=== Toronto Blue Jays Team Report - June 20 ===

(My Sportsbook) - Cory Lidle will try and become the second Blue Jays starter with 10 wins tonight when Toronto opens a three-game interleague set against its Canadian counterpart the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium.

Lidle, 9-4 with a 5.07 ERA, has struggled a bit since winning seven straight decisions and is just 1-2 over his last four starts with a 7.13 ERA. In his last outing, the 31-year-old righthander allowed four runs on six hits over seven innings to the Chicago Cubs, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 5-4 win.

A win tonight by Lidle would tie him atop the American League in wins with a group that includes teammate Roy Halladay among others.

In three career appearances against the Expos, Lidle is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA.

On Thursday, Vernon Wells hit a pair of home runs and drove in three runs to lead the scorching Blue Jays to a 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles to complete a two-game sweep of a rain-shortened series at Camden Yards.

Kelvim Escobar pitched six innings of one-run ball to win his third consecutive start. He gave up just four hits and struck out six. Escobar (5-3) has now surrendered just two earned runs in his last three starts for the red- hot Blue Jays, who won their third straight.

Wells hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the fifth for the Blue Jays, who have won eight of their last nine games and moved within 1 1/2 games of the New York Yankees for the American League East lead.

Josh Phelps added a solo home run in the winning effort, as Toronto moved 10 games above .500 for the first time since September 23, 2000.

Wells extended his hitting streak to 12 games and is 18-for-49 in that time with four home runs and 10 RBI. His 65 RBI on the season are second in the league only to teammate Carlos Delgado's 76. Wells also had a 12-game streak from May 13-24, one shy of the career-high run he had last season.

Toronto is 18-13 all-time against the Expos,while posting a 7-7 mark in Montreal since the inception of interleague play in 1997.

This series will be played for more than just bragging rights this year, as the Expos announced earlier in the week that after a 17-year absence the Pearson Cup will be awarded to the winner of the six games between the two clubs. It will be the first time the Cup is awarded based on the results of regular season games.

The Pearson Cup, which was established in 1978, was named after former Canadian Prime Minister and ardent baseball fan Lester B. Pearson and awarded to the winner of a mid-season exhibition between the two Canadian clubs. However,the Cup was last awarded back in 1986 when the Blue Jays captured a 5-2 win.

Toronto is 7-5 against the Senior Circuit.