Cincinnati RedsCincinnati Reds vs. Toronto Blue JaysToronto Blue Jays Pick Center

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Time: 7:07 PM EDT Venue: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ont., Canada, M5V1J3 TORONTO -- Reds first baseman Joey Votto gets a rare opportunity to play in his hometown when Cincinnati visits the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game interleague series starting Monday at the Rogers Centre. Both teams are coming off series wins. The Reds (24-25) blasted five home runs in a 8-4 victory over the Phillies on Sunday to capture a series in Philadelphia for the first time since 2006. Adam Duvall hit two home runs and had five RBIs. He has four homers in his past four games. Patrick Kivlehan also went deep twice. The Blue Jays (23-27) had their five-game winning streak stopped Sunday with a 3-1 loss to the visiting Texas Rangers, but they still are enjoying a 15-10 May. They have seven games left on a 10-game homestand. The last time Votto, who is from the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, played at the Rogers Centre was 2009 when the Reds lost two of three games to the Blue Jays. Votto also played for Canada in World Baseball Classic games earlier that year at the Rogers Centre." It's a little different now," Votto told the Toronto Globe and Mail. "The last time I was there was in '09, and the circumstances were a little different. I was a younger player, and there was the World Baseball Classic." It all felt so fast. I promised myself after that that I wouldn't let it feel fast any more. And that's just not getting distracted by a lot of things that don't have a lot to do with my daily preparation and helping the team to win." Toronto right fielder and slugger Jose Bautista said, "From what I've seen, he's one of the best hitters in the league. What else can you say when you can just look at his numbers?"The starting pitchers in the opener of the series have never faced the other team. Marcus Stroman (5-2, 3.30 ERA) will start for Toronto. He is 4-0 with a 2.95 ERA in his past seven starts, and he has not lost since April 18. Lisalverto Bonilla (0-2, 6.17 ERA) will make his fifth appearance and fourth start for the Reds. There could be an interesting matchup Tuesday. Asher Wojciechowski, a former Blue Jays minor-leaguer, is scheduled to start for the Reds, but no starter has been named for Toronto. It could be J. A. Happ, who has been on the disabled list due to elbow inflammation since April 17. He made his first rehabilitation start Thursday with Class A Dunedin. Wojciechowski said of facing the Blue Jays, "It's just kind of funny how things work out, after just what I've been through this year and me making my first start against the team that drafted me seven years ago. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm real excited about it." The 28-year-old, who had a 1.40 ERA at Triple-A, was called up a week ago and impressed the Reds with four shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies. When Happ does return, it will be just another step on the way to Toronto regaining its full team. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson, who were out due to injuries since mid-April, returned to competition Friday. The Blue Jays still need to continue their surge to overcome an 8-17 April." I don't want to say we were ever down, but there was a time when we were in a spot we weren't expecting to be in," said Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis, who will take a 12-game hitting streak into the game Monday. "Everyone in our room takes a lot of pride in the team. There were times when we were looking at each other and saying, 'When is this thing gonna happen?'"(Manager John Gibbons') biggest message was to stay the course, keep fighting. We started coming back in games and winning, and that wasn't going our way in the beginning. We have a lot of work to do, but we feel good about what we can do." The last time the Reds and Blue Jays met was in 2014, when Cincinnati won two of three games at Great American Ball Park.

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