the game. Outfielder Kevin Mench, optioned to Triple-A when Wells was activated, will take Rolen’s place on the roster.
The latest injury comes at a bad time for the Blue Jays, who were outscored 13-4 in losing three games to the Indians. Toronto came into the series having scoring 21 runs during a four-game sweep of Oakland.
The Blue Jays will be trying to bounce back against a Tigers club that took two of three from the A’s over the weekend. Detroit earned a 6-1 victory Sunday as starter Nate Robertson won for the first time in more than six weeks, while Curtis Granderson homered and Magglio Ordonez drove in two runs.
"It’s important to win every series right now," Robertson told the Tigers’ official Web site. "We’d like to win all three on this (10-game) homestand, but it’s important we got the first one."
Detroit (58-59) has injury woes of its own – Marcus Thames was scratched with a sore right shoulder and is listed as day-to-day, while Carlos Guillen missed his second straight game with lower back spasms. Manager Jim Leyland said Guillen could play Monday.
The Tigers will hand the ball to struggling Justin Verlander (8-12, 4.56 ERA), who’s dropped his last three starts and posted a 9.35 ERA in that span. He gave up five runs in 7 2-3 innings in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, throwing a career-high 130 pitches.
"I thought (Verlander) made some strides tonight," Leyland told the Tigers’ Web site. "He had good mechanics, threw the ball inside some."
Verlander, who has never faced the Blue Jays, will be up against Shaun Marcum (6-5, 3.44), who’s making his fifth start after more than a month on the DL with a right elbow strain. The right-hander was 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in his first three starts after returning, but took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Wednesday, allowing one run in seven innings of a 5-1 victory over Oakland.
"After the game was over, I told him, ‘Welcome back,’" catcher Rod Barajas told the Blue Jays’ Web site.
The win was Marcum’s first since May 26 against Kansas City. He’s 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four career appearances versus the Tigers, and allowed five runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 5-1 home loss in his lone start against them April 21.
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