MIAMI -- The Blue Jays' visit to Marlins Park this weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for second baseman and South Florida native Devon Travis.
Travis was born and raised in West Palm Beach -- about an hour's drive north of Miami -- and regularly attended Marlins games with his father as a kid. Friday night's game, however, will be his first visit to Marlins Park as a Major League player, and he expects a large contingent of family and friends to be in attendance for the three-game Interleague series.
"I've got a lot of people coming down this weekend. More than a hundred, I imagine. It'll be pretty cool," said Travis, who was a member of the 2003 Boynton Beach (Fla.) Little League World Series runner-up team.
Making the weekend even more special for Travis is the fact that his mom's birthday is on Saturday, although she will be in Orlando that night to watch her other son, Jordan Travis, who is on the University of Louisville's football team, play against Alabama.
"It's my mom's birthday tomorrow, my little brother's first college football game and we're playing in Miami. It's pretty cool," Travis said.
Travis hit his 11th home run of the season on Wednesday. He isn't making any predictions, but hitting his 12th -- which would be his career high in a single season -- against the Marlins would be the ultimate topper to his homecoming weekend in Miami.
Steve Dorsey