Pittsburgh @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 1, Toronto 2

THE STORY: An improved pitching staff is the primary reason Pittsburgh is playing its best baseball in recent memory. And the Pirates send one of their hottest starters - Jeff Karstens - to the hill against the host Toronto Blue Jays as they look to win a third straight interleague series Thursday. The teams have split the first two games - Pittsburgh won 7-6 in the opener and Toronto earned a 2-1 victory Wednesday.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, RSN (Toronto), Root Sports (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Blue Jays LH Brett Cecil (1-2, 6.86 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Jeff Karstens (5-4, 2.66). Cecil, a 15-game winner in 2010, was sent down to Triple A in late April to work on improving his velocity (it dropped from around 93 mph to 88 at the time of his demotion). From all accounts, he has regained the zip on his fastball and will make his first start since April 20. Cecil went 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA over his final three minor-league outings. He has never faced the Pirates. Karstens has been a key contributor to the Pirates’ overachieving staff. The righthander is 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA in five starts this month and opponents are hitting .183 off him in that span. He went 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in four games - two starts - against Toronto as a member of the New York Yankees.

ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS (40-41): Toronto had lost seven of nine at home prior to beating the Pirates on Wednesday. Toronto moved star right fielder Jose Bautista to third base earlier this week in order to generate more offense from the position. His power may be rubbing off on his replacement, though. In his second start in place of Bautista, rookie Eric Thames belted his first-career home run in Wednesday’s win. Thames’ solo shot in the sixth bounced off the top of the left-center field wall. Bautista is tied with Mark Teixeira for the major-league home run lead with 24. He will remain at third base until Brett Lawrie, the team’s top prospect, is ready to take over. Lawrie suffered a broken hand in the minors and could be out until August.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (40-39): Pittsburgh, which has won five of seven, is one of the biggest surprises in baseball. Pittsburgh hasn’t been over .500 this late in a season since 1999, when it was 40-38 on July 2. A lot of credit has to go to pitching coach Ray Searge, who has helped transform what was the majors’ worst pitching staff. Pirates’ starters posted a 5.28 ERA last season. Through 79 games, Pittsburgh starters have compiled a 3.65 ERA - the ninth-best mark in baseball - and have accounted for 30 wins. They won 34 games in 2010.

FINAL PITCH: Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan has converted 23 straight saves – one shy of the franchise record set by Mike Gonzalez in 2006.