Even without his bat, Roy Halladay is just what the doctor ordered for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The ace right-hander will try to build on his recent success against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and help his team rebound from a lopsided defeat, as he takes the mound Wednesday in interleague play in Toronto.

Jays ace Roy Halladay is searching for his fourth consecutive victory.
(Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Halladay (7-2, 4.37 ERA) is 3-0 with a 4.38 ERA in four starts after missing 18 games because of an appendectomy. One of those victories came in L.A. on June 10, when he allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings in an 11-5 victory.

Besides his typical brilliance on the mound, Halladay made an unusual contribution in the batter's box, stroking two hits and picking up the first RBI of his career.

"I think I'm just lucky — I just ran into them," Halladay said of his hits. "It's always fun to get a chance. It's never comfortable, but it's always fun."

Though he won't get a chance to bat in Wednesday's game, which will be played under American League rules, the Jays hope Halladay can help them bounce back from a 10-1 drubbing in Tuesday's series opener.

Hong-Chih Kuo on a tear

Brad Penny pitched seven strong innings to become the National League's second nine-game winner, and Canadian Russell Martin hit a solo homer in his first major-league game in Canada to help L.A. match its season high in runs scored.

"It was just a fun day from the get-go," said Martin, who was born in Toronto and grew up in Chelsea, Que. "It's just fun to play in front of all these fans that care about me and my family."

Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan had a miserable — though mercifully short — night, coughing up six runs on eight hits in 1 2/3 innings pitched.

"Everything I threw was flat," he said. "The sinker wasn't really sinking; it was just staying inside the zone."

McGowan (3-3) walked two and whiffed two before being replaced by rookie reliever Jordan De Jong, who surrendered three runs.

Dodgers starter Hong-Chih Kuo (1-1, 2.04) hopes his teammates can continue to batter Blue Jays pitching on Wednesday. The left-hander, though, hasn't needed much backing in his past two starts, allowing only two runs and eight hits over 13 innings, while walking five and striking out 12.

The 25-year-old limited the New York Mets to one run in seven innings on June 12 in a 4-1 victory. He also smacked a solo homer off John Maine to became the first player born in Taiwan to homer in a big-league game.

With files from the Associated Press