Reds at Blue Jays
The Cincinnati Reds entered their interleague series at the Rogers Centre on a bit of a power binge, but through two games north of the border, it has been the Toronto Blue Jays flexing their muscle. The Blue Jays go for their eighth win in the last nine games Wednesday when they eye a three-game sweep of the Reds.
Cincinnati clubbed eight home runs over the weekend in Philadelphia - including five in Sunday's rubber-match victory over the Phillies - and hit four more since arriving in Toronto, but that total has been about one game's worth of work for the Blue Jays. Troy Tulowitzki's second career grand slam was one of three blasts for Toronto in Monday's 17-2 series-opening victory, while Kendrys Morales' tiebreaking two-run shot in the eighth inning Tuesday was one of four Blue Jays' homers and proved to be the difference in a 6-4 triumph. "That's kind of who we are. Our team is built that way. Especially in this ballpark … you slug it out. We're starting to get that good feeling again that when we fall behind a little bit, we can strike back quick," manager John Gibbons told MLB.com. After watching his 11-game hitting streak snapped in the opener, Zack Cozart got right back on track with two solo shots Tuesday to lift his average to .350.
TV: 12:37 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), SportsNet One (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Tim Adleman (3-2, 4.95 ERA) vs. Blue Jays RH Mike Bolsinger (0-2, 5.75)
Adleman is coming off a sterling effort in a victory at Philadelphia on Friday, getting 16 groundball outs and giving up only a first-inning single to Andres Blanco over eight scoreless innings. The performance was in stark contrast to the Georgetown product's previous five outings (four starts) in which he posted a 7.77 ERA and made through six innings only once. Adleman hasn't allowed a home run in four of his last five appearances as he faces the Blue Jays for the first time.
Bolsinger remained winless in his last eight starts since beating the Reds as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 24, 2016, in Friday's no-decision against Texas. The 29-year-old allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks across 4 2/3 innings and has handed out at least four free passes in three of his four starts despite failing to complete six innings in any of them. Bolsinger yielded two runs and struck out six over 5 2/3 innings in last season's triumph over Cincinnati.
WALK-OFFS
1. Morales is 5-for-8 with a homer, two doubles, three RBIs and five runs scored in this series.
2. Cincinnati's .422 winning percentage in interleague play is the second-worst mark in the majors (Padres, .419).
3. Toronto 2B Devon Travis went 0-for-3 on Tuesday to snap his 13-game hitting streak, but he is still batting .368 in May.