Reunions: Torre and Yanks, Halladay and Jays

[June 26, 2010]  (AP) -- The Yankees practically lined up to greet Joe Torre in Los Angeles. Roy Halladay treated his first start against the Blue Jays like any other. Justin and B.J. Upton's mom didn't know who to cheer for when her sons faced each other for the first time.

It was reunion night in major league baseball Friday.

The fun continues Saturday, too, when New York Mets ace Johan Santana goes up against his old team, the Minnesota Twins.

"That's what makes kind of the interleague thing click and makes it fun is that, you know, you get guys like Halladay pitching against the Blue Jays and Johan pitching against the Twins," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "You know, it makes for interesting story lines. So, I'm excited to go see it."

Torre and the Yankees were together -- if in different dugouts -- again. The manager led New York to four World Series titles in 12 years but left after the 2007 season and was hired by the Dodgers.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter stretched at the same time he talked to Torre, who then hugged manager Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Torre hugged catcher Jorge Posada and kissed him on the cheek after chatting up reliever Mariano Rivera and Yankees fan Billy Crystal.

"The thing you realize being around him so much is how he treats people. He treats everyone fairly, he doesn't treat them all the same, but he treats them fairly," Jeter said. "He takes the time to get to know people."

One player who didn't talk to Torre was Alex Rodriguez, who was portrayed unfavorably in Torre's 2009 book "The Yankee Years."

Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, though, leading the Yankees to a 2-1 victory.

In Philadelphia, Halladay threw seven scoreless innings in his first start against his former team in a 9-0 win. He was wearing a road uniform but the series was moved from Toronto to Philly because of the G20 Summit.

"I did the best I could to take emotions out of it and go out and pitch," Halladay said. "It's something you look back on down the road."

Halladay is glad he got this start out of the way and can spend the next two days catching up with his old teammates.

Halladay won the 2003 AL Cy Young Award and went 148-76 with a 3.43 ERA in 12 seasons with the Blue Jays. The Phillies pursued him aggressively last July, but ended up getting Cliff Lee. They finally acquired Halladay last December in a blockbuster trade hours before sending Lee to Seattle.

Santana had to wait more than two seasons to face the Twins, for whom he pitched from 2000-07 and won two AL Cy Young Awards while helping the Twins capture four division titles.

He had some fun Friday, getting reacquainted with his former teammates at Citi Field. He'll be much more serious Saturday, though, when he starts for the Mets in the middle game of the interleague series against the Twins.

Edwin Jackson's no-hitter overshadowed the first meeting between the Upton brothers, Tampa Bay's B.J. and Arizona's Justin, who despite being relatively close in age had never competed with or against each other at any level before Friday.

The Uptons have about 65 relatives and friends in town for the series, and their mother, Yvonne, wore a jersey bearing the names and numbers of both above the notation: "my sons."

Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch joked with Justin before the game that he was tempted to post a mock lineup that didn't include the right fielder.

"I said, 'Would you have been in here (to protest)?'" Hinch said. "And he said, `My mother would have been in here.'"

[Associated Press]

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