Jays look to bounce back against Tigers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Adam Lind, who homered off Penny in that game, was batting .477 with six home runs and 15 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak but went hitless in two at-bats Saturday before leaving with tightness in his lower back.

Aaron Hill and Jose Bautista will be in the lineup for the Blue Jays.

While Lind’s status for Sunday is uncertain, Bautista and Hill are both expected to return from injury. Bautista, who led the majors with 54 home runs in 2010, has been out since last Sunday due to neck spasms.

The Blue Jays have averaged just 2.6 runs in five games without Bautista, who is batting .357 and has nine homers.

“We’ve had to take a number of different looks because of the limited roster that we’ve had and the day-to-day status of a couple of guys,” manager John Farrell told MLB.com. “But the most encouraging thing is that by the end of the weekend we could be a whole heck of a lot healthier than we’ve been over the last ten days.”

Bautista is batting .429 with three homers during an eight-game hitting streak versus the Tigers.

Hill, whose 62 home runs from 2009-10 ranked second in the majors among second basemen, has been out since April 19 with a strained right hamstring. He was batting .242 with no homers prior to getting hurt.

Hill is 3 for 15 lifetime against Penny, while Bautista is 2 for 13 with four strikeouts.

Detroit’s Justin Verlander had little trouble shutting down the injury-riddled Toronto Blue Jays.

Brad Penny could be hard-pressed to approach Verlander’s success, especially with Toronto’s lineup regaining its health.

Seeking an encore for Verlander’s no-hitter, the visiting Tigers continue their four-game set with the Blue Jays, who are expected to have both Jose Bautista and Aaron Hill back Sunday.

Verlander steamrolled his way through Toronto’s (15-18) lineup in Saturday’s 9-0 win, allowing just one walk en route to his second career no-hitter.

“It was as good as it gets. He just missed by inches of being perfect. It really doesn’t get any better than that. That’s great stuff,” manager Jim Leyland said.

The no-hitter was merely the most impressive performance in an excellent stretch of starting pitching for Detroit (16-18). The Tigers’ rotation has a 1.50 ERA over the last five games, four of them victories. Penny (2-3, 5.23 ERA) began that stretch Tuesday, limiting the New York Yankees to one unearned run and six hits over six innings of a 4-2 victory.

Penny, 0-2 with a 10.43 ERA in three road outings this season, had gone 3-0 with a 3.19 ERA in his first six career starts against the Blue Jays but allowed six runs and eight hits in a 6-2 Boston loss at Rogers Centre on July 18, 2009.

Detroit, which averaged 2.9 runs during a season-worst seven-game skid April 26-May 2, has since scored a total of 27 runs in five games.

Victor Martinez went 2 for 5 with two RBIs Saturday, while Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila each homered and drove in two runs.

Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2, 4.66) will try to slow down Detroit’s offense and earn his first win in his seventh start. The left-hander gave up one run and four hits in six innings Tuesday, but didn’t get a decision in a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay.

Reyes has never faced the Tigers.