Kansas City @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2012 ) Kansas City 1, Toronto 4

The Toronto Blue Jays boast one of baseball's most explosive lineups - but it has been small ball that has led them to consecutive victories over the visiting Kansas City Royals. Toronto looks to wrap up an eight-game homestand on a winning note as it hosts the Royals on Thursday in the finale of a four-game set. Toronto has recorded 25 hits in the past two games, and all but three of them have been singles. That station-to-station style isn't the Jays' specialty, but they've made it work.

They'll try to tee off against Royals starter Luke Hochevar, who followed up back-to-back shutout performances with a dud against Minnesota. The former No. 1 pick surrendered three home runs without registering a single strikeout over six innings in a 5-1 defeat. He is opposed by Toronto right-hander Henderson Alvarez, who has impressed in back-to-back wins over Boston and the Los Angeles Angels. This is the final encounter between the clubs this season, with Toronto having won six of seven meetings.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, FSKC (Kansas City), RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Luke Hochevar (5-8, 5.23 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Henderson Alvarez (5-6, 4.15)

Hochevar wasn't fooling anyone in his last outing, serving up home runs to Joe Mauer, Chris Parmalee and Josh Willingham while dropping to 35-51 in his career. The 28-year-old has given Toronto fits during his career, going 3-1 with a respectable 3.19 ERA in six starts. That includes a sparkling performance in their last meeting April 20, when he limited the hard-hitting Jays to a run on two hits over five innings but settled for a no-decision.

As one of the only healthy starters in a Toronto uniform, Alvarez has been counted upon to provide the club with quality innings - and he has started to do just that. After going 0-4 during a six-start stretch from mid-May to mid-June, the 22-year-old Venezuelan escaped with a win over Boston before holding the Angels to a lone run over seven innings on June 30. Alvarez has yet to face the Royals in his career.

WALK-OFFS

1. Toronto joins Texas as the only American League teams with three 50-RBI men (Jose Bautista, 64; Edwin Encarnacion, 56; Colby Rasmus, 50)

2. Royals LF Alex Gordon, who hit 23 home runs a season ago, hasn't gone deep in his last 20 games.

3. Toronto manager John Farrell says the club is still considering whether to promote LHP Jamie Moyer. The 49-year-old was signed by the Blue Jays last month but has been terrible in two starts with the team's Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas.