Road trip tough on Jays' Zaun
With catcher Gregg Zaun in a funk, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons figured a little rest might help the 34-year-old. A return to his old stomping grounds probably wouldn't hurt Zaun either.RELATED: Player bio: Gregg Zaun
Blue Jays catchers Gregg Zaun, shown here, and Ken Huckaby are batting a combined .089 during the team's 13-game road trip. (CP Photo)
Back in the lineup Friday against the Houston Astros, Zaun went 1-for-2 against his former team and drew two walks in Toronto's 4-2 loss at Minute Maid Park.
Zaun and backup Ken Huckaby arrived in Texas hitting a combined .089 (4-for-45) during the Blue Jays' 13-game road trip.
RELATED: Game Day: Toronto at Houston
All four of the hits belonged to Zaun, who enters Saturday night's game with a disappointing .229 average and six RBIs in 17 games since returning on May 24 from a concussion.
"Zaun's one of our key RBI guys. He was in a little lull for a while there," said Gibbons of Zaun, who was hitting .275 with three homers and a team-leading 20 RBIs in 28 games before the injury.
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"We have to make sure we keep him well-rested. He plays hard and he's not a young kid anymore. When he's strong, he's a good little player."
Zaun, who has started eight of the 11 games on the road swing, displayed some patience at the plate on Friday. Hitting seventh in the Jays' batting order, he worked Astros rookie left-hander Wandy Rodriguez for a pair of walks.
Despite Zaun's struggles of late, Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi isn't looking for an immediate fix behind the plate.
Zaun proved to be a huge find for Ricciardi last year when former Jays catcher Greg Myers sprained his left ankle in the first month of the season.
After signing a minor-league contract, Zaun became Toronto's regular backstop for the remainder of the 2004 campaign and hit .269 in 107 games.
Zaun's teammates will be hoping the switch-hitter can continue to deliver on Saturday against former Blue Jays ace and future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens.
Zaun is a career .286 hitter (4-for-14) against Clemens, with three of those hits going for extra bases (two doubles, home run).
Shooting for the 333rd win of his illustrious career, Clemens (4-3) will be making his 47th start against Toronto.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner leads the National League with a 1.67 earned-run average.
Clemens had been the victim of poor run support in 2005 until his last start.
The 42-year-old allowed a season-high nine hits, leading to four earned runs over five innings in the Astros' 6-4 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday.
Winners of three straight and four of five, Houston (24-35) is 17-12 at home this season.
Left-hander Gustavo Chacin (6-4) starts for the Blue Jays, who are 17-18 away from the Rogers Centre.
He pitched seven shutout innings in Toronto's 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
Astros second baseman Craig Biggio needs three hits to reach the 2,700-hit plateau.
Toronto's Josh Towers (5-4) opposes Roy Oswalt (6-7) in Sunday's series finale at 2:05 p.m. ET.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/
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