" Designated hitter Travis Hafner stepped out of the freezer Monday night and into the starting lineup against the Blue Jays.

Hafner started for the first time since June 17 against the Mets at Progressive Field. For the nine games that followed, he was reduced to an expensive pinch-hitter as the Indians played in National League venues.

Hafner went 0-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch on the trip. He struck out once and grounded out four times. He did not play in two of the three games last weekend in Cincinnati.

"I'm excited to be starting again, so I can get back into a rhythm," he said Monday afternoon. "We knew what the situation was going in, and I tried to make the most of the pinch-hitting role. I just didn't swing the bat very well."

Monday, Hafner reached after being hit by Toronto's Ricky Romero and scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning. He also singled in the eighth. He had hit in six straight (8-for-20) before the trip commenced June 18 in Pittsburgh.

"Sometimes there's a tendency, when you know you're only going to get one at-bat, to try to do too much," he said. "You get pretty amped up. I might have been a little anxious."

Indians manager Manny Acta was asked about having interleague in the rearview mirror; his club went 5-13. Acta said the best part was Hafner being able to play regularly again.

"It's totally unfair to have him get five at-bats in nine games," Acta said. "You can get five at-bats in one game."

Hafner did, in fact, get five June 17.

"It's probably going to take him a few at-bats to get comfortable again," Acta said. "It's about timing and rhythm."

Under normal circumstances, Acta said, he might have sat Pronk against Toronto's tough lefty Romero. But "Travis needs to see pitches," Acta said. "