New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 17, 2015 ) NY Mets 0, Toronto 8

A pair of pitchers who already have celebrated their 40th birthday take the mound on Thursday as the Toronto Blue Jays look to salvage a split of their four-game home-and-home interleague series with the visiting New York Mets. While New York's Bartolo Colon, 42, attempts to join Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole as the only 10-game winners in the National League, 40-year-old R.A. Dickey faces the team with which he won the 2012 NL Cy Young Award before being sent to Toronto as part of a seven-player deal.

The meeting marks the first between starting pitchers in their 40s since San Diego's Greg Maddux squared off against Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer on Aug. 15, 2008. Dickey certainly could benefit from some offensive support from the Blue Jays, who averaged a staggering eight runs during their franchise high-tying 11-game winning streak (June 2-14) and matched that total in Wednesday's shutout victory over the Mets. Danny Valencia provided the big blow with a three-run blast to improve to 7-for-21 with two homers, eight RBIs and seven runs scored this month. While Toronto has won seven in a row at home to up its mark to 21-12 at Rogers Centre, NL East-leading New York continues to struggle on the road (10-20).

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Bartolo Colon (9-4, 4.41 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH R.A. Dickey (2-6, 5.29)

Colon recorded his third win in four outings on Friday after allowing two runs and six hits in as many innings of a 5-3 victory over Atlanta. The veteran owns a 10-5 career mark with a 4.02 ERA versus Toronto but hasn't faced the club since 2013. Colon has kept Edwin Encarnacion (4-for-16, .250) and the dangerous Jose Bautista (2-for-11, .182) in check during their respective battles at the plate.

Dickey saw his winless span stretch to four starts on Saturday after yielding four runs and six hits in as many frames of a 5-4 victory over Boston. The struggling knuckleballer will face New York for the third time in his career but first since being traded to Toronto. Dickey has acquitted himself well in his career against Curtis Granderson (2-for-15, .133) and John Mayberry Jr. (2-for-13, .154).

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto SS Jose Reyes is 1-for-13 with two strikeouts in the first three games versus his former team.

2. New York RHP Akeel Morris allowed five runs while recording only two outs in his major-league debut before being demoted to Double-A Binghamton after the contest.

3. Nelson Doubleday Jr., the former owner of the Mets, died of pneumonia on Wednesday. He was 81.

PREDICTION: Blue Jays 4, Mets 3