New York @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( May 25, 2011 ) Toronto 3, NY Yankees 7

THE STORY: The New York Yankees kick off the second half of the season Thursday with an eight-game road trip against a pair of American League East rivals. New York, which trails division-leading Boston by one game, will play four games in Toronto before heading south for another four-game set against Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays closed the first half of the season with three straight victories over Cleveland, but they are only 14-20 against division foes this season, including 3-5 against the Yankees. New York sends Bartolo Colon to the mound to face Toronto lefty Jo-Jo Reyes.

TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, WWOR, RSN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Bartolo Colon (6-4, 3.20 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH Jo-Jo Reyes (4-7, 4.57 ERA).

Colon has to rate as the most pleasant surprise in the first half for New York, especially after being out of the majors in 2010. He had a four-game winning streak snapped in his last start, allowing five runs and a season-high 10 hits in a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Colon is 9-4 with a 3.84 ERA in 20 career starts vs. Toronto, but he was roughed up for six runs on seven hits in a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays on May 23.

Reyes has faced the Yankees once in his career and it was a brief outing. He lasted three innings and was tagged for two-run homers by Mark Teixeira and Andruw Jones in a 7-3 loss at New York on May 25. That dropped Reyes to 0-4 on the season and extended his winless streak to 28 games. He has made eight starts since, going 4-3 and allowing at least four runs in four of those outings. He has not recorded a strikeout in his last two starts.

ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS (45-47): Toronto plays 40 of its final 70 games at home so the first priority will be to improve upon its 19-22 record at Rogers Centre. The highlight of the season has been the play of third baseman Jose Bautista, who proved last year’s 54-home season was no fluke by mashing a major league-leading 31 homers by the All-Star break. Bautista has hit safely in nine of 10 games in July, slugging seven homers and driving in 13 runs. Toronto traded OF Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (53-35): New York has overcome a spate of injuries en route to compiling the third-best record in baseball. The Yankees will have a big void to fill in the lineup after third baseman Alex Rodriguez underwent surgery Monday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. He is expected to be sidelined from four to six weeks. Captain Derek Jeter became the first Yankee player to reach 3,000 hits with a 5-for-5 performance last Saturday. The second half could be a big challenge for New York, with 42 of 74 games away from home and several players on the wrong side of age 30.

FINAL PITCH: Bautista set a team record for most homers by the All-Star break, eclipsing the previous mark of 29 held by George Bell in 1987. He also became the first player since Mark McGwire in 1997-98 to lead the majors in homers at the All-Star break for two straight seasons.