Sox hope to snap Canada dry spell

The last time the White Sox won a game in Toronto was June 1, 2007, when they salvaged one of four games from the Blue Jays.

Since then, they've dropped 10 in a row at the Rogers Centre, where they open a four-game series tonight. Last season, the four-game sweep saw the Jays outscore the Sox 21-8.

The Sox only won one of three games against the Jays at U.S. Cellular Field in 2009.

It seems timing has been everything when it comes to playing the Jays, who have gotten off to good starts in recent years only to fade in the American League East. This year is no different with the Jays at 5-1.

''They're playing good again early in the season,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. ''I don't remember winning a game there [the Sox are 7-17 in Toronto under Guillen]. I know the Blue Jays will never hire Ozzie Guillen as a manager.''

With the Minnesota Twins unveiling their open-air Target Field this season, the Rogers Centre and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., are the last domed stadiums in the AL, though the Rogers Centre has a retractable dome.

''A lot of weird things happen in that place,'' Guillen said. ''Hopefully, things will turn around there, and we can come back with a smile on our face.''

Alex Rios will be returning to Toronto for the first time after the Jays let him go through waivers in August.

''I'm a little excited to see the guys, but it's another team we have to beat,'' said Rios, who was Toronto's first-round draft choice in 1999 and a two-time All-Star. ''They always start out well. We have to beat them.''

NO-NAME STARS

The Twins have shown no signs of problems without closer Joe Nathan, out for the season after elbow surgery in the spring.

Former Sox draft pick Jon Rauch was given the job and has four saves in their first five victories. Rauch came to the Twins last August in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

''He's doing fine,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''He's not trying to do too much. He's throwing the ball over the plate and taking his chances. He's just making his pitches.''

The workmanlike approach is true for the Twins' bullpen in general. In the first week of the season, they have held opponents to a .223 average.

''One of the things [pitching coach Rick Anderson] and I felt was important was to get them in place and let them know their roles and not have them scrambling,'' he said. ''They know where they fit, and that helps.''

Guillen believes the Twins have one of the better bullpens in the division, no small factor in how the season plays out.

''They don't have [well-known] names, but they get people out,'' Guillen said.

CATCH-UP

Backup catcher Ramon Castro could be out for some time after a setback in his recovery from a right heel injury. But Guillen is satisfied with rookie Donny Lucy.

''He handles the pitching staff,'' Guillen said. ''The pitchers like throwing to him. And the one game he started [Friday], he had good at-bats.''

Photo: Paul Beaty, AP / Paul Konerko follows the flight of his two-run home run in the first inning off Twins right-hander Nick Blackburn.