Troy Glaus displayed his patented home run swing at just the right time.

The Toronto Blue Jays third baseman not only gave his team an early 3-0 lead in an eventual 11-3 dismantling of Kansas City on Sunday, but also excited fans wondering about his prospects for Monday night's Home Run Derby in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Blue Jays' Troy Glaus snapped a six-game home run drought in Sunday's win over Kansas City. (Francis Specker/Canadian Press)

Glaus, with 23 homers on the season, will stand alongside the top sluggers in Major League Baseball to kick off all-star week.

He'll try to improve upon his showing in the 2001 event when he went homerless in 10 swings as a member of the Anaheim Angels.

"You've got to just relax and not try to kill the ball, not try to overswing or anything like that," Glaus told reporters of his strategy. "Just take a nice loose swing.

"Everybody wants to see the ball go 480 feet, but at the end of the day, that's not what you're trying to do. All you have to do is get it over the wall."

Home runs fell off

Glaus, 29, did just that with regularity earlier in the season, combining for 17 home runs in April and May. But he has clubbed only six since that time — a span of 34 games.

The Home Run Derby pits eight all-stars in three head-to-head elimination rounds. Each player is given 10 chances to hit as many homers as possible, with an out recorded anytime a player swings and doesn't hit a home run.

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, with a major league-leading 31 home runs, leads the field into Monday's competition.

Five of the top 16 home run hitters in the majors this season will take part, including Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies, Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox and Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros.

Florida's Miguel Cabrera, Baltimore's Miguel Tejada and David Wright of the New York Mets are also participating. Tejada won the event in 2004.

Glaus, mired in a 2-for-16 slump during the Jays' just-completed road trip, was given Saturday off by manager John Gibbons.

Longer range for right-handed hitters

Most Blue Jays fans probably wouldn't be too concerned if Glaus didn't win Monday's competition, as long as he doesn't repeat Bobby Abreu's post-Home Run Derby experience of a year ago.

After belting a record 41 home runs at Comerica Park in Detroit, the Philadelphia outfielder went deep a paltry six times over his final 265 at-bats as the Phillies finished one game behind Houston in the National League Wild Card race.

PNC Park does not favour right-handed hitters like Glaus, with the distance from home plate to left-centre field ranging from 389 to 410 feet.

Lefties could pull the ball down the line in right and clear the fence at 320 feet. The gap in right-centre is only 375 feet.

The 77th all-star game is scheduled for Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.