Philadelphia @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2011 ) Philadelphia 7, Toronto 6

THE STORY: Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay returns to his old stomping grounds Saturday when he takes on the Toronto Blue Jays in the middle game of a three-game series. Halladay, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, will try for his 11th victory as he faces his former team in Toronto for the first time since being traded in December 2009. He will have his hands full with Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who hit his major league-leading 25th home run in Toronto's series-opening 7-6 loss on Canada Day.

TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), RSN (Toronto)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Roy Halladay (10-3, 2.40 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Carlos Villanueva (5-1, 3.15). Halladay, who is seeking his sixth straight victory, is coming off his fifth complete game of the season, a 3-1 triumph over Oakland on Sunday in which he allowed one run. The 34-year old is 5-0 with a 2.64 ERA in eight outings since losing at Atlanta on May 15. Halladay, who has yielded fewer than three earned runs in 12 of his 17 starts this year, tossed seven scoreless innings in defeating the Blue Jays in Philadelphia last season. After suffering his first loss of the season June 19, Villanueva came back to limit St. Louis to two runs over six innings en route to victory June 25. The 27-year old, who will be making his eighth start of the year, is 4-1 and has held the opposition to a .216 average since joining the rotation.

ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS (40-43): Shortstop Yunel Escobar's afternoon ended early Friday. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Escobar was hit on the left hand with a pitch by Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick and exited the game. X-rays were negative and he is listed as day-to-day. Outfielder Corey Patterson did not play Friday, but is likely to be in Saturday's lineup considering his success against Halladay. Patterson has only one RBI, but is 7-for-19 (.368) lifetime against Halladay.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (52-31): Friday's comeback victory was Philadelphia's 14th win in 19 games. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins received somewhat of a rest as he served as the designated hitter. Rollins, who has a sore throwing shoulder, went 0-for-4 with a walk. Philadelphia is an NL-best 19-7 in day games, including a run of 10 straight wins to start the season. The Phillies have posted consecutive winning seasons in interleague play for the second time in club history. The team, which improved to 8-5 this year with Friday's triumph after going 10-8 last season, also recorded back-to-back winning interleague records in 2002 (10-8) and 2003 (8-7).

FINAL PITCH: Toronto has not fared well on Canada Day. The club is 11-22, including a 9-11 mark at home, and has lost four of its last five games on the national holiday.