Josh Banks will receive the homecoming of a lifetime when he takes the mound on Thursday night at Camden Yards against the Orioles.

Toronto's rookie right-hander returns to his hometown to make the first start of his Major League career. Banks was one of the Blue Jays' September callups after striking out 104 and walking just 24 over 169 innings with Triple-A Syracuse.

Thursday's outing originally belonged to Shaun Marcum, but he was scratched after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee that required season-ending surgery. Banks is expecting a lot of his friends and family to be in attendance to show their support.

"I'd say around 500 -- maybe more," Banks said earlier this week. "My sister's work, they already bought 200 tickets. That's just my sister alone. That's just an estimate. So, it might be a little less, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a lot more."

The Orioles will counter with right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Baltimore was expecting to shut its starter down for the rest of the season with a strained left oblique, but all along Guthrie said he was hoping to make at least one more outing. He'll get his chance on Thursday when he makes his first appearance since July 22.

Pitching matchup
TOR: RHP Josh Banks (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Banks went 12-10 with a 4.63 ERA in 27 starts with Triple-A Syracuse.

BAL: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (7-5, 3.65 ERA)
Guthrie is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against Toronto.

Player to watch
Jays second baseman Aaron Hill is hitting .333 (2-for-6) in his career against Guthrie.

Tickets
 Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• TSN

On radio
• FAN 590

Up next
• Friday: Blue Jays (Dustin McGowan, 11-10, 4.07) vs. Devil Rays (Andy Sonnanstine, 6-9, 5.80), 7:07 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Blue Jays (Jesse Litsch, 7-9, 3.94) vs. Devil Rays (Edwin Jackson, 5-15, 5.96), 1:07 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Blue Jays (A.J. Burnett, 10-7, 3.49) vs. Devil Rays (Jason Hammel, 2-5, 6.08), 1:07 p.m. ET