When Rolen stroked a two-run double in the eighth inning of Friday's game against Kansas City, it put the Blue Jays ahead, 4-2, and provided a sneak preview of what the veteran third baseman can bring to the Toronto offense.

Rolen delivered against Royals reliever Leo Nunez, but realizes it's going to be a challenge to get up to speed offensively after missing the latter portion of Spring Training and the opening three weeks of the regular season. Timing is an issue, Rolen said. But it's an issue he's ready to attack.

"Nobody feels sorry for you," Rolen said. "You get the competitive juices going, the adrenaline going, and it helps to speed things up. I struggled in my rehab appearances, but got here and felt better."

Shortstop David Eckstein, who played alongside Rolen in St. Louis, believes the Rolen factor can be crucial over the remainder of the season.

"It's good to see him back and healthy," Eckstein said. "He came up and got the big hit."

The Blue Jays believe there will be plenty more big hits in Rolen's bat going forward.

Pitching matchup
TOR: RHP Shaun Marcum (2-1, 3.42 ERA)
Marcum picked up his first loss of the season on Monday, when he allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits with two strikeouts. The 26-year-old right-hander was uncharacteristically wild, issuing four walks and not reaching the seventh inning for the first time this year.

KC: RHP Luke Hochevar (0-1, 11.57 ERA)
Hochevar made his 2008 debut last Sunday at Oakland. In his last appearance for Triple-A Omaha, he worked six shutout innings. He made it through three innings unscathed against the A's, but was touched for five straight hits with two outs in the fourth.

Tidbits
The Blue Jays committed a season-high three errors on Friday. ... Lyle Overbay's homer on Friday was his first since Aug. 31 of last season. ... A.J. Burnett had two balks on Friday. He came in with just two balks in his career. ... Eckstein, who had two errors on Friday, has had rough defensive times at Kauffman Stadium. While playing for the Cardinals, Eckstein had a three-error game in Kansas City in 2005.

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

On television
• RSN

On radio
• FAN 590

Up next
• Sunday: Blue Jays (Jesse Litsch, 2-1, 6.16) at Royals (Gil Meche, 1-3, 8.00), 2:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Blue Jays (Roy Halladay, 2-3, 3.73) at Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka, 4-0, 3.14), 7:05 p.m. ET