New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 18, 2012 ) Toronto 0, NY Yankees 6

After suffering through the worst six-week stretch of his career, Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero appears to be back in form. That turnaround will be put to the test Friday night as he and the Blue Jays welcome the powerhouse New York Yankees to town in the opener of a three-game set. The Yankees come into this one having earned a tough split of a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers, while Toronto returns home after being swept by Tampa Bay.

Once a jumbled mess with five teams sitting above the .500 mark, the American League East has begun to spread out. At the top of the ledger sits New York, 19 games above .500 and 5 1/2 games up on the second-place Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays find themselves at the bottom of the standings, 12 games off the pace and losers of nine of their last 11 games. A rash of injuries has torpedoed Toronto's chances of keeping pace in the East, while the Yankees have been relatively healthy all season long.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Freddy Garcia (5-5, 5.00 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH Ricky Romero (8-8, 5.47)

Garcia has shown remarkable consistency of late, allowing three runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts. That streak has trimmed his ERA by nearly 1 1/2 runs, though he may struggle to continue that trend against Toronto. He's just 7-8 with an unsightly 6.02 ERA in 19 career appearances - including 18 starts - versus the Blue Jays. On the plus side, he has the good fortune of facing a Toronto lineup that will be without slugger Jose Bautista (wrist), first baseman Adam Lind (back) and third baseman Brett Lawrie (oblique) among others.

Romero is 0-7 in eight starts dating back to June 27, but his previous outing provided reason for optimism. The 27-year-old limited Oakland to a run on three hits over seven strong innings, but he wasn't around for the decision as Toronto went on to win 3-1. Run support has been a major issue for Romero, as the Jays have scored a total of four runs in his last six starts. That includes a 6-0 shutout loss to the Yankees on July 18, a game in which Romero was torched for all six runs on 12 hits over six frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Yankees lead the season series 3-2 but have dropped three straight games at the Rogers Centre.

2. Yankees SS Derek Jeter enters the series leading the American League with 145 hits. Despite being the major leagues' active hits leader with 3,233, Jeter has won the AL hits title just once in his career (1999, 219 hits).

3. Romero is 3-5 with a 5.37 ERA in 11 career starts against New York.