TORONTO —
The Toronto Blue Jays activated right-hander Roy Halladay from the 15-day disabled list after Wednesday night's game and optioned right-hander Jesse Litsch to Double-A.
Halladay (4-2) has been sidelined since undergoing an appendectomy on May 11. He'll face left-hander Mark Buehrle (2-1) in the opener of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
Litsch (1-2) made four starts in Halladay's place, coming within one out of a complete game in his major league debut against Baltimore on May 15. The 25-year-old lost his next three starts and was knocked out after allowing five runs in just 2-3 of an inning against New York on Wednesday.
Halladay underwent his appendectomy one day after he was hit hard in an 8-0 loss to Boston on May 10. That outing came one start after the 2003 Cy Young award winner gave up a season-high nine runs in an 11-4 loss to Texas on May 5.
The day after his loss to Boston, Halladay arrived at Rogers Centre looking pale and complaining of pain in his lower right abdomen. Trainer George Poulis recognized the symptoms and took Halladay to a local hospital, where surgery was quickly scheduled.
Halladay, who was initially expected to miss four to six weeks, has a 4.37 ERA in eight starts this season.
