The Toronto Blue Jays Official Season Tracker/Discussion thread

[Reed Johnson]

I thought it would be cool to have a thread where someone could post the boxscore and game summary everyday after the Jays play. If a mod could sticky this that would be great.

Ranger 9, Jays 8.

Game Summary: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050710&content_id=1124724&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Blue Jays' late rally comes up short
Toronto can't avoid three-game sweep in Texas

ARLINGTON -- Sunday's game personified the entire Texas series for the Blue Jays, as they once again came up just short in a late-inning come-from-behind rally.

With the game tied in the eighth, Mark DeRosa and Mark Teixeira hit a pair of two-run home runs that propelled the Rangers past the Blue Jays, 9-8, before 25,767 at Ameriquest Field.

"We hit some balls at them, they found some holes -- that's baseball," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "We were in a position to win. We hung tough but didn't get it done. They battle -- I'll give it to them. Those guys go nine innings."

In the final two games against the Rangers, Toronto scored a combined 10 runs in the ninth inning but failed to close the gap in either game. The Blue Jays trailed by nine runs in Saturday's game, then posted a seven-spot in the ninth but lost, 12-10. The Blue Jays were down, 9-5, in Sunday's contest and put together another late rally.

With closer Francisco Cordero in the game for Texas, Vernon Wells hit a single and moved to second when Shea Hillenbrand was hit by a pitch. Both players scored on Aaron Hill's double. Gregg Zaun followed with a walk, and Eric Hinske hit an RBI double that put runners on second and third with one out. Cordero buckled down and retired the next two batters to end the game.

"We'd been out of it and came back again in the bottom of the ninth," said Gibbons, who was visibly frustrated. "We needed some contact with second and third, one out -- didn't get it. We should have won that game."

Despite Texas' lopsided 9-2 homer advantage over the weekend, Toronto ended up losing each game by less than two runs. The Blue Jays head into the All-Star Break with a 44-44 record and sitting in fourth place in the American League East.

"Tough series. We could have won all three games but ended up losing all three," said reliever Jason Frasor, who allowed the home run to DeRosa and took the loss on Sunday. "Not a good way to end the first half."

Starter Josh Towers pitched six innings, giving up five runs on nine hits. Towers gutted out his performance in the hot Texas sun and avoided the big inning that hurt Toronto on Saturday.

"Three runs with two outs is kind of big. Regardless of whether it's one inning or two innings, it's big," Towers said. "You don't want to walk [Teixeira], per say, in that one at-bat [in the fifth], but that's one thing I was conscious about. I know he's hitting about .900 in his career against us with about 100 jacks. So I wasn't going to let him beat me, of all people, but you've got Hank Blalock on deck [and] you've got [Michael] Young before him. It's a tough lineup, and you've got to make your pitches."

After a flawless first inning, Towers gave up back-to-back doubles and another single to put the Blue Jays in an early 2-0 hole. Texas extended its lead to 3-0 in the third inning with another pair of doubles.

Toronto narrowed the gap in the third to 3-1. Hillenbrand singled and stole second before Zaun drove him home on the second of his three hits, which matched his season high.

The Blue Jays briefly took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth when Wells cleared the bases with a three-run double into the right-center field gap. That lead was short lived, however, as Blalock hit a two-run single in the bottom of the inning.

"A walk starts everything. You see it all the time -- walks turn into bad things."
-- Toronto manager John Gibbons

"It's just one of the things I don't think I've been doing too well," Towers said. "It seems like they'll give me a lead and I give it right back, regardless of whether I let them tie it up or take it by one. That's just bad ball. Bottom line is, I've got to get us back in there and keep the momentum on our side."

After scoreless sixth and seventh innings, Toronto tied the game, 5-5, when Zaun scored on an RBI groundout by Alex Rios in the eighth.

Texas responded again in a big way.

Scott Schoeneweis recorded the first out of the eighth, but Frasor entered and walked Sandy Alomar Jr., the first batter he faced. Frasor then gave up the two-run blast to DeRosa. Teixeira, a 2005 Home Run Derby participant, extended the lead to 9-5 with his 25th long ball of the season.

"You cannot walk Sandy Alomar Jr.," Gibbons said. "There's the game right there. If you give free passes, it always burns you. That's what we haven't been about this year, and we can't start doing it.

"A walk starts everything. You see it all the time -- walks turn into bad things."

Box Score: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_10_tormlb_texmlb_1&c_id=tor

Texas 9, Toronto 8 TEX
Texas (46-40)
Won 3
July 10, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 3 8 13 1
Texas
0 2 1 0 2 0 0 4 X 9 12 2
Standings through 7/10/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 1 1 0 1 1 2 .253
Catalanotto, LF 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 .286
Wells, CF 5 1 2 3 0 1 1 .270
Hillenbrand, DH 3 2 2 0 1 0 1 .302
Hill, 3B 5 1 1 2 0 1 4 .337
Zaun, C 4 1 3 1 1 0 2 .277
Hinske, 1B 5 0 2 1 0 2 3 .239
Rios, RF 5 0 0 1 0 2 6 .279
McDonald, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .297
a-Johnson, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .267
Totals 40 8 13 8 4 7 23

a-Grounded out for McDonald in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Wells (16, Young, C), Hillenbrand (20, Rodriguez), Hinske 2 (19, Rodriguez, Cordero), Hill (14, Cordero).
TB: Adams; Wells 3; Hillenbrand 3; Hill 2; Zaun 3; Hinske 4; McDonald 2.
RBI: Zaun (35), Wells 3 (50), Rios (37), Hill 2 (27), Hinske (38).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rios 2; Hill; Adams; Johnson 2.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Hillenbrand (2, 2nd base off Young, C/Alomar).

FIELDING
E: Adams (16, fielding).


Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Dellucci, DH 5 2 2 0 0 2 1 .265
Young, M, SS 5 2 2 0 0 1 1 .333
Teixeira, 1B 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 .290
Blalock, 3B 5 0 2 3 0 2 1 .285
Mench, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 3 .291
Matthews, RF 4 1 1 1 0 1 4 .250
Nix, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .242
Alomar, C 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .304
DeRosa, 2B 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 .188
Totals 37 9 12 9 3 7 15

BATTING
2B: Mench (22, Towers), Matthews (8, Towers), Young, M (18, Towers), Blalock (20, Towers), Nix (12, Towers).
HR: DeRosa (3, 8th inning off Frasor, 1 on, 1 out), Teixeira (25, 8th inning off Speier, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Dellucci 2; Young, M 3; Teixeira 4; Blalock 3; Mench 2; Matthews 2; Nix 2; Alomar; DeRosa 4.
RBI: Matthews (21), Alomar (12), Blalock 3 (57), DeRosa 2 (7), Teixeira 2 (73).
2-out RBI: Alomar; Blalock; Teixeira 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mench; Matthews 2; Dellucci.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Teixeira (2, 2nd base off Schoeneweis/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Rodriguez (1, fielding), DeRosa (1, missed catch).
DP: (Teixeira).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers 6.0 9 5 5 1 4 0 4.51
Schoeneweis 1.1 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.30
Frasor (L, 1-4) 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 1 3.76
Speier 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 1 3.06

Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Young, C 4.0 6 4 4 3 5 0 4.01
Rodriguez 3.0 4 1 1 0 1 0 3.82
Loe (BS, 2)(W, 3-1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.10
Cordero 1.0 3 3 3 1 1 0 4.06

Young, C pitched to 4 batters in the 5th.
Rodriguez pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

WP: Schoeneweis.
IBB: Mench (by Schoeneweis).
HBP: Hillenbrand (by Cordero).
Pitches-strikes: Towers 91-67, Schoeneweis 19-13, Frasor 18-11, Speier 5-4, Young, C 89-55, Rodriguez 48-29, Loe 7-5, Cordero 29-19.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 4-10, Schoeneweis 0-2, Frasor 1-0, Speier 0-0, Young, C 3-4, Rodriguez 3-5, Loe 3-0, Cordero 1-1.
Batters faced: Towers 28, Schoeneweis 6, Frasor 4, Speier 2, Young, C 21, Rodriguez 13, Loe 3, Cordero 8.
Inherited runners-scored: Speier 1-1, Rodriguez 1-0, Loe 2-1.
Umpires: HP: Mike DiMuro. 1B: Mark Carlson. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Brian Gorman.
Weather: 89 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 2 mph, In from LF.
T: 2:58.
Att: 25,767.

[rudy]

Great idea, AG, and welcome to the forums.

I've stickied the thread and will continue to stick it until/if updates are discontinued.

We started something like this at the beginning of the season, but it sorta died off. Hopefully you will continue to post the summaries, because as I said, I think its a great idea.

[Reed Johnson]

Thanks for the warm welcome and I will make sure I continue to update this everyday unless I am away at the lake which does'nt happen very often.

[Reed Johnson]

Rays 3 Jays 0

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050714&content_id=1130878&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Call it the Lilly edition of Murphy's Law.

Ted Lilly took his first step toward filling Roy Halladay's shoes on Thursday night, but the ace-like effort wasn't enough to lift his team to a win. The Blue Jays couldn't get anything going against Casey Fossum, kicking off the second half of the season with a 3-0 loss against the Devil Rays.

"I was happy with the way I threw the ball," said Lilly, slotted in as Toronto's top pitcher until Halladay returns from a broken left tibia. "I definitely had a feeling, with the way [Fossum] was throwing out there, that it was going to be a tight ballgame. He was throwing any pitch at any time for strikes. Any time a guy's doing that, it's going to be tough."

Tough wasn't the word. Fossum was rarely challenged, and he led the Devil Rays to their first shutout since last August. Tampa Bay had gone 125 games without blanking an opponent, but Toronto manager John Gibbons said he wasn't worried about his offense.

"Tonight was one of those nights, because we've been swinging the bats good," he said. "They just played better than we did tonight. I don't think it's any more than that and I don't want to delve into it any more than that.

"Ted pitched good. He really did. We just got shut out, that's all."

Gibbons' analysis may be sparse, but it's also right on the money. Lilly (7-9) was effective all evening, working seven-plus innings to equal his season high. The southpaw allowed just two baserunners in the first five innings, but he walked the leadoff man in the sixth to set up the game's first key threat.

Tampa Bay (29-61) bunted Nick Green into scoring position, and one out later, Jorge Cantu drove him home with a single up the middle. Both Lilly and Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun said that hit was the game's key moment. If Lilly had wriggled out of the jam against Cantu -- or walked him and retired the next batter -- it might have been a completely different ballgame.

"Zaun didn't want me to give him anything good to hit with a lefty on deck. I kind of kicked myself in the butt, because I have a hard time giving in," said Lilly. "I wanted to go after him. I still threw a 2-0 fastball -- and he hit it. I'd been doing well against him for the most part, so I wanted to be aggressive with him. It came back to bite me."

"That's definitely the turning point. I did want a different pitch, but the selection wasn't so much the issue," said Zaun. "The issue there, with a left-hander on deck and a lefty on the mound, is, you've got to make Cantu hit your pitch. If you pitch to him at all, he's got to hit your pitch.

"If you throw the pitch you're looking to throw and he gets a cheap base hit, you tip your cap to him because you're rolling the dice there. You're thinking, 'OK, we're going to go after him and have the left-hander lead off the next inning.'"

That was all the visitors would get until the eighth inning, when the Rays cashed in on another Lilly mistake. Toronto's starter hit Carl Crawford with a pitch, prompting the Jays (44-45) to go to the bullpen. The move didn't matter; Tampa Bay used the same scoring strategy, bunting the runner into scoring position and bringing him home on another single by Cantu.

Still, Lilly was pleased with his outing and hopeful that he could pitch better over the course of the second half.

"I expect myself to do that. We'll see what happens," he said. "This is one game. Basically, what it comes down to is, I got outpitched tonight."

The slim measure of support was more than Fossum (4-7) needed. The left-hander controlled the action, allowing just two runners to reach scoring position in the first seven innings. Both were erased in the same jam -- the second inning. After that, Toronto managed just two hits for the duration of Fossum's outing.

"He worked ahead, threw strike one and kept us off balance," said Gibbons. "We had that one chance there in the second -- I think it was second and third with one out -- but other than that, he held us in check."

Toronto made things interesting in the ninth, pushing runners to first and second with nobody out. Danys Baez, Tampa Bay's closer, responded with two strikeouts and a game-ending fly ball. That gave the right-hander 14 saves, and it also gave his team a win in the first game of this four-game series.

"We didn't play poorly tonight. We just got outplayed," said Zaun. "They got the big hits when they needed them -- we didn't."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_14_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 0 TOR
Toronto (44-45)
Lost 4
July 14, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 7 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Standings through 7/14/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .285
Lugo, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 .288
Cantu, 3B 4 0 2 2 0 2 2 .286
Huff, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .252
Baez, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Perez, DH 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .273
1-Gathright, J, PR-DH-CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .282
Hollins, CF-RF 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .259
Lee, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .236
Hall, C 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .270
Green, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 2 3 .263
Totals 31 3 7 3 2 9 15


1-Ran for Perez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Perez (6, Lilly).
HR: Hollins (8, 9th inning off Batista, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Crawford; Lugo; Cantu 2; Perez 2; Hollins 4; Hall.
RBI: Cantu 2 (58), Hollins (29).
2-out RBI: Cantu.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Perez; Green 2.
S: Crawford; Lugo.
GIDP: Green.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: (Lugo-Green-Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .268
b-Catalanotto, PH-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .279
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269
Hillenbrand, 3B-1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .298
Hill, DH 4 0 2 0 0 1 2 .341
Zaun, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .276
Hudson, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .254
Hinske, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .237
a-Menechino, PH-3B 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
McDonald, SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
Totals 32 0 6 0 0 6 13

a-Struck out for Hinske in the 8th. b-Grounded out for Johnson in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Zaun (13, Fossum).
TB: Johnson; Rios; Wells; Hill 2; Zaun 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hinske 2; Zaun.
GIDP: Rios.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: (Hudson-McDonald-Hillenbrand).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fossum (W, 4-7) 7.2 4 0 0 0 4 0 4.02
Baez (S, 14) 1.1 2 0 0 0 2 0 2.58

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (L, 7-9) 7.0 4 2 2 2 8 0 5.21
Chulk 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.95
Schoeneweis 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.20
Batista 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 3.12

Lilly pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP: McDonald (by Fossum), Crawford (by Lilly).
Pitches-strikes: Fossum 91-59, Baez 26-19, Lilly 101-74, Chulk 3-3, Schoeneweis 12-11, Batista 15-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Fossum 11-8, Baez 1-1, Lilly 7-6, Chulk 1-0, Schoeneweis 1-0, Batista 3-0.
Batters faced: Fossum 27, Baez 6, Lilly 28, Chulk 2, Schoeneweis 2, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Baez 1-0, Chulk 1-1, Schoeneweis 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Kerwin Danley. 1B: Jim Reynolds. 2B: Chad Fairchild. 3B: John Hirschbeck.
Weather: 75 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 8 mph, L to R.
T: 2:27.
Att: 20,010.


Lily pitched anothe great game tonight but as usual the Jays couldnt get it going offensively. It was a ok game tonight but hopefully its not a sign of thngs to come.

[Reed Johnson]

Bluejays 11 Rays 6

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050715&content_id=1132467&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- In a two-night span, the Blue Jays went from shutout to breakout. The Jays weren't able to score a single run Thursday night, but they got production from all over the lineup in Friday night's 11-6 win over Tampa Bay.

"Last night, [Casey] Fossum threw strikes, and that was basically it. He just shut us down last night," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "[Hideo Nomo] was missing, but he wasn't missing by much. We just swung the bats good tonight."

All nine of Toronto's starters reached base safely in the rout. Eight of them had at least one hit, and seven scored at least one run. Three Jays -- Frank Catalanotto, Shea Hillenbrand and Orlando Hudson -- had at least two RBIs. Most of the damage came against Nomo, who started for the road team and was unable to complete three innings.

"We were real flat last night. Ted [Lilly] threw a great game and we couldn't do a thing to help him," said Hillenbrand. "Baseball's really tough -- the adversity you have to go through on a nightly basis. Thankfully, there's 162 games. We've just got to keep going."

The Jays (45-45) notched one run in the second, but they seized control with a six-run third. Hillenbrand cracked a two-run homer in that rally, and Hudson hit a bases-loaded infield single to push home two runs. One scored on the hit, the other on a throwing error.

Nomo (5-8) walked one more batter before he left, and two more runs were subsequently charged to him. Hillenbrand, who played with Nomo in Boston, improved to 10-for-20 with two homers and two doubles against the right-hander.

"He was one of my favorite teammates I had in Boston, because he's such a great person," said Hillenbrand, at a loss to explain the statistics. "Strong competitor, quiet family guy -- and in the same way, he helped me a lot, from a pitching standpoint. That probably has nothing to do with it.

"I don't know. I grew up in L.A. watching him for the Dodgers and I got to play behind him when he threw a no-hitter. It's just one of those things."

Despite the ample support, it wasn't all clear sailing for Gustavo Chacin. The southpaw allowed one baserunner in the first three innings and stumbled a bit in the fourth. Julio Lugo led off that rally with a double and scored on a single, before Chacin (8-5) served up a two-run homer to Jonny Gomes.

"I think that one inning was such a long inning. That happens a lot in baseball," said Gibbons, talking about the delay between Chacin's third and fourth innings. "The guy was sitting over there for a while, and I think we batted around in that inning. They get out of rhythm a little bit at times."

"I still felt great after the long inning," said Chacin, refusing the easy out. "I just missed a couple spots, and that's where I got hurt."

The Rays (29-62) wouldn't score again until the sixth, when Damon Hollins hit another two-run shot. Chacin left the game shortly after that, having allowed nine hits and five earned runs. The highlight of his night -- literally and figuratively -- was a Gold Glove-caliber defensive play in the third inning.

With no outs and a man on first, Chacin dodged a comebacker and stuck his glove behind his back to make the play. The ball knocked his glove off his hand, but he scampered after it, scooped it up barehanded and tossed to first for a harmless out.

"The guy hit a real hard ball to me, and that ball's going to hit me in my legs," said Chacin, recalling the play. "I tried to get out of the way and put my glove behind me. It hit my glove and we got the out. That's my first time. I've never had a play like that.

"That's my reaction. Get out of the way, but pull my glove behind me."

The teams traded runs in the late innings, but the Rays were never able to turn things into a save situation. Justin Speier closed things out with a scoreless ninth inning. Toronto is now 8-3 against Tampa Bay this season, with two more games remaining in the current series and eight more this season.

"It was a big offensive night everywhere out there tonight, and Chacin did his job," said Gibbons. "It was a good win for us, but it wasn't an easy win. It was one of those games that had that feel. They just kept pecking away. That team battles you and swings the bat."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_15_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 11, Tampa Bay 6 TOR
Toronto (45-45)
Won 1
July 15, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 6 11 1
Toronto
0 1 6 3 0 0 1 0 X 11 15 1
Standings through 7/15/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .281
Lugo, SS 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 .289
Cantu, 3B 4 2 2 1 1 1 2 .288
Gomes, RF 5 1 2 3 0 1 3 .279
Perez, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .265
a-Cortez, PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Cash, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .172
Huff, DH 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .252
Hollins, CF 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .265
Hall, C-1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .269
Green, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 3 2 .262
Totals 39 6 11 6 1 8 16

a-Batted for Perez in the 7th. b-Struck out for Cortez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Lugo (16, Chacin), Huff (13, Chacin).
3B: Gomes (2, Frasor).
HR: Gomes (8, 4th inning off Chacin, 1 on, 0 out), Hollins (9, 6th inning off Chacin, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Lugo 3; Cantu 2; Gomes 7; Huff 2; Hollins 5; Hall; Green.
RBI: Cantu (59), Gomes 3 (18), Hollins 2 (31).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crawford; Gomes 2; Huff.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
E: Cantu (12, throw).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 0 0 1 2 5 .249
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .288
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .266
Wells, CF 5 2 3 1 0 0 3 .274
Hillenbrand, 3B 5 1 1 2 0 2 2 .297
Hill, DH 4 2 2 0 1 1 1 .345
Zaun, C 4 2 3 0 1 0 1 .284
Rios, RF 3 2 1 1 2 0 1 .279
Hinske, 1B 4 1 1 1 0 2 3 .238
Hudson, 2B 4 1 2 3 1 0 2 .258
Totals 38 11 15 10 6 9 18

BATTING
2B: Hill (15, Brazelton), Hudson (15, Brazelton).
HR: Hillenbrand (10, 3rd inning off Nomo, 1 on, 1 out), Wells (18, 7th inning off Carter, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Catalanotto 2; Wells 6; Hillenbrand 4; Hill 3; Zaun 3; Rios; Hinske; Hudson 3.
RBI: Rios (38), Hillenbrand 2 (44), Hudson 3 (42), Catalanotto 2 (23), Hinske (39), Wells (51).
2-out RBI: Hudson 3; Catalanotto 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Adams 3; Wells.
SF: Hinske.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (6, fielding).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Nomo (L, 5-8) 2.2 8 7 7 3 5 1 7.24
Brazelton 1.1 4 3 3 1 0 0 6.87
Borowski 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.00
Miller 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5.23
Carter 2.0 1 1 1 1 3 1 5.02

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 8-5) 5.1 9 5 5 0 3 2 3.81
Frasor 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 0 3.89
Schoeneweis 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.11
Chulk 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.86
Speier 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.97

Pitches-strikes: Nomo 82-51, Brazelton 29-17, Borowski 11-10, Miller 16-8, Carter 35-19, Chacin 92-61, Frasor 18-12, Schoeneweis 6-6, Chulk 18-12, Speier 13-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Nomo 1-2, Brazelton 1-3, Borowski 2-1, Miller 0-2, Carter 2-1, Chacin 7-6, Frasor 2-0, Schoeneweis 0-0, Chulk 2-0, Speier 1-1.
Batters faced: Nomo 19, Brazelton 9, Borowski 4, Miller 5, Carter 8, Chacin 26, Frasor 5, Schoeneweis 2, Chulk 3, Speier 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Brazelton 3-2, Frasor 1-0, Schoeneweis 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: John Hirschbeck. 3B: Wally Bell.
Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, R to L.
T: 3:03.
Att: 20,841.

[Reed Johnson]

Rays 6 Jays 5

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050716&content_id=1133665&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Don't let the relaxed demeanor fool you.

Josh Towers may not seem too volatile, but that's because he knows how to evict his anger when nobody's watching. The slender right-hander let the media in on his secret Saturday, when he worked four innings and allowed six runs in Toronto's 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay.

"This [stuff's] frustrating. You should see me when I come in after a game like this," said Towers, speaking calmly. "I think I broke everything in this clubhouse. It may not look like it, but I destroyed some [stuff]. I'm beating myself up, because this is getting out of hand.

"My next start's in five days. This one's done. This one's over, and there's nothing I can do now."

Nothing he can do but reflect, that is. Start by start, his season is slipping away. Towers (6-8) has been on the ropes for much of the last two months, posting a 1-7 record and a 6.22 ERA in his last 11 starts. Before that, he went 5-1 with with a 3.17 ERA.

"I keep thinking back to last year," said Towers, who thrived last summer when the Jays were in the doldrums. "I'm trying to remember what it felt like to go seven innings. Know what I'm saying? It's hard, because you press a little bit."

He has reason to press. If not for Roy Halladay's recent injury, Towers' spot in the rotation would likely be in jeopardy. As it is, he seems to be on somewhat solid ground for the foreseeable future. Toronto manager John Gibbons spoke in hushed and halting tones after the game, and he withheld his analysis of his starter's recent track record.

"You guys can form your own opinion on that," said Gibbons. "He's our guy. He's one of our guys."

"I feel, at times, I've got a short leash," Towers said. "But then when you throw games like today and the game in Texas a while back, how do you instill confidence? How do you talk him into letting you stay out there when you've already given up 10 hits in four innings?"

Tampa Bay (30-62) started things off early Saturday, notching five singles in the second inning -- none of them particularly well-hit. The road team came away with three runs in that rally, and they added one more in the fourth on a solo homer from Aubrey Huff. Finally, Carl Crawford took care of the rest of the scoring with a fourth-inning drive into the second deck.

The game may have actually turned one play before Crawford's homer. Joey Gathright, Tampa Bay's speedy leadoff man, hit a ball back to the box and outraced Towers to the bag. Toronto's pitcher dove and made contact with Gathright, but it was unclear whether he tagged him with his free hand or his glove.

First base umpire John Hirschbeck ruled the runner safe, but Towers said Hirschbeck didn't even see the play.

"If you make the wrong call and thought you saw something wrong, that's fine. I'm not going to be happy, but at least that's your excuse," he said. "When you say, 'I didn't see the play,' but you won't ask for help, that's just not professional. I don't know what else to call it.

"If we get the call right on Gathright and [Crawford] hits a home run, that's fine, because of how well our offense did. They kept battling back -- it would've been a tie game and we're still playing."

The Blue Jays never went away, challenging Tampa Bay's pitchers throughout the game. The first rally came in the third, when they trailed by four runs. Toronto got four straight extra-base hits in that inning -- three doubles and a triple -- to cut the deficit to one run. Mark Hendrickson maintained the slight edge, though, and Toronto (45-46) didn't score again until the sixth.

"We're not a high-powered offense. It's tough to overcome big deficits, because we're not a big long-ball hitting team," said Gibbons. "We've got to string some hits together -- that kind of thing."

The next threat started with a one-out error, and Hendrickson (4-6) compounded things by walking the next batter. The Rays went to the bullpen at that point, and pinch-hitter Reed Johnson drove a run-scoring single to make it 6-4.

Without any further delay, Alex Rios followed with his second double, knocking in his second run and pulling the Jays within one. Toronto never got any closer -- Travis Harper walked Vernon Wells to load the bases and retired the next two batters to escape the jam.

The late innings dissolved quickly. The Jays pushed the tying run to third in the eighth, but they weren't able to convert. In the ninth, Danys Baez retired three straight batters to earn his 15th save.

"It feels good to win two out of three," said Lou Piniella, the road team's manager. "Let's see if these kids get into the habit of winning with a little more consistency and we [could] have a little more fun than we did the first half. I'd love that for this team."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_16_tbamlb_tormlb_1

Tampa Bay 6, Toronto 5 TOR
Toronto (45-46)
Lost 1
July 16, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 12 1
Toronto
0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 9 1
Standings through 7/16/05 | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Gathright, J, CF 5 1 3 1 0 1 0 .318
Crawford, LF 5 1 2 3 0 1 2 .283
Lugo, SS 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .288
Cantu, 3B 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .288
Huff, RF 5 2 2 1 0 1 2 .255
Hollins, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
Gomes, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .271
Lee, 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .241
Hall, C 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .269
Green, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .259
Totals 38 6 12 6 3 6 13

BATTING
HR: Huff (9, 3rd inning off Towers, 0 on, 1 out), Crawford (10, 4th inning off Towers, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Gathright, J 3; Crawford 5; Lugo; Cantu; Huff 5; Lee 2; Hall.
RBI: Hall (20), Gathright, J (3), Crawford 3 (51), Huff (46).
2-out RBI: Gathright, J; Crawford.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cantu; Lugo 2; Lee.
GIDP: Crawford.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Lugo (25, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby), Gathright, J (5, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby), Crawford (28, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby).

FIELDING
E: Lugo (16, fielding).
DP: (Lugo-Green-Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 .267
a-Catalanotto, PH-LF 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .291
Rios, RF 5 1 3 2 0 1 3 .285
Wells, CF 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 .274
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 0 2 1 0 0 4 .298
Hill, 3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .335
Menechino, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .234
c-Hinske, PH-DH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
Hudson, 2B 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .256
Huckaby, C 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .156
b-Zaun, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
Adams, SS 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 .248
Totals 35 5 9 5 6 3 20

a-Singled for Johnson in the 6th. b-Grounded into a double play for Huckaby in the 7th. c-Grounded out for Menechino in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Rios 3 (18, Hendrickson, Hendrickson, Harper), Johnson (10, Hendrickson), Hillenbrand 2 (22, Hendrickson, Hendrickson).
3B: Wells (2, Hendrickson).
TB: Johnson 2; Catalanotto; Rios 6; Wells 3; Hillenbrand 4; Huckaby.
RBI: Rios 2 (40), Wells (52), Hillenbrand (45), Catalanotto (24).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Menechino 2; Rios; Hill 2; Wells.
S: Catalanotto.
GIDP: Zaun.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Huckaby (1, throw).
DP: (Downs-Adams-Hillenbrand).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hendrickson (W, 4-6) 5.1 7 5 4 3 3 0 6.35
Harper (H, 8) 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 7.53
Miller (H, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.98
Borowski (H, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.68
Baez (S, 15) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.52

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 6-8) 4.0 10 6 6 0 1 2 4.85
Downs 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 6.20
Speier 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.88
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.79
Batista 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.05

IBB: Wells (by Harper).
Pitches-strikes: Hendrickson 94-53, Harper 16-10, Miller 21-11, Borowski 6-4, Baez 10-7, Towers 84-57, Downs 28-17, Speier 14-9, Frasor 10-8, Batista 18-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Hendrickson 8-5, Harper 2-1, Miller 3-0, Borowski 0-2, Baez 1-2, Towers 4-7, Downs 4-1, Speier 0-3, Frasor 0-1, Batista 0-1.
Batters faced: Hendrickson 27, Harper 6, Miller 4, Borowski 2, Baez 3, Towers 22, Downs 7, Speier 5, Frasor 3, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Harper 2-2, Borowski 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: John Hirschbeck. 2B: Wally Bell. 3B: Jim Reynolds.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:54.
Att: 24,801.

[Reed Johnson]

Well I'll be gone from July 17th-22nd so rudy dont think I just stopped updating this. Anybody can do this when im away if they want.

[Chris from NY]

I'd help but I'm not very good at stuff like that. But thanks for making this thread. I've been hoping for a while that someone would make a thread like this. Can't wait until you return so you can keep up the updates.

[rudy]

Lets see how this on turns out:

from: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_17_tbamlb_tormlb_1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 5 12 2
Toronto 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 0


Standings through 7/17/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Gathright, J, CF 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .312
Crawford, LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 .279
Lugo, SS 4 3 3 1 1 0 0 .293
Cantu, DH 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 .290
Huff, RF-3B 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 .255
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .237
a-Hollins, PH-RF 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .268
Cortez, 2B-3B 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .125
b-Gomes, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .278
Perez, 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .262
Hall, C 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 .269
Gonzalez, 3B 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .265
1-Green, PR-2B 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
Totals 38 5 12 5 5 4 16

a-Singled for Lee in the 8th. b-Singled for Cortez in the 8th.
1-Ran for Gonzalez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Hall (9, Batista), Lugo (17, Batista), Cantu (21, Batista).
HR: Lugo (3, 4th inning off Walker, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Gathright, J; Lugo 7; Cantu 3; Huff; Hollins; Cortez; Gomes; Hall 2; Gonzalez.
RBI: Lugo (36), Huff (47), Hall 2 (22), Cantu (60).
2-out RBI: Hall 2; Cantu.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cortez; Crawford; Green; Perez 2.
GIDP: Hall.
Team LOB: 11.

BASERUNNING
SB: Cantu (1, 2nd base off Walker/Zaun), Lugo (26, 3rd base off Schoeneweis/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Green (5, fielding), Lugo (17, throw).
DP: (Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 .251
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .291
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .266
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .271
Hillenbrand, DH 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 .296
Hill, 3B 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 .341
Zaun, C 3 1 1 2 0 1 2 .284
Huckaby, C 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .154
Rios, RF 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .285
Hinske, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .237
Hudson, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .253
Totals 35 4 8 2 2 11 16

BATTING
2B: Hill (16, McClung), Hinske (20, McClung).
HR: Zaun (7, 2nd inning off McClung, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto; Hill 3; Zaun 4; Rios; Hinske 2.
RBI: Zaun 2 (37).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Hinske; Johnson.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
PB: Zaun (4).
DP: (Hudson-Adams-Hinske).




Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McClung 6.0 6 4 3 1 8 1 7.05
Orvella (W, 1-1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.06
Baez (S, 16) 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.45
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Walker 6.0 6 1 1 0 2 1 2.44
Chulk (H, 7) 0.2 1 0 0 2 0 0 3.80
Schoeneweis (H, 9) 1.0 1 2 2 1 0 0 4.55
Batista (BS, 3)(L, 4-3) 1.0 4 2 2 2 2 0 3.40
Speier 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.86


McClung pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

IBB: Huff (by Batista).
HBP: Hillenbrand (by McClung).
Pitches-strikes: McClung 98-61, Orvella 21-13, Baez 21-14, Walker 83-50, Chulk 19-8, Schoeneweis 18-10, Batista 37-20, Speier 8-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: McClung 4-6, Orvella 1-3, Baez 0-2, Walker 7-9, Chulk 2-0, Schoeneweis 1-2, Batista 1-0, Speier 0-1.
Batters faced: McClung 27, Orvella 6, Baez 5, Walker 24, Chulk 4, Schoeneweis 5, Batista 9, Speier 1.
Inherited runners-scored: Orvella 1-0, Schoeneweis 2-0, Batista 1-1, Speier 3-0.
EjectionsToronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons ejected by HP umpire John Hirschbeck. (9th); Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun ejected by HP umpire John Hirschbeck. (8th).
Umpires: HP: John Hirschbeck. 1B: Wally Bell. 2B: Jim Reynolds. 3B: Chad Fairchild.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:56.
Att: 25,198.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Sorry I have'nt done this in a while but I went my grandma and grandpa's for a couple of days. Well todays game was great! Chacin is looked good getting his 4th straight win and the Jays produced 8 runs on 14 hits! Koskie went 1 for 4 in his return with a walk.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050726&content_id=1145776&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- One bat came back to an eight-bat salute. The Blue Jays welcomed Corey Koskie back from a two-month stint on the disabled list on Tuesday night and celebrated with an 8-0 win over the Angels.

"It was nice to see him standing over there. The more he plays, the better he's going to get," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "He's a big part of this. When he's gone, you forget about it. He kind of gives us that new look we were looking for in the beginning of the year."

The game was every bit as one-sided as the final score seems. The Jays (50-49) dashed out to a three-run lead in the first inning, and they added four more runs in the fourth. Seven of the home team's starters scored at least one run, and all nine had at least one hit. Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand had the biggest night, collecting three hits and four RBIs.

Still, the biggest news was Koskie's return, which came after a 58-game absence. The third baseman went 1-for-4 and had an uneventful night in the field. He made one assist and one liner ripped past him, but all in all, it was a rewarding night at the office.

"I had some good passes and I took some pretty good pitches. Overall, I felt great -- maybe just a tad late," said Koskie. "Those boys -- they swung it pretty well. But when you get a pitching performance like that and get some runs with it, there's not much more you could ask for."

Gustavo Chacin took all the run support and made it stand up, foiling the Angels for most of the game. The southpaw allowed just two hits in the first five innings -- one was erased on a pick off and the other on a double play. Chacin (10-5) worked through the eighth, then handed the ball to Toronto's bullpen.

"He was right on tonight. That's probably the best I've seen him in a while," said Gibbons. "He was just pounding that strike zone, pitch after pitch. He's capable of that, and it gives him his 10th win. He's having a heck of a rookie year."

"That guy pitched a terrific game," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "Anytime we had a count in our favor or had a chance to do something, he came up with a great pitch. He reminds me a little of a combination of Teddy Higuera and Fernando Valenzuela. There are a lot of intangibles he has on the mound, just from a first glance."

The other starter had the opposite kind of night. Paul Byrd worked just three-plus innings, his shortest start this season. Byrd (9-7) made a major mistake in the first inning, when he gave up a three-run homer to Hillenbrand. The shot traveled over the left-field fence, and it came one out after Vernon Wells drove a ball to the warning track.

"That guy pitched a terrific game. Anytime we had a count in our favor or had a chance to do something, he came up with a great pitch."
-- Angels manager Mike Scioscia, on Gustavo Chacin

"We've been swinging the bat good. We're starting to hit our stride," said Gibbons. "We got that big home run early, but I thought Vernon had one, too. He just hit it in the wrong spot. ... Then, we spread it around pretty good."

Toronto came back for more in the fourth, chasing Byrd with four straight hits. The Jays got two singles sandwiched around two doubles before the Angels (59-41) went to the bullpen. Kevin Gregg came in and settled things down, but not before Hillenbrand put the seventh run on the board with a two-out single.

The final run scored in the eighth inning, courtesy of a solo shot from Wells. It was his 20th of the season, which gives him four straight seasons with at least that many. Only five other Jays have had a streak that long -- Carlos Delgado, Joe Carter, George Bell, Jesse Barfield and Fred McGriff.

"This team's hot right now," said Byrd. "It seems like if we played them to pull, they hit it the other way. And if we played them the other way, they pulled it."

"Paul Byrd made some mistakes in key situations to some good hitters," said Scioscia. "To Hillenbrand, he hung the slider in the first inning and got them on the board. When you're not making good pitches against good hitters, they're going to be magnified. Good hitters aren't going to miss them."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_26_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, LA Angels 0 TOR
Toronto (50-49)
Won 1
July 26, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
Toronto
3 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 X 8 14 0
Standings through 7/26/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .290
Erstad, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .278
Guerrero, RF 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 .311
1-Sorensen, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Anderson, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .296
2-Paul, PR-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .161
Molina, B, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .306
Rivera, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .239
Cabrera, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .242
Finley, CF 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .236
Izturis, 3B 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .292
Totals 32 0 8 0 2 4 19


1-Ran for Guerrero in the 9th. 2-Ran for Anderson in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Guerrero (18, Chacin).
TB: Figgins; Guerrero 4; Anderson; Finley 2; Izturis.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Erstad 2; Rivera; Cabrera 2.
GIDP: Anderson; Figgins.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
PO: Figgins (2nd base by Chacin).

FIELDING
E: Izturis (6, fielding).
DP: 2 (Erstad-Cabrera, Cabrera-Erstad).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 2 2 1 2 0 2 .266
Catalanotto, LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 6 .314
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .278
Wells, CF 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 .276
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 1 3 4 0 0 0 .301
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .248
Zaun, C 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 .278
Hinske, DH 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .247
Rios, RF 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .283
Hudson, 2B 4 1 3 1 0 0 2 .272
Totals 37 8 14 8 4 3 19

BATTING
2B: Rios (20, Byrd), Hudson (18, Byrd).
HR: Hillenbrand (13, 1st inning off Byrd, 2 on, 1 out), Wells (20, 8th inning off Peralta, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto; Wells 4; Hillenbrand 6; Koskie; Zaun; Hinske; Rios 2; Hudson 4.
RBI: Hillenbrand 4 (58), Rios (41), Hudson (44), Adams (44), Wells (61).
2-out RBI: Hillenbrand.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Catalanotto 3; Adams.
GIDP: Zaun; Hinske.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Hudson-Adams-Hillenbrand, Adams-Hudson-Hillenbrand).
Pickoffs: Chacin (Figgins at 2nd base).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Byrd (L, 9-7) 3.0 10 7 7 1 0 1 4.10
Gregg 3.1 3 0 0 2 2 0 6.75
Peralta 1.2 1 1 1 1 1 1 4.50

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 10-5) 8.0 6 0 0 2 4 0 3.45
Batista 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.11

Byrd pitched to 4 batters in the 4th.

HBP: Rios (by Gregg).
Pitches-strikes: Byrd 63-42, Gregg 63-33, Peralta 26-18, Chacin 95-57, Batista 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Byrd 5-4, Gregg 4-4, Peralta 2-2, Chacin 11-8, Batista 0-3.
Batters faced: Byrd 19, Gregg 16, Peralta 7, Chacin 29, Batista 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Gregg 1-1, Peralta 2-0.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Phil Cuzzi. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Jerry Crawford.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:29.
Att: 18,754.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Another good game again tonight. I would have prefered to win with Koskie geting a hit or at least a sac fly but a win is a win! I will be happy beyond beleif if the Jays can win tomorrow to sweep the Angels. Thankfully the Yankees and Orioles lost today but the Red Sox won. :(

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20050727&content_id=1147384&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- Could it have ended any other way?

A wild game finished with a wild pitch Wednesday night, when the Blue Jays beat the Angels in extra innings. Russ Adams led off the 10th with a single and eventually scored on an errant pitch from Brendan Donnelly to give Toronto a 3-2 win.

"It was a great ballgame all the way around. Good pitching on both sides. Great defense, both sides," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Two pretty good teams going at it, and we caught that big break there at the end. What more can you say?"

The Jays didn't just catch one break -- they also dodged a bases-loaded situation in the top of the 10th. Toronto closer Miguel Batista ended the Angels' best threat with a ground ball back to the mound, setting the stage for his offense to win the game.

Toronto (51-49) started off slowly in the 10th, with Adams singling to left-center and moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. The Angels responded by intentionally walking Vernon Wells, setting up a force at second or third and bringing Aaron Hill to the plate -- a rookie struggling through an 0-for-18 skid. An infield single later, that streak was history.

With three men on base and one out, the Angels pulled their center fielder into the infield to give themselves an extra glove. It didn't matter: Donnelly (6-3) threw a 1-0 pitch in the dirt and past his catcher, enabling Adams to scramble home. His teammates met him at the plate and mobbed him with hand shakes and head slaps, celebrating their fifth straight win at home.

"The last thing you want to do is get thrown out on a passed ball -- with [Corey] Koskie at the plate, one out and the bases loaded," said Adams. "It was just one of those instinct-type plays, and it bounced high enough and far enough away from him. I knew it was going to just roll toward the backstop and I could get there."

With the extra frame, a pair of effective pitching performances went to waste. Josh Towers and Bartolo Colon both received no-decisions for their efforts. Towers, Toronto's starter, pitched into the seventh inning and allowed six hits. Colon worked through the seventh, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. When he left, the Angels (59-42) had never trailed.

"Colon was on. Josh was on," said Gibbons. "It just had that feel that it was probably going to be a low score. A break here or there might make the difference."

Said Towers: "I felt like it was an unbelievable game today -- on both sides. We pitched pretty well. I know Bartolo and those guys pitched extremely well. It just couldn't have gotten any closer of a game."

All of the road team's runs came in the first three innings. Vladimir Guerrero hit a homer in the first, but he got a little help to do it. Eric Hinske, Toronto's first baseman, dropped a foul pop to prolong the slugger's at-bat. Five pitches later, Guerrero sent a looping shot over the right-field fence. The other run came in the third, courtesy of a two-out single by Darin Erstad.

"We played hard again tonight," said Erstad. "We just didn't get that hit when we needed it. We'll move on. We're kind of in one of those funks right now where we can't piece it together. We'll have a couple guys have a couple good games and other guys won't. It's just not rolling right now. We'll grind through it and we'll be all right."

Toronto played from behind in the early innings, only to come up with two tying rallies. Gregg Zaun drew a two-out walk in the second and eventually scored on a soft liner to center field from Alex Rios. Wells helped engineer another tie in the fifth, when he hit a one-out triple and scored on Koskie's single.

That wasn't Koskie's main contribution, though. Just one day after making his return from the disabled list, Koskie risked life and limb to make a sprinting catch in the 10th inning. The third baseman was chasing a foul pop by the stands, and he made the play before losing his footing and tumbling into the side fence.

"That's Corey. Corey's done that his whole career," said Gibbons. "That's the one thing you notice when you play against him. And that's why he gets banged up sometimes, because he doesn't try to protect himself."

"Unbelievable. That's one of the best plays I've ever seen," said Adams, who was just two steps away. "I wanted to make sure he was OK, because he slid right into the side."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_27_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 3, LA Angels 2 TOR
Toronto (51-49)
Won 2
July 27, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
LA Angels
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0
Toronto
0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 10 2
Standings through 7/27/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, 3B 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .289
Erstad, 1B 5 0 3 1 0 0 2 .282
Guerrero, DH 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 .310
Anderson, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .294
Finley, CF 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .235
Molina, B, C 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 .299
DaVanon, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .238
Cabrera, SS 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .246
Kennedy, 2B 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .332
Totals 40 2 10 2 2 4 20

BATTING
2B: Kennedy (13, Towers), Erstad (25, Batista).
HR: Guerrero (19, 1st inning off Towers, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Figgins; Erstad 4; Guerrero 4; Anderson; Finley; Cabrera 2; Kennedy 2.
RBI: Guerrero (63), Erstad (43).
2-out RBI: Guerrero; Erstad.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Guerrero; Figgins; Molina, B 3.
GIDP: Erstad.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Erstad (8, 2nd base off Towers/Zaun), Cabrera (9, 2nd base off Towers/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Kennedy-Cabrera-Erstad).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .264
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .313
Wells, CF 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .278
Hillenbrand, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .301
1-Hill, PR-DH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .309
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .248
Zaun, C 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 .276
Hinske, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .247
Rios, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .283
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .272
Totals 36 3 10 2 3 6 13


1-Ran for Hillenbrand in the 8th.

BATTING
3B: Wells (3, Colon).
TB: Adams; Catalanotto; Wells 4; Hillenbrand; Hill; Koskie; Hinske; Rios; Hudson.
RBI: Rios (42), Koskie (17).
2-out RBI: Rios; Koskie.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hudson; Koskie; Adams.
S: Catalanotto.
GIDP: Koskie.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
E: Hinske (4, fielding), Adams (18, throw).
DP: (Hinske-Adams-Towers).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Colon 7.0 7 2 2 2 5 0 3.72
Shields 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.13
Donnelly (L, 6-3) 0.1 2 1 1 1 0 0 3.40

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers 6.2 6 2 1 1 2 1 4.60
Schoeneweis 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.50
Frasor 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.20
Batista (W, 5-3) 2.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 2.98

Schoeneweis pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Donnelly.
IBB: Wells (by Donnelly), Guerrero (by Batista).
Pitches-strikes: Colon 108-71, Shields 21-14, Donnelly 14-6, Towers 99-67, Schoeneweis 8-6, Frasor 10-8, Batista 32-18.
Ground outs-fly outs: Colon 6-10, Shields 5-0, Donnelly 1-0, Towers 9-9, Schoeneweis 0-0, Frasor 1-1, Batista 3-3.
Batters faced: Colon 30, Shields 6, Donnelly 4, Towers 27, Schoeneweis 2, Frasor 4, Batista 9.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 2-0, Frasor 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Phil Cuzzi. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Jerry Crawford. 3B: CB Bucknor.
Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 11 mph, In from CF.
T: 3:00.
Att: 18,998.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

We swept the Angels! What a wild game today. It went 18 inning, the longest game in Jays history. I was so nervous all through extra innings knowing that this win was so important. I was jumping up and down when Hudson hit Rios in to win the game. Excellent outing by David Bush him and Lackey got into a pitchers duel today. The orioles lost today and the Yankees won, Boston had a off day. Toronto is now only 4 games back of Boston!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050728&content_id=1148647&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Sometimes, you need two scoresheets.

The Blue Jays played the longest game in franchise history on Thursday night, a 2-1 win over the Angels that lasted 18 innings. It was also the longest game in the big leagues this season -- not to mention Toronto's second walk-off win in as many nights.

"I want to go home. I want to sleep. I want to eat," said Vernon Wells, Toronto's center fielder. "It was a first for a lot of us, playing in a game that long. It was just good we came out on the winning side of it.

"It was a long one. It was fun to be a part of once, but hopefully, we don't do it again."

Some players may have had dead legs, but the winning run came on some speed work. Alex Rios, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 14th inning, singled, stole second and moved to third base on a wild pitch. He came home on a single from Orlando Hudson, marking Toronto's sixth straight win at home -- the team's longest streak this season.

"It's tough to sweep first-place clubs, and we did that. Maybe we're on to something here," said John Gibbons, Toronto's manager. "You don't feel as bad when you win those marathons. We've said all along, 'Our guys, they gut it out for nine innings.' Win, lose or draw, they show up. It's a fun team and it's a team the town can be proud of."

Both teams were quiet for most of the night, with the starting pitchers spinning twin shutouts through eight innings. Dave Bush was at his best for Toronto, but he gave up a one-out triple in the ninth to give the Angels their best threat.

The Jays (52-49) responded by intentionally walking two batters, then Steve Finley drove in the road team's lone run on a ground ball. Scott Schoeneweis got one out and Justin Speier got the other, cutting off the Angels (59-43) at one run.

"It's not very often you pitch into the ninth inning and don't even pitch half the game. Obviously, the bullpen did a great job, throwing more than nine innings of shutout ball," said Bush. "After a while, you try to hang on as long as you can. We tried to figure out anything we could do to get a win and get out of here."

The drama was just beginning. Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels' closer, walked Russ Adams in the ninth and gave up a one-out bloop hit to right field. That pushed the rookie to third base, and Shea Hillenbrand sent him home with a flare to left field. Wells hustled from first to third on the play, but Rodriguez retired the next two batters to send the game to extra innings.

"I can definitely say one thing: Ernie Banks and that 'Let's play two' thing -- he ain't never strapped on the catching gear before. That's for sure."
-- Gregg Zaun

"We had an opportunity, but K-Rod's one of the best in the game. Especially in situations like that," said Wells. "We just played a whole other game after that, so it was a good time."

"That's a tough game for both teams. Two well-played games -- 18 innings. It was great to get a W right there," said Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun, who caught the whole game. "I can definitely say one thing: Ernie Banks and that 'Let's play two' thing -- he ain't never strapped on the catching gear before. That's for sure. That's a lot of game right there."

After the ninth, the game settled into a battle of the bullpens, with both teams struggling to break things open. Toronto's Vinnie Chulk did most of the heavy lifting -- he came on in the 10th inning and retired nine straight Angels. Jason Frasor and Miguel Batista each worked a scoreless inning, and Pete Walker got nine outs to set up the winning rally.

"All you do is try to win that game today. You can't worry about tomorrow," Gibbons said. "If we're a little beat up tomorrow, so be it. It was a good win tonight."

Said Walker: "The game was flowing there and I had a feeling I might be getting in towards the end. Overall, the bullpen pitched outstanding. Dave Bush threw a tremendous game -- it's a shame he didn't get a chance to win that game. The bullpen did a great job, coming in and putting some zeroes up."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_28_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 2, LA Angels 1 TOR
Toronto (52-49)
Won 3
July 28, 2005
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 1
Standings through 7/28/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, LF 8 0 1 0 0 3 4 .286
Erstad, 1B 8 0 1 0 0 1 2 .279
Rivera, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .239
1-DaVanon, PR-RF 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .235
Anderson, DH 7 0 0 0 1 2 4 .289
Molina, B, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
a-Guerrero, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .310
2-Molina, J, PR-C 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .219
Finley, CF 7 0 1 1 0 0 2 .233
Cabrera, SS 7 0 2 0 0 2 3 .247
Izturis, 3B 6 0 1 0 0 0 2 .286
Kennedy, 2B 7 0 2 0 0 2 2 .331
Totals 62 1 9 1 4 10 24

a-Intentionally walked for Molina, B in the 9th.
1-Ran for Rivera in the 9th. 2-Ran for Guerrero in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Erstad (26, Walker).
3B: Rivera (1, Bush).
TB: Figgins; Erstad 2; Rivera 3; Finley; Cabrera 2; Izturis; Kennedy 2.
RBI: Finley (43).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Anderson; Figgins 2; Cabrera; Molina, J 2; Kennedy.
S: Izturis.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: DaVanon (9, 2nd base off Frasor/Zaun), Figgins (35, 2nd base off Bush/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Molina, B-Kennedy).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 6 1 1 0 1 1 0 .262
Catalanotto, LF 6 0 0 0 1 2 2 .306
Wells, CF 7 0 2 0 0 2 1 .278
Hillenbrand, 1B 7 0 1 1 0 3 2 .298
Koskie, 3B 6 0 1 0 1 3 2 .245
Hill, DH 6 0 0 0 0 2 3 .300
Zaun, C 7 0 0 0 0 2 4 .269
Johnson, RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .277
a-Hinske, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .246
Rios, RF 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .285
Hudson, 2B 7 0 2 1 0 0 2 .272
Totals 58 2 9 2 4 17 16

a-Struck out for Johnson in the 13th.

BATTING
TB: Adams; Wells 2; Hillenbrand; Koskie; Johnson; Rios; Hudson 2.
RBI: Hillenbrand (59), Hudson (45).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Koskie; Zaun 2; Hudson.
S: Hill.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (9, 2nd base off Shields/Molina, J).
CS: Catalanotto (2, 2nd base by Lackey/Molina, B).

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (7, fielding).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lackey 8.0 4 0 0 1 9 0 3.70
Rodriguez (BS, 3) 1.0 2 1 1 2 3 0 1.99
Donnelly 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.25
Yan 3.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.83
Peralta 3.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.00
Shields (L, 6-6) 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 2.26

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush 8.1 5 1 1 2 4 0 4.33
Schoeneweis 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.46
Speier 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.54
Chulk 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.59
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.11
Batista 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.92
Walker (W, 4-3) 3.0 3 0 0 1 2 0 2.89

WP: Shields.
IBB: Koskie (by Rodriguez), Anderson (by Bush), Guerrero (by Bush).
Pitches-strikes: Lackey 109-70, Rodriguez 29-16, Donnelly 28-19, Yan 28-17, Peralta 35-23, Shields 13-9, Bush 106-65, Schoeneweis 4-3, Speier 18-14, Chulk 28-20, Frasor 19-10, Batista 15-8, Walker 40-27.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lackey 8-5, Rodriguez 0-0, Donnelly 2-3, Yan 3-3, Peralta 3-5, Shields 1-0, Bush 9-12, Schoeneweis 1-0, Speier 1-0, Chulk 5-4, Frasor 1-1, Batista 2-1, Walker 3-4.
Batters faced: Lackey 27, Rodriguez 7, Donnelly 6, Yan 9, Peralta 11, Shields 3, Bush 32, Schoeneweis 1, Speier 4, Chulk 9, Frasor 4, Batista 4, Walker 13.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 3-1, Speier 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Jerry Crawford. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 75 degrees, clear.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to RF.
T: 4:50.
Att: 19,706.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[pads4ever]

Great series for the Jays......not so great for the Angels.....nice sweep. I was impressed with the Jays. How come you guys aren't further up in the standings? I was really impressed with Chacin....hope they can hang onto him.

[Reed Johnson]

Great series for the Jays......not so great for the Angels.....nice sweep. I was impressed with the Jays. How come you guys aren't further up in the standings? I was really impressed with Chacin....hope they can hang onto him.

The reason we're not higher up in the standings is consistency IMO. In the first half of the season the pitchers were really good and the batters stunk and then for the second half the batters were great and the pitchers stunk. But this series was a good one. Also we are losing to the bad teams and winning against the good ones.

[Reed Johnson]

After sweeping the Angels the Jays havenow lost 2 in a row to texas :(. Dustin McGowan made his ML debut giving up only 1 run in 5 innings of work. Frasor then came into the sixth and blew the 2-1 lead so he got the loss. Also the winning run, in my opinon, shouldnt have counted because Zaun tagged him before he touched the plate. We lost the game because of the damn umpire!

Rangers 3 Jays 2

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050730&content_id=1151102&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- It was a matter of inches and a matter of opinion.

A controversial play at the plate was the difference in Saturday's game, which turned out to be a 3-2 win for the Rangers over the Blue Jays. Kevin Mench, the road team's right fielder, slid home with the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of a tight game. That slide -- disputed or not -- gave the Rangers six straight wins over Toronto and a 2-0 edge in the current series.

"I thought he was out. I thought he was wide," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "It was big, but we didn't mount much offense today. That's what it came down to."

The key play came in the top of the sixth inning, with two outs and Mench on first base. Gary Matthews Jr. chopped a ball off the plate for Texas (53-50), and Toronto reliever Jason Frasor had to wait for it to come down. When it did, he had to hurry a throw, which went inside the baseline and off the back of the Matthews' helmet.

"I knew he was flying. I know he's fast," said Frasor, who took the loss. "I had a bad grip. I threw it anyway, but it took off on me."

The ball bounced into foul territory, and Matthews, running full-out, plowed into Shea Hillenbrand before falling to the turf in obvious pain. Hillenbrand also fell down before giving chase to the ball, and both players talked about the impact after the game.

"The throw hit me in the back of the helmet and it flicked over in front of my face," said Matthews. "I couldn't see until I was two inches in front of his shoulder. It felt like a punch in the face. I was a little woozy, a little sleepy."

"It was such a huge collision. I don't know what hit me or where," said Hillenbrand of the play at first base.

Toronto's first baseman recovered and went after the ball, but Mench was busy steaming his way around the bases. Finally, Hillenbrand gathered and made a strong throw to the plate, but the runner arrived at roughly the same time.

It was close, but the home-plate umpire was in perfect position and signaled safe for the go-ahead run. Gibbons and Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun argued to no avail, and neither team was able to score for the rest of the game.

"I put my glove right in front of the plate and his hand came right into it. There wasn't really anywhere for him to go," said Zaun. "I didn't think there was any question about it. He slid wide and he tried to reach back with his hand, but my glove was sitting right in front of the plate with plenty of time. Another one of those calls cost us the ballgame."

Despite a no-decision, Toronto starter Dustin McGowan pitched well in his Major League debut. The rookie walked the first two batters he faced, but settled down shortly thereafter. The right-hander worked five innings and allowed just two hits, striking out six batters against three walks. The only run he allowed came on a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

"He had a little trouble with his fastball -- getting it over -- but the breaking ball and the changeup were there for him," said Zaun. "That says a lot about the kid's makeup. Hopefully, we'll be able to use that mid-90's fastball a little bit more the next time."

The Jays (52-51) gained an early lead, thanks to a wild play in the first. With no outs and the bases loaded, Alfonso Soriano fielded a ball and tried to tag a runner, but he would up having to throw to first for the fielder's choice. The first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, then threw wildly into left field, allowing both runs to score.

Five innings later, there was redemption by long ball. After Frasor got two quick outs in the sixth, Gonzalez reached him for a solo homer over the right-field fence. That tied the game at 2, and two plays later, Mench slid home with the go-ahead run.

"That was the only place he was going to hurt me -- down-and-in," said Frasor about the home run. "That's right where he likes it. It was supposed to be a cutter in, but it came out more like a curveball and hung up over the plate."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_30_texmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Texas 3, Toronto 2 TOR
Toronto (52-51)
Lost 2
July 30, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Texas
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 7 1
Toronto
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 1
Standings through 7/30/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Dellucci, LF 4 0 0 0 1 3 4 .259
Young, M, SS 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .327
Teixeira, DH 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .276
Blalock, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .278
Soriano, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .279
Gonzalez, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .229
Mench, RF 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 .276
Matthews, CF 3 0 2 0 0 1 1 .263
Hidalgo, CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .221
Barajas, C 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
Totals 32 3 7 2 5 9 17

BATTING
2B: Matthews (14, McGowan), Barajas (16, Frasor).
HR: Gonzalez (3, 6th inning off Frasor, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Young, M; Gonzalez 4; Mench 2; Matthews 3; Barajas 2.
RBI: Barajas (31), Gonzalez (6).
2-out RBI: Gonzalez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Soriano; Dellucci 3.
SF: Barajas.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Soriano (16, 2nd base off Chulk/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Gonzalez (2, throw).
DP: (Young, M-Soriano-Gonzalez).
Pickoffs: Shouse (Adams at 1st base).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 .268
Catalanotto, LF 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .302
Wells, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .278
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 0 1 0 1 2 .297
Koskie, 3B 3 0 2 0 1 1 1 .253
Zaun, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .265
Hinske, DH 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 .241
Johnson, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .273
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269
Totals 31 2 6 1 4 9 17

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (17, Benoit).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto 2; Koskie 2; Hudson.
RBI: Hillenbrand (60).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun; Johnson 3.
GIDP: Wells.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
CS: Adams (2, 2nd base by Shouse/Barajas).
PO: Adams (1st base by Shouse).

FIELDING
E: Frasor (1, throw).
DP: (Hudson).


Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Benoit (W, 3-1) 5.2 5 2 1 3 6 0 1.94
Gryboski (H, 5) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.16
Shouse (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.42
Loe (H, 3) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.19
Cordero (S, 26) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.54

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McGowan 5.0 2 1 1 3 6 0 1.80
Frasor (BS, 1)(L, 1-5) 1.0 4 2 2 0 1 1 4.40
Chulk 2.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.44
Batista 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.86

WP: Gryboski.
HBP: Wells (by Benoit), Barajas (by McGowan).
Pitches-strikes: Benoit 111-71, Gryboski 5-4, Shouse 18-11, Loe 19-13, Cordero 13-7, McGowan 91-49, Frasor 29-20, Chulk 27-13, Batista 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Benoit 5-6, Gryboski 0-1, Shouse 2-0, Loe 1-0, Cordero 1-1, McGowan 6-3, Frasor 1-1, Chulk 1-5, Batista 1-0.
Batters faced: Benoit 25, Gryboski 1, Shouse 3, Loe 4, Cordero 3, McGowan 21, Frasor 7, Chulk 7, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Gryboski 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: Ed Hickox. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Gary Cederstrom.
Weather: 79 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:14.
Att: 23,039.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Well we didnt get swept. Good game today.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050731&content_id=1151821&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- Pass out the buttons and bumper stickers.
Gustavo Chacin's campaign to become this season's top rookie in the American League took another step in the right direction during Toronto's 5-1 win over the Rangers on Sunday. The win avoided a sweep by Texas at the Rogers Centre.

The 24-year-old southpaw has been cruising lately with five straight wins and an 2.97 ERA in July. He didn't slow down against the powerful Texas lineup, either.

"He's had a heck of a year," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We knew we had something special when we saw him last September and with what he did in the Minor Leagues last year. He keeps getting better and he'll keep getting better."

The left-hander tied a career-high with six strikeouts and allowed no earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. He also became the first Blue Jays rookie to post five wins in a month.

Chacin (11-5) now leads all Major League rookies in wins, ERA (3.28) and innings pitched (129). Those are the type of credentials the Venezuelan will require in order to stay in the running for some hardware at the end of the season.

"All my pitches are working good. I'm throwing a lot of strikes and have a good tempo. I feel comfortable," said Chacin, who is no stranger to accepting accolades.

Easily visible from the top shelf of his locker in the clubhouse sit the awards for Rookie of the Month in April and the Pitcher of the Year honor he took home from the Eastern League last year.

Could a Rookie of the Year Award wait on deck?

"I think so," said Vernon Wells, the Jays' center fielder. "He just has to continue what he's doing -- throw strikes, make guys swing the bat and just go out there and give us quality innings any time he can. And he's been doing that for us."

The rookie's string of wins couldn't have come at a better time for Toronto. Both Roy Halladay and Ted Lilly were sidelined with injuries this month and Chacin has been one of the main reasons that the Jays haven't collapsed in the process.

"[Chacin] has been great for us, especially with [Halladay] going down," Wells said. "He's pretty much stepped right into that role and been a stopper when he's pitched for us. It's been a good month for him and a good month for the team."

The only downside to Chacin's season has been the high pitch counts he has put up, resulting in many early exits. Against Texas, Chacin threw 115 pitches and left the game in the seventh after walking his fourth batter.

"He ended up throwing a lot of pitches, but he's a strong kid, he really is," Gibbons said. "When he keeps winning, you let him throw a lot of pitches.

"When he masters that outside part of the plate. ... I think that will simplify things for him and will get some quick ground-ball outs for him."

That is something Chacin has been working hard on during his days off.

"I'm working hard on my bullpen days with my pitching coach [Brad Arnsberg]," Chacin said. "We're working on my fastball down and away and my cutter. We're working hard on those two pitches, and the last couple of times, both pitches are working good."

In the first inning, Chacin struck out Gary Matthews Jr., Michael Young and Mark Teixeira in order, and the Rangers only managed one unearned run against him on the day.

Texas second baseman Alfonso Soriano led off the fourth inning with a single, reached second base on a throwing error by Chacin, and later scored on a single by Richard Hidalgo.

"He has a real bright future," Texas manager Buck Showalter said. "He has a lot of ways to get you out -- cutter, changeup, centers very few balls. He and [Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun] did a great job today. They didn't get caught in any patterns and we never really made any adjustments to the cutter -- tough pitch to hit."

Toronto gave Chacin all the support he needed during a four-run third inning.

Wells sent the first offering he saw from Texas' own first-year starter, C.J. Wilson (0-3), off the foul pole in left for a two-out, two-run shot. Wells completed a hot July in which the outfielder batted .315 with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 25 games.

Wilson took the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in six innings.

Zaun and Alex Rios followed with RBI singles against Wilson later in the fourth and Reed Johnson added a solo home run off the facing of the third deck in left field in the seventh inning against Rangers reliever James Baldwin to close out the scoring.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_07_31_texmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 5, Texas 1 Today's Boxes 7/31/05 NYY 8, LAA 7 ATL 5, PIT 4 WSH 4, FLA 2 BOS 4, MIN 3 NYM 9, HOU 4 MIL 5, SF 1 TB 6, KC 2 ARI 13, CHC 6 COL 9, PHI 2 CIN 7, SD 1 CLE 9, SEA 7 OAK 5, DET 2 STL 7, LAD 5 CWS 9, BAL 4
Toronto (53-51)
Won 1
July 31, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Texas 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Toronto 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 X 5 13 2


Standings through 7/31/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Matthews, CF 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .259
Young, M, SS 3 0 2 0 1 1 0 .329
Teixeira, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .275
Nevin, DH 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .253
Soriano, 2B 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .280
Blalock, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .275
Mench, LF 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .274
Hidalgo, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .222
Barajas, C 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .252
Totals 32 1 5 1 4 8 17

BATTING
TB: Young, M 2; Teixeira; Soriano; Hidalgo.
RBI: Hidalgo (43).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Nevin; Matthews; Teixeira.
GIDP: Hidalgo; Teixeira.
Team LOB: 8.


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 5 1 2 1 0 1 0 .275
Hill, SS 5 1 2 0 0 1 2 .297
Wells, CF 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 .281
Hillenbrand, 1B 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 .297
Koskie, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .253
Zaun, C 4 0 3 1 0 1 2 .272
Rios, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .281
Menechino, DH 4 0 0 0 0 3 5 .221
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .268
Totals 37 5 13 5 0 8 18

BATTING
HR: Wells (21, 3rd inning off Wilson, 1 on, 2 out), Johnson (8, 7th inning off Baldwin, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Johnson 5; Hill 2; Wells 5; Hillenbrand; Koskie; Zaun 3; Rios; Hudson.
RBI: Wells 2 (63), Zaun (39), Rios (43), Johnson (41).
2-out RBI: Wells 2; Zaun; Rios.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Menechino 2; Hudson; Zaun; Hill.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (8, fielding), Chacin (1, throw).
DP: 2 (Koskie-Hudson-Hillenbrand 2).




Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Wilson (L, 0-3) 6.0 8 4 4 0 6 1 7.91
Baldwin 1.0 3 1 1 0 1 1 1.95
Mahay 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 6.82
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 11-5) 6.1 4 1 0 4 6 0 3.28
Schoeneweis (H, 11) 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.54
Speier 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.32


WP: Wilson.
HBP: Hillenbrand (by Wilson).
Pitches-strikes: Wilson 98-70, Baldwin 13-10, Mahay 17-13, Chacin 115-73, Schoeneweis 9-6, Speier 13-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Wilson 8-4, Baldwin 0-2, Mahay 0-2, Chacin 5-8, Schoeneweis 1-0, Speier 1-4.
Batters faced: Wilson 27, Baldwin 6, Mahay 5, Chacin 27, Schoeneweis 3, Speier 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Ed Hickox. 1B: Tim Welke. 2B: Gary Cederstrom. 3B: Bill Welke.
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 4 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:38.
Att: 24,123.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

We just beat the team with the best record in baseball. Towers improved to .500 and now has a 8-8 record.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/02/BpvVBcO5.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050802&content_id=1155176&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- One detail made an impression. The other just left a mark.

Russ Adams earned some big league stripes and bruises on Tuesday night, when he homered twice in the Blue Jays' 7-3 win over Jon Garland and the White Sox. Late in the four-run game, the White Sox relayed a message by hitting the rookie shortstop with a pitch, drawing a warning to both dugouts.

"That's just part of the game. I had a feeling it was coming," said Adams, whose only other multihomer game also came against Chicago. "It's something that happens. You just take it like a man and come back out tomorrow, ready to play.

"I think it was just part of the situation. You never know, but I kind of expected it."

Adams wasn't the only one to sense that development -- and it wasn't because of his night at the plate. Two Toronto pitchers hit batters in the eighth inning, so the Blue Jays (54-51) almost expected some form of retaliation.

In fact, a few of the Jays said it was a nearly mandatory way to end the game.

"I don't worry about that. I know we weren't trying to hit their guys in that situation," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "The umpire did what he had to do."

"I feel bad for them for having to hit somebody and Russ for getting hit," said Josh Towers, Toronto's starter. "I wasn't trying to hit A.J. [Pierzynski] by any means -- you guys know that. And Justin [Speier] wasn't either. It just worked out that way, unfortunately for those guys.

"If you're going to retaliate, that's what you do: You pick a guy, and Russ just happened to get up with two outs. Two outs, nobody on -- that's a great time to hit somebody. ... It's good for his on-base percentage."

That may be, but facing the White Sox (69-36) is good for his slugging percentage. Adams extended his hit streak to a career-best 11 games on Tuesday, but he also had homered in his only previous start against Garland.

The specific details are even more impressive: In a four at-bat stretch spread over two games, the left-handed hitter homered three times against the American League's winningest pitcher. Garland (15-5) has allowed 55 earned runs this year, and nearly one-fourth of them (13) have come in two starts against Toronto.

"I think it's just one of those flukish-type things. I don't hit a whole lot of home runs," said Adams. "The second one, I hit pretty good. The first one, I hit good, [too] -- I hadn't hit one the other way in a long time.

"It could've been a little wind helping me out there. It was a good day, and it was good to get a win."

The game turned for good in the second inning, when the Blue Jays trailed by two runs and strung together seven straight hits -- six with two outs and four for extra bases. That streak started with Corey Koskie, who singled and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. The Jays stayed alive with a single by Gregg Zaun and a double by Eric Hinske, but then things got really interesting.

Reed Johnson tied the game with a triple to the gap in right-center field, which left Toronto one hit shy of the sequential cycle. Orlando Hudson completed it with a two-run homer, but the road team wasn't done. Two pitches later, Adams added his first homer of the game to give the Jays a 5-2 lead. Three innings later, he added his eighth homer of the year.

"Zaunie got us started with a hit. A couple hits later, Orlando puts one in the seats," said Adams. "All of a sudden, we're in the driver's seat. That's basically all it took for Josh, the way he was throwing tonight."

Chicago scored two early runs against Towers, but the right-hander settled down to work deep into the game. Paul Konerko's two-run homer in the first put the White Sox on the board, but they didn't add another run until Aaron Rowand's sixth-inning single.

Towers (8-8) left in the eighth inning and picked up his third win in his last four decisions. In two-plus seasons with Toronto, the control specialist has racked up a 25-18 record.

"I felt like I threw the ball pretty well tonight. I felt like I threw a lot of quality pitches after the first inning," Towers said. "There were some pitches I got away with -- a couple of pop-ups -- but I thought Zaunie called a good game."

"He has a lot of movement on his pitches. He had some pitches called that he was surprised at and he just kept going further and further out," said Jermaine Dye, Chicago's right fielder. "It made us expand our zone a bit. When a pitcher does that, you tip your hat. He did what he had to do to win the game."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_02_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 7, Chi White Sox 3 CWS
Chi White Sox (69-36)
Lost 1
August 2, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 7 13 1
Chi White Sox
2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 8 1
Standings through 8/2/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 2 2 2 0 1 2 .271
Catalanotto, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .300
Rios, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .280
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .294
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .253
Zaun, C 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 .275
Hinske, DH 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .248
Johnson, RF-LF 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .279
Hudson, 2B 3 1 1 3 0 0 1 .269
Totals 36 7 13 7 0 4 7

BATTING
2B: Hinske (24, Garland).
3B: Johnson (6, Garland).
HR: Hudson (8, 2nd inning off Garland, 1 on, 2 out), Adams 2 (8, 2nd inning off Garland, 0 on, 2 out; 5th inning off Garland, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Adams 8; Catalanotto; Wells; Koskie; Zaun 2; Hinske 4; Johnson 4; Hudson 4.
RBI: Johnson 2 (43), Hudson 3 (48), Adams 2 (46).
2-out RBI: Johnson 2; Hudson 2; Adams.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Adams.
SF: Hudson.
GIDP: Hudson; Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
CS: Hinske (3, 2nd base by Garland/Pierzynski).

FIELDING
E: Adams (19, fielding).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .292
Iguchi, 2B 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .284
Everett, DH 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .257
Konerko, 1B 4 2 2 2 0 1 0 .263
Pierzynski, C 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .270
Dye, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .274
Rowand, CF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .288
Blum, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .241
Uribe, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .243
a-Perez, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
Totals 36 3 8 3 0 7 13

a-Reached on error for Uribe in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Iguchi (18, Towers), Pierzynski (14, Towers), Podsednik (20, Towers).
HR: Konerko (24, 1st inning off Towers, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Podsednik 2; Iguchi 2; Konerko 5; Pierzynski 3; Rowand; Blum.
RBI: Konerko 2 (66), Rowand (42).
2-out RBI: Konerko 2; Rowand.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dye; Iguchi; Blum; Rowand.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Iguchi (9, missed catch).
Outfield assists: Dye (Koskie at 2nd base).
DP: 2 (Garland-Uribe-Konerko, Blum-Iguchi-Konerko).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (W, 8-8) 7.2 8 3 3 0 7 1 4.53
Speier 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.25

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Garland (L, 15-5) 6.0 13 7 7 0 4 3 3.40
Jenks 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.38
Adkins 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

HBP: Pierzynski (by Towers), Dye (by Speier), Adams (by Adkins).
Pitches-strikes: Towers 105-75, Speier 19-15, Garland 101-71, Jenks 16-12, Adkins 11-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 4-12, Speier 2-2, Garland 9-4, Jenks 4-2, Adkins 1-2.
Batters faced: Towers 32, Speier 6, Garland 28, Jenks 6, Adkins 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Speier 1-0.
EjectionsChicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen ejected by HP umpire Jeff Nelson. (4th).
Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Adam Dowdy. 3B: Derryl Cousins.
Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:28.
Att: 32,162.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Knick9]

Since the O's season looks finished already ( :ughh ), I'm hoping that the Blue Jays find a way to get to the top of the AL East, or at the very least, the wild card, but moreso the AL East.

This team is doing so good right now that we could be seeing important matchups against the Red $ox and Yankee$ late in the season. Roy has to get back to help the starting rotation, and the bullpen has to keep doing what they've been doing when they're good.

I'm impressed by Pete Walker, obviously not your everyday pick to be a stud pitcher, but he has been. Koskie returning is a good thing, and add that with Hillenbrand and Vernon? A shot at the playoffs isn't out of the question. :gt

[Chris from NY]

Hear Hear! :gt

[Reed Johnson]

We won another game against the best team in baseball!

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/04/zLMo4rNa.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050803&content_id=1156724&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

CHICAGO -- Somewhere along the line, Dave Bush bit the snake back.

Toronto's second-year starter has reversed his run of bad luck since his return from Triple-A Syracuse, pitching the Blue Jays to three wins in as many starts. The latest example was a 4-3 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday night, which gave Bush two wins and a no-decision in his second tour of the league.

"He had it early on, but he didn't get any wins," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, speaking of his starter's confidence. "Even if you pitch good and have nothing to show for it, it wears on you. Everybody likes to look at numbers, but I see a new guy since he came back."

The road team fed Bush an early lead, courtesy of three runs on a single swing. Chicago starter Orlando Hernandez walked two batters and hit another in the first inning, and Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun made him pay with a bases-clearing double.

Eric Hinske added an RBI single, rounding out the scoring in the first.

The Jays (55-51) only got three hits in the rest of the game, and none of them went for extra bases.

"You can never sit on anything with that guy, because he throws so many pitches over the plate," Zaun said of Hernandez. "He can throw anything at any time. You can pretty much expect the kitchen sink when you go that deep into an at-bat with him. I fouled off a couple tough pitches down and in, and got one over the plate."

"It was a heck of a game. We got to El Duque there in the first, but then he settled in. ... We couldn't do much with him," said Gibbons. "We did hit a couple balls into the right-center field gap that I thought had a chance. But they kind of hung up, and they made a couple nice plays."

Meanwhile, Bush (2-5) worked five innings and left with the lead, but he also allowed at least one extra-base hit in every inning he pitched. All of Chicago's offense came on home runs -- a solo shot by Carl Everett in the first inning and a two-run job from Paul Konerko in the fifth.

Bush stranded runners in scoring position in the second, third and fourth. From there, Toronto's bullpen took control of the game.

"Four months ago, we probably would've given up a cheap one. And he would've lost a chance to win," said Zaun. "But our bullpen came in and beared down, pitched four solid innings. What can I say about those guys?"

"I try not to think about it too much either way," said Bush, speaking about his good fortune. "But when things aren't going your way, you know they're going to turn around at some point. And at the same time, when things do go your way, you can't really rely on that.

"It's kind of funny -- pretty much every mistake I made, I paid for. I made a lot of good pitches, and they had a lot of guys on base. I had to work out of several jams."

Pete Walker got five outs without allowing a hit, but he also walked two straight batters in the seventh. Vinnie Chulk made things even tighter with a wild pitch, but he induced a harmless ground ball from Konerko to end the home team's best threat.

"I was just trying to keep it away from him, and I was fortunate enough to get a slider that was a [nasty] pitch," said Chulk. "He offered at it and grounded out to shortstop."

"Pete wasn't going to give in to [Carl] Everett there. He pitched him tough to keep him in the park," said Gibbons. "Our bullpen, if you look back over the year to this point, has pitched very good. We've had some tough spots here and there, but I think, overall, we've done a great job."

The White Sox (69-37) got two runners aboard in the eighth, but Toronto closer Miguel Batista retired four batters for his 18th save. Toronto's relievers worked four innings and only allowed four baserunners -- two on singles and two on walks.

"Those guys were fabulous tonight. They made a lot of pitches when they had to," said Zaun before switching topics. "Dave Bush has made some huge strides since coming back from Syracuse. He didn't have great stuff tonight, but he was good enough."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_03_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 4, Chi White Sox 3 CWS
Chi White Sox (69-37)
Lost 2
August 3, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 0
Chi White Sox
1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 9 0
Standings through 8/3/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .268
Johnson, LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .280
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .278
Hillenbrand, DH 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .293
1-Hill, PR-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
Koskie, 3B 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 .249
Zaun, C 4 1 1 3 0 1 1 .275
Hinske, 1B 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .252
Rios, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .278
Hudson, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .270
Totals 28 4 5 4 4 6 9


1-Ran for Hillenbrand in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Zaun (14, Hernandez).
TB: Johnson; Zaun 2; Hinske 2; Hudson.
RBI: Zaun 3 (42), Hinske (49).
2-out RBI: Zaun 3; Hinske.
GIDP: Adams; Johnson.
Team LOB: 2.

BASERUNNING
SB: Hillenbrand (3, 2nd base off Hernandez/Pierzynski), Johnson 2 (3, 2nd base off Hernandez/Pierzynski, 3rd base off Hernandez/Pierzynski).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 .288
Iguchi, 2B 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .287
Everett, DH 4 1 1 1 1 2 2 .257
Konerko, 1B 3 1 1 2 1 0 3 .264
Pierzynski, C 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .273
Dye, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .273
Rowand, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .288
Crede, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .253
Uribe, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .244
a-Blum, PH-SS 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .240
Totals 36 3 9 3 3 5 17

a-Struck out for Uribe in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Uribe (14, Bush), Iguchi (19, Bush), Dye (17, Bush).
HR: Everett (16, 1st inning off Bush, 0 on, 2 out), Konerko (25, 5th inning off Bush, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Iguchi 3; Everett 4; Konerko 4; Pierzynski 2; Dye 2; Rowand; Uribe 2.
RBI: Everett (63), Konerko 2 (68).
2-out RBI: Everett; Konerko 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dye; Podsednik; Pierzynski; Uribe; Konerko 2; Blum.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Dye (Hinske at 2nd base), Rowand (Hinske at 1st base).
DP: 3 (Hernandez-Uribe-Konerko, Rowand-Iguchi-Konerko, Uribe-Konerko).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush (W, 2-5) 5.0 7 3 3 1 1 2 4.40
Walker (H, 3) 1.2 0 0 0 2 2 0 2.82
Chulk (H, 8) 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.38
Batista (S, 18) 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.79

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hernandez (L, 8-4) 7.0 5 4 4 2 5 0 4.69
Cotts 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.22
Politte 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.76
Marte 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.94

WP: Chulk.
HBP: Hillenbrand (by Hernandez).
Pitches-strikes: Bush 78-53, Walker 31-14, Chulk 19-12, Batista 20-14, Hernandez 107-66, Cotts 16-10, Politte 13-8, Marte 8-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Bush 8-6, Walker 1-2, Chulk 1-2, Batista 1-1, Hernandez 6-9, Cotts 1-0, Politte 3-0, Marte 0-1.
Batters faced: Bush 23, Walker 7, Chulk 5, Batista 4, Hernandez 26, Cotts 2, Politte 3, Marte 2.
Inherited runners-scored: Chulk 2-0, Batista 2-0, Politte 1-0, Marte 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Bill Miller. 1B: Adam Dowdy. 2B: Derryl Cousins. 3B: Jeff Nelson.
Weather: 87 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, R to L.
T: 2:52.
Att: 28,116.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

I knew we wouldnt be able to sweep the team with the best record in baseball. The game was'nt televised so I have nothing to say about it.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/04/k46xhwY2.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050804&content_id=1157395&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

CHICAGO -- The comeback took eight innings. The response took two pitches.

The Blue Jays fell behind early and briefly tied Thursday's game in the top of the eighth inning, but Chicago's Tadahito Iguchi undid all their hard work with a solo homer in the bottom half. That jolt was enough to lift the White Sox (70-37) to a 5-4 win, and it also stopped the Jays from earning their first three-game sweep in Chicago since September 1989.

"I thought he hit a pretty good pitch, actually," said Justin Speier, who allowed the go-ahead homer. "Those things are going to happen -- it just happened to cost us the game today. We need to move on and get ready for New York tomorrow."

"When somebody's on second I'll obviously try to hit to right," said Iguchi via a translator. "But in this case, it was an outside pitch and I just took it the way it was coming."

Oddly enough, Dustin McGowan's second big-league start looked just like his first one. Toronto's rookie right-hander stumbled in the first inning Thursday and spent the rest of his day redeeming himself -- all the way to a no-decision. In fact, after two starts, McGowan has a 22.50 ERA in the first inning and a zero mark in every other inning.

"He's a rook. He's a young kid," said John Gibbons, Toronto's manager. "He's throwing the ball good."

"Same thing. Struggled in the first inning," said McGowan. "I don't think it was nerves tonight. I just struggled finding the strike zone and left a couple balls over the plate.

"[Big-league hitters] are patient and you don't get them to swing at very many bad pitches. That shows how important it is to get ahead."

This time, McGowan retired the first hitter he faced, but things quickly spiraled out of control. He walked one batter and gave up two singles, which brought Aaron Rowand to the plate with a one-run lead. Rowand proceeded to break the game open by drilling a three-run shot over the fence in right-center field.

After that, McGowan retired 13 batters before he allowed another hit.

"It's tough losing on getaway day, but we played a good ballgame," said Russ Adams, Toronto's shortstop. "After the first inning, Dustin settled down and pitched a great game from there on. Losing in the late innings hurts, but we played good baseball while we were here. It's something to build on."

Chicago's Jose Contreras had one difficult inning of his own, but it happened when he had a four-run lead. The Blue Jays (55-52) pushed two runners on base in the fourth, and one came around to score on an error by Joe Crede, Chicago's third baseman. Another run scored on a groundout, then Adams brought Toronto within one run on a two-out triple.

"We just couldn't quite come away with the win today, but it happens," he said. "It seems like for the last week or so, we've been winning games like they won this one today. It kind of evens itself out. All in all, it was a great series for us."

Adams delivered two more extra-base hits, and the last one tied the game. With no outs and a man on first in the eighth inning, Adams doubled to the right-center gap off Chicago reliever Damaso Marte. The Jays moved him to third with one out, but a fly ball to center and a popup in foul ground ended the chance for the go-ahead run.

"Those guys always seem to find a way to win. We had a lot of opportunities tonight to score some runs," said Wells, who flew out in the eighth. "It just didn't happen. You have to take the positives from it when you can. We did what we wanted to do. We took two out of three. It would've been nice to take all three, but that's the way the cookie crumbles."

Toronto's 3-4-5 hitters -- Wells, Shea Hillenbrand and Corey Koskie -- combined to go 1-for-14 on Thursday and 3-for-35 in the series. When Gibbons was asked about their production after the game, he declined comment and moved on to the next question.

"It was a tight game. We came back and tied it there," he said, summing things up. "It's kind of the reverse. They had it last night, we had it tonight."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_04_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=tor

Chi White Sox 5, Toronto 4 CWS
Chi White Sox (70-37)
Won 1
August 4, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 8 0
Chi White Sox
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 5 7 1
Standings through 8/4/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 3 2 0 0 0 .274
Johnson, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .279
Wells, CF 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .277
Hillenbrand, 3B 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .290
Koskie, DH 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 .242
Zaun, C 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 .274
Hinske, 1B 4 1 2 0 1 1 2 .254
Rios, RF 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 .276
Hudson, 2B 4 1 1 1 0 0 4 .269
Totals 35 4 8 3 7 8 19

BATTING
2B: Johnson (11, Contreras), Wells (23, Contreras), Adams 2 (16, Cotts, Marte).
3B: Adams (5, Contreras).
TB: Adams 7; Johnson 2; Wells 2; Hinske 2; Hudson.
RBI: Hudson (49), Adams 2 (48).
2-out RBI: Adams.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hudson 2; Hillenbrand 2; Johnson 2; Hinske 2; Rios 2.
S: Johnson.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: Hinske (7, 2nd base off Contreras/Widger).

FIELDING
Pickoffs: Zaun (Everett at 1st base).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .287
Iguchi, 2B 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 .290
Everett, DH 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .259
a-Perez, PH-DH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .229
Konerko, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 .264
1-Uribe, PR-SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
Rowand, CF 3 1 1 3 1 1 1 .288
Dye, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .273
Widger, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .260
Blum, SS-1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .237
Crede, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .251
Totals 29 5 7 5 4 4 6

a-Flied out for Everett in the 8th.
1-Ran for Konerko in the 8th.

BATTING
HR: Rowand (8, 1st inning off McGowan, 2 on, 1 out), Iguchi (9, 8th inning off Speier, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Podsednik; Iguchi 5; Everett; Konerko; Rowand 4; Dye.
RBI: Konerko (69), Rowand 3 (45), Iguchi (43).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Blum.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
CS: Everett (5, 2nd base by McGowan/Zaun), Podsednik (16, 2nd base by Frasor/Zaun).
PO: Everett (1st base by Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Crede (7, throw).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McGowan 5.0 4 4 4 3 2 1 4.50
Frasor 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 4.22
Speier (L, 1-2) 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 1 2.40

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Contreras 5.0 5 3 0 4 4 0 4.41
Cotts (H, 9) 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.18
Politte (H, 13) 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.74
Marte (BS, 4) 0.2 2 1 1 2 1 0 3.15
Vizcaino (W, 5-5) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.81
Hermanson (S, 26) 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.71

Marte pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

WP: McGowan, Contreras.
Pitches-strikes: McGowan 95-52, Frasor 36-21, Speier 19-13, Contreras 102-62, Cotts 15-9, Politte 16-8, Marte 24-14, Vizcaino 12-8, Hermanson 17-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: McGowan 7-5, Frasor 3-0, Speier 0-3, Contreras 6-5, Cotts 2-0, Politte 1-1, Marte 1-0, Vizcaino 1-2, Hermanson 0-0.
Batters faced: McGowan 21, Frasor 7, Speier 5, Contreras 25, Cotts 3, Politte 3, Marte 6, Vizcaino 3, Hermanson 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Politte 1-0, Marte 1-0, Vizcaino 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Adam Dowdy. 1B: Derryl Cousins. 2B: Jeff Nelson. 3B: Bill Miller.
Weather: 85 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 11 mph, R to L.
T: 3:13.
Att: 32,027.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Glad to see that Dave Bush seems to have gotten over his problems from earlier this year. I was really hoping the demotion to Syracuse would help him and it seems to have done that. Let's hope he can be decent until the season ends.

As for the other game, like AG1 said it wasn't on tv so I don't know much about it, but It looks like McGowan had an all right game except for the first inning and I have no problem with taking two out of three from teams like Chicago.

[Reed Johnson]

Glad to see that Dave Bush seems to have gotten over his problems from earlier this year. I was really hoping the demotion to Syracuse would help him and it seems to have done that. Let's hope he can be decent until the season ends.

As for the other game, like AG1 said it wasn't on tv so I don't know much about it, but It looks like McGowan had an all right game except for the first inning and I have no problem with taking two out of three from teams like Chicago.

Now its that Yankee's tomorrow and I cant wait! Its seems to have been a long time since we have played the Yanks does anyone know the date of the last game we played them? Chacin is on the mound for the first game so lets hope he can keep up his winning ways in August! Lets sweep them Yankee's!

[Chris from NY]

I would love nothing more than to sweep the Yankees. The last time we played them was May 1, we had a 3 game series with them and we took 2 of 3. By my count that makes us 3-4 against them this year. That'll change when we sweep 'em right out of Toronto! :gt

[Reed Johnson]

So much for the sweep. :laugh :mad:

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050805&content_id=1159136&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- The Yankees have worked to patch together their pitching staff while four members of the starting rotation spend time on the disabled list.

On Friday night, their latest stand-in, Aaron Small, took the mound, looking to repeat the solid performances he turned in during his first two outings.

The right-hander did just that, earning his third win in three starts by leading the Yanks to a 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.

"He was in command the whole game," said manager Joe Torre. "He's certainly making the most out of this opportunity."

Small allowed one run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings, not allowing the run until the seventh. That opened the door for New York's offense to do the work against Gustavo Chacin, Toronto's impressive rookie.

"This has been a dream come true," said Small, who has pitched for six different Major League teams since 1994. "After my first start at Yankee Stadium, I said, 'Don't pinch me, because I don't want to wake up.' Now, I just want to help this team win any way we can."

"I thought Small pitched a great game; he really did," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "We had some opportunities to score some runs, and that changes the complexion of the game, possibly. He did his thing and they came out swinging. It's a tough lineup to shut down."

The win was the 945th of Joe Torre's career, moving him past Ralph Houk for sole possession of fourth place on the Yankees' all-time managerial wins list.

Gary Sheffield, who was at the center of controversy before the game for an interview he did with New York magazine, took his frustration out on Chacin's 1-0 pitch in the first inning, drilling it over the left-field wall for his 22nd home run.

"He's very unique. He doesn't shy away from any controversy or back off the way he feels because it may make somebody else happy," Torre said. "He knows what his job is, and no matter what the situation or the talk is, he still goes after it."

Derek Jeter, who was one of the players discussed in the controversial article, was on base when Sheffield homered. Jeter stood at home plate and waited for Sheffield, embracing his teammate to congratulate him on the long ball.

"He's pretty much been dealing with it his whole career," said Jeter. "Sheff can play, and he's been playing well for a lot of years now."

The two-run shot gave New York a 2-0 lead, but the Yankees couldn't break the game open after Chacin issued two walks and allowed a hit, loading the bases. Chacin got Jorge Posada to ground into a double play, one of two that would help the lefty get out of big jams.

The Yanks tacked on another run in the fourth, as Chacin's command got him in trouble again. Bernie Williams singled, then Chacin walked a pair of hitters, loading the bases. Robinson Cano's sacrifice fly plated Williams, boosting the lead to 3-0.

Small took the mound in the first, the same mound on which he made his big-league debut on June 11, 1994, ironically, against the Yankees. In that game, Small allowed a home run to Paul O'Neill, one of two runs he would give up in two innings of relief.

"He seems like he has a lot of confidence. It never seems like he's panicking, and it shows in those situations."
-- Derek Jeter, on Aaron Small's ability to pitch out of a jam

On Friday, it was a completely different story for the 33-year-old.

Like Chacin, Small found himself in a couple of tight jams, putting two runners on base in the first, fifth and sixth innings.

"He seems like he has a lot of confidence," Jeter said of Small. "It never seems like he's panicking, and it shows in those situations."

Just as his counterpart did, Small used his trademark sinker to induce a couple of big double-play balls to help his cause.

"With the defense behind me that we have, if you throw strikes and get guys to hit it on the ground, you're going to have some plays made," Small said. "They showed that tonight. It was a lot of fun."

"He got in a number of jams tonight, but he did a [heck] of a job," Torre said. "He doesn't change his approach; he still pitches."

Small came out for the seventh, still holding onto a three-run lead. Eric Hinske doubled to start the inning, but Small got the next two outs, holding Hinske at third base. Russ Adams singled in Hinske to end the shutout bid, ending Small's day in the process.

"He pitches. He doesn't take any time. He throws strikes and changes speeds," Torre said. "That's the biggest thing he has going, other than the natural movement down in the zone. He has enough down movement to keep the ball off the fat of the bat."

Alan Embree got four outs in relief of Small, while the Yankees added two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to boost the lead to 6-1.

Tanyon Sturtze was unable to close out the game in the ninth, allowing a run while putting two more men on base. Mariano Rivera came in to record the final out, earning his 28th save of the season.

Small was the hero of the night, helping the Yankees get through one more day while their regular starters continue to heal.

"He's been a great surprise," said Posada. "He can pitch out of the bullpen and he can start. We get innings from him, and everything that we've asked of him, he's answered it."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_05_nyamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=nyy


NY Yankees 6, Toronto 2 TOR
Toronto (55-53)
Lost 2
August 5, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NY Yankees
2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 6 11 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 9 2
Standings through 8/5/05 | Wrap | Gameday

NY Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Jeter, SS 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .305
Cano, 2B 4 0 0 1 0 2 5 .292
Sheffield, RF 5 1 2 2 0 1 5 .303
Crosby, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .194
Rodriguez, A, 3B 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 .314
Matsui, LF 5 1 2 0 0 0 3 .305
Giambi, DH 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 .292
1-Womack, PR-DH 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 .245
Posada, C 5 0 2 1 0 2 4 .252
Williams, CF 5 1 1 0 0 4 3 .246
Phillips, 1B 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .167
Martinez, 1B 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .223
Totals 34 6 11 6 8 10 22


1-Ran for Giambi in the 8th.

BATTING
3B: Jeter (4, Chacin).
HR: Sheffield (22, 1st inning off Chacin, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Jeter 4; Sheffield 5; Matsui 2; Giambi; Posada 2; Williams; Phillips.
RBI: Sheffield 2 (83), Cano (40), Posada (48), Jeter (44), Womack (14).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Sheffield 3.
SF: Cano; Womack.
GIDP: Posada; Matsui.
Team LOB: 11.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Jeter-Cano-Phillips, Cano-Jeter-Phillips).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 0 2 2 1 0 0 .278
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .297
a-Rios, PH-RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .274
Wells, CF 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .277
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .290
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .242
Zaun, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .270
Hinske, DH 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 .258
Johnson, RF-LF 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .282
Hudson, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .266
Totals 34 2 9 2 3 3 22

a-Grounded into a forceout for Catalanotto in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Wells (24, Small), Hinske (25, Small).
TB: Adams 2; Wells 2; Hillenbrand; Koskie; Hinske 3; Johnson 2.
RBI: Adams 2 (50).
2-out RBI: Adams 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Koskie; Rios.
GIDP: Catalanotto; Zaun.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
E: Rios (2, throw), Hillenbrand (9, pickoff).
DP: 2 (Hudson-Adams-Hillenbrand, Koskie-Hillenbrand).


NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Small (W, 3-0) 6.2 7 1 1 2 2 0 3.15
Embree (H, 6) 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.71
Sturtze 0.2 2 1 1 1 1 0 4.27
Rivera (S, 28) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.94

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (L, 11-6) 5.0 6 3 3 6 5 1 3.36
League 2.0 3 2 2 0 2 0 7.80
Schoeneweis 0.2 1 0 0 1 2 0 4.46
Chulk 1.1 1 1 0 1 1 0 3.29

League pitched to 3 batters in the 8th.

HBP: Adams (by Small).
Pitches-strikes: Small 96-60, Embree 8-6, Sturtze 20-11, Rivera 5-3, Chacin 97-55, League 28-16, Schoeneweis 18-9, Chulk 22-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Small 13-5, Embree 1-3, Sturtze 0-1, Rivera 0-1, Chacin 4-6, League 3-1, Schoeneweis 0-0, Chulk 2-1.
Batters faced: Small 28, Embree 4, Sturtze 5, Rivera 1, Chacin 25, League 9, Schoeneweis 4, Chulk 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Embree 1-0, Rivera 2-0, Schoeneweis 2-1, Chulk 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Chris Guccione. 1B: Marty Foster. 2B: Dana DeMuth. 3B: Laz Diaz.
Weather: 79 degrees, clear.
Wind: 12 mph, L to R.
T: 3:04.
Att: 43,688.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/06/22bCkZ7V.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050806&content_id=1160053&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- One famous arm was the main attraction at the Rogers Centre on Saturday, but a collection of lesser known bats made a bigger impact. The Blue Jays bunched together some offense against Randy Johnson, notching 10 early hits and six early runs in an 8-5 win over New York.

"That was as exciting a game as you can have," said manager John Gibbons. "We started nip-and-tuck, back-and-forth there in the beginning. We came out swinging the bats."

New York's starter struggled through his second-shortest outing this season, working just four innings and allowing five earned runs. That's the fifth time this year that he's given up that many, and the Jays notched at least one run in every inning he pitched.

Toronto (56-53) took leads in the first and second, then widened the gap in the third and fourth.

"I just never got into any kind of rhythm. Everything was over the middle of the plate, and to their credit, they hit everything hard," said Johnson. "I made it hard on myself by walking the first batter and hitting the second batter. From that point on, they hit a couple of sliders for base hits.

"It was a base hit here, a base hit there. And they didn't stop."

The home team's offensive success was best typified by two rookies. Russ Adams and Aaron Hill were getting their first look at Johnson, and they paced the Jays through the early innings. Adams walked once, got two hits and scored three times while Johnson (11-7) was in the game.

Hill, meanwhile, had two hits against New York's starter and one more later in the game.

"I didn't hit the ball too hard, but you take what you can get," said Adams. "It's a good win for our club, to bounce back after yesterday's loss.

"It was just good offensive day for us. We ran the bases well, put a little bit of pressure on them and came away with a win."

In fact, Toronto's first five hitters -- Adams, Reed Johnson, Vernon Wells, Shea Hillenbrand and Hill -- combined to go 12-for-20 with seven runs scored and six RBIs. Wells finished with his ninth three-hit game of the season, a performance that included a run-scoring double and an RBI single.

"I've only faced him once prior to this year," Wells said of Johnson. "I didn't like facing him then, and I still don't like it now. As far as I'm concerned, yeah, he's still the same guy.

"Once he gets comfortable and locked in, he's a guy that's obviously dominant. In that situation, we just kept battling and battling and got hits when we needed them."

Hillenbrand had three hits of his own, and he also became the first Jay to steal home in more than four seasons. It wasn't a traditional straight steal, though. Hillenbrand was standing on third base in the third inning, and he broke home on a pickoff attempt to first base. New York's Jason Giambi made a throwing error on the resulting relay, and Hillenbrand scored easily.

Raul Mondesi was the last Blue Jay to steal home, and he did it in April 2001 against the Yankees. Hillenbrand's steal gave Toronto a two-run lead, and New York (58-50) was never able to catch up.

"That's a momentum-turner," said Wells. "Shea's a guy who basically throws caution to the wind in every situation. Not too many people would try to get away with that one, but he got away with it. It was a great baseball play."

"Our base coaches and our baserunners are alert to everything," said Gibbons. "When you're facing the top pitchers, you don't know what you're going to get. It's going to be tough to score runs, so maybe you gamble and try to take advantage of something."

The Jays had their own problems on the mound, but the offense rendered them moot. Scott Downs worked into the fourth, allowing eight hits and four earned runs. He's yet to make it past the fifth inning in any of his three starts.

This time, there may have been a mitigating factor. Downs had to endure a 15-minute delay in the second inning, because the home-plate umpire needed medical attention after getting hit by a bat. The left-hander didn't want to use the delay as an excuse, but he allowed three earned runs in that half-inning and admitted it may have been a factor.

"Mentally, I was the same as I was before the delay," he said after the game. "It looked like it did, if you look at what happened afterwards, but I was still throwing strikes. This lineup, you can't give in to. You can't just throw cookie strikes or they're going to take advantage of it."

Downs left in the fourth and Pete Walker got the game's most crucial outs. The right-hander came into the game with a two-run lead, but he had to pitch out of a bases-loaded situation.

One run scored on a fielder's choice, but Walker (5-3) got out without any further damage. He wound up working into the sixth, and three other relievers closed things out.

"I was trying to keep the ball just off the plate," said Walker. "Quality balls, I call them -- see if they'll swing the bat at them. Today, we got a couple ground balls in some good situations we were working for. And it worked out for us."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_06_nyamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, NY Yankees 5 TOR
Toronto (56-53)
Won 1
August 6, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NY Yankees
0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 10 3
Toronto
2 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 X 8 14 0
Standings through 8/6/05 | Wrap | Gameday

NY Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Jeter, SS 5 1 3 2 0 1 0 .308
Cano, 2B 5 0 2 0 0 0 3 .294
Sheffield, RF 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 .306
Rodriguez, A, 3B 4 0 0 1 1 2 6 .311
Matsui, LF 5 0 0 0 0 3 6 .301
Giambi, 1B 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 .289
Posada, DH-C 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 .254
Williams, CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .246
Flaherty, C 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .153
a-Womack, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
Franklin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rodriguez, F, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 37 5 10 5 6 8 21

a-Popped out for Flaherty in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Cano (23, Downs).
HR: Sheffield (23, 9th inning off Batista, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Jeter 3; Cano 3; Sheffield 5; Posada 2; Williams.
RBI: Jeter 2 (46), Sheffield 2 (85), Rodriguez, A (86).
2-out RBI: Sheffield.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui 3; Rodriguez, A.
Team LOB: 11.

FIELDING
E: Giambi (5, throw), Johnson (2, missed catch), Flaherty (1, throw).
Outfield assists: Williams (Johnson at home).
DP: 2 (Cano-Jeter-Giambi, Flaherty-Cano).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 3 1 0 1 0 0 .278
Johnson, LF 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 .286
Wells, CF 4 1 3 2 0 1 2 .282
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 2 3 3 0 0 2 .294
Hill, 3B 4 0 3 1 0 0 0 .305
Zaun, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .270
Rios, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .271
Menechino, DH 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 .226
a-Hinske, PH-DH 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .257
Hudson, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .263
Totals 36 8 14 7 1 6 17

a-Flied out for Menechino in the 5th.

BATTING
2B: Wells (25, Johnson).
HR: Menechino (3, 2nd inning off Johnson, 0 on, 1 out), Hillenbrand (14, 6th inning off Proctor, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Adams; Johnson 2; Wells 4; Hillenbrand 6; Hill 3; Zaun; Menechino 4.
RBI: Hillenbrand 3 (63), Menechino (9), Wells 2 (65).
2-out RBI: Wells; Hillenbrand 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Menechino; Hudson.
GIDP: Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (3, 2nd base off Proctor/Flaherty), Hillenbrand (4, home off Johnson/Flaherty).
CS: Hill (1, 2nd base by Johnson/Flaherty).


NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Johnson (L, 11-7) 4.0 10 6 5 1 3 1 4.29
Proctor 2.2 4 2 2 0 3 1 5.16
Franklin 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.14
Rodriguez, F 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.08

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Downs 3.1 8 4 4 3 5 0 5.75
Walker (W, 5-3) 2.1 1 0 0 2 1 0 2.73
Schoeneweis (H, 12) 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.30
Speier 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.35
Batista 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2.91

HBP: Johnson (by Johnson).
Pitches-strikes: Johnson 75-50, Proctor 49-32, Franklin 14-8, Rodriguez, F 4-3, Downs 79-46, Walker 34-20, Schoeneweis 10-6, Speier 9-6, Batista 17-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Johnson 6-1, Proctor 0-5, Franklin 1-2, Rodriguez, F 0-1, Downs 3-2, Walker 3-3, Schoeneweis 2-2, Speier 1-1, Batista 1-1.
Batters faced: Johnson 22, Proctor 12, Franklin 3, Rodriguez, F 1, Downs 21, Walker 10, Schoeneweis 4, Speier 3, Batista 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Walker 3-1, Schoeneweis 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Marty Foster. 1B: Dana DeMuth. 2B: Laz Diaz. 3B: Chris Guccione.
Weather: 81 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 8 mph, Out to RF.
T: 3:15.
Att: 48,088.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[rudy]

Damn, the Jays are playing good ball!!!!

[Chris from NY]

Well I was hoping for better than losing 2 of 3 this series. Except for Saturday's game the Jays seemed to have trouble driving in runs and capatilizing on run scoring situations. Hopefully once Koskie gets his bat going again we'll see more production from the whole team.

[Reed Johnson]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/07/y9XEi5yP.jpg

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050807&content_id=1161258&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The lineup may have been the same as Saturday's, but the results were very different. The Blue Jays didn't get much out of their batting order Sunday, when they fell in a 6-2 loss to New York in the finale of a three-game set.

The Jays managed just four hits in the first six innings, but they got extra men on base with four walks and a hit batsman. Still, Toronto was turned away often by Al Leiter and once by Alan Embree. The Jays went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and didn't score any runs until isolated markers in the eighth and ninth.

"We left some guys on. We had some chances to get to Leiter," said manager John Gibbons. "You figure they're going to score some runs. We had a couple opportunities and didn't cash in. That's basically what the game was."

Leiter (2-3) pitched into the sixth and left in a tight spot with a five-run lead. The Blue Jays had loaded the bases with two outs, but Embree came in and coaxed a first-pitch popup to end the threat. Toronto loaded the bases again in the eighth -- this time with one out -- and produced the play of the sleepy game.

Eric Hinske swung at a Tom Gordon offering and lined out to left field, where Hideki Matsui caught the ball and put his head down. Matsui apparently thought the inning was over, and Shea Hillenbrand tagged up from third and scored easily. Gregg Zaun tagged up at second on the play and tried to make it into third, but Matsui looked up and threw him out to end the inning.

"Everyone said it was a great decoy play," joked Matsui through an interpreter, referring to his teammates' reaction in the dugout. "I was pretty embarrassed. Even a Little Leaguer wouldn't make that kind of fundamental mistake. It worked out as a double play, but I was definitely embarrassed."

"Obviously, it's a bad error in judgment. In that situation, it really doesn't make any difference whether I'm at third or second," said Zaun. "When he put his head down and just kept talking and talking to whoever he was talking to, I thought he'd continue on and I'd get to third. ... I screwed up."

Toronto trailed early because the Yankees got offense from all over the lineup. In fact, eight of the road team's starters reached base safely in the first six innings. New York scored twice in the second inning, once in the third and once more in the fourth.

Toronto starter Josh Towers (8-9) absorbed all that damage, working six innings and allowing five runs. Two of them -- New York's runs in the fourth inning -- were unearned. Jason Giambi reached on an error in that rally and scored on a single from Tino Martinez. The final run of the inning scored on a double-play grounder by Tony Womack.

"It was kind of a weird game. I felt pretty good, but I also felt like I couldn't get enough movement on the two-seamer," said Towers. "The changeup I located well, but I couldn't get enough movement on that either. I didn't know if I was pulling off pitches at times. There were times when I made good pitches and times where I didn't."

"He was in trouble, but he hung in there," said Gibbons, who had a weary bullpen and had to stick with Towers longer than he wanted. "But there was no question. We couldn't go to them earlier, anyway. Regardless."

Four of the road team's hitters drove in at least one run. Alex Rodriguez scored three times and finished with three hits for the Yankees (59-50), including a double and his 31st home run. Giambi reached base safely three times -- twice on hits and once on a walk -- and drove in two runs.

Despite the one-sided nature of the game, the Jays turned it into a save situation. Toronto (56-54) scored once in the eighth and once more in the ninth to make it a four-run game. Hillenbrand drew a two-out walk, though, to bring the tying run to the on-deck circle.

New York went to relief ace Mariano Rivera in that situation, and he got a first-pitch fly ball to earn his 29th save of the year. With the loss, Toronto fell seven games behind first-place Boston and 3 1/2 behind second-place New York.

"We're not the only one that happens to," said Gibbons of making key outs on the first pitch. "You want to be aggressive, but you also want to get a pitch to hit. It's tough with two outs to get [a hit] in those situations, because you've got to get a hit to do anything with it."

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_07_nyamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

NY Yankees 6, Toronto 2 TOR
Toronto (56-54)
Lost 1
August 7, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
NY Yankees
0 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 6 12 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 7 1
Standings through 8/7/05 | Wrap | Gameday

NY Yankees AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Jeter, SS 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 .312
Cano, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .291
Sheffield, RF 4 0 1 1 0 2 1 .305
Crosby, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .189
Rodriguez, A, 3B 4 2 3 1 1 1 2 .315
Matsui, LF 5 1 1 0 0 0 6 .300
Giambi, DH 3 1 2 2 1 0 0 .293
Posada, C 4 1 1 0 0 2 5 .254
Martinez, 1B 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .223
Womack, CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .240
Totals 36 6 12 5 4 5 19

BATTING
2B: Matsui (30, Towers), Jeter (18, Towers), Rodriguez, A (19, Frasor).
HR: Rodriguez, A (31, 2nd inning off Towers, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Jeter 4; Sheffield; Rodriguez, A 7; Matsui 2; Giambi 2; Posada; Martinez.
RBI: Rodriguez, A (87), Giambi 2 (51), Sheffield (86), Martinez (42).
2-out RBI: Giambi.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui; Posada 2; Cano.
GIDP: Cano; Martinez; Womack.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Matsui (Zaun at 3rd base).
DP: (Matsui-Jeter).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .277
Johnson, LF-RF 5 0 0 0 0 2 4 .280
Wells, CF 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .284
Hillenbrand, 1B 3 1 1 0 2 0 4 .294
Hill, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .301
a-Koskie, PH-3B 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .240
Zaun, C 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 .268
Rios, RF 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .272
b-Catalanotto, PH-LF 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .297
Menechino, DH 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .222
c-Hinske, PH-DH 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .257
Hudson, 2B 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 .266
Totals 32 2 7 2 7 5 20

a-Struck out for Hill in the 8th. b-Walked for Rios in the 8th. c-Batted for Menechino in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Wells (26, Leiter), Hillenbrand (25, Sturtze).
TB: Adams; Wells 3; Hillenbrand 2; Rios; Hudson 2.
RBI: Hinske (50), Wells (66).
2-out RBI: Wells.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand 3; Hudson 2; Koskie.
SF: Hinske.
Team LOB: 12.

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (10, fielding).
DP: 4 (Hill-Hudson-Hillenbrand, Adams-Hudson-Hillenbrand 2, Adams-Hillenbrand).


NY Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Leiter (W, 5-10) 5.2 4 0 0 4 2 0 6.17
Embree (H, 7) 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 7.46
Sturtze 0.1 1 1 1 2 1 0 4.40
Gordon 1.1 2 1 1 1 0 0 3.02
Rivera (S, 29) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.94

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 8-9) 6.0 10 5 3 2 4 1 4.53
Frasor 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 4.32
League 2.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.88

WP: League.
HBP: Adams (by Leiter), Cano (by Towers).
Pitches-strikes: Leiter 102-51, Embree 11-9, Sturtze 15-5, Gordon 25-17, Rivera 1-1, Towers 91-65, Frasor 21-11, League 30-14.
Ground outs-fly outs: Leiter 7-8, Embree 1-1, Sturtze 0-0, Gordon 1-2, Rivera 0-1, Towers 12-2, Frasor 1-1, League 3-3.
Batters faced: Leiter 26, Embree 4, Sturtze 4, Gordon 6, Rivera 1, Towers 29, Frasor 5, League 7.
Inherited runners-scored: Embree 3-0, Gordon 3-1, Rivera 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Dana DeMuth. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: Chris Guccione. 3B: Laz Diaz.
Weather: 81 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:58.
Att: 46,114.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Rios was amazing today, to bad Bush wasn't.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/08/gSPznDIO.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050808&content_id=1162943&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays might try to get some extra sleep before Dave Bush's next start. Toronto has played 30 innings across the right-hander's last two no-decisions.

The latest was a 9-8 loss to Detroit in 12 innings on Monday at the Rogers Centre. On July 28, Bush earned a no-decision in the Jays' 18-inning win over the Angels.

"That's a long time to watch a game. That's for sure," Bush said. "Especially after you come out. If I could have put up a couple more zeros, we wouldn't have played so long."

In the 12th inning, Detroit catcher Vance Wilson chopped an infield single with the bases loaded off Toronto's fifth pitcher of the game, Scott Schoeneweis (2-3), to score Dmitri Young.

Entering Monday, Toronto (56-55) had won every game that Bush had started since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on July 21. He's gone 2-0 in his four starts since rejoining the Blue Jays after beginning the season 0-5, but the Tigers (53-58) gave Bush a quick flashback to his early-season struggles during the first inning.

The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits to the first six batters he faced. Bush then allowed a solo home run to Carlos Guillen in the third and RBI doubles to Placido Polanco and Rondell White in the fourth and fifth, respectively.

"I wish I could've gone a little farther into the game. I knew we were going to score some runs," Bush said. "Even after the big first inning, if I could have kept them scoreless after that we would have had a much better chance to win. I'm more disappointed in the three other runs that scored.

"We hit the ball very well tonight, there's no question about it," Bush added. "So, it makes it a little more disappointing that I didn't put forward a better effort."

Bush gave up a season-high 10 hits and tied a season high with seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings before Toronto manager John Gibbons went to the bullpen.

However, the Jays' bullpen has been overworked lately. Josh Towers is the only Toronto starter who has pitched more than six innings in the last six games. Maybe not coincidently, the Blue Jays are 2-4 across that span.

"That'll kill you," Gibbons said. "There's no question that we need to get some innings out of the starters."

Toronto's 'pen silenced the Tigers bats between the sixth and the eighth innings, while the offense chipped away at Detroit's lead. With one out in the eighth, second baseman Orlando Hudson hit a two-run home run off Tigers reliever Roman Colon to give the Jays their first lead of the game, 8-7.

Toronto closer Miguel Batista blew his fourth save of the year in the ninth inning, though, when he gave up two hits and a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Magglio Ordonez that tied the game.

"I knew [the relievers] were shortchanged, and I guess I didn't help a whole lot today," Bush said.

Toronto squandered a few late opportunities to cash in on their comeback.

With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, catcher Gregg Zaun struck out and Frank Catalanotto popped out to end the inning. With two on and no outs in the 11th, Eric Hinske hit into a double play before Zaun popped out to end the threat.

"We get another great opportunity to win that ballgame with my at bat, and it's just unforgivable to not put a ball in play," Zaun said of his ninth-inning strikeout. "You don't even need to get a hit. A lazy fly to the outfield wins that ballgame."

Toronto collected a season-high 20 hits. Alex Rios led the way, going a career-best 5-for-5, including a solo home run to center in the second inning off Detroit starter Mike Maroth.

The Blue Jays worked Maroth for six runs. Third baseman Corey Koskie homered in the sixth, his first long ball since returning from the disabled list.

"It was a slugfest back and forth," Gibbons said. "You can pick out one thing that might have made a difference, but we had chances to win and they had chances to win. They won."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_08_detmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Detroit 9, Toronto 8 TOR
Toronto (56-55)
Lost 2
August 8, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Detroit
4 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 9 15 0
Toronto
1 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 8 20 1
Standings through 8/8/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Polanco, 2B 6 1 2 1 0 0 1 .330
Guillen, SS 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 .318
Infante, SS 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .234
Young, 1B 6 2 3 1 0 1 2 .266
Ordonez, RF 5 1 1 2 0 3 2 .306
White, DH 6 1 3 2 0 0 1 .309
Monroe, LF 5 0 2 1 1 1 0 .288
Inge, 3B 5 1 0 0 0 2 6 .265
Wilson, C 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 .156
Logan, CF 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 .274
Totals 47 9 15 9 3 9 16

BATTING
2B: White 3 (23, Bush, Bush, Schoeneweis), Polanco (17, Bush).
HR: Guillen (5, 3rd inning off Bush, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Polanco 3; Guillen 5; Infante; Young 3; Ordonez; White 6; Monroe 2; Wilson.
RBI: Young (54), Ordonez 2 (28), White 2 (49), Monroe (68), Guillen (23), Polanco (40), Wilson (7).
2-out RBI: Polanco; White; Wilson.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Inge; Young 2; Logan 2.
S: Logan.
SF: Ordonez.
GIDP: Inge.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
DP: 3 (Guillen-Polanco-Young, Infante-Young, Infante-Polanco-Young).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 .285
b-Catalanotto, PH-LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 .298
Hudson, 2B 7 1 2 2 0 1 5 .266
Wells, CF 5 1 3 1 1 0 1 .287
Hillenbrand, DH 6 1 2 1 0 1 3 .295
Hill, SS-3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 .295
Koskie, 3B 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 .244
1-Adams, PR-SS 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .280
Rios, RF 5 2 5 2 1 0 0 .282
Hinske, 1B 5 0 0 0 1 0 7 .253
Huckaby, C 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .173
a-Zaun, PH-C 3 0 0 0 0 2 4 .265
Totals 51 8 20 8 3 4 29

a-Struck out for Huckaby in the 8th. b-Singled for Johnson in the 8th.
1-Ran for Koskie in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Johnson (12, Maroth), Hillenbrand (26, Maroth).
HR: Rios (6, 2nd inning off Maroth, 0 on, 2 out), Koskie (8, 6th inning off Maroth, 0 on, 1 out), Hudson (9, 8th inning off Colon, R, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Johnson 3; Catalanotto; Hudson 5; Wells 3; Hillenbrand 3; Koskie 5; Adams; Rios 8; Huckaby 2.
RBI: Wells (67), Rios 2 (45), Hillenbrand (64), Koskie (19), Johnson (44), Hudson 2 (51).
2-out RBI: Rios 2; Johnson.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Hudson; Hinske 2; Catalanotto 2; Zaun.
S: Hill.
SF: Wells.
GIDP: Hudson; Hinske; Wells.
Team LOB: 13.

FIELDING
E: Johnson (1, throw).
Outfield assists: Johnson (Logan at home).
DP: (Hill-Hudson-Hinske).


Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Maroth 5.2 10 6 6 0 1 2 4.89
Spurling (H, 5) 0.2 3 0 0 0 0 0 3.70
Walker (H, 8) 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.70
Colon, R (BS, 1) 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 1 5.98
German 2.0 2 0 0 2 2 0 2.72
Darensbourg (W, 1-0) 1.1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4.50
Dingman (S, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.54

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush 4.2 10 7 7 1 2 1 4.94
Chulk 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.21
Speier 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.25
Batista (BS, 4) 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2.96
Schoeneweis (L, 2-3) 2.0 3 1 1 1 3 0 4.31

WP: Chulk.
IBB: Rios (by Walker), Hinske (by German), Monroe (by Schoeneweis).
HBP: Johnson (by Maroth), Inge (by Bush), Wilson (by Chulk).
Pitches-strikes: Maroth 79-60, Spurling 10-10, Walker 10-4, Colon, R 11-9, German 31-16, Darensbourg 22-15, Dingman 2-2, Bush 83-60, Chulk 27-16, Speier 25-20, Batista 21-17, Schoeneweis 24-19.
Ground outs-fly outs: Maroth 6-10, Spurling 1-1, Walker 0-2, Colon, R 1-1, German 1-3, Darensbourg 3-1, Dingman 2-0, Bush 7-4, Chulk 2-1, Speier 0-3, Batista 2-4, Schoeneweis 1-2.
Batters faced: Maroth 27, Spurling 5, Walker 3, Colon, R 5, German 10, Darensbourg 6, Dingman 1, Bush 24, Chulk 6, Speier 6, Batista 8, Schoeneweis 10.
Inherited runners-scored: Spurling 2-1, Walker 2-0, Dingman 1-0, Chulk 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Everitt. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Tim McClelland. 3B: Chuck Meriwether.
Weather: 84 degrees, clear.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:38.
Att: 20,887.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[rudy]

The end of last night's game was just way too painful to watch.

First, in the bottom of the ninth, with the sacks drunk, 1 out, and Zaun strikes out and Cat pops out to 2nd....that was embarassing

And then...I think it was the 11th....Adams leads off with a single, Rios follows with a single, and Gibbons has the worst player in Jays history (Hinskie----I hate him so much) SWING AWAY with no outs....worst hitter ever hits into a DP and kills any chance of anything, when he should have been bunting! I almost broke my TV, I kid you not.

I feel bad for Hill----he is probably shouldering the blame for last night after his bobble to let in the game-winning run, but I'd point my finger at both Gibbons and Zaun before I pointed at him (Zaun not only blew it with the bases loaded in the 9th, but came up again in extras with a gret opportunity to win the game---it may have been after Hinske's DP---I don't remember)

Tough game last night, and even tougher to watch. Ruined my night.

[Chris from NY]

This game quite possibly could have ruined my night had I just not gotten my driver's licence like I did. :D, but that's another story all together.

I think though that 8 runs should be enough to beat most teams on most nights. But maybe they should've had Hinske bunt, I don;t know, that's why I'm not a Big League manager. A very frustrating game though.

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050809&content_id=1163826&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The estimated distance was 415 feet, but Tuesday's key hit was probably best measured by time. Alex Rios has seen his power stroke begin to stie in the last few days, a development at least two years in the making.

The latest sign was a three-run homer to the blackened batter's eye in center field at the Rogers Centre, a shot that gave the Blue Jays a commanding lead in a 6-4 win over the Tigers. Why was that so noteworthy? Rios hit a ball to nearly the same exact place on Monday night, a two-homer binge that represented his first two-game home run streak.

Grand pronouncements aside, the right fielder is still a work in progress. Rios had gone 38 games without a homer before his modest power surge, a run that fell in line with his career totals. Last year, as a rookie, the right-handed hitter had just one homer in more than 400 at-bats -- and that was just one year removed from an MVP season in the Double-A Eastern League.

Still, the Jays (57-55) have seen growth from Rios this season -- growth best evidenced by seven homers and 20 doubles. His latest homer also came in a crucial game situation. The Blue Jays led by two runs when he came to the plate in the sixth inning, and Detroit starter Sean Douglass had been pitching a solid game to that point. Two pitches later, Toronto had a five-run lead.

The Tigers (53-59) made things interesting in their next turn at bat, loading the bases with no outs against Toronto starter Dustin McGowan. The right-hander allowed a sacrifice fly to bring Detroit one run closer, but then the Jays went to the bullpen. The road team scratched out two more runs against the relief staff, but McGowan (1-0) wound up with his first Major League win.

Another Toronto youngster -- Aaron Hill -- came through with another key hit. Detroit scored the game's first run in the top of the fifth inning, but Hill answered in the bottom half. With two outs and one man on base, Hill lifted a go-ahead homer over the left-field fence. Douglass (4-2) had left with the lead in six of his seven prior starts.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_09_detmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 6, Detroit 4 TOR
Toronto (57-55)
Won 1
August 9, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Detroit
0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 4 11 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 X 6 7 1
Standings through 8/9/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Polanco, 2B 5 0 3 2 0 0 0 .334
Guillen, SS 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 .319
Shelton, 1B 5 0 1 0 0 3 4 .323
Young, LF 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .263
White, DH 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .311
Monroe, RF-CF 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 .290
Inge, 3B 4 2 2 0 0 2 3 .267
Wilson, C 3 0 0 1 0 0 4 .150
Logan, CF 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .272
a-Ordonez, PH-RF 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .303
Totals 35 4 11 4 3 7 18

a-Hit a sacrifice fly for Logan in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Shelton (13, McGowan), Guillen (15, McGowan), White (24, Walker).
TB: Polanco 3; Guillen 2; Shelton 2; White 3; Monroe 2; Inge 2.
RBI: Polanco 2 (42), Wilson (8), Ordonez (29).
2-out RBI: Polanco 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: White; Shelton; Wilson; Young.
SF: Wilson; Ordonez.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
CS: Polanco (2, 2nd base by McGowan/Zaun).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .276
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284
Wells, CF 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287
Koskie, 3B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .249
Zaun, C 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 .269
Rios, RF 3 2 1 3 0 0 2 .282
Hinske, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .251
Hill, DH 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .295
Hudson, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .264
Totals 31 6 7 6 0 3 5

BATTING
HR: Hill (3, 5th inning off Douglass, 1 on, 2 out), Rios (7, 6th inning off Douglass, 2 on, 2 out).
TB: Wells; Koskie 2; Zaun 2; Rios 4; Hill 4.
RBI: Hill 2 (32), Zaun (43), Rios 3 (48).
2-out RBI: Hill 2; Zaun; Rios 3.
Team LOB: 1.

FIELDING
E: Koskie (4, fielding).
Outfield assists: Rios (Guillen at 3rd base).


Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Douglass (L, 4-2) 5.2 7 6 6 0 2 2 4.08
Walker 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.61
Spurling 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.61

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McGowan (W, 1-0) 6.1 8 4 4 1 4 0 4.96
Walker (H, 4) 1.0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2.69
Frasor (H, 8) 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.26
Batista (S, 19) 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.91

WP: Walker.
Pitches-strikes: Douglass 93-55, Walker 26-17, Spurling 11-10, McGowan 90-51, Walker 29-18, Frasor 8-6, Batista 15-9.
Ground outs-fly outs: Douglass 8-7, Walker 0-3, Spurling 1-2, McGowan 4-9, Walker 1-1, Frasor 1-0, Batista 1-1.
Batters faced: Douglass 24, Walker 4, Spurling 3, McGowan 26, Walker 7, Frasor 2, Batista 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Walker 2-2, Frasor 2-0.
EjectionsDetroit Tigers Manager Alan Trammell ejected by HP umpire Tim Timmons. (2nd).
Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Tim McClelland. 2B: Chuck Meriwether. 3B: Mike Everitt.
Weather: 88 degrees, clear.
Wind: 16 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:38.
Att: 21,145.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Sorry I didnt post the game before but I went to the Exhibition. Anyways Downs pitched a gem givng up only 2 hits and 1 run! Catalanato won it with his 2 run shot in the first!

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/11/XU8SU5qe.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050811&content_id=1166407&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- If you tuned in early and turned off late, you didn't miss much. Most of the offense in Thursday's game came in the first inning, when the Blue Jays used a two-run homer to take a 2-1 win over the Tigers.

"They're an aggressive ballclub. I was throwing a lot of strikes early, trying to get ahead," said Toronto starter Scott Downs, who earned his first win of the season. "I fell behind 1-0 and 2-0 quite a bit, but I was able to make pitches to get myself out of that situation. A couple key double plays helped -- we made some good plays in the field.

"When all that's going down and you're throwing strikes, the pitch count can be down and you've just got to go to work."

Frank Catalanotto came through with the game's key hit, but the two starting pitchers were the main story. Downs threw seven-plus innings of two-hit baseball, and Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman was nearly as good. The road team's ace pitched eight innings and allowed just four hits, but he had to work from behind for most of the game.

"When [Bonderman is] pitching, there's not a lot of hits out there and not a lot of runs out there," said Catalanotto. "Whatever you can scratch out early is good, so it was nice that we got those. He shut us down for the rest of the game."

Bonderman (13-9) made his lone mistake in the first inning -- right after he had walked Toronto's leadoff hitter. The right-hander started out behind Catalanotto, but then the batter fouled off a few pitches to bring the count to 2-2.

One pitch later, Catalanotto accounted for all of the home team's offense by sending a two-run shot off the facing of the second deck in left field.

"He threw me basically everything up there. He threw me some changeups and some sliders," said Catalanotto. "And then he threw me a couple fastballs away that I fouled down the left-field line into the seats. I had an idea that he might come in with the next pitch. I kind of looked in for a fastball, and he kind of left it over the plate."

Meanwhile, Downs (1-2) was nearly untouchable. The southpaw allowed just three Detroit batters to reach base, and nobody reached scoring position until the Tigers (53-61) actually scored.

"I was missing down when I was missing. I never really got above the beltline to the hitters," said Downs, who finished with just 89 pitches. "When I was missing down and being aggressive with my curveball early on, it kind of kept them off balance. I was able to hit spots when I needed to hit spots."

Rondell White, the road team's left fielder, broke up the perfect game by getting plunked in the second inning. Later on, he broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the eighth. White and Downs were involved in a deadline deal for each other in July 2000, and the hitter hasn't forgotten about the details.

"He pitched well. Now, I see why we got traded," joked White. "He's got a nasty slider. He located that fastball inside, great curveball. When he's throwing three pitches for strikes, there's nothing you can do."

"This was a big one. We leave on a positive note and it helps out the bullpen. We go into Baltimore on a high right now, instead of the bullpen being shot, like it could've been."
-- Scott Downs, on Thursday's win

"I threw a changeup. It was up, and he was out in front. He's just a strong man," Downs said of White. "When he first hit it, I didn't think it was a homer. But it doesn't surprise me that he can do that, as strong as he is. He's a professional hitter. I knew the bullpen was fresh and I knew I was going to go out there until someone got on base."

Toronto's relief came on after White's homer, and the Jays (59-55) sealed the deal despite some anxious moments in the eighth. Jason Frasor notched two quick outs, but he also hit one batter and walked another. Toronto closer Miguel Batista came in to escape that jam, and then he notched three straight outs in the ninth to earn his 20th save in 24 chances.

"We figured, that late in the game, he's going into uncharted territory -- on the year, anyway," said Toronto manager John Gibbons about Downs. "With those righties coming up, turn it over to Fraze, you know? And boom, he went 1-2. Then we were forced to go to Miggy. That wasn't really the plan."

Here's the new plan: The Blue Jays will embark on a two-week road trip, starting Friday in Baltimore and wrapping up in the final week of August. They'll cross the country twice and play four series in four cities -- three-game sets in Baltimore, Anaheim and Detroit topped off by a four-game series at Yankee Stadium.

"This was a big one. We leave on a positive note and it helps out the bullpen," said Downs. "We go into Baltimore on a high right now, instead of the bullpen being shot, like it could've been. It's fun and it's exciting. I'm ready to get back out there again."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_11_detmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 2, Detroit 1 TOR
Toronto (59-55)
Won 3
August 11, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Detroit
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1
Toronto
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 2 4 0
Standings through 8/11/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Polanco, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .327
Infante, SS 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .231
Young, 1B-RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .262
Ordonez, DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
White, LF 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 .312
Monroe, RF-CF 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286
Inge, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .263
Wilson, C 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .151
Logan, CF 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .270
a-Shelton, PH-1B 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .318
Totals 28 1 2 1 1 5 6

a-Walked for Logan in the 8th.

BATTING
HR: White (11, 8th inning off Downs, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: White 4; Wilson.
RBI: White (50).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Polanco.
GIDP: Polanco.
Team LOB: 3.

FIELDING
E: Inge (17, throw).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .274
Catalanotto, LF 3 1 1 2 0 1 0 .295
Wells, CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286
Hillenbrand, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .296
Koskie, DH 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .246
Zaun, C 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .267
Rios, RF 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .285
Hinske, 1B 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .249
Johnson, CF-LF 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .277
Hudson, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .262
Totals 27 2 4 2 3 8 6

BATTING
2B: Rios (21, Bonderman), Adams (17, Bonderman).
HR: Catalanotto (6, 1st inning off Bonderman, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto 4; Hillenbrand; Rios 2.
RBI: Catalanotto 2 (35).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Koskie; Johnson; Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
CS: Hinske (4, 2nd base by Bonderman/Wilson).

FIELDING
DP: (Hillenbrand-Hudson-Hinske).


Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bonderman (L, 13-9) 8.0 4 2 2 3 8 1 3.96

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Downs (W, 1-2) 7.0 2 1 1 0 4 1 5.02
Frasor (H, 9) 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.21
Batista (S, 20) 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.84

Downs pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP: White (by Downs), Wilson (by Frasor).
Pitches-strikes: Bonderman 117-78, Downs 89-52, Frasor 18-12, Batista 11-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Bonderman 9-6, Downs 11-6, Frasor 0-2, Batista 0-3.
Batters faced: Bonderman 30, Downs 23, Frasor 4, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Batista 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Chuck Meriwether. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Tim Timmons. 3B: Tim McClelland.
Weather: 77 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 2 mph, In from LF.
T: 2:04.
Att: 30,578.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[rudy]

Great game yesterday afternoon.

Hell of an outing for Downs.

Taking 3 of 4 is always a good thing....lets hope the success continues!

[Chris from NY]

Boy the offense was rolling tonight. 12-0 against the O's. I'm so happy about this that I'm going ot utilize the services of this cool Dancing Smiley to display my excitedness. :dance

[Reed Johnson]

What a awsome game today. Towers collected his ninth win of the season while Toronto scored 12 times with Rios, Zaun, Koskie and Hillenbrand all hitting homeruns! We are now on a 4 game winning streak!

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/12/fTtTYqQK.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050812&content_id=1167950&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

BALTIMORE -- The first rally may have been unearned, but the rest of the win was richly deserved. The Blue Jays scored four unearned runs in the first inning Friday night and kept piling up the offense en route to a 12-0 win over the Orioles.

"It was nice getting spotted four," said Toronto starter Josh Towers, who had a lead before he took the mound. "It just seemed like after the first, all the momentum came to our side and kind of took the wind out of them. Our guys just ran with it -- kept hitting, kept scoring, kept playing defense."

Most of the damage was done in the first six innings, with the road team accounting for three home runs over that span. All of Toronto's starters reached base, and four of them scored at least two runs.

The big night came from catcher Gregg Zaun, who homered and tied a career high with five RBIs. Alex Rios added a three-run homer in the sixth and Shea Hillenbrand homered in the eighth to account for the final margin.

"We came out swinging. Josh pitched great," said John Gibbons, Toronto's manager. "A big four-run first there. The first inning's been good to us the last couple days."

Towers took all that support and made it stand up for his second straight gem at Camden Yards. Back in May, Towers (9-9) threw eight scoreless innings to beat the Orioles. This time, he only allowed three runners to reach scoring position and finished with the second shutout of his young career.

The final out of the game was a play at the plate that preserved his milestone.

"I was pretty pumped. I'm not going to change the way I pitch, though," said Towers, speaking of the early lead. "I'm not going to go out there and throw everything right down the middle."

"A guy with Josh's reputation of throwing the ball over the plate all the time, it can work to his benefit and it can work to his detriment," said Zaun. "Tonight, he was able to get quick outs and expand the zone when he needed to. That's the name of the game for him. If he gets ahead, he doesn't have trouble throwing the ball over the plate."

The Blue Jays (60-55) poured it on from the beginning, taking advantage of a two-out error in the first inning to mount their first attack. Vernon Wells reached on a throwing error, moved to second on a single and scored the first run of the game on a double from Corey Koskie. Zaun, the next batter, kept the rally alive by crushing a three-run homer over the right-field fence.

The inning wasn't over. Daniel Cabrera, Baltimore's starter, escalated the tension by hitting Eric Hinske high in the arm. Toronto's designated hitter reacted angrily, motioning out to the mound. Both benches cleared for a few moments, but the game resumed without further incident.

"It was a 2-0 pitch, and he threw a fastball right at my head. It definitely seemed like he tried to do it on purpose, which is why I was so upset," said Hinske, who earned a welt on the back of his right shoulder. "If you're going to hit a guy, hit him in the [butt] or the leg or something. When you come at a guy's head, then you're messing with a guy's career. That's wrong. That's just wrong."

"I thought it was gutless. You throw that hard, you [can] kill somebody," said Gibbons. "If you drill somebody down low, that's part of baseball, I guess. You can do some damage up there."

That wasn't a one-sided view, either. Sal Fasano, Baltimore's backup catcher who was behind the plate on Friday, had some critical comments regarding Cabrera after the game.

"It would be a perfect time -- tough, long road trip."
-- John Gibbons, on a potential winning streak for the Jays

"He's going to learn the hard way because we're probably going to get somebody hurt tomorrow," Fasano said. "And those guys are probably going to throw at somebody. And is it their fault? No. Whose fault is it?

"It's unfortunate, but that's how baseball is played. And somebody on our team is probably going to get hit tomorrow."

The umpires warned both dugouts after the plunking, which kept Towers from thinking about retaliation. Toronto didn't score again until the fifth, when Koskie reached Cabrera (8-11) for a solo homer. That was it for the right-hander, who left with five runs -- one earned -- on his record.

"He's awfully tough. That guy's just got some of the best stuff that I've ever seen," said Zaun. "Tonight was probably an uncharacteristic night for him. Guys come back to the dugout -- even when they've gotten hits -- and they're like, 'This dude's nasty.' Everybody knows how good he is. We just got on him early."

Even more offense came in the sixth, when reliever Eric DuBose worked into a rough spot. With two outs and runners at the corners, he gave up a run-scoring single. He proceeded to walk a batter, and then Zaun delivered a two-run double to make it an eight-run game. The Orioles went to Aaron Rakers, and he served up the three-run homer to Rios, the first batter he faced.

"It would be a perfect time -- tough, long road trip," said Gibbons about a prolonged winning streak for his team, which has won four straight games. "We swung the bats, you know? Zaunie had that big one in the first and a big double on a changeup. Rios hit another one and Corey swung the bat well. Everybody pitched in something tonight."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_12_tormlb_balmlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 12, Baltimore 0 BAL
Baltimore (56-59)
Lost 1
August 12, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
4 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 0 12 12 0
Baltimore
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
Standings through 8/12/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 .269
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .291
Wells, CF 4 2 0 0 1 1 4 .283
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 3 3 2 0 0 3 .300
Koskie, 3B 4 3 2 2 1 0 2 .251
Zaun, C 4 2 2 5 1 0 0 .270
Rios, RF 5 1 2 3 0 0 1 .287
Hinske, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .249
Hudson, 2B 5 1 2 0 0 1 4 .264
Totals 40 12 12 12 5 3 19

BATTING
2B: Koskie (8, Cabrera), Hudson (19, DuBose), Zaun (15, DuBose).
HR: Zaun (8, 1st inning off Cabrera, 2 on, 2 out), Koskie (9, 5th inning off Cabrera, 0 on, 0 out), Rios (8, 6th inning off Rakers, 2 on, 2 out), Hillenbrand (16, 8th inning off Kline, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Hillenbrand 6; Koskie 6; Zaun 6; Rios 5; Hinske; Hudson 3.
RBI: Koskie 2 (22), Zaun 5 (48), Hillenbrand 2 (67), Rios 3 (52).
2-out RBI: Koskie; Zaun 5; Hillenbrand; Rios 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hudson 2; Koskie.
GIDP: Hudson.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (11, 2nd base off Cabrera/Fasano).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Rios (Gomez at home).
DP: 2 (Koskie-Hudson-Hillenbrand 2).


Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .319
Byrnes, LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .254
Mora, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .287
Tejada, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .319
Gomez, SS 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .286
Lopez, J, DH 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 .283
Sosa, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .230
Freire, 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .308
Gibbons, 1B-RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .263
Newhan, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .218
Fasano, C 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .255
Totals 33 0 9 0 0 2 9

BATTING
TB: Roberts; Mora; Tejada; Gomez; Lopez, J 2; Freire; Gibbons; Fasano.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Byrnes; Roberts.
GIDP: Sosa; Tejada.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
E: Mora (9, throw).
DP: (Gomez-Roberts-Freire).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (W, 9-9) 9.0 9 0 0 0 2 0 4.25

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Cabrera (L, 8-11) 4.0 5 5 1 3 3 2 5.00
DuBose 1.2 3 5 5 2 0 0 27.00
Rakers 1.1 2 1 1 0 0 1 6.75
Kline 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 5.12
Grimsley 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.93

Cabrera pitched to 1 batter in the 5th.

WP: Cabrera.
HBP: Hinske (by Cabrera).
Pitches-strikes: Towers 98-70, Cabrera 74-41, DuBose 40-24, Rakers 21-14, Kline 8-6, Grimsley 7-5.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 12-12, Cabrera 6-4, DuBose 3-2, Rakers 1-3, Kline 2-1, Grimsley 3-0.
Batters faced: Towers 33, Cabrera 23, DuBose 10, Rakers 6, Kline 4, Grimsley 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Rakers 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Andy Fletcher. 1B: Paul Schrieber. 2B: Jeff Kellogg. 3B: Bob Davidson.
Weather: 94 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:29.
Att: 29,069.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[rudy]

Man, these Jays are playing some exciting baseball! Its been one hell of a run! If someone told me their record right now before the start of the season, I would have never believed them. I was sure the Jays were destined for the basement this year. I can't believe how well they are playing-----and with Doc injured!!!!

[Chris from NY]

It's awesome to see the Jays playing solid Baseball again. Looking through the lineup it's hard to find someone who has been a disapointment through the year. The only players whose performance hasn't been pleasing are Corey Koskie and Eric Hinske. Koskie is a disapointment only because of his injury, and Hinske is starting to frustrate me. It's not that I think he's played poorly but right now he has to play with some urgency. He's fighting for a job and can't put down a sac bunt and or run out grounders that turn into errors. That's not the way he should play if he wants to keep a job.

Other than that it's nice to see everyone contribute. The pitching staff has really stepped up and impressed me with Halladay and Lilly hurt, and and everyone is doing there part whether it's Russ Adams, Reed Johnson, Gregg Zaun, or even Frank Menenchino, just to name a couple. The only thing that really need upgrading is possibly getting another big bat for the middle of the lineup. I personally don't think a big bat is a major priority, as long as guys like Zaun, Hillenbrand, Adams, and Catalanatto are driving in runs fairly consistently.

This is just my opinion however, feel free to agree with it. :D

[Reed Johnson]

After scoring 12 runs on Friday we get shutout by a no namer while Bush pitches a CG 1 run gem! I am so mad right now at this team.

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/images/2005/08/13/9JFGvpL7.jpg

Game Summary: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050813&content_id=1169036&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

BALTIMORE -- Call him the Maine man.

Baltimore's John Maine was awfully prominent on Saturday, shutting out the Blue Jays for five innings en route to his first big-league win. The Orioles won by the smallest of margins, 1-0, one day after losing by 12 runs.

"I didn't break down. And when I needed to throw strikes, I did," said Maine, who spent most of this season with Triple-A Ottawa. "You don't see this kind of humidity in Canada. I threw a better changeup than before, and that helped me a lot."

"He hung tough, did a nice job," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, speaking of the opponent's rookie starter. "If we'd saved a few [runs] from last night for today, we would've been better off."

The lone difference in the game came in the third inning, when Baltimore's Brian Roberts reached base on a leadoff double and moved to third on a groundout. One out later, Miguel Tejada cashed him in with a base hit to right field. That was the only blemish for Toronto starter Dave Bush, who worked eight innings and allowed just four hits.

"In that situation, the hitter's going to be defensive, looking for something out over the plate to punch the other way -- which is what he did," said Bush. "To his credit, he got on top of a ball that was chest high and hit it on a line. Not too many guys can do that.

"I had a lot of different options at that point. It was 0-2 -- I had the breaking ball and I could've taken the fastball a little higher up."

Despite the end result, this was the second straight effective start for Bush against Baltimore (57-59). And the last one bore striking resemblance to this one. All the way back in April, Bush (2-6) threw eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 Toronto loss.

The right-hander has pitched well in four of his five starts since his return from Triple-A Syracuse, but the Jays are just 3-2 in those games. In his last outing, Bush couldn't make it through the fifth inning -- he allowed 10 hits and seven runs in a 9-8 loss to Detroit.

The second-year starter got a no-decision in that game, but it still weighs heavily on his mind.

"My last start, the offense scored seven or eight runs for me and I couldn't hold Detroit down," he said. "Even in games where you score or don't score, if you pitch effectively in all of them, the wins and losses even out. I'm disappointed in myself because I didn't pitch well enough last time out to get a win in a situation when they did score."

"It's like anybody. When he's making his pitches, he's got good stuff. That's your key," said Gibbons. "I think the big thing was that breaking ball today. Dave has pitched some good games for us. Now we can't get our bullpen any work. We couldn't get any break and now we can't get any work."

Gibbons was joking on that last count. Just two days ago, Toronto's bullpen was in short-rested disarray. Now, after two consecutive complete games, the Blue Jays have a surplus of ready and available arms.

On the other side, Maine (1-0) came out after five innings with just two hits on his scoresheet. The road team's offense was somewhat weakened by the gametime scratch of Vernon Wells, who was suffering from flu-like symptoms.

"He's sick. He's real sick, so he went home," Gibbons said. "Maine pitched good and then [we] get to their bullpen late. They're very strong. We had a few chances in there."

The best chance may have come in the seventh inning, when the Jays moved two runners on base with nobody out. That brought Eric Hinske to the plate, and Gibbons called for a bunt. This ran in direct opposition to a tactic from last week, when Gibbons said Hinske hasn't been asked to bunt in 10 years.

This time, he was asked, but he wasn't able to deliver. Hinske lined the first pitch toward a charging Melvin Mora, who caught the ball easily. The next batter, Shea Hillenbrand, grounded into an inning-ending double play to escape the threat. The Jays went quietly in the eighth, and Baltimore closer B.J. Ryan got three straight outs in the ninth to earn his 26th save.

"I thought [Hinkse] could bunt. I asked him. It backfired," said Gibbons. "It's something I probably shouldn't have asked him to do. That's all that was."

"Don't blame him. Blame me," said Hinske. "I told him I could get it down. It's part of the game and I haven't done it in a while, but I said, 'Yeah, I'll get it down.'"

Box Score: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_13_tormlb_balmlb_1&c_id=tor

Baltimore 1, Toronto 0 BAL
Baltimore (57-59)
Won 1
August 13, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Baltimore
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 4 0
Standings through 8/13/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .269
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .290
Hillenbrand, DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .297
Koskie, 3B 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .249
Zaun, C 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .268
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .286
Hinske, 1B 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .249
Johnson, CF 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 .278
Hudson, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .262
Totals 29 0 5 0 4 5 15

BATTING
TB: Adams; Catalanotto; Rios; Hinske; Johnson.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Adams 2; Zaun.
GIDP: Rios; Johnson; Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Johnson (4, 2nd base off Maine/Lopez, J), Koskie (2, 2nd base off Maine/Lopez, J).


Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, 2B 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .319
Newhan, LF-RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .212
Mora, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .285
Tejada, SS 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .319
Lopez, J, C 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .281
Sosa, DH 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .228
Gibbons, RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .264
Byrnes, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
Matos, CF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .287
Gomez, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .280
Totals 28 1 4 1 0 3 7

BATTING
2B: Roberts (31, Bush).
TB: Roberts 2; Tejada; Gibbons; Matos.
RBI: Tejada (76).
2-out RBI: Tejada.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gomez.
Team LOB: 5.

FIELDING
DP: 3 (Tejada-Gomez, Mora-Roberts-Gomez, Tejada-Roberts-Gomez).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush (L, 2-6) 8.0 4 1 1 0 3 0 4.59

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Maine (W, 1-0) 5.0 2 0 0 3 3 0 0.00
Byrdak (H, 5) 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.87
Williams (H, 9) 1.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.32
Ryan (S, 26) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.81

HBP: Mora (by Bush), Lopez, J (by Bush).
Pitches-strikes: Bush 95-71, Maine 89-51, Byrdak 18-9, Williams 16-8, Ryan 15-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Bush 13-8, Maine 7-5, Byrdak 2-2, Williams 5-0, Ryan 1-0.
Batters faced: Bush 30, Maine 19, Byrdak 6, Williams 5, Ryan 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Williams 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Paul Schrieber. 1B: Jeff Kellogg. 2B: Bob Davidson. 3B: Andy Fletcher.
Weather: 100 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:14.
Att: 29,445.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Too bad the Jays couldn't get some runs last night, but we did get two out of 3 with today's win.

[rudy]

Too bad the Jays couldn't get some runs last night, but we did get two out of 3 with today's win.

Agreed....2 out of 3 isnt bad

Crazy last inning though, and Reed was SO out at home on that play for the 6th run! He didn't even touch home. Thanks, blue!

[Reed Johnson]

Yeah Johnson missed the plate but it looked like Lopez missed the tag to and Johnson went back to touch the plate after he slid so it didnt even make a difference. I'll get the game summary and box score up soon.

[Reed Johnson]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/14/GlxCtaMi.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050814&content_id=1170203&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

BALTIMORE -- They'd been waiting on this for a while. The Blue Jays got to Baltimore's Erik Bedard for the first time this season, but the final score of Sunday's game turned on a battle of the bullpens. Toronto took advantage in the eighth inning and hung on in the ninth to earn a series-clinching 7-6 win over the Orioles.

"It was a tough day to pitch -- for both sides," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "It was so hot. And in this weather, it's tough to get a grip on the ball."

Bedard had dominated the Jays twice earlier this season, but he only lasted five innings in this outing. The Orioles (57-60) had to hope for four solid innings out of their relief staff, but the Blue Jays broke the game open with three runs in the eighth. Even at that late stage of the game, the drama was just beginning.

The home team broke back for two runs in the ninth, but Toronto closer Miguel Batista nailed things down for his 21st save. Baltimore slugger Rafael Palmeiro, playing in his first game back since serving a 10-day suspension, popped up to right field to end the game. Gibbons admitted that the final moments were a little closer than he'd hoped.

"I didn't like that, to be honest with you, because he's such a great hitter," Gibbons said about Palmeiro's presence in the ninth. "That place probably would've erupted in cheers. You could tell his timing was a little off. He was a little out in front, but you never want to see him come up."

Despite the end result, Toronto's bats spent most of the day in catch-up mode. The Blue Jays took the game's first lead in the first inning and tied things up in the second and sixth, but they never led again until the eighth. Reed Johnson came through with the go-ahead hit, a two-out single to right field for Toronto's fifth run.

The Jays (61-56) didn't stop there, though, piling on two more to put things out of reach. Johnson, who moved to second on Sammy Sosa's throw home, scored on a single from Orlando Hudson. In turn, Hudson came around on another base hit -- this one from Vernon Wells. Relievers Tim Byrdak (0-1) and Todd Williams combined to absorb all the damage in the winning rally.

"I saw him [Saturday night]. They brought him in in a situation with runners on first and second and one out," Johnson said of Williams. "He did exactly what he wanted to me, as far as a sinker-ball guy getting the ball down and inducing me into a ground ball. Today, I tried to force him to get the ball out over the plate. And fortunately, I got what I was looking for."

Johnson was actually involved in two close plays at the plate -- one in the first inning and one in the eighth. He scored Toronto's first run by hustling home on a wild pitch, sliding down in front of the relay toss from Baltimore catcher Javy Lopez. In the eighth, he cruised into home just ahead of a strong throw from Sosa, the home team's right fielder.

"I'm trying to not make that play close, but Orlando hit the ball hard and Sammy ended up getting to it pretty well," said Johnson. "They say I never got my foot on [the plate], but then again, he never got the tag on me either. Right when I went past the bag, I popped up right away and tried to get back to home plate."

Toronto rookie Dustin McGowan had the roughest start of his brief career, as he was unable to make it through five innings for the first time in four outings. The right-hander allowed two runs in the first inning and another in the third, but a jam in the fourth ended his day decisively. McGowan left with two outs and the bases loaded, then Pete Walker walked in Baltimore's fourth run.

No one from the Blue Jays' bullpen had pitched in two days, thanks to two straight complete games from Josh Towers and Dave Bush. Jason Frasor (2-5) got five outs to pick up the win, but the Jays also got sturdy relief outings from Walker, Scott Schoeneweis and Vinnie Chulk.

"Everybody down there is pitching well. ... And we're still fresh for the next series," said Frasor. "Pitch counts were high and it was so hot out there. Dustin battled, and not many runs scored. Our bullpen was solid."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_14_tormlb_balmlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 7, Baltimore 6 BAL
Baltimore (57-60)
Lost 1
August 14, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 7 14 0
Baltimore
2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 11 0
Standings through 8/14/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, CF-LF 5 2 2 2 0 1 3 .280
Hudson, 2B 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .264
Wells, DH-CF 5 1 2 1 0 0 4 .285
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .296
Hill, SS-3B 3 0 1 1 2 1 0 .300
Rios, RF 5 0 0 0 0 2 5 .283
Menechino, 3B 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 .227
a-Adams, PH-SS 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .273
Catalanotto, LF 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 .291
Batista, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Huckaby, C 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .175
b-Zaun, PH-C 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .269
Totals 39 7 14 6 3 6 20

a-Grounded out for Menechino in the 6th. b-Singled for Huckaby in the 6th.

BATTING
2B: Johnson 2 (14, Bedard, Williams), Catalanotto (18, Bedard).
TB: Johnson 4; Hudson 2; Wells 2; Hillenbrand; Hill; Menechino; Adams 2; Catalanotto 2; Huckaby; Zaun.
RBI: Johnson 2 (46), Hill (33), Hudson 2 (54), Wells (68).
2-out RBI: Hill; Hudson 2; Johnson; Wells.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rios 2; Hudson; Huckaby; Wells 2.
S: Catalanotto.
GIDP: Rios.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Hillenbrand-Hill-Hillenbrand, Adams-Hudson-Hillenbrand).
Pickoffs: Walker (Lopez, J at 2nd base).


Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, 2B 3 2 2 1 1 0 1 .321
Byrnes, LF 3 1 1 1 2 0 3 .255
Mora, 3B 5 0 1 1 0 0 7 .284
Tejada, SS 3 0 0 1 0 0 5 .317
Lopez, J, C 5 0 3 2 0 0 1 .288
1-Newhan, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
Palmeiro, DH 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 .277
Sosa, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .225
Gibbons, 1B 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 .265
Matos, CF 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 .296
Totals 33 6 11 6 6 1 23


1-Ran for Lopez, J in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Byrnes (22, McGowan), Lopez, J (15, McGowan), Gibbons (24, McGowan), Roberts (32, Batista).
TB: Roberts 3; Byrnes 2; Mora; Lopez, J 4; Gibbons 2; Matos 3.
RBI: Tejada (77), Lopez, J 2 (32), Roberts (60), Byrnes (37), Mora (54).
2-out RBI: Lopez, J 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Sosa; Mora; Tejada 2; Byrnes; Palmeiro.
SF: Roberts.
GIDP: Palmeiro; Tejada.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Byrnes (5, 2nd base off McGowan/Huckaby).
CS: Matos (6, 2nd base by McGowan/Huckaby).
PO: Lopez, J (2nd base by Walker).

FIELDING
DP: (Tejada-Roberts-Gibbons).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McGowan 3.1 6 4 4 4 1 0 5.95
Walker 1.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.62
Schoeneweis 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.24
Frasor (W, 2-5) 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.10
Chulk (H, 9) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.07
Batista (S, 21) 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 3.10

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bedard 5.0 7 3 3 1 5 0 3.06
Grimsley (BS, 3) 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 6.14
Julio 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.33
Byrdak (L, 0-1) 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.31
Williams 0.1 3 2 2 0 0 0 3.61
Kline 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.01

WP: McGowan, Bedard.
HBP: Tejada (by McGowan), Tejada (by Batista), Hudson (by Bedard).
Pitches-strikes: McGowan 73-41, Walker 23-14, Schoeneweis 7-3, Frasor 16-9, Chulk 13-10, Batista 23-13, Bedard 99-65, Grimsley 24-14, Julio 14-9, Byrdak 8-4, Williams 11-10, Kline 14-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: McGowan 5-3, Walker 1-3, Schoeneweis 2-0, Frasor 4-0, Chulk 1-2, Batista 2-1, Bedard 6-4, Grimsley 2-0, Julio 2-1, Byrdak 2-0, Williams 1-0, Kline 3-0.
Batters faced: McGowan 19, Walker 6, Schoeneweis 3, Frasor 4, Chulk 3, Batista 7, Bedard 24, Grimsley 6, Julio 3, Byrdak 3, Williams 4, Kline 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Walker 3-1, Frasor 1-0, Williams 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Kellogg. 1B: Bob Davidson. 2B: Andy Fletcher. 3B: Paul Schrieber.
Weather: 95 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:33.
Att: 30,954.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

I was half asleep in the inning because I've been having pretty bad asthma attacks for a couple days (I ended up in the hospital last night fro oxygen, so I think I'm a little better now), so I didn't get to see the Johnson play. I saw it later on the highlights though, and he might have got away with one. The call probably could have gone either way, so whatever, I have no problem with the Jays winning like that.

[Reed Johnson]

Well we lost because of a damn stupid cheating umpire. Catalanato, in my opinion, was safe and would have been the game winning run. I hate umpires.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050815&content_id=1171737&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ANAHEIM -- Paging Geico, Aflac or anyone else who knows insurance. The Blue Jays had a key run cut down at the plate late in Monday night's game, a call that eventually loomed large in a 5-4 win for the Angels.

The Jays trailed for most of the game, but they earned their first lead with a three-run rally in the seventh inning. They almost had four, but Frank Catalanotto was thrown out in a close play that resulted in third base coach Brian Butterfield's ejection. Toronto still held a one-run lead, but that advantage evaporated in the eighth inning.

Finally, in the 11th inning, Orlando Cabrera led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by Darin Erstad.

That was the culmination, but the action started much earlier. Toronto starter Gustavo Chacin held the Angels (68-50) to one hit and one run in the first four innings. Vladimir Guerrero notched the first mark by doubling in the second inning and scoring on an error by Russ Adams. That play happened with one out, though, so Chacin was charged with an earned run.

The Blue Jays evened the score in the top of the fifth, but the Angels knocked things back in their favor in the bottom half. Another error -- this one by Chacin -- had an impact on the game. With one out, Adam Kennedy laid down a short bunt and hustled up the first-base line. Chacin hurried a throw and missed wildly, allowing Kennedy to advance to second.

And then the hits came: Chone Figgins singled to score Kennedy, and one out later, Darin Erstad singled to put two men on base. The Jays elected to intentionally walk Guerrero, and Bengie Molina flew out to end the threat.

The home team came right back in the sixth -- without the benefit of an error. With two outs and a man on third, Kennedy hit a slow roller to shortstop. Adams couldn't field the ball cleanly, but the run-scoring play was ruled an infield single.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_15_tormlb_anamlb_1&c_id=tor

LA Angels 5, Toronto 4 LAA
LA Angels (69-49)
Won 4
August 15, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 9 2
LA Angels
0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 13 1
Standings through 8/15/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .272
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .288
Rios, RF 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 .282
Wells, CF 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .284
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 0 2 1 0 0 4 .297
Koskie, 3B 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 .244
Zaun, C 5 0 0 0 0 1 2 .265
Hill, DH 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 .300
Johnson, RF-LF 5 2 1 0 0 1 1 .279
Hudson, 2B 4 1 3 2 1 0 0 .269
Totals 40 4 9 4 4 4 15

BATTING
2B: Hudson (20, Santana), Johnson (15, Santana), Hillenbrand (27, Donnelly).
TB: Adams; Wells; Hillenbrand 3; Hill; Johnson 2; Hudson 4.
RBI: Hudson 2 (56), Wells (69), Hillenbrand (68).
2-out RBI: Hillenbrand.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun; Catalanotto; Hillenbrand 2.
S: Adams.
SF: Wells.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Adams (20, fielding), Chacin (2, throw).


LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, CF 6 0 1 2 0 0 3 .287
Cabrera, SS 6 1 1 0 0 0 2 .252
Erstad, 1B 6 0 2 1 0 0 0 .281
Guerrero, RF 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 .327
Molina, B, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .303
1-DaVanon, PR-DH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .235
Rivera, LF 4 1 1 1 1 0 3 .259
Molina, J, C 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 .220
a-Kotchman, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .194
Mathis, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Izturis, 3B 4 1 1 0 1 2 1 .253
Kennedy, 2B 5 1 4 1 0 0 2 .337
Totals 43 5 13 5 4 5 18

a-Flied out for Molina, J in the 8th.
1-Ran for Molina, B in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Guerrero (22, Chacin), Rivera (12, Chacin), Cabrera (18, Walker).
TB: Figgins; Cabrera 2; Erstad 2; Guerrero 3; Molina, B; Rivera 2; Izturis; Kennedy 4.
RBI: Rivera (36), Figgins 2 (41), Kennedy (33), Erstad (50).
2-out RBI: Kennedy.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Kennedy; Molina, B 2; Figgins; Rivera 2.
S: Molina, J.
Team LOB: 13.

BASERUNNING
SB: Kennedy (13, 2nd base off Chacin/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Izturis (7, throw).
Outfield assists: Guerrero (Catalanotto at home).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin 6.0 6 3 3 3 4 0 3.44
Speier (H, 5) 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.16
Chulk (H, 10) 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.21
Schoeneweis (BS, 3) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.14
Frasor 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 0 3.98
Walker (L, 5-4) 0.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2.75

LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Santana 6.0 6 4 3 2 1 0 4.62
Donnelly (BS, 4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.86
Gregg 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.36
Rodriguez 1.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2.54
Shields (W, 8-8) 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.35

Walker pitched to 2 batters in the 11th.
Santana pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

WP: Speier.
IBB: Guerrero (by Chacin).
HBP: Catalanotto (by Donnelly).
Pitches-strikes: Chacin 102-60, Speier 28-17, Chulk 8-5, Schoeneweis 12-9, Frasor 33-20, Walker 8-6, Santana 107-69, Donnelly 16-10, Gregg 12-9, Rodriguez 20-11, Shields 27-18.
Ground outs-fly outs: Chacin 9-5, Speier 3-0, Chulk 0-1, Schoeneweis 2-1, Frasor 2-2, Walker 0-0, Santana 8-9, Donnelly 1-1, Gregg 2-0, Rodriguez 0-2, Shields 3-2.
Batters faced: Chacin 28, Speier 5, Chulk 2, Schoeneweis 4, Frasor 7, Walker 2, Santana 27, Donnelly 4, Gregg 3, Rodriguez 6, Shields 7.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 1-1, Donnelly 2-2.
EjectionsToronto Blue Jays Third Base Coach Brian Butterfield ejected by HP umpire Ron Kulpa. (7th).
Umpires: HP: Ron Kulpa. 1B: Dan Iassogna. 2B: Dale Scott. 3B: Tim Tschida.
Weather: 69 degrees, clear.
Wind: 4 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:49.
Att: 38,936.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

I wouldn't worry too much about an umpire, we'll get those calls in our favour just as much as they'll be called against us. It usually evens out pretty well.

[Reed Johnson]

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/20/gNhLfjms.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050819&content_id=1176421&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

DETROIT -- The balls just kept soaring out toward the Detroit skyline, cutting through the warm August air and landing in the outer reaches of the spacious ballpark.

The Blue Jays surrendered five home runs Friday night, tying a season high on the way to a 9-5 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Detroit managed to touch up a Toronto pitching staff that entered the game riding a streak of 55 innings without yielding a long ball.

"That ball was flying tonight," manager John Gibbons said.

The flight patterns began in the second inning, when Dave Bush (2-7) served up homers to Dmitri Young and Carlos Pena. A crowd of 32,769 watched the two solo shots drop in nearly the same spot beyond the wall in left-center field.

And with that, Bush's struggles continued against Detroit. In early August, the Tigers jumped Bush for seven runs at the Rogers Centre. This time, Bush pitched only 2 2/3 innings, giving up four runs -- two earned -- on five hits.

"I felt good. I warmed up well, thought I had good stuff," Bush said. "A couple pitches I'd like back, not too many."

Vernon Wells started to chip away at Detroit's 4-0 lead in the fourth. Wells led off with a single to left and moved to third when Shea Hillenbrand smoked a ground-rule double off the brick wall in right-center field. Wells later scored on Gregg Zaun's sacrifice fly.

But the Tigers (58-62) responded in the bottom half of the inning. Brandon League, pitching in relief of Bush, allowed back-to-back home runs with two outs. Chris Shelton deposited a two-run blast in the right-field seats and Ivan Rodriguez followed with a rocket to left.

"You have to pitch well against this team, because they can swing it," Gibbons said.

Wells sliced the 7-1 deficit in half with one big cut in the fifth. He lofted a Mike Maroth pitch over the left-field fence for a three-run homer, his 22nd of the year.

Pena, who was promoted from Triple-A on Wednesday, answered right back with his second home run of the evening. Pena did his damage after becoming a late addition to the lineup when Magglio Ordonez was scratched with flu-like symptoms.

Gibbons smiled slightly when it was suggested that Ordonez's absence could have been interpreted as a positive pregame sign. Gibbons paused before knocking down the possibility.

"Nah, they just flat out beat us."

Mike Maroth (11-11) worked 6 2/3 innings to earn the victory. The lefty allowed four runs on 10 hits while registering six strikeouts.

Eric Hinske added a pinch-hit homer in the eighth for Toronto (63-58). Perhaps extra cautious on a night dominated by the long ball, Tigers manager Alan Trammell used three pitchers in the ninth to secure the win. Craig Dingman retired the only batter he faced to notch his third save of the year.

Though his club fell behind quickly, Gibbons dismissed the notion of an early letdown after taking a series from the division-leading Angels in Anaheim.

"We have good intentions," Gibbons said. "It might give you the appearance, you know, that guys are dead or tired, but that's not the case."

For the Blue Jays, Detroit represented another stop on a marathon 13-game, 14-day road trip that could wind up defining their season. After successful trips to Baltimore and Anaheim, the Jays dropped a game on a night when several teams they're chasing in the Wild Card race picked up victories.

"We know we're kind of hanging on the edge right now," Bush said in a monotone voice. "[We] can't really afford to have rough games."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_19_tormlb_detmlb_1&c_id=tor

Detroit 9, Toronto 5 DET
Detroit (58-62)
Won 2
August 19, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 5 12 1
Detroit
0 2 2 3 2 0 0 0 X 9 12 0
Standings through 8/19/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .274
Johnson, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .278
b-Catalanotto, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .287
Wells, CF 5 2 2 3 0 1 3 .285
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .300
Hill, DH 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .291
a-Hinske, PH-DH 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .251
Zaun, C 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .264
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .242
Rios, RF 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .282
Hudson, 2B 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .276
Menechino, 2B 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .225
Totals 36 5 12 5 2 6 18

a-Homered for Hill in the 8th. b-Grounded out for Johnson in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Hillenbrand (28, Maroth).
HR: Wells (22, 5th inning off Maroth, 2 on, 2 out), Hinske (11, 8th inning off Spurling, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams; Johnson; Wells 5; Hillenbrand 2; Hinske 4; Zaun; Koskie; Rios 2; Hudson 2.
RBI: Zaun (49), Wells 3 (74), Hinske (51).
2-out RBI: Wells 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Johnson 2; Koskie; Wells 2.
SF: Zaun.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
CS: Zaun (1, 2nd base by Maroth/Rodriguez).
PO: Zaun (1st base by Maroth).

FIELDING
E: Zaun (7, fielding).


Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Polanco, 2B 5 2 3 1 0 0 0 .333
Shelton, 1B 4 2 1 2 1 1 3 .331
Rodriguez, C 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 .289
Young, LF 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 .267
Logan, CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
Monroe, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .281
Pena, DH 4 2 3 3 0 0 0 .198
Inge, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .260
McDonald, SS 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .302
Granderson, CF-LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .273
Totals 37 9 12 9 2 5 11

BATTING
3B: McDonald (1, Bush).
HR: Young (19, 2nd inning off Bush, 0 on, 0 out), Pena 2 (5, 2nd inning off Bush, 0 on, 1 out; 5th inning off League, 0 on, 1 out), Shelton (12, 4th inning off League, 1 on, 2 out), Rodriguez (10, 4th inning off League, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Polanco 3; Shelton 4; Rodriguez 4; Young 5; Pena 9; McDonald 3; Granderson.
RBI: Young 2 (60), Pena 3 (17), Shelton 2 (41), Rodriguez (42), Polanco (45).
2-out RBI: Pena; Shelton 2; Rodriguez; Polanco.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Granderson; Inge; Shelton.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Monroe (Koskie at 2nd base).
Pickoffs: Maroth (Zaun at 1st base).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush (L, 2-7) 2.2 5 4 2 1 3 2 4.65
League 2.0 5 5 5 1 0 3 7.97
Walker 2.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.66
Schoeneweis 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.04

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Maroth (W, 11-11) 6.2 10 4 4 1 6 1 4.64
Spurling 1.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 3.71
Colon, R 0.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.65
Walker (H, 9) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.43
Dingman (S, 3) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.93

Pitches-strikes: Bush 44-28, League 44-24, Walker 32-23, Schoeneweis 13-9, Maroth 116-74, Spurling 23-15, Colon, R 12-5, Walker 3-2, Dingman 4-2.
Ground outs-fly outs: Bush 4-1, League 4-2, Walker 3-3, Schoeneweis 0-2, Maroth 5-7, Spurling 3-1, Colon, R 0-1, Walker 1-0, Dingman 1-0.
Batters faced: Bush 15, League 12, Walker 8, Schoeneweis 4, Maroth 29, Spurling 5, Colon, R 3, Walker 1, Dingman 1.
Inherited runners-scored: League 2-0, Walker 2-1, Spurling 1-0, Walker 2-0, Dingman 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Layne. 1B: Paul Emmel. 2B: Dusty Dellinger. 3B: Tony Randazzo.
Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 13 mph, R to L.
T: 2:48.
Att: 32,769.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Sorry I have'nt posted a game in a while. I broke my arm that I use to click wth recently and have only gone on to vote in the player vote off game here because im way slower using my left arm.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2005/08/28/wxwrvQFA.jpg

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20050828&content_id=1187287&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The calendar brings good news, even if the standings don't.

Toronto's 4-1 loss to Cleveland on Sunday wrapped up a 2-5 stretch against Wild Card contenders, and it also ushered the Blue Jays into a more forgiving part of the schedule. The Blue Jays are set for an off-day followed by 12 straight games against Baltimore and Tampa Bay -- the two teams beneath them in the American League East standings.

"Look at the last road trip and the teams we've got coming up in the final month -- you've got to score to beat them," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "You've got some teams that can pound the ball. We definitely need that day off tomorrow. I'll tell you that right now. It's been a long grind, but we'll bounce back."

The Jays (65-65) need that change of scenery, because they've been hit hard in the last week. The Yankees, leading the AL Wild Card and Indians, a game back of New York -- outscored Toronto 37-21 in the last seven games.

If you pull out the scores from Toronto's two wins, it looks even worse, with the Jays' opponents outscoring them 31-10 in five losses. Also, if you consider the team's three-game sweep in Detroit, Toronto is just 2-8 in the last 10 games.

"It's all tough. We're not the only ones that have a tough schedule," said Gibbons. "This is the big leagues -- nothing's easy. We're going to play some teams in the final month that can score, so we're going to have to score and continue to pitch well."

"It's not necessarily the schedule or the teams we're playing -- it's just we're not playing good baseball," said Josh Towers, who started for Toronto on Sunday. "We blew a game in Yankee Stadium and we got our [tails] kicked by Detroit. That was just completely unacceptable. It's not the teams we're playing. It's us beating ourselves, to be honest with you.

"We've beaten them all in the past and we'll continue to beat them in the future, hopefully. Right now, we're just not getting the job done as a team. That's it. We're not getting beat."

The latest game brought more of the same, with two doubles and two homers standing up as the difference. Casey Blake and Aaron Boone provided solo homers for Cleveland (73-58), accounting for the first and last runs of the game. In addition, Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth inning, and both wound up scoring.

Towers (10-10) worked seven innings, but he was charged with seven hits and all of Cleveland's offense -- although one of the runs was unearned. The right-hander wasn't thrilled with his outing, which boiled down to a few mistakes at key moments.

"I made four mistakes and they jumped all over them for extra-base hits. Those two home runs were not acceptable -- those were just bad pitches in great counts for me," said Towers. "You can't make mistakes like that. It just happened that the four mistakes I made today were perfect mistakes for those four hitters.

"The two home runs -- those aren't good hitters. Nothing for nothing, but they're hitting .240 for a reason. But they're like any other Major League hitter. You make a mistake, they're going to hit it hard."

On the other side, Cleveland's Jake Westbrook (13-13) controlled the game, working into the seventh inning and allowing just one earned run. Bob Wickman, the Indians' relief ace, closed out the ninth for his 34th save, tops in the American League.

Toronto's lone run came in the second inning, but the Jays had scoring chances in the fourth and seventh. Shea Hillenbrand singled to start the fourth, but he was subsequently erased on a double play. The Jays got runners to first and third with one out in the seventh, but second baseman Ronnie Belliard turned in two highlight-level plays to end the threat.

"We hit some balls hard -- right at guys -- today. That's baseball. We also benefited from that, too, a time or two," said Gibbons. "You've got to get those guys in from third base -- especially when you're not scoring a lot. That's when those things get magnified. We've got to do a better job of that in the final month."

"At least today, we were putting together better at-bats with runners in scoring position," said Reed Johnson, who started in right field. "We lined out quite a few times with runners in scoring position. ... It's just those unfortunate things right now. We'll just try to battle through them and keep hitting the ball hard.

"In the past, it was like we weren't giving ourselves a chance to drive those runs in. Now -- at least today -- we got some guys on in some situations. And guys were hitting the ball harder and taking better approaches. That's always a positive."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_08_28_clemlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Cleveland 4, Toronto 1 TOR
Toronto (65-65)
Lost 1
August 28, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cleveland
0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 6 1
Toronto
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 2
Standings through 8/28/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Cleveland AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Sizemore, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .288
Crisp, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .292
Peralta, SS 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .296
Hafner, DH 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 .317
Martinez, C 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 .294
Belliard, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .285
Broussard, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .255
Boone, 3B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .245
Blake, RF 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .243
Totals 32 4 6 4 1 5 7

BATTING
2B: Sizemore (29, Towers), Peralta (29, Towers), Hafner (35, Towers).
HR: Blake (17, 3rd inning off Towers, 0 on, 1 out), Boone (12, 7th inning off Towers, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Sizemore 2; Peralta 2; Hafner 2; Belliard; Boone 4; Blake 4.
RBI: Blake (43), Hafner (81), Martinez (64), Boone (47).
2-out RBI: Boone.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crisp.
S: Crisp.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
SB: Boone (7, 2nd base off Towers/Zaun).
PO: Sizemore (3rd base by Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Peralta (15, throw).
DP: 2 (Boone-Belliard, Westbrook-Peralta-Broussard).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .271
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .290
a-Rios, PH-RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .269
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .277
Koskie, 3B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .249
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .289
Zaun, C 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .258
Hinske, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .260
Johnson, RF-LF 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .274
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .276
Totals 34 1 8 1 1 4 17

a-Lined out for Catalanotto in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (21, Westbrook), Koskie (11, Westbrook), Hudson (23, Westbrook).
TB: Adams; Catalanotto 2; Koskie 2; Hillenbrand; Zaun; Hinske; Johnson; Hudson 2.
RBI: Johnson (49).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Hinske; Wells.
GIDP: Zaun.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Johnson (2, throw), Hillenbrand (11, fielding).
Pickoffs: Zaun (Sizemore at 3rd base).


Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Westbrook (W, 13-13) 6.1 8 1 1 1 3 0 4.65
Sauerbeck (H, 13) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.73
Howry (H, 22) 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.80
Wickman (S, 34) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.90

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 10-10) 7.0 5 4 3 1 4 2 4.04
Schoeneweis 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.97
League 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.34

HBP: Koskie (by Westbrook).
Pitches-strikes: Westbrook 107-70, Sauerbeck 1-1, Howry 15-10, Wickman 10-8, Towers 101-68, Schoeneweis 9-7, League 13-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Westbrook 8-8, Sauerbeck 0-1, Howry 1-2, Wickman 3-0, Towers 9-7, Schoeneweis 1-1, League 1-2.
Batters faced: Westbrook 28, Sauerbeck 1, Howry 4, Wickman 3, Towers 27, Schoeneweis 3, League 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Sauerbeck 2-0, Howry 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Chris Guccione. 1B: Rick Reed. 2B: Ted Barrett. 3B: Alfonso Marquez.
Weather: 77 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 5 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:30.
Att: 31,785.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

That's too bad about your arm. I know what that's like. Not that I've ever broken my arm, but my Brother has and I had to hear about it until he finally got his cast off. How did you break your arm?

[Reed Johnson]

That's too bad about your arm. I know what that's like. Not that I've ever broken my arm, but my Brother has and I had to hear about it until he finally got his cast off. How did you break your arm?

I was playing football and this huge guy tackled and fell on top of me and all that weight was put on my arm.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Any Jay's fans that can help. Do you know what date tickets can be purchased on line. Thank you.

[Reed Johnson]

I am looking forward to starting this up again because that means baseball is back! Please keep it stickied.

[Chris from NY]

Hey good to see you hanging around these parts again. I for one can't wait for things to start up again.

[Reed Johnson]

what a way to start off the season. I missed over half of the game but from what I saw Halladay look awsome. I also saw Bengie's two run shot and it was a big one! To bad I missed Rios though I would have loved to see him hit a homer.

Jays 6, Twins 3

Game Summary: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060404&content_id=1383835&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Jays ride Halladay to victory
Molina hits two-run shot against Twins' Santana
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

(Frank Gunn/AP)


TORONTO -- Toronto kicked off its much-anticipated 30th season with a 6-3 win over the Twins on Tuesday in a packed Rogers Centre.

Toronto's Roy Halladay, who made his fourth straight Opening Day start, showed the 50,449 fans in attendance that he had no lingering problems from the broken left leg that ended his season last July. The 2003 American League Cy Young winner picked up the first Jays victory of the year after giving up three runs -- two earned -- on five hits with four strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

In the fourth inning, new catcher Bengie Molina helped Halladay's cause by hitting a mammoth home run off Minnesota lefty Johan Santana. Molina pulled the first pitch he saw and sent it off the facing of the fifth deck just to the right of the left-field foul pole, giving Toronto a 3-1 lead.

Santana, who took home an AL Cy Young Award of his own in '04, was chased after 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three, walked one, and took the loss after yielding four runs on 10 hits.

Eight of Toronto's starters managed at least one hit off Santana. Blue Jays designated hitter Shea Hillenbrand had an RBI sacrifice fly before Molina's homer and shortstop Russ Adams added an RBI single in the sixth. Alex Rios hit a two-run homer off Twins reliever Jesse Crain in the eighth.

Minnesota's Tony Batista hit a solo home run off Halladay in the seventh inning and Shannon Stewart added another solo shot off the right-hander in the eighth.

Toronto's new closer, B.J. Ryan, picked up his first save of the year after pitching a scoreless ninth.

Box Score: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_04_minmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 6, Minnesota 3 TOR
Toronto (1-0)
Won 1
April 4, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota
1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 5 1
Toronto
0 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 X 6 14 2
Standings thru 4/4/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Stewart, LF 4 2 3 1 0 0 1 .750
Castillo, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000
Mauer, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
White, R, DH 3 0 0 1 0 1 2 .000
Hunter, CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Morneau, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000
Batista, 3B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .333
Kubel, RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Castro, SS 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500
a-Ford, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Punto, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 31 3 5 3 0 6 9

a-Grounded out for Castro in the 8th.

BATTING
HR: Batista (1, 7th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 2 out), Stewart (1, 8th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Stewart 6; Batista 4; Castro.
RBI: White, R (1), Batista (1), Stewart (1).
2-out RBI: Batista.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Morneau; White, R.
S: Castillo.
SF: White, R.
GIDP: Stewart.
Team LOB: 3.

FIELDING
E: Castillo (1, fielding).
DP: (Batista-Castillo-Morneau).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 .600
Rios, RF 5 1 3 2 0 0 2 .600
Wells, CF 5 0 1 0 0 2 6 .200
Glaus, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .250
Overbay, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .250
Hillenbrand, DH 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 .667
Molina, B, C 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .500
Hill, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Adams, SS 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .333
Totals 37 6 14 6 1 5 15

BATTING
2B: Glaus (1, Santana).
HR: Molina, B (1, 4th inning off Santana, 1 on, 1 out), Rios (1, 8th inning off Crain, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Johnson 3; Rios 6; Wells; Glaus 2; Overbay; Hillenbrand 2; Molina, B 5; Adams.
RBI: Hillenbrand (1), Molina, B 2 (2), Adams (1), Rios 2 (2).
2-out RBI: Adams; Rios 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wells 3.
SF: Hillenbrand.
GIDP: Hill.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
E: Overbay (1, fielding), Adams (1, throw).
DP: (Adams-Hill-Overbay).


Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Santana (L, 0-1) 5.2 10 4 4 1 3 1 6.35
Rincon 1.1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Crain 1.0 2 2 2 0 0 1 18.00

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay (W, 1-0) 7.2 5 3 2 0 4 2 2.35
Schoeneweis (H, 1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Ryan (S, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00

Pitches-strikes: Santana 98-68, Rincon 28-20, Crain 28-16, Halladay 88-64, Schoeneweis 6-4, Ryan 18-13.
Ground outs-fly outs: Santana 6-8, Rincon 2-0, Crain 2-1, Halladay 16-3, Schoeneweis 1-0, Ryan 0-1.
Batters faced: Santana 28, Rincon 6, Crain 5, Halladay 29, Schoeneweis 1, Ryan 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Rincon 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Joe Brinkman. 1B: Derryl Cousins. 2B: Jeff Nelson. 3B: Tim Timmons.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:37.
Att: 50,449.

[Chris from NY]

What a great way to start off the year! It seemed like today we saw the Jays' strengths and a little bit of their weaknesses. Santana shut them down early and made some good pitches to get outs in key situations. Evryone on had a hit except Hill so the offense was rolling. Everyone stepped up and played well. Couple of miscues in the field but it's also only opening day. And wow once Doc got the lead he dominated.

I know it's only one game but if this sets the tone for the rest of the year we should be in for a good season.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

What a great way to start off the year! It seemed like today we saw the Jays' strengths and a little bit of their weaknesses. Santana shut them down early and made some good pitches to get outs in key situations. Evryone on had a hit except Hill so the offense was rolling. Everyone stepped up and played well. Couple of miscues in the field but it's also only opening day. And wow once Doc got the lead he dominated.

I know it's only one game but if this sets the tone for the rest of the year we should be in for a good season.
It's only a matter of time until we win the WS!

[Reed Johnson]

I have just one thing to say...... Josh Towers sucks. The only positives out of this game is that Glaus and Overbay both hit there first HR's as Bluejays.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060405&content_id=1385480&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- There's no column in a scorebook to keep track of the number of times a player gets confused or how many kicked balls could've actually been well-played outs. But the Blue Jays had a little bit of both in their first loss of 2006.

Toronto committed two errors for the second game in a row and this time it caught up with them. The Twins took advantage of the early mistakes and poured it on late to defeat the Blue Jays, 13-4, on Wednesday at the Rogers Centre.

After the game, Toronto manager John Gibbons had few words for what had just transpired, probably wanting to put the game behind him and move on.

"It was a little bit of a sloppy game tonight. We'll bounce back tomorrow," Gibbons said quietly. "Errors are part of the game."

The first error that Toronto made, though, came from the most unlikely source. Jays center fielder Vernon Wells, who has won the last two American League Gold Glove Awards, made a costly mistake in the fourth inning.

With runners on first and second base and Toronto (1-1) nursing a 4-1 lead, Justin Morneau sent an offering from Toronto starter Josh Towers to center field, where Wells fielded the ball. One run scored easily, but when Torii Hunter rounded second base, Wells pulled up to throw to third. Wells changed his mind abruptly, thinking that Morneau might advance to second on the throw.

What happened, though, was combination of errors: A bit of confusion on the part of shortstop Russ Adams and second baseman Aaron Hill and a poor decision by Wells.

"I came up to throw to third, and I realized I probably shouldn't go there and leave the guy at first base," Wells said. "So I looked at second and nobody was there. I was trying to throw it to those guys. When I threw it, they both went the other way."

The result was a wild throw that allowed Morneau to move to second, and wells was charged with his first error since Sept. 29, 2004. Last year, the center fielder did not commit an error in 363 total chances.

Two batters later, Russ Adams made his second throwing error in as many games when Jason Kubel chopped a ball up the middle that bounced off Towers' foot and deflected towards the shortstop. Adams snagged the ball and tried to throw Morneau out at third base. Instead, the ball sailed into the dugout, and the Twins moved two more runs across the plate to tie the game at 4-4.

Towers (0-1) felt he should have been able to field the ball and throw the runner out.

"I just didn't get my glove down. I don't know why," Towers said. "I saw the ball the whole way. I don't know if I was just off-balance or what. I couldn't get the glove down, and the ball hit my foot."

Towers exited the game after 4 2/3 innings after giving up five runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits, including a go-ahead solo home run to Shannon Stewart in the fifth inning. The right-hander cruised through the first three frames, but the five singles, combined with the pair of errors in the fourth, left Towers frustrated afterward.

"A couple balls were hit halfway hard, but not all of them. It was a lot of singles," Towers said. "It's not like they were hitting balls in the gap. They were just hitting balls where we were, and we started throwing the ball around and I kicked that ball, which would've got us out of the inning."

Towers didn't want to put all the blame on the faulty defense, though. He was quick to point out his own mistakes.

"After a couple guys got on and they scored, I think I put a little pressure on myself to get them out, and I think I started overthrowing it slightly," Towers said. "I just wasn't getting the ball down. No matter where the ball is location-wise, if it elevates a little bit, it's a lot easier to hit."

Wells also shouldered some of the blame for the loss.

"It got ugly," Wells said. "J.T. was throwing the ball well and, defensively, we let him down today. They got the bats going and did what they needed to do to score their runs."

Minnesota (1-1) poured on 16 hits and scored 13 unanswered runs -- quickly moving past the back-to-back home runs that Toronto's Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay hit off Twins starter Brad Radke (1-0) in the opening frame.

After Towers left the game, Minnesota scored eight runs off Toronto's bullpen, which posted the best ERA in the AL East a year ago. Jays relievers Brian Tallet and Vinnie Chulk gave up three runs, Jason Frasor allowed a grand slam to Hunter, and Justin Speier yielded a solo shot to Luis Rodriguez.

Those numbers will show up in the box score, but Toronto is ready to move on.

"It's over with. You don't think about it anymore," Wells said. "Luckily, it's just the second game of the season. You live and you learn and we'll try to take the series tomorrow."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_05_minmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Minnesota 13, Toronto 4 TOR
Toronto (1-1)
Lost 1
April 5, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota
0 0 0 4 1 0 3 4 1 13 16 0
Toronto
3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 12 2
Standings thru 4/5/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Stewart, LF 5 2 2 1 0 0 2 .556
b-Cuddyer, PH-RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Castillo, 2B 4 3 2 0 1 0 0 .286
Punto, 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Mauer, C 4 3 3 0 1 0 0 .375
White, R, DH 4 0 1 1 0 2 6 .143
Hunter, CF 5 3 4 6 0 0 1 .444
Morneau, 1B 5 1 1 1 0 0 3 .111
Batista, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .167
a-Rodriguez, Luis O, PH-3B 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1.000
Kubel, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .143
Ford, RF-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Castro, SS 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .333
Totals 41 13 16 11 4 4 16

a-Homered for Batista in the 9th. b-Grounded out for Stewart in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Hunter (1, Chulk).
HR: Stewart (2, 5th inning off Towers, 0 on, 0 out), Hunter (1, 8th inning off Frasor, 3 on, 2 out), Rodriguez, Luis O (1, 9th inning off Speier, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Stewart 5; Castillo 2; Mauer 3; White, R; Hunter 8; Morneau; Rodriguez, Luis O 4; Kubel; Castro.
RBI: Hunter 6 (6), Morneau (1), Kubel (1), Stewart (2), White, R (2), Rodriguez, Luis O (1).
2-out RBI: Kubel; Hunter 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Castro; Morneau; Kubel.
SF: White, R.
GIDP: Hunter.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Castillo (1, 2nd base off Frasor/Molina, B), Mauer (1, 2nd base off Towers/Molina, B).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Hunter (Molina, B at 1st base).
DP: 2 (Hunter-Castro-Morneau, Castro-Castillo-Morneau).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .333
b-McDonald, PH-SS 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Catalanotto, LF 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .667
c-Johnson, PH-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .222
Glaus, 3B 4 1 3 3 0 1 0 .500
Overbay, 1B 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 .429
d-Phillips, PH-1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Hillenbrand, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .286
Molina, B, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .375
Hinske, RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-Rios, PH-RF 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .571
Hill, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .125
Totals 37 4 12 4 0 5 11

a-Struck out for Hinske in the 7th. b-Struck out for Adams in the 8th. c-Grounded out for Catalanotto in the 8th. d-Grounded out for Overbay in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (1, Radke), Adams (1, Radke), Glaus (2, Liriano).
HR: Glaus (1, 1st inning off Radke, 1 on, 2 out), Overbay (1, 1st inning off Radke, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto 3; Wells; Glaus 7; Overbay 5; Molina, B; Rios; Hill.
RBI: Glaus 3 (3), Overbay (1).
2-out RBI: Glaus 3; Overbay.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Phillips 2; McDonald.
GIDP: Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
E: Wells (1, throw), Adams (2, throw).
DP: (Glaus-Hill-Overbay).


Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Radke (W, 1-0) 6.0 8 4 4 0 2 2 6.00
Liriano 2.0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0.00
Guerrier 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 0-1) 4.2 10 5 4 0 3 1 7.71
Tallet 1.1 1 2 2 2 0 0 13.50
Chulk 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 9.00
Frasor 1.0 3 4 4 1 1 1 36.00
Speier 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 9.00

Tallet pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

WP: Chulk, Frasor.
Pitches-strikes: Radke 89-61, Liriano 27-22, Guerrier 18-13, Towers 70-48, Tallet 24-11, Chulk 18-9, Frasor 39-24, Speier 9-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Radke 9-7, Liriano 3-0, Guerrier 2-1, Towers 7-4, Tallet 4-0, Chulk 1-2, Frasor 2-0, Speier 2-1.
Batters faced: Radke 24, Liriano 8, Guerrier 5, Towers 23, Tallet 7, Chulk 5, Frasor 7, Speier 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Tallet 2-0, Chulk 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Derryl Cousins. 1B: Jeff Nelson. 2B: Tim Timmons. 3B: Joe Brinkman.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:49.
Att: 18,156.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Well atleast we don't have to rely on Josh Towers for a 15 win season or anything like like that. He's really not more than a 4 or 5 guy in the rotation. He'll have his good starts and his bad starts though. How about that bullpen though! 8 runs! Then again we didn't see the bullpen opening night except for Ryan, so maybe it was just an early season thing. I didn't see the game though so I dunno.

Those attendance numbers really dissapoint me though. I know there was a Leafs game but come on all you fans in Toronto, make every night like opening night!

[Reed Johnson]

What a great game today!!! Chacin pitched amazingly good. That was the best game I have ever seen him pitch and I saw most of his games last year. Nice to see Phillips coming through when we needed him, good Jays debut for him.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060406&content_id=1387191&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Phillips boosts Jays to take series
Chacin holds Twins to three runs in 6 2/3 innings
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

TORONTO -- Jason Phillips stood at his locker, surrounded by TV cameras, and spoke about Toronto's latest game for all the sports highlight shows later that night. What he probably didn't realize was that he still had shaving cream on his face.

The leftover cream was courtesy of Toronto's Vernon Wells, who doused Phillips with the white foam minutes after the Blue Jays sealed a 6-3 win over the Twins on Thursday at Rogers Centre.

Why the rookie treatment? Because it was Wells' way of officially welcoming Phillips to the Jays after the catcher delivered the deciding blow in the series finale -- a two-run single in the sixth inning that gave Toronto the lead for good.

"When you've got a leader on your team that's accepting me, that's always a good thing," said a smiling Phillips, who's jersey was covered with shaving cream, too.

Wells isn't the only person that has accepted Phillips. Ever since Toronto (2-1) signed the catcher to a Minor League contract this past offseason, the organization has been backing his services. When the club signed free agent Bengie Molina, Phillips was forced out of the reserve job, though.

That all changed when backup catcher Gregg Zaun landed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured right calf muscle.

Now, Phillips is clinging to a Major League position and the Blue Jays don't seem like they want to part with him. Keeping him on the roster could become difficult, though, considering that when Zaun is eligible to come off the DL on Saturday, Phillips would have to clear waivers in order to be sent to the Minors. It also seems unlikely that Toronto would carry three catchers.

Another team would probably want to scoop up the five-year veteran and Toronto manager John Gibbons doesn't seem like he wants to see that happen.

"I've always been a fan of the guy. He played for me in Triple-A," said Gibbons, who managed Phillips in the Mets' organization in 2001. "He's been in the big leagues the last few years. He's had some success. He's played in some tough towns -- in New York and L.A. -- So that doesn't phase him. He's not a Minor League player. He's a big league player."

Those last words would seem to imply that sending Phillips to Triple-A upon Zaun's return might not be the only possibility. What is going to happen, though, isn't exactly clear.

"Maybe he won't go somewhere else. You don't know," Gibbons said. "If there was a team that wanted a catcher, or needed to upgrade [he would probably get picked up]. It might not even happen. I don't know."

For now, Phillips knows his future with Toronto is uncertain and he's going to try and take advantage of every chance he can get to prove worthy of his current job. That's what he did against the Twins (1-2).

On Thursday, Phillips started behind the plate for pitcher Gustavo Chacin, who the Blue Jays hoped could go deep into the game to save the bullpen some work. With Phillips calling the game, Chacin (1-0) allowed three runs, struck out four and lasted 6 2/3 innings -- more than enough time for Toronto's offense to do some damage.

With the score tied at 2 in the sixth inning, Minnesota starter Carlos Silva (0-1) loaded the bases with two outs. Phillips walked to the plate, already with two flyouts in the game, and had his window of opportunity.

He pulled a single to left that scored Lyle Overbay and Shea Hillenbrand and Toronto never looked back.

"We played hard and Phillips did a great job behind home plate," Chacin said. "He got the base hit, two runs and we went ahead. That did it right there."

Phillips was proud of the hit, but he was more pleased with how he handled the pitchers. The game before, Toronto's bullpen was forced into the game in the fifth inning and the relievers were stretched thin on Thursday. After Chacin exited the game, Pete Walker and Justin Speier held Minnesota in check. Then, closer B.J. Ryan tossed a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save.

"It's a new role for me. I'm going to be backing up at best, so I'm more worried about defense right now and getting pitchers through ballgames," Phillips said. "[I'm] getting comfortable with what they want to throw and when they want to throw it. I'm definitely doing a lot more homework.

"I'm not studying as much on the offensive side because you've got a lot of other guys that are going to produce offensively," he added. "So I have to concentrate defensively and let the big boys swing the bat. But it was good that I got a good hit tonight."

The hit helped win the series over the Twins and it won Phillips some acceptance in the clubhouse -- even if that does mean getting some shaving cream in his face. That's something that the catcher looks at as a good thing.

"I've been in some bad situations and I don't see that here," Phillips said. "I see guys that are going to pick each other up and you're going to be friends no matter what happens on the field."

Or perhaps regardless of what moves are made off it.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_06_minmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 6, Minnesota 3 TOR
Toronto (2-1)
Won 1
April 6, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota
1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 7 1
Toronto
0 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 X 6 8 0
Standings thru 4/6/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Minnesota AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Stewart, LF 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .538
Castillo, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 .300
Hunter, CF 4 0 0 1 0 0 2 .308
White, R, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .091
Cuddyer, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Morneau, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .083
a-Ford, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Batista, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .200
Redmond, C 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .500
Punto, SS 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 .500
Totals 32 3 7 3 2 6 11

a-Walked for Morneau in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Stewart (1, Chacin), Redmond 2 (2, Chacin, Chacin), Batista (1, Chacin).
TB: Stewart 3; Castillo; Batista 2; Redmond 4; Punto.
RBI: Hunter (7), Punto (1), Redmond (1).
2-out RBI: Punto; Redmond.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Punto; White, R; Redmond.
S: Castillo.
GIDP: White, R; Hunter.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Stewart (1, 2nd base off Speier/Phillips).

FIELDING
E: Batista (1, fielding).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 1 0 1 2 0 .300
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 0 1 1 0 1 .333
1-Johnson, PR-LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Wells, CF 4 1 2 0 0 1 3 .308
Glaus, 3B 4 1 0 0 0 1 2 .333
Overbay, DH 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .455
Hillenbrand, 1B 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 .333
Hinske, RF 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .000
Rios, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
Phillips, C 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .200
Hill, 2B 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .167
Totals 32 6 8 6 3 4 9


1-Ran for Catalanotto in the 6th.

BATTING
3B: Overbay (1, Silva).
TB: Adams; Wells 2; Overbay 4; Hillenbrand; Phillips; Hill.
RBI: Overbay (2), Hillenbrand (2), Phillips 2 (2), Catalanotto (1).
2-out RBI: Phillips 2; Hill; Catalanotto.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Catalanotto; Wells 2.
SF: Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Adams (1, 2nd base off Silva/Redmond).

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Glaus-Hill-Hillenbrand, Adams-Hill-Hillenbrand).


Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Silva (L, 0-1) 5.2 5 6 5 2 2 0 7.94
Rincon 0.1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0.00
Eyre, W 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Nathan 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 1-0) 6.2 6 3 3 1 4 0 4.05
Walker (H, 1) 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Speier (H, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.50
Ryan (S, 2) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00

Walker pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP: Hillenbrand (by Silva).
Pitches-strikes: Silva 90-56, Rincon 18-12, Eyre, W 11-8, Nathan 12-8, Chacin 88-60, Walker 9-6, Speier 9-6, Ryan 21-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Silva 8-7, Rincon 0-0, Eyre, W 3-0, Nathan 0-2, Chacin 9-7, Walker 0-0, Speier 2-1, Ryan 0-2.
Batters faced: Silva 26, Rincon 4, Eyre, W 4, Nathan 3, Chacin 26, Walker 2, Speier 3, Ryan 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Rincon 2-2, Walker 1-0, Speier 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Joe Brinkman. 3B: Derryl Cousins.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:29.
Att: 16,221.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Big_Mac]

i like our start to the season. we showed good character in coming back after the throbbing in game 2. all our new guys contributed offensivly as well which was good to see and Ryan pitched well both games.

[Reed Johnson]

Well at least the offence looks good..... to bad I cant say the same about our ****** bullpen, they cost us the game! They better be better tomorrow!

Game summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060407&content_id=1388622&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Jays fall to Rays in first game of series
Home runs prove to be the Toronto's downfall
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays and the Devil Rays traded blows in their first meeting on Friday, but in the end, though, it was a two-run home run by Jonny Gomes in the seventh inning that proved to be the difference in Toronto's 9-7 loss to the Devil Rays at the Rogers Centre.

The Jays struck first -- or, were struck first -- by taking advantage of a few pitches by Tampa Bay starter Casey Fossum that found Reed Johnson's body.

Johnson, who tied a Major League record by being hit three times -- all by Fossum -- was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Right fielder Alex Rios followed with a two-run homer to left. Two innings later, Johnson was plunked again and scored his second run when Troy Glaus mashed his second home run of the season -- a three-run shot to center that put Toronto up, 6-0.

The lead wouldn't last, though.

Toronto's Scott Downs, who is filling in as a starter until A.J. Burnett returns from the disabled list, set down 11 of the first 13 hitters he faced, but he began to struggle in the fifth inning. The left-hander yielded a two-run homer to Tampa Bay's Travis Lee and later gave up a RBI single to Carl Crawford.

Downs gave up three runs on five hits in five innings and struck out four with no walks.

Toronto's bullpen took over for Downs in the sixth and the Jays' three-run lead was promptly erased. Reliever Vinnie Chulk allowed a three-run shot to Ty Wigginton in the sixth and Pete Walker gave up the homer to Gomes in the seventh. Jason Frasor also allowed a homer, a solo shot to Damon Hollins in the ninth.

Blue Jays center fielder Vernon Wells hit solo home runs in both the seventh and ninth innings.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_07_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Tampa Bay 9, Toronto 8 TOR
Toronto (2-2)
Lost 1
April 7, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 1 9 12 0
Toronto
3 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 8 13 0
Standings thru 4/7/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 5 1 3 1 0 1 0 .375
Cantu, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .231
Perez, T, 2B 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
Gomes, RF 4 2 3 2 0 0 0 .455
Gathright, CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
Huff, DH 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .167
Wigginton, 3B 4 2 2 3 0 1 0 .444
Lee, 1B 4 1 1 2 0 1 0 .235
Hall, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083
Green, SS 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .091
Hollins, CF-RF 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .455
Totals 38 9 12 9 0 8 4

BATTING
2B: Hollins (1, Downs).
HR: Lee (2, 5th inning off Downs, 1 on, 0 out), Wigginton (1, 6th inning off Chulk, 2 on, 0 out), Gomes (2, 7th inning off Walker, 1 on, 2 out), Hollins (1, 9th inning off Frasor, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Crawford 3; Gomes 6; Huff; Wigginton 5; Lee 4; Hollins 6.
RBI: Lee 2 (4), Crawford (3), Wigginton 3 (4), Gomes 2 (4), Hollins (1).
2-out RBI: Crawford; Gomes 2.
GIDP: Cantu.
Team LOB: 2.

BASERUNNING
SB: Crawford (1, 2nd base off Walker/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: 3 (Lee, Wigginton-Perez, T-Lee, Green-Cantu-Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 .500
b-Catalanotto, PH-LF 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .286
Rios, RF 5 1 1 2 0 0 7 .385
Wells, CF 5 4 4 2 0 1 0 .444
Glaus, 3B 5 1 2 3 0 0 1 .353
Overbay, 1B 4 0 2 1 1 1 1 .467
Hillenbrand, DH 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 .214
Molina, C 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .417
1-Hinske, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Phillips, C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Hill, 2B 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .267
McDonald, SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-Adams, PH-SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250
Totals 36 8 13 8 2 3 18

a-Grounded out for McDonald in the 6th. b-Grounded out for Johnson in the 6th.
1-Ran for Molina in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Hill (1, Dunn).
HR: Rios (2, 1st inning off Fossum, 1 on, 0 out), Glaus (2, 3rd inning off Fossum, 2 on, 1 out), Wells 2 (2, 7th inning off Dunn, 0 on, 0 out; 9th inning off Miceli, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios 4; Wells 10; Glaus 5; Overbay 2; Molina 2; Hill 3.
RBI: Rios 2 (4), Overbay (3), Glaus 3 (6), Wells 2 (2).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rios 4.
S: Hill.
GIDP: Hillenbrand 2.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (1, 2nd base off Fossum/Hall).

FIELDING
DP: (Downs-Hill-McDonald-Overbay).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fossum 4.2 7 6 6 0 2 2 11.57
Dunn (W, 1-0) 1.1 4 1 1 0 1 1 6.75
Camp (H, 1) 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Miceli (S, 1) 1.1 1 1 1 2 0 1 7.71

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Downs 5.0 6 3 3 0 4 1 5.40
Chulk (BS, 1) 1.0 3 3 3 0 1 1 18.00
Walker (L, 0-1) 0.2 2 2 2 0 1 1 18.00
Schoeneweis 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Frasor 1.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 19.29

Dunn pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

HBP: Johnson (by Fossum), Johnson (by Fossum), Johnson (by Fossum).
Pitches-strikes: Fossum 80-54, Dunn 32-22, Camp 11-9, Miceli 29-13, Downs 71-50, Chulk 19-13, Walker 19-13, Schoeneweis 14-8, Frasor 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Fossum 5-7, Dunn 2-1, Camp 3-2, Miceli 3-1, Downs 11-0, Chulk 1-1, Walker 0-1, Schoeneweis 0-1, Frasor 2-2.
Batters faced: Fossum 23, Dunn 8, Camp 5, Miceli 6, Downs 20, Chulk 6, Walker 4, Schoeneweis 3, Frasor 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Dunn 1-0, Camp 1-0, Miceli 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Phil Cuzzi. 1B: Jerry Crawford. 2B: Chuck Meriwether. 3B: Brian O'Nora.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:53.
Att: 15,631.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner


Does anyone know why the attendance is so low?

[Reed Johnson]

I dont feel to good about having Lily as one of our starters after watching him today. 6 Walks in 2 innings is BRUTAL! At least we managed to win and at least our offence is still going strong.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060408&content_id=1390038&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

Jays come back to defeat Rays
Zaun returns to the starting lineup with two-run blast
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

TORONTO -- Trotting is a lot easier than sprinting, especially for a player who's getting over a leg injury.

Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to Saturday's game after spending the last few weeks rehabbing a pulled right calf muscle. In his first game back with the Blue Jays, Zaun belted a two-run homer that propelled Toronto to an 8-4 win over Tampa Bay at the Rogers Centre.

There were no lingering issues with the leg, but Zaun didn't mind taking it easy on the basepaths.

"You don't have to run as fast around the bases when you hit them out of the park," Zaun joked. "It was really a nice moment for me, to put us ahead and to contribute on the first day back."

It wasn't exactly a Kirk Gibson moment, but Zaun's blast, combined with a stellar performance by the bullpen, helped bail out Toronto starter Ted Lilly, who walked six and struggled through his first outing of the season. The bullpen notched 6 2/3 scoreless innings, highlighted by an impressive showing by left-hander Brian Tallet.

The pen's performance paved the way for a comeback by the Jays, who trailed, 4-1, entering the fourth inning. Zaun's homer off Tampa Bay reliever Jason Childers (0-1) completed the turnaround.

Zaun has a minor history of getting big hits in his first games back from an injury, though. Last May, Zaun went 1-for-4 with a two-run shot to help beat Boston in his first game back after landing on the DL. On Saturday against Tampa Bay, he also went 1-for-4.

"Zaunie's a good player. In a clutch time, he's as good as anybody," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "The big homer put us up there. His first game back last year after the concussion, he hit a two-run homer to help us win a game. He's a big part of this team, it's good to see him out there."

Zaun admitted that his timing at the plate wasn't as sharp as it could be. He pulled the calf muscle midway through Spring Training and remained down in Florida to continue his rehab. Zaun wasn't able to get into a game until Tuesday, though.

In one rehab appearance with Class-A Dunedin, Zaun went hitless. But the leg injury didn't persist and that was all the convincing Zaun needed to head back up to rejoin Toronto (3-2). He just wasn't sure how he'd fare with the bat right away.

"You can go down there and get as many at-bats as you want, but until you get that first one out of the way back in the big leagues, it's tough," Zaun said. "You have a little bit of self doubt. You're wondering, 'Am I ready?' And once that first one happens for you, that monkey gets off your back."

Lilly probably let out a sigh of relief when Zaun gave Toronto the lead -- erasing the left-hander's poor showing.

Lilly, who was working through a nagging back pain earlier this week, was chased out of the game after just 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits. The six free passes were the most Lilly had issued in a start since walking eight on June 17, 2001, when he was with the Yankees.

"He started off pretty good and then the wheels just came off," Zaun said. "I don't know. It may have been fatigue -- I don't know. We tried pretty much everything."

Tallet (1-0) entered the game with bases loaded in the third inning -- thanks in part to four walks in the frame by Lilly. Tallet forced two groundouts and finished with three strikeouts and no runs allowed in 2 2/3 innings against the Devil Rays (2-3).

"At that point, the game could've got blown open," Tallet said, referring to the bases-loaded jam. "As it was, the momentum shifted a slight bit and we got a run. We came back in, got a couple more and the next thing you know we're leading. It was history from there."

After Tallet, Blue Jays relievers Jason Frasor, Justin Speier and Scott Schoeneweis shut down the Tampa Bay offense, while the Toronto hitters chipped away at the lead. Frank Catalanotto went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, and Lyle Overbay, She Hillenbrand, Eric Hinske and Aaron Hill all added RBIs.

"That right there says a lot about our team," said Lilly, who noted that his back wasn't bothering him. "When a starting pitcher, whoever it is, goes out there and has an outing like that, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the team.

"It puts pressure on the bullpen to come in -- they've got a lot of work to do -- and also the hitters," he added. "The momentum is kind of established early in a game like that."

Zaun's homer swung the momentum back.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_08_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, Tampa Bay 4 TOR
Toronto (3-2)
Won 1
April 8, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 0
Toronto
0 0 1 2 2 3 0 0 X 8 13 1
Standings thru 4/8/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 .286
Green, SS 4 1 2 0 1 1 0 .200
Gomes, DH 3 1 0 0 2 2 1 .357
Huff, 3B 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .200
Wigginton, 1B 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 .333
Hollins, RF 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .467
Paul, C 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .250
Perez, T, 2B 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 .200
Gathright, CF 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .333
Totals 32 4 7 2 6 8 15

BATTING
2B: Hollins (2, Lilly).
TB: Green 2; Huff; Hollins 3; Perez, T; Gathright.
RBI: Perez, T (1), Hollins (2).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crawford 2; Wigginton.
S: Paul.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
CS: Green (1, 2nd base by Tallet/Zaun).
PO: Green (1st base by Tallet).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Gathright (Hill at 3rd base).
DP: (Gathright-Huff).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .294
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 3 2 0 0 0 .500
1-Johnson, PR-LF 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .429
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 1 0 3 .409
Glaus, 3B 2 1 0 0 3 1 4 .316
Overbay, 1B 5 1 1 1 0 2 5 .400
Hillenbrand, DH 4 1 2 1 0 1 0 .278
Hinske, RF 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 .286
Rios, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .357
Zaun, C 4 1 1 2 0 1 4 .250
Hill, 2B 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .278
Totals 35 8 13 8 5 6 19


1-Ran for Catalanotto in the 6th.

BATTING
2B: Adams (2, Waechter), Catalanotto (2, Waechter), Hill (2, Harper), Wells (1, Lugo, R).
HR: Zaun (1, 5th inning off Childers, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Adams 3; Catalanotto 4; Wells 2; Overbay; Hillenbrand 2; Hinske 2; Zaun 4; Hill 2.
RBI: Catalanotto 2 (3), Hill (2), Zaun 2 (2), Overbay (4), Hillenbrand (3), Hinske (1).
2-out RBI: Catalanotto; Zaun 2; Overbay; Hillenbrand; Hinske.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay 2; Glaus 2; Zaun; Rios.
SF: Hill.
Team LOB: 11.

FIELDING
E: Glaus (1, throw).
DP: (Overbay).
Pickoffs: Tallet (Green at 1st base).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Waechter 3.2 6 3 3 2 2 0 7.36
Childers (L, 0-1) 1.1 1 2 2 2 2 1 11.57
Harper 2.0 5 3 3 1 2 0 9.00
Lugo, R 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.40

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly 2.1 4 4 3 6 2 0 11.57
Tallet (W, 1-0) 2.2 2 0 0 0 3 0 4.50
Frasor (H, 1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 13.50
Speier 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.25
Schoeneweis 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

WP: Tallet.
HBP: Catalanotto (by Waechter), Hillenbrand (by Lugo, R).
Pitches-strikes: Waechter 69-43, Childers 23-11, Harper 42-29, Lugo, R 18-12, Lilly 67-32, Tallet 41-27, Frasor 17-10, Speier 31-19, Schoeneweis 7-5.
Ground outs-fly outs: Waechter 0-9, Childers 1-1, Harper 1-3, Lugo, R 1-2, Lilly 2-3, Tallet 2-2, Frasor 2-0, Speier 2-2, Schoeneweis 2-1.
Batters faced: Waechter 20, Childers 7, Harper 11, Lugo, R 5, Lilly 17, Tallet 9, Frasor 4, Speier 6, Schoeneweis 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Childers 2-0, Tallet 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Crawford. 1B: Chuck Meriwether. 2B: Brian O'Nora. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 3:00.
Att: 18,755.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Big_Mac]

i felt real good for zaun yesterday when he hit that blast. gibbons has to find a way to get him some AB's this season but we don't want it to cut into Molina's time too much.

tough starts for both lilly and towers. both got roughed up pretty bad. lilly was very inconsistent in the zone saturday but he usually does this then throws a gem sooner than later.

should be a good one today, halladay and kazmir!

[Chris from NY]

Lilly's got to get his stuff together, and he's got to do it fast. I personally don't want him in a Jays uniform if we don't know which Ted Lilly is going to be on the mound each start.

[Big_Mac]

Lilly's got to get his stuff together, and he's got to do it fast. I personally don't want him in a Jays uniform if we don't know which Ted Lilly is going to be on the mound each start.


thats what you'll get with ted. he pitched very well last night with 10 punchouts.

[Chris from NY]

That's the Ted Lilly I wanna see more often.

[Big_Mac]

got the white sox this weekend. burnett is suppose to start sunday i believe and i'll be watching that game for sure.

[Reed Johnson]

Woohoo! Despite a poor start for Downs our offence comes throught once again! A season high eighteen hits! So much for Wells slow start as he has 5 HR's now which is good for 5th in the league!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060414&content_id=1400393&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Blue Jays win third straight with power
Toronto slugs four homers, 18 hits to down defending champs
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- The White Sox can have their "grinder ball." The Blue Jays have been sticking with "power ball" lately.

Over the last three games, Toronto has pushed out 46 hits, including eight home runs. That output has led the Jays to three straight wins over a pair of clubs that played postseason baseball last year -- this time, the reigning World Series champion White Sox fell victim to Toronto's torrid offense. Boston was upended at home in the previous two.

The Blue Jays pounded out 18 hits and belted four homers en route to a 13-7 win over the White Sox in front of the Chicago faithful on Friday night at U.S. Cellular Field. The trigger-happy bats boosted Toronto's team average up to an American League-best .339 through 10 games.

Certainly, the Blue Jays can't keep this pace going for long. Right?

"Why can't they? The Yankees do," Toronto manager John Gibbons said with a smile. "If they can do it, why can't we?

"We like the way our offense is built," he added. "Going into the offseason, one thing we thought was, 'If we're going to be legit, we've got to score more runs.' We've got such good balance top-to-bottom now. You don't have to sit there and rely on one or two guys."

Keeping up with the Bostons and New Yorks of the baseball world was the main reason behind Toronto's busy offseason. The heart of the Jays' order has two new occupants -- Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay -- and they've wasted no time in showing what their bats can do for the lineup.

Through 10 games, Overbay and Glaus are batting .341 and .333, respectively.

Toronto's regular lineup fits Vernon Wells, Glaus, Overbay and Shea Hillenbrand into the Nos. 3-6 holes. Those four combined to go 11-for-18 with all four homers against the White Sox.

Hillenbrand took Chicago starter Javier Vazquez deep for a two-run shot in the second inning, Wells and Overbay both went yard against Cliff Politte in the seventh, and Glaus capped off the moonshots with a towering blast off of Neal Cotts in the ninth.

"I think this just shows that they made great decisions in the offseason -- bringing in guys that have proved themselves in the past and want to prove themselves now," said Wells, who leads the team with five home runs. "We've got some guys that can flat-out swing the bats. It's fun to see.

"The last few games we've been putting runs on the board like it's nobody's business."

Wells has been a main part of that. The center fielder is the only Toronto player to have recorded at least one hit in all 10 games and he's currently riding a streak of four consecutive games with a home run. His 2-for-5 performance also raised his season average up to .378.

Sure, the Blue Jays (6-4) lineup tore through Chicago's pitching staff, but 11 of Toronto's runs came after the fourth inning. The significance of that is that the Jays trailed, 5-2, through four frames after starter Scott Downs was chased from the game. Downs, who gave up five runs on four hits, lasted just two-plus innings and left the field after walking three straight batters to open the third.

Toronto's bullpen -- led by three scoreless innings each for Pete Walker and Vinnie Chulk -- kept Chicago (5-5) in check long enough for the Jays' hitters to go to work.

"The bullpen gave us a chance to swing the bats," said Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun, who had three doubles in the win. "A three-run deficit is not that big of a deal early in the game, but if [the White Sox] kept adding runs here and there, then that would've been a really tough game for us to come back and win.

"Coming in and shutting the door like they did, and minimizing the damage, was probably the most important part of the game for us."

In the third inning, Walker (1-1) gave up a single and a fielder's choice that resulted in two runs -- both credited to Downs -- but the right-hander got out of the inning by inducing a double play. He'd turn in two more solid frames and, in the fifth, Toronto's bats erased Downs' outing by breaking through against Vazquez (0-1) with five runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Glaus.

Chulk then came in and gave up just two hits to the 11 batters he faced. In the period he was in the game, the Jays put together a four-run seventh inning, which was led by the homers from Wells and Overbay.

"When we're swinging the bats, as we are as a team, it allows everybody to have a good time," Wells said. "It allows us to pick up our pitchers when they're going bad. We need to pick up our pitchers because, most of the time, they're going to be there for us."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_14_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 13, Chi White Sox 7 CWS
Chi White Sox (5-5)
Lost 1
April 14, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 2 0 0 5 0 4 0 2 13 18 0
Chi White Sox
0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 13 2
Standings thru 4/14/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 1 1 1 0 1 0 .286
McDonald, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
Catalanotto, LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .450
a-Johnson, PH-LF 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .529
Wells, CF 5 2 2 2 0 0 2 .378
Glaus, 3B 4 3 2 4 1 1 0 .333
Overbay, 1B 5 1 4 2 0 0 1 .341
Hillenbrand, DH 5 2 3 2 0 1 2 .250
Zaun, C 5 1 3 1 0 1 0 .385
Rios, RF 5 1 1 0 0 1 2 .387
Hill, 2B 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 .237
Totals 43 13 18 13 1 5 8

a-Singled for Catalanotto in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Zaun 3 (4, Vazquez, Politte, Cotts), Glaus (3, Vazquez), Hillenbrand (1, Vazquez).
HR: Hillenbrand (1, 2nd inning off Vazquez, 1 on, 1 out), Wells (5, 7th inning off Politte, 1 on, 1 out), Overbay (2, 7th inning off Politte, 0 on, 2 out), Glaus (3, 9th inning off Cotts, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Adams; Catalanotto; Johnson; Wells 5; Glaus 6; Overbay 7; Hillenbrand 7; Zaun 6; Rios.
RBI: Hillenbrand 2 (5), Adams (3), Glaus 4 (10), Overbay 2 (7), Wells 2 (11), Zaun (4).
2-out RBI: Glaus 2; Overbay 2; Zaun.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rios 2.
GIDP: Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 4.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Glaus-Hill-Overbay, Glaus-Overbay).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Ozuna, LF 5 0 3 2 0 1 2 .455
Iguchi, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 1 4 .314
Thome, DH 3 1 0 0 2 1 2 .344
Konerko, 1B 4 3 2 1 1 0 3 .341
Dye, RF 4 1 1 2 1 0 3 .320
Crede, 3B 4 1 4 1 0 0 0 .333
Cintron, SS 5 1 2 1 0 0 4 .400
Widger, C 3 0 0 0 2 0 4 .000
Anderson, CF 5 0 0 0 0 2 9 .129
Totals 38 7 13 7 6 5 31

BATTING
2B: Crede (5, Downs), Ozuna (1, Downs), Konerko (3, Tallet).
HR: Konerko (2, 2nd inning off Downs, 0 on, 0 out), Dye (1, 9th inning off Tallet, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Ozuna 4; Iguchi; Konerko 6; Dye 4; Crede 5; Cintron 2.
RBI: Konerko (8), Ozuna 2 (2), Crede (9), Cintron (3), Dye 2 (6).
2-out RBI: Ozuna 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Iguchi 2; Dye 2; Ozuna; Anderson.
GIDP: Anderson.
Team LOB: 11.

FIELDING
E: Iguchi (2, throw), Widger (1, missed catch).
PB: Widger (1).
Outfield assists: Dye (Overbay at home).
DP: (Konerko-Cintron-Cotts).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Downs 2.0 4 5 5 4 3 1 10.29
Walker (W, 1-1) 3.0 4 0 0 2 1 0 5.06
Chulk (H, 1) 3.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 6.43
Tallet 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 1 9.00

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Vazquez (L, 0-1) 6.0 9 7 7 1 4 1 6.23
Logan 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.38
Politte 1.2 5 4 4 0 1 2 15.75
Cotts 1.0 4 2 2 0 0 1 6.35

Downs pitched to 3 batters in the 3rd.

IBB: Thome (by Walker).
HBP: Crede (by Chulk).
Pitches-strikes: Downs 59-28, Walker 45-24, Chulk 39-26, Tallet 22-12, Vazquez 102-67, Logan 6-4, Politte 33-21, Cotts 29-19.
Ground outs-fly outs: Downs 3-0, Walker 8-0, Chulk 1-7, Tallet 2-1, Vazquez 6-7, Logan 0-1, Politte 0-4, Cotts 2-1.
Batters faced: Downs 14, Walker 14, Chulk 11, Tallet 6, Vazquez 27, Logan 1, Politte 10, Cotts 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Walker 3-2.
Umpires: HP: Wally Bell. 1B: Mark Carlson. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: John Hirschbeck.
Weather: 74 degrees, clear.
Wind: 7 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:15.
Att: 31,418.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060415&content_id=1401643&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

CHICAGO -- The wait is over. There A.J. Burnett stood, out on the mound for the first time this season -- back from the disabled list and over his elbow injury. It was supposed to be his stage, where he would give an opening glimpse at why Toronto coveted his powerful arm.

But Burnett made two mistakes. And Paul Konerko and the White Sox stole the show.

Burnett struggled some with his command, but found his way through six decent innings. The problem was that he made a pair of costly pitches to Konerko, who hit two home runs, and Chicago starter Mark Buehrle tamed Toronto's offense. Those two factors led to a 4-2 loss for the Blue Jays on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Field.

"It was pretty much the Konerko show," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "The two bombs were the difference."

The first home run that Burnett allowed came with two outs in the first inning. The right-hander walked Chicago's Jim Thome -- after just missing strike three with a breaking ball that slipped underneath the strike zone -- and then misfired on a fastball that Konerko exploited for a two-run blast to deep left field and tied the game, 2-2.

The second homer was also a two-run shot to left -- this time coming against a curveball on the inner half of the plate during the fifth inning.

"Both of those balls leaked over the middle right toward him and that's what he's supposed to do," said Burnett, who signed a five-year, $55 million deal with the Jays in December. "When a fastball away leaks over the middle, you expect him to hit that ball out. Then give him a curveball that leaked inside, you expect him to hit that ball out. Two pitches."

Maybe Burnett expected Konerko to take advantage of the miscues, but Chicago's first baseman didn't expect to see many missed pitches from the right-hander -- even if Burnett was on short rest and coming off an arm injury.

"I got a couple of good mistakes to hit, and I didn't miss them," Konerko said. "That's what you have to do against a guy like that. He's got real good stuff."

Burnett (0-1) was the first to admit that he didn't have real good stuff against the White Sox (6-5), though. In the first two innings, he threw 57 pitches. That wasn't a good sign for Toronto's bullpen, which was stretched thin during Friday's win over Chicago.

He recovered and threw 38 pitches across his final four frames, but Burnett said his command wasn't where he expected it to be and he worked into a lot of deep counts as a result. The positive side to his outing was that there weren't any lingering issues from the scar tissue that broke away in his right elbow on March 18.

"The first start of the year, there's a lot of focus on him," Gibbons said. "He wasn't hitting with his breaking ball. His command was off. That was all. He was in and out. He'd move the pitches and then he'd lose it. But he was OK."

In between both of Konerko's blasts, Burnett held his ground -- scattering four hits to 17 batters. He finished with 95 pitches and didn't appear to have any issues with throwing on short rest, having pitched in a rehab game with Class A Dunedin on Tuesday. He finished with the four runs allowed on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk for Toronto (6-5).

"At times he was [struggling]. But it's normal for a guy that's coming off the DL," Toronto catcher Bengie Molina said. "He's excited. He wants to pitch. It's normal. I think he settled down really good. He pitched a great game."

Buehrle (2-0) pitched a much better game. The left-hander quieted Toronto's bats after a minor misstep in the first inning. After giving up a lead-off single to Reed Johnson, Buehrle yielded a two-run homer to Alex Rios, his fourth blast of the year.

After that, though, Buehrle limited Toronto to just three more hits, which put an end to three consecutive days of double-digit hit totals for the Jays. Following Vernon Wells' single in the first inning, Buehrle gave up just two hits to the next 26 batters he faced. Buehrle finished with two runs allowed on five hits in eight innings and he struck out four.

"Like he always is: Tough to hit. Myself, I was horrible today at the plate so I have to give him credit," Molina said. "I think with him you have to battle all day. He's the kind of guy that's going to work quick and try to get you out quick."

He did work fast, too. In typical Buehrle fashion, the game lasted just two hours and 10 minutes -- barely enough time for Burnett to soak up the atmosphere surrounding his much-hyped debut.

Despite the loss, though, Burnett was able to enjoy his return to the mound.

"I felt good, man. All the excitement, all the adrenaline going through my body while I was trying to make a pitch," Burnett said. "It was definitely fun, even if the results weren't there."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_15_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=tor

Chi White Sox 4, Toronto 2 CWS
Chi White Sox (6-5)
Won 1
April 15, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2
Chi White Sox
2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 X 4 7 0
Standings thru 4/15/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .476
Rios, RF 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 .382
Wells, CF 4 0 3 0 0 1 0 .408
Glaus, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .325
Molina, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .357
Hillenbrand, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .231
Overbay, DH 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 .318
Hill, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .220
Adams, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
Totals 31 2 6 2 2 5 9

BATTING
HR: Rios (4, 1st inning off Buehrle, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Johnson; Rios 4; Wells 3; Glaus.
RBI: Rios 2 (10).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand 2; Molina.
GIDP: Glaus.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
SB: Glaus (1, 2nd base off Buehrle/Pierzynski).
CS: Wells (1, 2nd base by Buehrle/Pierzynski).
PO: Wells (1st base by Buehrle).

FIELDING
E: Hill 2 (2, throw, fielding).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .079
Iguchi, 2B 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 .308
Thome, DH 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .314
Konerko, 1B 4 2 2 4 0 0 0 .356
Dye, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .310
Pierzynski, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .306
Crede, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .306
Mackowiak, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .136
Cintron, SS 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .391
Totals 32 4 7 4 1 5 9

BATTING
HR: Konerko 2 (4, 1st inning off Burnett, 1 on, 2 out; 5th inning off Burnett, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Podsednik; Iguchi; Konerko 8; Dye; Pierzynski; Cintron.
RBI: Konerko 4 (12).
2-out RBI: Konerko 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Pierzynski; Iguchi; Cintron.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Dye (2, 2nd base off Burnett/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: (Buehrle-Iguchi-Konerko).
Pickoffs: Buehrle (Wells at 1st base).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Burnett (L, 0-1) 6.0 7 4 4 1 5 2 6.00
Schoeneweis 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Speier 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.59

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Buehrle (W, 2-0) 8.0 5 2 2 2 4 1 2.25
Jenks (S, 4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.06

WP: Burnett.
Pitches-strikes: Burnett 95-58, Schoeneweis 10-7, Speier 10-8, Buehrle 104-71, Jenks 16-13.
Ground outs-fly outs: Burnett 6-7, Schoeneweis 2-1, Speier 2-1, Buehrle 12-7, Jenks 2-0.
Batters faced: Burnett 27, Schoeneweis 3, Speier 3, Buehrle 29, Jenks 4.
Umpires: HP: Mark Carlson. 1B: CB Bucknor. 2B: John Hirschbeck. 3B: Wally Bell.
Weather: 57 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 11 mph, L to R.
T: 2:10.
Att: 33,247.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

I would like to mention, for the second time, that Towers SUCKS!! I hate five inning games, we were only down by two!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060416&content_id=1403160&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

CHICAGO -- Troy Glaus stood in the batter's box, rain pouring off his helmet, trying battle the elements -- let alone the White Sox. Toronto's slugger struggled to keep a strong grip on his slippery bat and flailed at a few pitches, eventually striking out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

During what ended up being his final at-bat in Toronto's rain-shortened 6-4 loss to Chicago on Sunday, Glaus turned to the home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor and exchanged a few words.

"My hands were soaking wet. There was standing water in the infield," said Glaus, who was perturbed that the game wasn't called prior to the fifth inning. "There was standing water in the batter's box, standing water in the on-deck circle, standing water in -- everywhere. I don't think anybody should've been out there on the field that inning."

But there the players were, standing at their various positions at U.S. Cellular Field alongside pools of water that made for a sloppy playing surface. The poor conditions nearly allowed for a Blue Jays comeback, because the umpires decided to try to squeeze five innings in between the raindrops. If the losing team completes its at-bat in the fifth frame, the game becomes official and no rescheduling has to take place.

"All the umpires are going to do that," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, referring to letting the game continue into the fifth. "If you get a chance to get the last couple outs, they're going to try to get it in. Everywhere I've ever been they'll do that."

With showers pouring down and Chicago leading, 6-0, in the top of inning, the Blue Jays found a way to scratch out four runs on just two hits. After an RBI single from Russ Adams, Chicago starter Freddy Garcia struggled to control the wet baseballs he was forced to work with, and he walked in two runs with the bases loaded as a result.

"It was working to our advantage. He couldn't throw strikes. It's a big lead to overcome, though," Gibbons said. "Brutal conditions, but it was working in our favor at the moment."

Garcia wasn't the only player that suffered from the sopping wet diamond. The puddle-laden infield helped out Toronto (6-6). With the bases still loaded and two outs, Bengie Molina chopped a ball toward second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, who seemed poised to make the game official with the inning's final out. Instead, the ball skipped across a puddle, off Iguchi's glove and into the outfield -- bringing in Toronto's fourth run.

Garcia (2-1), who walked four in the inning, struck out Eric Hinske to end the frame and, ultimately, the game.

"You can't control Mother Nature, but the conditions were unsafe in the top of the fifth inning," Glaus said. "Obviously, that team was probably more dangerous since they were playing defense. However, nobody should've been on the field. And it's frustrating on top of all this that we end up getting a loss. That just doesn't sit well."

The loss was credited to Toronto starter Josh Towers (0-3), who lasted just two innings after giving up five runs on seven hits with two walks against the White Sox (7-5). He yielded two-run homers to both Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome before rain delayed the game after the bottom half of the second.

It was the third consecutive defeat for Towers, who has been struggling with some command issues this season. The rain played a role in his outing being cut short, but it was still the second start this season that Towers pitched fewer than five innings.

"I can't throw quality strikes. Everything started going over the middle of the plate and they started hitting it," Towers said. "Then, I got a little gun shy and a little nervous, and I think I got in my own head a little bit.

"It's weird because in long toss I feel great and the bullpen was one of the best bullpens I've had," he added. "Then all of a sudden I come in the game and I feel I have to do things different -- overthink my mechanics. I don't know exactly what, but a little bit of everything went wrong."

The Blue Jays opted not to send Towers back to the mound after the tarp protected the infield from pounding rain showers for 42 minutes.

When play resumed, Toronto turned to reliever Scott Downs, who pitched two innings as a starter in the opener against Chicago on Friday. He pitched the final two frames on Sunday and allowed just one unearned run.

"Obviously, I wanted to go back out. We talked to [Gibbons], but maybe it was a good thing I didn't go back out," Towers said. "Who knows? It could've got out of hand. You saw the way our team started coming back. If we played this one out, who knows, we might have had a chance to win it."

Boxscore: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_16_tormlb_chamlb_1&c_id=tor

Chi White Sox 6, Toronto 4 CWS
Chi White Sox (7-5)
Won 2
April 16, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 4 4 4 1
Chi White Sox
3 2 0 1 X 6 9 1
Standings thru 4/16/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 .268
Catalanotto, LF 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 .409
Wells, CF 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 .420
Glaus, 3B 2 0 0 0 1 1 4 .310
Overbay, 1B 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 .304
Hillenbrand, DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .214
Molina, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .323
Hinske, RF 2 1 1 0 1 1 3 .375
McDonald, 2B 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .200
Totals 20 4 4 3 6 3 15

BATTING
TB: Adams; Wells; Hinske; McDonald.
RBI: Adams (4), Wells (12), Overbay (8).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay; Molina; Hinske 2.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (2, 2nd base off Garcia/Pierzynski).

FIELDING
E: Molina (1, missed catch).
Outfield assists: Catalanotto (Thome at home).
DP: (McDonald-Adams-Overbay).


Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 .122
Iguchi, 2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .310
Thome, DH 3 2 2 2 0 1 1 .342
Konerko, 1B 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 .362
Dye, RF 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 .333
Pierzynski, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 .308
Crede, 3B 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .324
Mackowiak, CF 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .125
Cintron, SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .360
Totals 20 6 9 5 4 2 11

BATTING
2B: Konerko (4, Downs).
3B: Podsednik (1, Towers).
HR: Dye (2, 1st inning off Towers, 1 on, 2 out), Thome (7, 2nd inning off Towers, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Podsednik 4; Iguchi; Thome 5; Konerko 2; Dye 4; Pierzynski; Crede.
RBI: Iguchi (6), Dye 2 (8), Thome 2 (12).
2-out RBI: Dye 2; Thome 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mackowiak; Pierzynski 2.
GIDP: Cintron.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Podsednik (1, 2nd base off Towers/Molina), Iguchi (1, 2nd base off Towers/Molina).

FIELDING
E: Iguchi (3, fielding).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 0-3) 2.0 7 5 5 2 2 2 9.24
Downs 2.0 2 1 0 2 0 0 8.00

Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Garcia (W, 2-1) 5.0 4 4 3 6 3 0 7.80

WP: Downs.
Balk: Towers.
Pitches-strikes: Towers 59-32, Downs 39-22, Garcia 106-62.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 2-2, Downs 5-1, Garcia 5-7.
Batters faced: Towers 15, Downs 9, Garcia 26.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: John Hirschbeck. 2B: Wally Bell. 3B: Mark Carlson.
Weather: 58 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 16 mph, In from LF.
T: 1:36 (1:32 delay).
Att: 27,137.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

I thought Burnett looked great on the mound. Towers, on the other hand has to turn it around. I was hoping we'd be able to pull in front in the top of the fifth. That would have been great. I'm if that game wasn't callled after 5 the Jays would have came back and won it.

[Big_Mac]

I thought Burnett looked great on the mound. Towers, on the other hand has to turn it around. I was hoping we'd be able to pull in front in the top of the fifth. That would have been great. I'm if that game wasn't callled after 5 the Jays would have came back and won it.

I echo you Chris. Burnett other then two mistakes to konerko, pitched very well and i like gibbons send him out for the 6th to leave on a positive note. And Towers all i got to say is for $#&^**&%^%$ sakes. he has to turn it around of he is going to be not pitching here longer.

[Chris from NY]

Atleast Ted Lilly is starting to look better. If both his and Towers were struggling at the same time I'd be going crazy.

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060422&content_id=1412915&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The pitcher that took the mound for Toronto looked like Roy Halladay. The name on the back of his jersey confirmed that it was him, too. His style of pitching looked slightly different, though -- a high number of curveballs and changeups rather than a constant overpowering fastball.

Halladay was coming off 12 days' rest after skipping one start to spend time recovering from a stiff right forearm. The injury didn't persist, but the extended lay-off took a minor toll on his velocity and Halladay, as he's more than capable of doing, began to mix up his pitches -- giving the Red Sox fits.

At the end of the day, it didn't matter what type of outing Halladay turned in. Whether by power or finesse, he found a way to successfully hold Boston at bay for five innings. That allowed the Blue Jays to cruise to an early lead en route to an 8-1 win on Saturday at Rogers Centre.

The win clinched a series win over Boston at home and two series victories against the Red Sox already this year. It was Toronto's fourth consecutive win over the Boston, dating back to the teams' series at Fenway Park last week.

"It was good to have him back out there. He wasn't as sharp, but it's been two weeks," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's fine. He's healthy. He feels good. Any time you pitch against this team, I don't care how good you are, they test you. They make you earn everything you get and he did a nice job for us."

At first, the numbers that flashed on the scoreboard to display how fast Halladay's pitches were being thrown raised some concern as to whether or not the forearm was still an issue. He topped out at 92 mph and his fastball stayed within 89-91 mph range for most of his start.

Halladay, who threw 90 pitches, said that the small dropoff in pitch speed had nothing to do with his arm, and everything to do with the time off. As far as he was concerned, the velocity was right where he expected it to be, too.

"Two weeks off," responded Halladay, when asked what could account for the decreased speed. "For the most part, I'm going to pitch anywhere from 89 to 92 or 93. Right now, for me, my biggest emphasis is location -- making sure they're quality pitches and I feel good.

"I think that's something that comes when you get a couple more times out. That will take care of itself," he added. "To be able to go out and feel good, feel like I do have extra if I do need it, and the location is good -- that's the biggest thing for me."

The only thing that mattered for Toronto (9-7) was that, no matter how hard Halladay (2-1) was throwing, he was being effective. Halladay struck out two and scattered two harmless hits to the first 12 batters he faced. The only trouble he ran into came in the fourth inning, when he allowed one run to score on a double by Boston's Trot Nixon.

Nixon may have collected two hits against Halladay, but he was nonetheless impressed by the wide variety of pitches he saw from the right-hander.

"He threw the ball well. I don't think he could throw that fastball inside to lefties, but he had all his pitches working," Nixon said. "Halladay's one of the best pitchers in the league. He gets a lead out there and he's real tough. I know he skipped his last start, but he looked pretty good out there. His curveball was pretty sharp."

The most notable curve that Halladay snapped off came against Boston's David Ortiz in the top of the fifth inning. With runners on first and second, Halladay forced Ortiz to flail at one of his breaking balls for strike three to end the inning. While Toronto held an 8-1 lead at that point, the at-bat was important in snuffing a potential rally by the Red Sox (11-7).

"At any point against this [Boston team], if they have guys on base, I think it's a big at-bat. They've definitely shown the ability to come back in any type of game," Halladay said. "The last inning with Ortiz, regardless of how many runs, those are big outs for you."

The five solid innings from Halladay gave the Jays' offense plenty of time to get to work. Toronto scored four runs off Lenny DiNardo (0-1) in the first inning -- thanks to a two-run double that bounced off the top of the left-field wall by Troy Glaus and a two-run home run to center field by Bengie Molina. The Blue Jays would tack on one run in the second and Vernon Wells added a two-run triple in the fourth to cap off three runs in that frame.

After Halladay left the game, Toronto relievers Scott Downs and Pete Walker combined to throw four scoreless innings with no hits allowed. Walked pitched the final three frames to pick up a save.

Toronto also was happy to see Halladay on the mound and over his minor injury, considering that, prior to Saturday's game, starter A.J. Burnett landed on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season. Halladay and Burnett were expected to be the Blue Jays top two starters this year, but it's going to take more time before they both are in the rotation.

At least Halladay's start gave Toronto a reason to be positive.

"It's great just to see 'Doc' back on the mound. What happened to A.J. is unfortunate, but hopefully we'll get him back soon," Wells said. "When we have both those guys back-to-back it'll be fun. It's early. Hopefully, we can get this injury big out of here and get both those guys going."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_22_bosmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 8, Boston 1 TOR
Toronto (9-7)
Won 2
April 22, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0
Toronto
4 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 X 8 13 0
Standings thru 4/22/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Youkilis, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .311
Loretta, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .243
Ortiz, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .286
Ramirez, M, LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .270
Harris, CF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .143
Nixon, RF 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .385
Pena, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
Snow, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125
Mohr, CF-LF 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .192
Cora, SS 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .143
Bard, C 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 .286
Totals 32 1 6 1 2 6 11

BATTING
2B: Bard (1, Halladay), Nixon (3, Halladay).
TB: Youkilis; Ramirez, M; Nixon 3; Bard 3.
RBI: Nixon (9).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Loretta 2; Mohr; Ortiz.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: 4 (Snow-Cora-Snow, Loretta-Cora-Snow, Cora-Snow, Bard-Cora).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 2 2 0 1 0 1 .481
Rios, RF 3 0 1 2 0 0 2 .400
Wells, CF 4 1 3 2 0 0 0 .397
Glaus, 3B 4 1 1 2 0 2 3 .305
Molina, C 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .279
Hillenbrand, DH 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .246
Overbay, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .270
Hill, 2B 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 .214
McDonald, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .312
Totals 32 8 13 8 2 3 11

BATTING
2B: Glaus (5, DiNardo), Hill (6, DiNardo).
3B: Wells (1, Van Buren).
HR: Molina (3, 1st inning off DiNardo, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Johnson 2; Rios; Wells 5; Glaus 2; Molina 4; Hillenbrand 2; Hill 3; McDonald.
RBI: Glaus 2 (16), Molina 2 (5), Rios 2 (16), Wells 2 (18).
2-out RBI: Rios.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Glaus; Molina.
SF: Rios.
GIDP: Overbay 2; Rios.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
SB: Johnson (2, 2nd base off Van Buren/Bard), McDonald 2 (2, 2nd base off Van Buren/Bard, 3rd base off Van Buren/Bard).
CS: Hillenbrand (1, 2nd base by DiNardo/Bard).


Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
DiNardo (L, 0-1) 3.0 10 7 7 1 1 1 7.42
Van Buren 3.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 3.00
Seanez 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7.71
Tavarez 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.40

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay (W, 2-1) 5.0 6 1 1 1 2 0 3.60
Downs 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7.15
Walker (S, 1) 3.0 0 0 0 1 3 0 3.24

DiNardo pitched to 2 batters in the 4th.

Pitches-strikes: DiNardo 68-41, Van Buren 54-35, Seanez 8-6, Tavarez 9-6, Halladay 90-56, Downs 15-9, Walker 30-22.
Ground outs-fly outs: DiNardo 5-2, Van Buren 4-4, Seanez 0-2, Tavarez 3-0, Halladay 7-5, Downs 2-0, Walker 2-4.
Batters faced: DiNardo 18, Van Buren 11, Seanez 3, Tavarez 3, Halladay 21, Downs 3, Walker 10.
Inherited runners-scored: Van Buren 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Andy Fletcher. 2B: Mike Reilly. 3B: Jeff Kellogg.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:23.
Att: 34,387.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Didn't get to watch alot of baseball this weekend. Too many other things going on. But whoa, I just noticed that the homeplate umpire's name is Jerry Meals. Coul you imagine if, God forbid, he ever required a wheelchair. He'd be Meals on Wheels!

I think I better stop talking now.

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060425&content_id=1417778&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Gustavo Chacin keeps finding a way. He's the only Toronto starter who still has a flawless record, but the road he's taken to pick up four straight wins has been far from smooth.

In his last three starts, Chacin has given up six home runs -- two per outing. In fact, nine of the 11 runs that the left-hander has allowed in that span have come via the long ball. He's also allowed at least three runs in each of his four trips to the mound this season.

It was the same story during Toronto's 7-3 win over Baltimore on Tuesday at the Rogers Centre. Chacin gave up a pair of moonshots that accounted for all of the Orioles runs, but the Blue Jays' offense strung together a four-run seventh inning to support the Venezuelan southpaw and help him pick up the victory.

"It's not always pretty, but certain guys find a way," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "That was the best I've seen him this year."

Against Baltimore, Chacin (4-0) found a way to improve on his previous performances. He had tallied seven walks versus four strikeouts in his last two starts, but recorded four whiffs and just one walk in seven innings against the Orioles. After the game, Chacin said he was especially proud of that aspect of the outing.

"That was a good game -- a great game," Chacin said. "Maybe it was one of the best games [I've had this year]."

Gibbons said more than once that Chacin looked sharper than he has all season for the Jays (10-8). Part of the reason for that was the way the lefty was using his fastball.

"He had a good two-seam fastball that he was just pounding on the outside part of the plate pretty much at will," Gibbons said. "Successful lefties do that. They lock in on that pitch and go to it any time."

Chacin was able to use his improved control to get out of a few jams against the Orioles (11-10).

In the first inning, Chacin gave up a single to Baltimore's Brian Roberts to lead off the game, and later walked Melvin Mora. He then forced Miguel Tejada to hit into an inning-ending double play. Chacin induced a second double play -- this time from Mora -- to retire the side in the sixth. In the seventh, after yielding a two-run homer to Jay Gibbons, Chacin set down three in a row, including a strikeout to Javy Lopez.

Toronto's skipper was impressed with the way that Chacin was able to maintain his composure after working into those tough situations.

"He's confident. He's got as much confidence as anyone out there. He knows how to win," John Gibbons said. "It comes down to that. He knows how to win, and we win when he's pitching."

Gibbons wasn't kidding, either. Dating back to last season, Toronto has won each of the last seven games that Chacin has taken the hill. This year, the Blue Jays offense has averaged 7.75 runs in each of the contests that the left-hander starts.

"He's in there competing -- keeping it close. That's where we'll keep battling for him," Lyle Overbay said. "But we're going to battle for whomever's out there. We're going to try to score as many runs as we can. It's just, he's kind of been on the good side of it so far.

"He's going to give us his best," he added. "It's just a matter of time for us to score some runs for him and get him comfortable -- get him relaxed out there so he can do what he's supposed to do."

By the time Chacin exited the game after seven innings, Toronto had scored only three runs -- thanks to two RBIs from Overbay and a run-scoring double by Bengie Molina off Baltimore starter Rodrigo Lopez (1-2), who picked up the loss.

At that point, the score was tied, 3-3, because of the homers Chacin gave up to Gibbons and Tejada, who hit a solo shot in the fourth inning.

"[Baltimore] tied the game and I said to myself, 'Just keep the game there -- get it done right here. Make good pitches,'" Chacin said. "That's what I did and we came back."

The Jays came back in the seventh when Vernon Wells took back the lead with an RBI double off Orioles reliever Jim Brower that scored Reed Johnson. Two batters later, Shea Hillenbrand hit a pinch-hit single off John Halama that scored Frank Catalanotto and Wells.

"They have good confidence. These guys hit a lot," said Chacin, referring to Toronto's offense. "They can change the score [fast]. You have to just hold the games -- keep the runs close. That's what I did the last couple times."

It's also what Gibbons expects Chacin to keep doing.

"He's got a knack for winning," Gibbons said. "It's never easy for him out there, but he competes as well as anybody."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20060425&content_id=1417789&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Toronto 7, Baltimore 3 TOR
Toronto (10-8)
Won 1
April 25, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore
0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 6 0
Toronto
1 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 X 7 9 0
Standings thru 4/25/06 | Gameday | Orioles Stats | Blue Jays Stats

Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .316
Conine, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .160
Mora, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250
Tejada, M, SS 3 2 2 1 1 0 2 .434
Gibbons, RF 4 1 2 2 0 1 1 .293
Hernandez, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .354
Lopez, J, DH 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .250
Millar, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .206
Markakis, CF 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .200
Totals 31 3 6 3 2 6 7

BATTING
2B: Gibbons (9, Chacin).
HR: Tejada, M (5, 4th inning off Chacin, 0 on, 2 out), Gibbons (5, 7th inning off Chacin, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Roberts; Conine; Tejada, M 5; Gibbons 6.
RBI: Tejada, M (18), Gibbons 2 (15).
2-out RBI: Tejada, M.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hernandez.
GIDP: Tejada, M; Mora.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
SB: Roberts (7, 2nd base off Chacin/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: (Rodriguez-Tejada, M-Millar).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, RF-LF 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 .438
Catalanotto, LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .421
1-Rios, PR-RF 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .367
Wells, CF 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .387
Glaus, 3B 2 1 1 0 2 0 1 .288
Overbay, 1B 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 .299
a-Hillenbrand, PH-1B 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 .259
Hinske, DH 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 .321
Molina, C 4 0 2 2 0 0 1 .298
Hill, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .203
Adams, SS 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .254
Totals 32 7 9 7 6 4 16

a-Singled for Overbay in the 7th.
1-Ran for Catalanotto in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (5, Lopez, R), Glaus (6, Lopez, R), Molina (2, Lopez, R), Wells (3, Brower).
TB: Johnson; Catalanotto 2; Wells 2; Glaus 2; Overbay 2; Hillenbrand; Molina 3.
RBI: Overbay 2 (11), Molina 2 (7), Wells (19), Hillenbrand 2 (7).
2-out RBI: Overbay; Molina.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hinske; Adams; Hill 2.
GIDP: Rios.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Glaus-Hill-Overbay, Hill-Adams-Overbay).


Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lopez, R (L, 1-2) 6.0 5 4 4 4 4 0 6.97
Brower 0.1 1 3 3 2 0 0 11.45
Halama 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.89
Rodriguez 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.69

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 4-0) 7.0 6 3 3 1 4 2 5.11
Speier 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.90
Schoeneweis 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2.08

Lopez, R pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

IBB: Glaus (by Brower).
Pitches-strikes: Lopez, R 107-58, Brower 20-11, Halama 12-8, Rodriguez 7-5, Chacin 91-61, Speier 11-7, Schoeneweis 18-9.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lopez, R 10-4, Brower 1-0, Halama 2-0, Rodriguez 2-1, Chacin 9-8, Speier 0-2, Schoeneweis 0-2.
Batters faced: Lopez, R 27, Brower 4, Halama 4, Rodriguez 3, Chacin 26, Speier 3, Schoeneweis 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Brower 1-1, Halama 3-2.
Umpires: HP: Tim Welke. 1B: Kerwin Danley. 2B: Gary Cederstrom. 3B: Jim Reynolds.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:31.
Att: 32,257.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060427&content_id=1421778&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The ascent to a Major League mound was a quick one for Toronto's Casey Janssen. The young pitcher stormed his way from the lower tiers of the farm system all the way up to the hill inside the Rogers Centre, where he made his big league debut on Thursday.

While it didn't take Janssen very long to don a Blue Jays jersey, his first outing in "The Show" fell short of storybook material. This time, it was Janssen's pitch count that rose rapidly and forced him out of Toronto's 7-5 loss to Baltimore after just four innings.

Janssen wanted everyone to know afterward that the pitcher that started for Toronto wasn't the one he expected to show up. Blame it on a case of some usual rookie jitters, which took over Janssen from the time he began putting on the home whites to the moment he left the field.

"I was pretty nervous. I've never been this nervous for anything," said Janssen, speaking at his newly appointed locker in Toronto's clubhouse. "I never really got into a comfort zone tonight. It's unbelievable. My heart was pounding from the first pitch until -- it kind of slowed down in the dugout. But right when I got back on the field, it got going again."

Janssen (0-1), who began last season with Class A Lansing, picked up his first decision as a Major Leaguer. Unfortunately for Toronto (11-9), though, the right-hander was pinned with the loss after allowing three runs -- two earned -- on three hits.

The runs Janssen allowed came in the first two innings. Baltimore's Brian Roberts had an RBI single in the second to drive in Corey Patterson, who walked to lead off the inning. The only other pair of runs came during Jannsen's 37-pitch first inning -- thanks to an errant throw by first baseman Shea Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand fielded a grounder from Ramon Hernandez and attempted to force Melvin Mora out at the plate. Instead, the throw was wide and Mora and Miguel Tejada scored easily.

From there on, Janssen improved. After the Roberts' single, the righty gave up just one hit to the last 10 batters he faced.

"You never really know what to expect. He did OK," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He was overthrowing, but that's [something] to be expected. But he hung tough and kept us in there. He'll be a good one -- get that one out of the way and feel like he belongs."

While Gibbons felt the nervousness caused Janssen to overthrow, the rookie disagreed.

"Actually, I really felt like I was underthrowing," Janssen said. "I never got comfortable enough to just air it out."

In the four frames he appeared in, Janssen walked three, hit two batters, and saw his pitch count climb to 95 by the time his night was through. Those are the statistics that caused Janssen to shake his head, as he tried to explain that he doesn't normally pitch that way.

"I'm not that wild. I don't hit guys," said Janssen, who was described as a "strike thrower" by Gibbons before the game. "It's just one of those things that I didn't wish [for], but it happened and I have to move on.

"I was just trying to not throw it to the backstop at times," the right-hander added.

Janssen nearly did that on the first pitch of the game -- a fastball that cruised high and away and nearly got away from catcher Gregg Zaun. Those early nerves were something that Gibbons said he expected. The manager feels Janssen has the composure to put the outing behind him as he moves ahead as the starter filling in for the injured A.J. Burnett.

"If you're not a little wide-eyed and nervous, then there's something wrong with you," Gibbons said. "But he hung tough. He didn't cave in. He battled and that's what you're looking for."

"He was a little high-strung starting the game off," Gibbons added. "But he stayed aggressive and he didn't back down. He'll get another shot at it."

When Janssen gets that second shot, he'll be facing the Orioles again. Not only that, he'll get to duel once more with Baltimore's Kris Benson (2-1), who quieted Toronto's potent offense, which entered Thursday's game averaging more than six runs per game.

Benson -- seven years Janssen's elder (in Major League years) -- turned in a solid outing and allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings for the Orioles (12-11). After the second inning, the righty only yielded one hit and retired the last 11 batters he faced.

The Blue Jays nearly saved Janssen's from picking up the loss with a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Toronto had already scored three runs off Baltimore closer Chris Ray when Troy Glaus stepped to the plate -- representing the game-winning run with two on and two outs. Glaus grounded out to end the game, though. That was the second time in the game that the Jays squandered a bases-loaded opportunity.

"Five runs is tough to overcome, especially against that closer," Gibbons said. "We had a shot. We brought Glaus to the plate and I was thinking he might walk him off there. But we battled. You can't expect your offense to do it every night. You've got to pitch, too."

Next time, Janssen probably won't be as nervous.

"The first one is in the past now," Janssen said. "Hopefully, I can just move on and just pitch again."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

BoxScore: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_04_27_balmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Baltimore 7, Toronto 5 TOR
Toronto (11-9)
Lost 1
April 27, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore
2 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 7 11 0
Toronto
0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 6 3
Standings thru 4/27/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Roberts, 2B 4 1 2 1 1 0 0 .333
Mora, 3B 4 2 2 0 1 0 4 .264
Tejada, M, SS 5 1 2 1 0 1 5 .424
Gibbons, RF 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 .292
Terrero, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
Hernandez, C 5 1 1 2 0 0 2 .329
Lopez, J, DH 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .221
Patterson, CF 4 1 3 2 1 1 0 .222
Conine, 1B 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .169
Markakis, LF-RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .189
Totals 39 7 11 6 3 5 24

BATTING
2B: Roberts (8, Walker), Hernandez (6, Frasor), Patterson (1, Frasor).
TB: Roberts 3; Mora 2; Tejada, M 2; Gibbons; Hernandez 2; Patterson 4.
RBI: Hernandez 2 (16), Roberts (12), Tejada, M (19), Patterson 2 (6).
2-out RBI: Patterson 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Tejada, M; Mora; Conine; Terrero.
GIDP: Lopez, J.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Patterson 2 (6, 2nd base off Janssen/Zaun, 2nd base off Janssen/Zaun).

FIELDING
PB: Hernandez (4).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 0 1 2 1 0 .390
Rios, RF 4 0 0 1 0 1 1 .368
Wells, CF 5 0 2 1 0 1 0 .400
Glaus, 3B 4 1 0 0 1 0 4 .267
Overbay, DH 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .278
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 .318
Zaun, C 2 1 1 1 2 0 0 .292
Adams, SS 3 0 0 1 0 2 5 .242
McDonald, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 .273
a-Hinske, PH 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .321
Totals 31 5 6 5 7 5 17

a-Walked for McDonald in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Hillenbrand (3, Ray).
TB: Wells 2; Hillenbrand 4; Zaun.
RBI: Zaun (8), Adams (7), Catalanotto (7), Rios (19), Wells (23).
2-out RBI: Wells.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: McDonald 3; Overbay 2; Glaus.
SF: Adams; Rios.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand 2 (2, throw, fielding), Walker (1, pickoff).
DP: (Adams-McDonald-Hillenbrand).


Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Benson (W, 3-2) 7.0 3 2 2 3 4 0 3.45
Hawkins 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.48
Ray 1.0 2 3 3 3 1 0 2.89

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Janssen (L, 0-1) 4.0 3 3 2 3 0 0 4.50
Walker 2.1 3 2 2 0 4 0 4.22
Frasor 1.2 4 2 2 0 1 0 10.24
Chulk 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.63

WP: Janssen.
IBB: Roberts (by Janssen).
HBP: Gibbons (by Janssen), Markakis (by Janssen).
Pitches-strikes: Benson 105-58, Hawkins 21-12, Ray 34-18, Janssen 95-62, Walker 33-21, Frasor 43-27, Chulk 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Benson 9-8, Hawkins 2-1, Ray 1-1, Janssen 6-6, Walker 2-1, Frasor 1-3, Chulk 2-1.
Batters faced: Benson 27, Hawkins 5, Ray 8, Janssen 20, Walker 10, Frasor 10, Chulk 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Frasor 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Gary Cederstrom. 1B: Jim Reynolds. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Kerwin Danley.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 3:12.
Att: 18,756.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060501&content_id=1427595&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

BALTIMORE -- Just before Toronto was scheduled to be on the field at Camden Yards for its pregame batting practice on Monday, the hitters assembled inside the visitor's clubhouse for a meeting. Whatever words the hitters shared appeared to carry over to the field, where Toronto outslugged Baltimore, 9-7, behind Troy Glaus' two home runs.

Glaus, who was acquired in a trade with Arizona in December, may be one of the new faces on the team this season, but he's a veteran who's willing to take on a leadership role -- something he may have displayed inside the clubhouse.

"When I first got called up [with the Angels], there were a lot of veterans around and they taught you the right way to play -- how you're expected to handle yourself and manage the game," Glaus said. "That's what I try to talk about. It's a team game and there's different ways to win ball games."

The two moonshots that Glaus provided paved the way for Toronto's latest victory. The third baseman's second shot -- his eighth of the season -- came on a 2-0 offering from Baltimore reliever LaTroy Hawkins. With Toronto trailing 3-2, Glaus sent the pitch over the 25-foot wall in right field for a three-run blast.

His 4-for-5 showing also helped snap a two-week long slump. Entering Monday's game, Glaus had hit just .154 since April 18 and saw his average drop from .348 to .259. The solo homer that he hit off Baltimore starter Erik Bedard in the second inning was his first in 10 days.

"I got a couple pitches up and I was able to take advantage of it," Glaus said. "It's just one of those days. I was able to find some holes and hit some balls on the barrel, which was nice. It's been a while."

Glaus came a few feet shy of having three home runs in the sixth inning, when he sent another pitch from Bedard off the wall in left-center field. He later scored when Shea Hillenbrand chipped in an RBI single. Glaus added a ground-rule double in the ninth, and finished the day with four RBIs.

"He's played long enough that he knows he's very capable of breaking out of [a slump]," said Toronto starter Ted Lilly, who picked up the win. "That comes from experience and success, and being a veteran, and knowing that you can work your way out of a little skid."

Glaus' second blast put the Blue Jays (13-11) ahead for good, but a four-run ninth inning -- highlighted by a three-run homer from Lyle Overbay -- helped seal the victory for Lilly (3-1), who only allowed two hits to the last 25 batters he faced.

One of those hits was a solo home run given up to catcher Ramon Hernandez in the third inning for Baltimore (13-14). Hernandez also had an RBI single off Lilly in the opening frame, in which Baltimore scored two runs -- one earned -- off the left-hander. Lilly struck out four and gave up four hits in 7 2/3 innings.

"It was great to see that Teddy stuck around and pitched as well as he did after a slow start," Glaus said. "That was great to see and he gave us a chance. He gave us six or seven innings of at-bats for us to fight back and get him on the winning side."

Toronto needed all the extra offense they could get, because the bullpen narrowly escaped the ninth inning despite heading into the frame with a 9-3 lead.

Toronto relievers Scott Schoeneweis and Brian Tallet combined to give up four runs in the ninth -- capped off by Miguel Tejada's two-run homer off Tallet that cut Toronto's lead to 9-7. Toronto manager John Gibbons then called in Jays closer B.J. Ryan, who entered the game with one out remaining and struck out Jay Gibbons to seal the win for Toronto.

"[Baltimore] can get as many [runs] as they want when you know you have B.J. down there for one out," Gibbons said. "You've got a good feeling."

Gibbons said he also gets that good feeling every time Glaus comes to the plate.

"He's just a threat when he stands in the box and it was a perfect example tonight. He can go deep," Gibbons said. "That's what we brought him over here for -- to drive the ball and give us that big presense in the middle of that lineup."

And also a presence in the clubhouse.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_01_tormlb_balmlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 9, Baltimore 7 BAL
Baltimore (13-14)
Lost 3
May 1, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 9 16 1
Baltimore
2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 9 0
Standings thru 5/1/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .357
a-Catalanotto, PH-LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .388
Rios, RF 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .365
Wells, CF 4 2 1 0 1 1 3 .390
Glaus, 3B 5 4 4 4 0 0 0 .289
Molina, C 4 0 2 0 1 1 3 .290
Hillenbrand, DH 4 1 3 2 1 0 1 .350
Overbay, 1B 4 1 1 3 1 0 4 .274
Hill, 2B 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 .195
McDonald, SS 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .258
Totals 41 9 16 9 5 4 20

a-Flied out for Johnson in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Glaus 2 (9, Bedard, Halama).
HR: Glaus 2 (8, 2nd inning off Bedard, 0 on, 0 out; 7th inning off Hawkins, 2 on, 1 out), Overbay (3, 9th inning off Brower, 2 on, 1 out).
TB: Rios 2; Wells; Glaus 12; Molina 2; Hillenbrand 3; Overbay 4; Hill; McDonald 2.
RBI: Glaus 4 (22), Hillenbrand 2 (14), Overbay 3 (14).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wells 2; McDonald.
GIDP: Overbay.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Glaus (2, throw).


Baltimore AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Patterson, CF 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .278
Mora, 3B 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 .278
Tejada, M, DH 5 2 1 2 0 0 1 .411
Gibbons, RF 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 .283
Hernandez, C 4 1 3 2 0 0 0 .333
Conine, 1B 3 0 1 1 1 2 1 .222
Markakis, LF 3 0 1 0 0 1 4 .188
a-Terrero, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Gomez, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 0 5 .227
Fahey, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286
b-Chavez, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143
Totals 37 7 9 7 3 6 14

a-Flied out for Markakis in the 9th. b-Grounded out for Fahey in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Markakis (2, Lilly).
HR: Hernandez (3, 3rd inning off Lilly, 0 on, 2 out), Tejada, M (7, 9th inning off Tallet, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Patterson; Mora; Tejada, M 4; Gibbons; Hernandez 6; Conine; Markakis 2.
RBI: Hernandez 2 (18), Conine (11), Patterson (11), Mora (13), Tejada, M 2 (23).
2-out RBI: Hernandez; Patterson; Mora; Tejada, M 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gomez 2; Patterson.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
PB: Hernandez (5).
DP: 2 (Fahey-Gomez-Conine, Fahey-Gomez).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (W, 3-1) 7.2 5 3 2 2 4 1 3.33
Speier (H, 3) 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.82
Schoeneweis 0.2 2 3 3 1 0 0 6.10
Tallet 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 9.00
Ryan (S, 5) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bedard 6.0 7 2 2 3 2 1 3.58
Hawkins (BS, 2)(L, 0-1) 0.1 3 3 3 0 0 1 4.97
Halama 1.2 3 2 2 2 1 0 4.09
Brower 1.0 3 2 2 0 1 1 13.86

Tallet pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.
Halama pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

WP: Bedard.
Pitches-strikes: Lilly 116-77, Speier 8-7, Schoeneweis 22-9, Tallet 1-1, Ryan 4-3, Bedard 105-67, Hawkins 15-8, Halama 35-18, Brower 20-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lilly 10-9, Speier 0-0, Schoeneweis 1-1, Tallet 0-0, Ryan 0-0, Bedard 8-8, Hawkins 0-1, Halama 2-2, Brower 1-1.
Batters faced: Lilly 31, Speier 2, Schoeneweis 5, Tallet 1, Ryan 1, Bedard 27, Hawkins 4, Halama 9, Brower 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Tallet 1-1, Brower 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Tony Randazzo. 1B: Jim Wolf. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Ed Rapuano.
Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, R to L.
T: 3:12.
Att: 14,315.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Brad Chadford]

Great finish to the game in Fenway last night! The last inning and a half was intense! Big test for BJ too - getting Big Papi, Manny & Varitek out in the 9th with a 1 run lead.

It's funny how Hinske always looks surprised when he makes a good play in the field.

Hopefully our luck can carry over for tonights game with Towers pitching. He's gotta win a game one of these times, doesn't he?

[Big_Mac]

It's funny how Hinske always looks surprised when he makes a good play in the field.


same look that he gets from everyone watching :)

wow, bj had a tough save last night. after zaun's throwing error, to come back with a pitch like that to varitek was amazing. hope we can close it out tonight

[Chris from NY]

It's funny how Hinske always looks surprised when he makes a good play in the field.

Doesn't matter much to me what he looks like when he makes good plays in the field just aslong as he makes enough of 'em. Then again I'm just happy when he doesn't look like an idiot.

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060504&content_id=1437461&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

BOSTON -- Josh Towers was hoping that May meant a fresh start. Instead, it was more of the same.

The same issues that plagued Toronto's struggling starter during a winless April were at the root of his problems during Thursday's 7-4 loss to Boston at Fenway Park. Most of Towers' woes have stemmed from hefty piles of runs being spotted in the opening innings, and that unfortunate trend persisted against the Red Sox in the first frame.

Towers gave up five runs before the first three outs were recorded and then allowed a two-run home run in the sixth inning that dug a hole too deep for the Blue Jays' offense to overcome. Toronto is hoping Towers will be able to overcome the hole he has created for himself.

"He's about as low as he can go right now. He's got to go up," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "You feel for him. You love everything about the way the guy goes about his business. He's just in a rut."

The current slump has been prolonged mainly due to the early runs teams are scoring against Towers. In his last five outings, Towers has given up 25 runs over 21 2/3 innings. Of those runs, 22 have come in the first or second inning. On Thursday, Boston used four hits in the opening frame to put up the early five-spot.

Towers (0-6) doesn't have an explanation for why teams have been so successful against him at the start of his outings. Asked if he thought about altering his between-game routine, an obviously frustrated Towers admitted that he's running out of ideas on what else he could possibly try.

"We've tried to do everything, if you want to know the truth," Towers said. "We've worked on a shortened delivery, trying to get the hand up, trying to get depth on the ball, mixing up the different sequences -- we've tried a little bit of everything. Maybe we just have to forget about it and go back to basics."

Despite the continuous problems, Gibbons said he isn't about to bail on Towers. Last year, the right-hander tied for the team high with 13 wins and was a major reason why the starting rotation didn't collapse under the weight of multiple injuries.

"Let's face it. We need him. We're going to keep running him out there, because it's going to happen," Gibbons said. "When it hurts him, it hurts you, too, because you know what kind of guy he is."

Towers' struggles for Toronto (14-13) and growing frustration aren't just affecting Gibbons, but some of the pitcher's teammates are having a hard time with it, too -- especially Toronto's new catcher.

"It's a very tough thing, what he is going through right now -- what we are [going through]," catcher Bengie Molina said. "The way he is going, I'm going, too. I think all those outings, I couldn't call a game for him, probably. I couldn't help that much. I don't know. He's not throwing well, but, at the same time, I'm probably not helping him."

A missed opportunity in the first inning against Boston (16-12) didn't help Towers much, either. Towers might have escaped the frame had a potential inning-ending double play been turned successfully.

After allowing a double to Mark Loretta and loading the bases with walks to David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, Towers induced a ground ball to first base from Trot Nixon. Shea Hillenbrand dove to his right, gloved the ball and forced Ramirez out at second. But Jays shortstop Russ Adams was unable to get the ball out of his glove in time to fire the ball back to first base for the inning's final out.

"It was close," Gibbons said. "We turn that double play there, maybe he gets out of the inning. You never know."

The next batter, Boston catcher Jason Varitek, launched an offering from Towers to deep right field that bounced off the wall to score another run. From there, Towers gave up a two-run double to Mike Lowell and an RBI single to Wily Mo Pena.

In 5 2/3 innings, Towers finished with seven runs allowed on 11 hits, including a two-run home run by Kevin Youkilis in the sixth inning that sailed over the 37-foot-tall Green Monster in left field. That was the hit that caused the most regret for Towers.

"The frustrating part was the two-run homer to Youkilis because, now, it basically puts the game out of reach," Towers said. "You saw the way we battled back and made it a game."

Troy Glaus hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning and Eric Hinske belted a solo shot in the ninth to cut Toronto's deficit to 7-4. With two runners on and two outs, though, Vernon Wells -- representing the tying run -- grounded out to Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to end the game.

When Gibbons walked out to the mound to remove Towers from the game, he shared a few words with the right-hander. Gibbons wanted to have Towers focus on the good aspect of his outing -- the fact that he only allowed two runs in the last 4 2/3 innings he turned in.

Towers can't help but focus on what has caused the majority of his struggles, though.

"He wants me to not really worry about the five-run inning and take the positive on just giving up two in the next five after that," Towers said. "With that said, I think I have to focus on the five-run inning, because if it wasn't for those, we'd be winning these games."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Boxscore: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_04_tormlb_bosmlb_1&c_id=tor

Boston 7, Toronto 4 BOS
Boston (16-12)
Won 1
May 4, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 8 0
Boston
5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 X 7 12 0
Standings thru 5/4/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .207
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .356
Wells, CF 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 .375
Glaus, 3B 3 2 1 2 1 1 1 .267
Overbay, DH 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 .302
Hillenbrand, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .330
Molina, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .300
Hinske, RF 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .351
Hill, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .196
Totals 35 4 8 4 4 5 12

BATTING
2B: Overbay (4, Clement), Hinske (1, Foulke), Wells (5, Seanez).
HR: Glaus (9, 8th inning off Seanez, 1 on, 1 out), Hinske (1, 9th inning off Tavarez, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Catalanotto; Wells 2; Glaus 4; Overbay 2; Molina; Hinske 6; Hill.
RBI: Overbay (16), Glaus 2 (24), Hinske (4).
2-out RBI: Overbay.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Adams; Wells.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
DP: (Hillenbrand).


Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Youkilis, 1B 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 .303
Loretta, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 0 3 .217
Ortiz, DH 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 .275
Ramirez, M, LF 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .299
Nixon, RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 .306
Varitek, C 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .259
Lowell, 3B 4 2 2 2 0 0 1 .333
Pena, CF 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .322
1-Harris, PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .067
Gonzalez, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .184
Totals 35 7 12 7 2 4 15


1-Ran for Pena in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Loretta (6, Towers), Varitek (5, Towers), Lowell 2 (13, Towers, Towers).
HR: Youkilis (2, 6th inning off Towers, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Youkilis 6; Loretta 3; Nixon; Varitek 2; Lowell 4; Pena 2; Gonzalez.
RBI: Nixon (14), Varitek (10), Lowell 2 (16), Pena (10), Youkilis 2 (16).
2-out RBI: Varitek; Lowell 2; Pena; Youkilis 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ortiz; Youkilis.
Team LOB: 6.


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 0-6) 5.2 11 7 7 2 2 1 10.59
Downs 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.65
Walker 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.97

Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Clement (W, 3-2) 6.0 2 1 1 4 3 0 5.35
Foulke 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.26
Seanez 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 1 9.58
Tavarez 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 1 5.79
Papelbon (S, 11) 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.53

Balk: Walker.
IBB: Ortiz (by Towers).
Pitches-strikes: Towers 89-59, Downs 18-11, Walker 12-7, Clement 105-58, Foulke 15-10, Seanez 15-9, Tavarez 8-6, Papelbon 17-14.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 3-12, Downs 1-1, Walker 1-2, Clement 6-9, Foulke 0-3, Seanez 1-1, Tavarez 0-1, Papelbon 1-0.
Batters faced: Towers 29, Downs 4, Walker 4, Clement 24, Foulke 4, Seanez 5, Tavarez 3, Papelbon 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Downs 1-0, Papelbon 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B: Sam Holbrook. 2B: Randy Marsh. 3B: Angel Hernandez.
Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 8 mph, In from RF.
T: 2:52.
Att: 36,396.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060505&content_id=1438988&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Following a disappointing road trip, the Blue Jays looked towards their high-powered offense to help right the ship. The bats didn't disappoint.

Toronto banged out 17 hits, including nine through the first five innings, and Frank Catalanotto and Russ Adams each hit home runs in a 13-3 rout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday night at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays, coming off a 3-4 stretch away from home, won for only the third time in the last seven games.

Toronto has had trouble finding consistency in their pitching this season, especially out of the bullpen. But when all else fails, the offense seems to always be there.

"That's the one thing that has been pretty constant for us," said Catalanotto, who had two hits and two runs in the game. "It's fun. There's a lot of guys in the lineup that are having really good years, and everyone has a good plan at the plate."

The Blue Jays began the bombing early, plating a couple of runs in the first inning off Angels starter Ervin Santana (2-1). A Vernon Wells RBI double and a Troy Glaus sacrifice fly had Toronto up 2-0 before many in the crowd had settled in.

From there, the onslaught never stopped. By the time the night was over, the Blue Jays had tied their season high in runs, and came up one short of their season-high in hits.

"One through nine, guys get good at bats," Catalanotto said. "We have a lot of smart hitters on this team. You know that if you don't get the job done, the guy behind you will get the job done."

Toronto has now scored eight or more runs in 10 of their 28 games, and has reached double-figures in runs three times.

"We've been doing it all year," general manager John Gibbons said. "Our offense has been hot."

The high-octane helped Blue Jays starter Gustavo Chacin (5-1) settle in quickly. Chacin bounced back solidly after losing his first start on Sunday against the New York Yankees, scattering six hits in 5 1/3 innings against a potent Angels lineup.

"The offense gave me a chance to get going," the southpaw said. "We got that lead in the first inning and that helped. It was a great game."

Chacin was nearly flawless through the first five innings, allowing just three hits before being touched for two runs in the sixth. Reliever Dustin McGowan relieved Chacin with two men on and one out, and walked the bases loaded before getting out of the jam by inducing Tommy Murphy to pop out.

"He came in at a turning point of the game and did a good job," Gibbons said about McGowan. "That's what he's here for: to get over those innings."

Up, 3-0, Toronto broke the game open with a three-run fifth inning, highlighted by Shea Hillenbrand's two-run triple. Hillenbrand's drive went past the outstretched arm of Murphy in center field and all the way to the wall, scoring Glaus and Lyle Overbay.

An inning later, Catalanotto clubbed his third homer of the year, a two-run shot, to right field to make the score 8-2. Adams pushed the lead to 11-2 after connecting on a three-run blast, his second of the year, in the seventh.

Adams, who came into the game batting a mere .207, was 2-for-2 with a double and four RBIs.

"It wasn't like I was pushing the panic button, it was just missing a pitch here and missing a pitch there," Adams said. "A weeks worth of not getting a hit will throw your average into the gutter this early in the season. I've just been trying to stay focused and do what I can to get better and try and let the game come to me."

"You knew it was just a matter of time because he's produced before at this level," Gibbons said about his slumping shortstop. "His timing has been off a bit. Maybe tonight will jump start him."

The Blue Jays polished off the fireworks by scoring two more runs in the eighth.

"It was nice for the bats to come out and score a lot of runs," Catalanotto said. "Hopefully we can build on this and keep it going."

Santana allowed six runs on nine hits in just four innings of work for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Bob Matuszak is a contibutor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_05_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 13, LA Angels 3 TOR
Toronto (15-13)
Won 1
May 5, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 9 0
Toronto
2 0 0 1 3 2 3 2 X 13 17 0
Standings thru 5/5/06 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, LF 5 1 2 0 0 1 0 .293
Cabrera, SS 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .282
Anderson, DH 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .283
Guerrero, RF 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .336
b-Quinlan, PH-RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .296
Kendrick, H, 1B 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 .188
Alfonzo, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .125
Molina, C 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .155
a-Kotchman, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .164
Napoli, M, C 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .400
Murphy, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 6 .375
Kennedy, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .308
Totals 35 3 9 3 2 7 16

a-Walked for Molina in the 6th. b-Grounded out for Guerrero in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Alfonzo (1, Chacin), Murphy (1, Chacin), Cabrera (9, Chacin), Guerrero (1, Chacin), Figgins (7, Downs), Napoli, M (1, Walker).
TB: Figgins 3; Cabrera 2; Guerrero 3; Kendrick, H; Alfonzo 2; Napoli, M 2; Murphy 2.
RBI: Cabrera (20), Guerrero (27), Napoli, M (2).
2-out RBI: Napoli, M.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Murphy 5; Kennedy; Anderson.
GIDP: Kendrick, H.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
PB: Napoli, M (1).
Outfield assists: Murphy (Rios at home).
DP: 2 (Murphy-Molina, Alfonzo-Kennedy-Kendrick, H).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 4 2 3 1 1 0 0 .402
Catalanotto, LF 3 2 2 2 1 0 2 .371
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .341
Wells, CF 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 .376
Glaus, 3B 4 2 3 1 0 0 0 .286
Overbay, 1B 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 .300
Hillenbrand, DH 4 2 3 2 1 0 1 .347
Molina, C 4 1 1 0 0 3 5 .297
Adams, SS 2 2 2 4 1 0 0 .226
McDonald, SS 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .242
Hill, 2B 5 0 0 0 0 1 5 .186
Totals 37 13 17 12 5 7 19

BATTING
2B: Wells (6, Santana), Adams (5, Santana).
3B: Hillenbrand (1, Santana).
HR: Catalanotto (3, 6th inning off Yan, 1 on, 0 out), Adams (2, 7th inning off Yan, 2 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios 3; Catalanotto 5; Wells 3; Glaus 3; Overbay; Hillenbrand 5; Molina; Adams 6.
RBI: Wells (26), Glaus (25), Rios (22), Hillenbrand 2 (18), Adams 4 (12), Catalanotto 2 (12), Overbay (17).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Catalanotto; Molina; Hill 2.
SF: Glaus; Adams.
GIDP: Hill.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (2, 2nd base off Santana/Molina).

FIELDING
PB: Molina (3).
DP: (Adams-Hill-Overbay).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Santana (L, 2-1) 4.0 9 6 6 4 4 0 4.84
Yan 3.0 4 5 5 1 1 2 6.32
Romero 1.0 4 2 2 0 2 0 7.71

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 5-1) 5.1 6 2 2 1 3 0 4.50
McGowan (H, 1) 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 7.36
Downs 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.28
Walker 2.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 4.91

Santana pitched to 4 batters in the 5th.

WP: Romero.
HBP: Molina (by Santana), Kendrick, H (by Chacin).
Pitches-strikes: Santana 89-54, Yan 46-31, Romero 20-13, Chacin 91-59, McGowan 13-7, Downs 11-10, Walker 29-22.
Ground outs-fly outs: Santana 2-6, Yan 5-3, Romero 0-1, Chacin 5-8, McGowan 0-1, Downs 0-2, Walker 4-0.
Batters faced: Santana 25, Yan 13, Romero 7, Chacin 23, McGowan 3, Downs 4, Walker 8.
Inherited runners-scored: Yan 2-1, McGowan 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Alfonso Marquez. 1B: Rob Drake. 2B: Larry Young. 3B: Mike Everitt.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:50.
Att: 22,227.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Tough to see Ted take the loss today, he pitched great.

[Reed Johnson]

Jays should have had this one. Lilly pitched amazing and once again Boston and New York won! :(

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060506&content_id=1440349&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Ted Lilly sat in Toronto's dugout, watching the performance of Angels starter Kelvim Escobar, and he knew it was going to be difficult to pick up a win.

Lilly turned in another strong outing, continuing to be one of the strong points of the Blue Jays' starting rotation. But Escobar mowed through Toronto's lineup with ease, handing the Jays a 3-0 defeat on Saturday at the Rogers Centre.

"I definitely was sitting there in the third or fourth inning with the understanding that I'm going to really need to pitch my tail off and keep it close," Lilly said. "Those are fun games to pitch in. I definitely enjoy that, but I'd like to come out on the other end."

The loss was the first for Lilly (3-2) in three starts. In his last five trips to the mound, he's lasted at least five innings and has allowed two runs or fewer. That trend continued against Los Angeles, but he still wound up on the wrong side of the decision. Lilly allowed the pair of runs on five hits, and he struck out six in seven innings for the Jays (15-14).

"I feel like any time I go out there and give us seven innings and keep it to three runs or less, I like our chances," Lilly said. "It's going to be difficult to hold down this offense like [Escobar] did today. Throughout the course of the season, I'll be surprised if you see that very often."

The Angels struggled to break through against Lilly, but the little success they did have against the southpaw was enough to pick up a shutout win -- the first time Toronto was blanked since June 14 of last season.

In the fourth inning, Tim Salmon deposited a misplaced sinker from Lilly over the left-field wall for a solo home run. That one errant pitch proved to be the difference in the end.

"That was a sinker that I just left over the middle," Lilly said. "[Salmon] kind of leans out over [the plate] and looks to hook [the ball]. Just throwing that pitch to him, there's not a lot of room for error."

In the sixth inning, Lilly walked Orlando Cabrera and Salmon before Robb Quinlan pulled a pitch into left for an RBI single. That was all the run support that Escobar needed to work with.

"[Lilly] did good. He did great. He mixed a lot of pitches up in the zone," said Toronto catcher Bengie Molina, who spent eight season with the Angels. "The fastball inside was working very good. He left a couple pitches -- mistakes -- but that's going to happen. We just have to come back and score runs, and we didn't today."

Escobar (4-2) tamed a Toronto offense that scored 13 runs on 17 hits against the Angels (14-17) on Friday night. The right-hander allowed just one hit to the first 18 batters he faced and only three total when he exited the game after 6 2/3 innings. The former Blue Jay struck out six in the victory.

"He was awesome. That's all there was to it. When he's on, he's on," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's one of the top ones out there. What makes him so tough is [that] he'll fall behind, and he doesn't just throw that fastball. He'll throw that [split-finger fastball]. He's got such good command of that thing."

Molina, who caught Escobar for two years with the Angels, said that was probably the best he's ever seen the right-hander pitch.

"That's as good as he can probably get right there," Molina said. "I knew he could pitch. I knew he can throw the ball. He mixed it up pretty good. I was ready, but nothing came out today."

The Angels were forced to pull Escobar from the game in the seventh inning, when a ground ball by Shea Hillenbrand bounced off the pitcher's right leg and into foul territory beyond the first-base line. That presented a prime scoring opportunity: runners on first and second with two outs for Molina.

Angels reliever Scot Shields entered the game and forced a deep fly out to center field from Molina, who initially thought that he may have scored a three-run home run. Shields threw him a pitch that he wasn't expecting, though, and it caught him off guard.

"As soon as I hit it, I thought it was going out, but a little bit later I saw that it was going up instead of on a line. I said, 'No chance,'" Molina said. "I was actually sitting on sinkers away, because he likes to get ahead [in the count]. He threw a curveball. It kind of surprised me a little bit."

The out proved to be the last good scoring chance that Toronto would get. Shields turned in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez picked up his ninth save of the season after shutting the door in the final frame.

"It came down to [the fact that] Escobar was awesome. Ted was very good, too, but they had that big home run by Salmon," Gibbons said. "That's what great pitching will do to you. Their team, too -- you don't want to get to their bullpen, because they're so strong down there."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_06_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

LA Angels 3, Toronto 0 TOR
Toronto (15-14)
Lost 1
May 6, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 6 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Standings thru 5/6/06 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, LF 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .281
Cabrera, SS 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 .277
Guerrero, DH 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .333
Salmon, RF 3 1 2 1 1 0 1 .274
Kotchman, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .164
Quinlan, 1B-RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .290
Alfonzo, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .114
Kendrick, H, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .150
Napoli, M, C 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .375
Murphy, CF 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .364
Totals 32 3 6 3 5 7 15

BATTING
2B: Guerrero (2, Speier).
HR: Salmon (4, 4th inning off Lilly, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Guerrero 2; Salmon 5; Quinlan; Napoli, M; Murphy.
RBI: Salmon (6), Quinlan (2), Guerrero (28).
2-out RBI: Quinlan.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cabrera; Alfonzo 2; Figgins 2.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Murphy (1, 2nd base off Rosario/Molina), Cabrera (7, 2nd base off Lilly/Molina).
CS: Quinlan (1, 2nd base by Lilly/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Napoli, M-Kendrick, H, Cabrera-Kendrick, H-Kotchman).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .396
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .364
Wells, CF 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .367
Glaus, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .275
Overbay, 1B 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
Hillenbrand, DH 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .357
Molina, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .286
Adams, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .218
Hill, 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
a-Hinske, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .342
McDonald, 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242
Totals 29 0 4 0 2 6 6

a-Flied out for Hill in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Rios (10, Escobar).
TB: Rios 2; Catalanotto; Hillenbrand 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Catalanotto; Molina.
GIDP: Wells.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
CS: Wells (3, 2nd base by Escobar/Napoli, M).

FIELDING
DP: (Molina-Hill).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Escobar (W, 4-2) 6.2 3 0 0 2 6 0 2.78
Shields (H, 8) 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.02
Rodriguez (S, 9) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.84

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (L, 3-2) 7.0 5 2 2 3 6 1 3.18
Speier 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1.42
Rosario 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00

WP: Escobar.
IBB: Salmon (by Lilly).
Pitches-strikes: Escobar 93-57, Shields 7-5, Rodriguez 10-6, Lilly 106-65, Speier 16-10, Rosario 18-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Escobar 7-6, Shields 2-2, Rodriguez 2-1, Lilly 4-10, Speier 1-2, Rosario 0-2.
Batters faced: Escobar 24, Shields 4, Rodriguez 3, Lilly 28, Speier 5, Rosario 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Shields 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Rob Drake. 1B: Larry Young. 2B: Mike Everitt. 3B: Alfonso Marquez.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:26.
Att: 29,761.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Big_Mac]

tough game for us, offense decided not to show up today. be a good game this afternoon!

[Reed Johnson]

congrats Casey Janssen!!

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060507&content_id=1441934&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- While Casey Janssen took on the Angels at Rogers Centre, members of his family were catching the game on TV back in California. His relatives at home in Orange County probably found it odd to be cheering for the Blue Jays, but that was nothing campared to how Toronto's rookie felt -- standing on the mound, facing the team he grew up watching.

"It was kind of special to pitch against them. It's a weird feeling, but it's a cool feeling," Janssen said. "The game was televised locally. They were all with me in spirit."

Janssen didn't disappoint his fans -- at least those who weren't hoping for an Angels win. The 24-year-old pitcher held the Halos to just one hit to lead Toronto to a 3-1 win on Sunday. After the game, Janssen was treated to the age-old baseball tradition of having a towel filled with shaving cream rubbed in his face -- a celebration of his first Major League victory.

"This is pretty exciting," said a smiling Janssen. "You wait a long time to get your first big-league win and it's pretty exciting and pretty special. Hopefully, there's many more to come."

Toronto (16-14) is hoping there's at least more to come while he continues to fill in for injured starter A.J. Burnett. Entering Sunday, the only Jays' starters with wins were Roy Halladay, Gustavo Chacin and Ted Lilly. Janssen's victory was the first of the year from either of the rotation's other two spots, which had gone 0-9 until he blanked the Angels.

"You lose A.J. and to have Casey come up and fill his spot -- if we're going to contend in this division, we're going to need to get wins out of that spot," Toronto's Frank Catalanotto said. "Casey has proven he can do it for us."

Ever since the rookie was called up to join Toronto's staff, he's been trying to get comfortable. In his Major League debut on April 27, Janssen battled a heavy case of nerves and gave up three runs in four innings. In his second start, a handful of costly mistakes on the road against Baltimore spoiled an otherwise decent outing and resulted in five runs in six innings.

On Sunday, the jitters were gone and the mistakes weren't there. Janssen (1-2) didn't allow a hit to the first 18 batters he faced and finished the game with three strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. Both he and Angels starter John Lackey carried no-hitters into the fifth inning, but that's something that Janssen said he wasn't focussing on.

"It was still a little too early to start thinking about it," Janssen said. "I try and stay away from the scoreboard. You can't get caught up in that stuff. Both myself and Lackey were putting up zeroes and it was pretty competitive."

It was the type of performance that Toronto manager John Gibbons is sure Janssen will look back on for years to come.

"That's one he'll never forget. That's what he's capable of," Gibbons said. "He needed that. He was 0-2 and pitched better than that indicated. He ought to be proud of himself."

The only hitter to tarnish Janssen's bid for a no-hitter was Chone Figgins, who recorded a single up the middle in the sixth inning for the Angels (14-18). After that, Janssen didn't allow another hit to the last seven batters he faced.

"I got in a groove and got on the same page with [catcher Bengie Molina]," Janssen said. "This was my style of pitching -- getting my ground balls and getting a couple strikeouts here and there, but, for the most part, I'm a contact guy and let them get themselves out."

Toronto (16-14) had just enough offense to seal the win for Janssen. With two outs in the sixth inning, Catalanotto sliced a double down the left-field line to score Russ Adams -- breaking up the scoreless pitcher's duel that Janssen and Lackey were turning in.

"In those games, the low scoring games, you like to get those wins," Catalanotto said. "To get it for Casey -- his first Major League win -- it's big. I'm sure it's big for him. It'll pump him up and hopefully he'll get on a roll."

With one out in the eighth inning, the Angels' Howie Kendrick reached on an error by Adams. Toronto's skipper then turned the game over to closer B.J. Ryan, who allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings to pick up his seventh save of the season.

Lackey (3-3) also turned in an impressive performance. The right-hander was perfect through 4 2/3 innings -- not allowing any of the first 14 Toronto hitters to reach base -- until Shea Hillenbrand singled up the middle.

Lackey gave up two earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts in eight innings. One of the hits he allowed was a solo home run in the seventh inning to Toronto's Troy Glaus -- the 10th shot of the year for the third baseman.

Like Glaus, Janssen attended college at UCLA and he followed Glaus' career when was with the Angels for seven seasons, too. That added a little something extra to Janssen's first big league victory.

"I grew up watching him as much as everybody," said Janssen. "It's kind of special."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_07_anamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 3, LA Angels 1 TOR
Toronto (16-14)
Won 1
May 7, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 X 3 6 2
Standings thru 5/7/06 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .280
Cabrera, SS 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .276
Guerrero, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .323
Anderson, LF 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 .276
Kennedy, 2B 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .301
a-Quinlan, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
Napoli, M, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .273
Kotchman, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .158
Kendrick, H, DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .130
Murphy, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .286
Totals 30 1 2 1 1 5 10

a-Flied out for Kennedy in the 9th.

BATTING
TB: Figgins; Cabrera.
RBI: Anderson (19).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Kendrick, H; Guerrero; Figgins.
SF: Anderson.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
SB: Kendrick, H (1, 2nd base off Ryan/Molina).

FIELDING
E: Figgins (4, fielding).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .389
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .362
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .355
Glaus, 3B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .277
Hinske, DH 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .317
Hillenbrand, 1B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .356
Molina, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .275
Adams, SS 3 2 2 0 0 1 0 .233
McDonald, 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .229
Totals 29 3 6 2 0 3 5

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (7, Lackey).
HR: Glaus (10, 7th inning off Lackey, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios; Catalanotto 2; Glaus 4; Hillenbrand; Adams 2.
RBI: Catalanotto (13), Glaus (26).
2-out RBI: Catalanotto.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wells.
S: McDonald.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
CS: Rios (3, 2nd base by Lackey/Napoli, M).

FIELDING
E: Adams 2 (6, throw, fielding).


LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lackey (L, 3-3) 8.0 6 3 2 0 3 1 3.38

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Janssen (W, 1-2) 7.1 1 0 0 1 3 0 3.63
Ryan (S, 7) 1.2 1 1 1 0 2 0 0.60

WP: Lackey.
Pitches-strikes: Lackey 105-75, Janssen 86-54, Ryan 16-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lackey 9-11, Janssen 14-5, Ryan 0-3.
Batters faced: Lackey 30, Janssen 26, Ryan 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Ryan 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Larry Young. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Rob Drake.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:00.
Att: 24,351.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Thought Doc looked better than he has all season on Monday. In my opinion he hasn't been at his best so far to start the year but Monday looked liked all the pieces were in place for him.

[Reed Johnson]

If we would have won we would only be 1 game back! Damn!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060512&content_id=1450010&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ST. PETERSBURG -- It wasn't the mere fact that the Devil Rays won that got to Casey Janssen. It was how they won that was most upsetting for Toronto's rookie. After Thursday's game, Janssen was slow in getting to his locker in the visitor's clubhouse at Tropicana Field -- giving himself plenty of time to contemplate his performance.

There was the balk in the first inning. The wild pitch in the fifth. Each came immediately after at-bats in which Toronto was unable to take advantage of a key opportunity, and both contributed heavily to the 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

"It's frustrating. You can't give up four runs and expect to win," Janssen said. "But it's kind of frustrating when they didn't really earn the four runs. I kind of feel like we gave them a few and I gave them a few. That's how you get beat."

In the opening frame, things began to go astray for Janssen against Devil Rays lead-off hitter Julio Lugo. The 24-year-old right-hander worked Lugo into an 0-2 count, but then quickly fell behind, and allowed a single up the middle on a 3-2 pitch.

"You can't let them back in a count like that, especially to start the game," said Janssen, who gave up seven hits in seven innings. "I got a hitter on the ropes again, and then wasted three pitches, and he ends up hitting a pitch. It was a decent pitch, but I have to come in with a strike."

Janssen (1-3) then gave up a double to Carl Crawford, and induced a groundout back to the mound from Jonny Gomes to score Lugo. Toronto (19-16) appeared to be on the verge of escaping the frame, but Janssen couldn't stop what happened next.

With Aubrey Huff at the plate and Crawford on third base, Janssen peered in and took the sign from Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun. That's when the young pitcher made a little extra movement as Zaun was sending out a second signal to the mound.

The move was ruled a balk and Crawford jogged home for what turned out to be the game's deciding run.

"It was stupid. I got the sign, Zaunie threw down another one, and I caught myself coming up. It's just a mistake," Janssen said. "It's just one of those things that happened. If I did it a 100 more times, I'm not going to balk. It's just something that happened and I didn't catch it in time."

In the fifth inning, Lugo scored a second time -- Tampa Bay's fourth and final run -- on a wild pitch by Janssen. It was a second mistake that spoiled an otherwise decent outing for the pitcher.

"It stayed in between and skipped. That's all," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, referring to the passed ball. "Zaunie's one of the best blockers in the game, so you know it had to be tough to get by him."

While Janssen was frustrated with the two costly miscues, it was a defensive blunder that came right before the errant pitch that appeared to irk Gibbons the most.

Joey Gathright was on first base with two outs in the fifth when Lugo sliced a double to right field. Alex Rios gloved the ball for Toronto, but made one pump of the arm before throwing to second base. That decision allowed Gathright to score easily on an errant throw to the plate by shortstop John McDonald, who cut off the relay from Rios.

Had Rios thrown to first baseman Lyle Overbay, Gathright may have never scored and Lugo might not have been able to move over to third before the wild pitch occurred.

"We threw to the wrong base on the double to right. We can't do that. That's costly," Gibbons said. "That's something from Day 1 in this business: guy on first, you concede the double."

The four runs were more than enough for Devil Rays starter Seth McClung (2-4) to work with. The only offense the Blue Jays could muster against the right-hander came in the third inning, when Vernon Wells sent a pitch to right field for an RBI single that scored Rios. After Wells' hit, McClung only allowed two hits to the final 16 batters he faced. He finished with five strikeouts in seven innings for Tampa Bay (15-21).

"[Janssen] pitched good. McClung pitched great. That's all there is to it," said Gibbons, who was ejected, along with hitting coach Mickey Brantley, for arguing balls and strikes in the fifth. "Seth has done that to us in the past. You play these guys -- they can drive you crazy."

That's exactly what they did to Janssen, who has been filling in for injured starter A.J. Burnett.

"You work hard and you don't have much to show for it," Janssen said. "It was a tight game and those extra two runs hurt."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_12_tormlb_tbamlb_1&c_id=tor

Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 1 TB
Tampa Bay (15-21)
Won 2
May 12, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0
Tampa Bay
2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 X 4 7 0
Standings thru 5/12/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 .364
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .337
Wells, CF 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .353
Glaus, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .266
Overbay, 1B 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 .289
Hillenbrand, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .333
Zaun, C 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .298
Hill, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .193
a-Hinske, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .304
McDonald, SS 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .220
Totals 34 1 8 1 1 7 15

a-Grounded into a double play for Hill in the 9th.

BATTING
TB: Catalanotto; Wells; Overbay 2; Hillenbrand; Zaun 2; Hill.
RBI: Wells (29).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: McDonald.
GIDP: Hinske.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (4, 2nd base off McClung/Paul).

FIELDING
DP: (McDonald-Hill-Overbay).


Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 4 2 2 1 0 2 0 .259
Crawford, LF 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .267
Gomes, DH 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 .292
Huff, 3B 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .149
Perez, T, 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .195
Wigginton, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .250
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .209
Hollins, RF 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .245
Paul, C 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .258
Gathright, CF 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .190
Totals 28 4 7 2 1 5 7

BATTING
2B: Crawford (6, Janssen), Gomes (6, Janssen), Lugo, J (2, Janssen).
TB: Lugo, J 3; Crawford 3; Gomes 2; Hollins; Paul.
RBI: Gomes (30), Lugo, J (1).
2-out RBI: Lugo, J.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lee.
GIDP: Wigginton.
Team LOB: 1.

BASERUNNING
CS: Crawford (3, 2nd base by Janssen/Zaun), Hollins (1, 2nd base by Janssen/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Lee-Lugo, J).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Janssen (L, 1-3) 7.0 7 4 4 1 4 0 4.07
Rosario 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McClung (W, 2-4) 7.0 6 1 1 1 6 0 5.91
Lugo, R (H, 3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.91
Walker (S, 5) 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 10.66

WP: Janssen.
Balk: Janssen.
Pitches-strikes: Janssen 106-65, Rosario 12-7, McClung 111-64, Lugo, R 9-6, Walker 10-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Janssen 10-5, Rosario 1-1, McClung 9-6, Lugo, R 1-1, Walker 2-1.
Batters faced: Janssen 26, Rosario 3, McClung 28, Lugo, R 3, Walker 4.
EjectionsToronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons ejected by HP umpire Bill Welke. (5th); Toronto Blue Jays Batting Coach Mickey Brantley ejected by HP umpire Bill Welke. (5th).
Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: Tim McClelland. 2B: Marty Foster. 3B: Fieldin Culbreth.
Weather: 72 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:32.
Att: 11,816.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Around The Minors- May 12, 2006

AAA- Syracuse-Pawtucket=Postponed
AA- New Hampshire 3- Portland 0
WP: D. Romero (4-2,1.93)
LP: C. Smith (2-3, 1.91)
SV: Thorpe (3)
A ADV- Dunedin 2- Palm Beach 5
WP: M. Boggs (2-2, 5.84)
LP: O. Trias (4-2, 4.25)
SV: M. Sillman (8)
A- Lansing-W. Michigan=Postponed

[Reed Johnson]

Anoth gem from Halladay! To bad Sportsnet didn't show the game. Reed Johnson got hit by another pitch!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060513&content_id=1452752&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ST. PETERSBURG -- Every time Bengie Molina fell to the ground behind home plate and hunched over in pain, it was just a testament to how well the guy on the mound was throwing. As Roy Halladay's pitches sliced down through the strike zone, Toronto's catcher had to get just as defensive at times as the helpless hitters.

Molina had more pitches bounce of his body than Tampa Bay had hits on Saturday night. He took two throws off his knees, one off the inside of his leg and another hit, well, below the belt. The bruises he gained were well earned, though. Halladay's complete-game three-hit performance led the Blue Jays to an 8-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.

"Every time he'd just take it and go to the ground. He's a trooper," Halladay said. "He can't feel good right now. That's almost painful watching when it happens that many times. I don't feel good for him."

The beating that Molina took was a product of the improvement Halladay has made on a couple of his pitches lately. The catcher noted that the right-hander's fastball and cut-fastball were both sinking earlier this season, when Halladay wasn't completely happy with his location.

Since then, though, Halladay (5-1) has altered the grip on his cutter and the result has been less sink and more movement with the pitch.

"Before, it was just sinking. That's not him," Molina explained. "The ball inside to lefties is cutting and it's hard to hit. Now, his ball is sinking and cutting, and that's what makes him tough."

"I faced the guy. I knew he was pretty good, but at the same time, catching him is a lot different," he added. "It's a lot more fun. This is the best I've seen him and I hope it continues."

The outing was especially tough on the Devil Rays (15-22). Halladay only allowed five batted balls to reach beyond the infield and 18 of the outs he recorded came from groundouts, including two double plays.

"He pitched a gem today. He had Cy Young stuff," said Jonny Gomes, who hit a solo home run off Halladay in the fourth inning. "[He was] tough on lefties, tough on righties -- all strikes. He threw well."

Halladay only needed 89 pitches -- 60 for strikes -- to dispose of the 28 Rays batters he faced in just 2 hours and 12 minutes. His last start, which was another complete-game showing, lasted just 1:59 for the Blue Jays (20-16).

"The thing about Halladay is he can do that any time he goes out there," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Every time he gets out to a good start, there's a chance he can throw a no-hitter."

It was the first time Halladay turned in consecutive complete games since 2003, when he managed four straight en route to the American League Cy Young Award.

"It's always fun playing behind him. It keeps you on your toes, especially with how fast he works," said Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, who was a part of eight groundball outs and both double plays. "He gets up there and goes. That really helps the speed of the game."

What also helped was the early run support that Halladay received. Toronto put up a four-spot in the second inning against Rays starter Mark Hendrickson (2-3). Molina had an RBI single and Alex Rios added a two-run hit in the inning, but the game's decisive run came when Hendrickson hit Reed Johnson with a pitch to score the second run of the frame.

The Blue Jays added some insurance runs with a homer by Lyle Overbay off Hendrickson in the fifth inning, a solo shot by Vernon Wells in the eighth and a two-run double by Troy Glaus in the ninth.

"The last couple times I've got a lead," Halladay said. "To be able to go out and get quick outs and get us back in, that's the most important thing to me. We got a lot of quick outs and we really didn't give a lot of free bases today."

Halladay didn't allow a hit to the first 11 batters he faced. The 12th hitter, Gomes, caused the lone blemish on the pitcher's outing.

Tampa Bay's right fielder sent an offering from the righty high to left-center field, where it bounced off the "C" catwalk. It was the second game in a row that Gomes sent a ball bouncing off a catwalk. The one he hit on Friday, though, was ruled an out after it rolled off the higher "B" ring and fell back to the field and was caught by shortstop John McDonald.

"The one to Gomes was a back-up cutter that I left over the middle," Halladay said. "You win some, you lose some. We got one yesterday, but that ball was going anyway. Yesterday, maybe it saved us an out. It'd be nice if it was a little higher."

That last statement probably ran through Molina's head on a few of those low, sinking pitches. The catcher didn't mind, though -- even if it did mean calling timeout a few times and getting multiple visits from the team trainer.

"I've been in those games -- probably not this year. This was the first game like that," Molina said. "I don't mind getting hit as long as we win the game."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Boxscore: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_13_tormlb_tbamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 8, Tampa Bay 1 TB
Tampa Bay (15-22)
Lost 1
May 13, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 8 10 0
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Standings thru 5/13/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 1 0 1 1 1 1 .361
Rios, RF 5 1 2 2 0 2 1 .365
Wells, CF 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 .350
Glaus, 3B 3 1 1 2 2 0 0 .267
Hillenbrand, DH 5 1 2 0 0 0 3 .336
Molina, C 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .275
Overbay, 1B 4 1 1 1 0 1 4 .288
Hill, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .186
McDonald, SS 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .227
Totals 35 8 10 8 5 5 14

BATTING
HR: Overbay (5, 4th inning off Hendrickson, 0 on, 0 out), Wells (10, 8th inning off Camp, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios 2; Wells 4; Glaus; Hillenbrand 2; Molina 2; Overbay 4; McDonald.
RBI: Molina (10), Johnson (6), Rios 2 (26), Overbay (22), Wells (30), Glaus 2 (32).
2-out RBI: Johnson; Rios 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hill.
GIDP: Hillenbrand.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Glaus-Hill-Overbay 2).


Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
Crawford, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
Gomes, RF 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 .293
Huff, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .140
Norton, DH 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .261
Hall, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .287
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .204
Perez, T, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .189
Gathright, CF 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .188
a-Branyan, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .185
Totals 27 1 3 1 1 3 2

a-Grounded out for Gathright in the 9th.

BATTING
HR: Gomes (13, 4th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Gomes 4; Norton 2.
RBI: Gomes (31).
2-out RBI: Gomes.
GIDP: Hall 2.

BASERUNNING
SB: Gathright (8, 2nd base off Halladay/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: (Perez, T-Lugo, J-Lee).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay (W, 5-1) 9.0 3 1 1 1 3 1 2.74

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hendrickson (L, 2-3) 7.0 5 5 5 3 5 1 3.24
Camp 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 1 4.02
Harville 1.0 2 2 2 2 0 0 10.80

WP: Harville.
HBP: Johnson (by Hendrickson).
Pitches-strikes: Halladay 89-60, Hendrickson 106-66, Camp 16-11, Harville 24-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Halladay 18-5, Hendrickson 8-7, Camp 0-3, Harville 3-0.
Batters faced: Halladay 28, Hendrickson 29, Camp 6, Harville 6.
Umpires: HP: Tim McClelland. 1B: Marty Foster. 2B: Fieldin Culbreth. 3B: Bill Welke.
Weather: 72 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:12.
Att: 15,184.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Wanted to watch this game but Sportsnet didn't carry it. From the hi-lights, though, Roy looked amazing.

[Reed Johnson]

Towers actually pitched a good game!!!!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060514&content_id=1453522&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ST. PETERSBURG -- Josh Towers can breathe a little easier and maybe feel a little more comfortable inside Toronto's clubhouse -- let alone in the starting rotation.

For the last few weeks, Towers' struggles for the Blue Jays had reached the kind of low that had him searching for some job security. Rumors had him moving to the bullpen in the near future, but that was the least of the pitcher's worries. The aspect of his seven-game slide that affected Towers the most was seeing his teammates every day.

"Truthfully? Looking people in the face [was the hardest part]. It's embarrassing," Towers said after Toronto's 8-3 win over the Rays on Sunday. "You've lost seven straight games for the team. It was just hard to see these guys.

"It was just absolutely embarrassing."

Towers (1-7) didn't have that same problem after the Blue Jays' victory at Tropicana Field, though. The right-hander found a way to stifle the Rays' bats for eight-plus innings and he picked up his first win of the year in the process.

The victory caused a case of mixed emotions for Towers.

"I've got both feelings. I have a feeling of finally contributing -- that feels good. I'm pleased with the game," Towers said. "I'm a little upset at some of the things that I did. I've got [a lot of feelings], but obviously, I'm happy to finally help out."

In his last start on Tuesday, Towers was pulled from the game after just four innings against Oakland. One of the reasons the pitcher was pulled was that, in the fourth inning, he allowed three runs -- two on a home run. Big innings like that had been an issue for Towers all season. Up until Sunday, Towers had given up three runs in an inning in all seven of his starts for Toronto (21-16).

Against the Rays, though, Towers was perfect to the first 10 batters he faced and only allowed three singles through the first eight frames. In the end, the righty had thrown just 76 pitches, including 55 strikes.

"He looked like he looked last year. It was just a matter of time," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He really stepped up and that should give him some confidence. He had everything going tonight."

Towers thought he had everything going in his last outing against the A's, but understood why he didn't get the chance to try to earn a quality start. Last season, quality starts [six innings with three earned runs or less] were a large part of Towers' success. During one stretch, he strung together 12 in a row and he finished tied for the team lead with 13 wins.

"I think we've been taking baby steps, working up to where I need to be. I felt really good against Oakland," Towers said. "I felt good there and made strides and I felt it carried over into today."

Toronto pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, who has been working with Towers on shortening up his delivery, noticed some improvements from the right-hander against the Rays (15-23).

"He used his curveball a little bit more today. He changed speeds very well," Arnsberg said. "He got a very aggressive team that came out trying to thump him and they weren't able to center much."

The only run Towers allowed through eight innings came on a sacrifice fly by Aubrey Huff in the fourth inning. The run was unearned because Crawford, who scored on the deep fly out, moved from first base to third on a wild pick-off attempt by Towers earlier in the inning.

Gibbons sent Towers to the mound in the ninth to try and give him a chance at a complete game, but the pitcher ran into some familiar trouble. Towers gave up a single to Joey Gathright and then a two-run home run to Julio Lugo before exiting the game with three outs remaining in the contest.

A lot of Towers' struggles have come as a result of long balls. He's allowed 10 home runs in his eight starts and nine in his last six trips to the mound.

"It was just two pitches here and there that cost him -- home runs have killed him all year," said Arnsberg, summing up Towers' recent struggles. "He kept them in the park today. When Josh keeps them in the park, he's a pretty good pitcher."

Towers had plenty of run support to work with, too.

The Jays broke through for eight runs on 15 hits, including Alex Rios' eighth home run of the season in the first inning. Rays starter Casey Fossum (1-2) gave up four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits. In the ninth inning, Toronto struck three more times -- this time against Rays reliever Chad Orvella. Bengie Molina, Shea Hillenbrand, Lyle Overbay, and Vernon Wells each had RBIs in the win.

Towers can thank all of them for the runs, but his teammates can finally congratulate him on a victory. He'll get the nod for the first game against the Rockies on Friday night at Coors Field, where performances like the one he turned in against the Rays are few and far between.

"This one day doesn't really change anything," Towers said. "I still have to go out there in five days and prove that I can do it."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_14_tormlb_tbamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 8, Tampa Bay 3 TB
Tampa Bay (15-23)
Lost 2
May 14, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
1 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 3 8 15 1
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 1
Standings thru 5/14/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 5 .348
Rios, RF 5 2 2 1 0 1 3 .367
Wells, CF 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 .358
Glaus, 3B 5 1 1 0 0 0 3 .265
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 .346
Molina, C 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 .274
Overbay, DH 4 0 2 1 1 0 1 .295
Hill, 2B 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .192
McDonald, SS 5 1 1 0 0 1 7 .224
Totals 40 8 15 7 3 2 20

BATTING
2B: Hillenbrand 2 (8, Harper, Orvella), Wells (8, Orvella), Overbay (5, Orvella).
3B: Rios (2, Orvella).
HR: Rios (8, 1st inning off Fossum, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Johnson; Rios 7; Wells 4; Glaus; Hillenbrand 5; Molina; Overbay 3; Hill; McDonald.
RBI: Rios (27), Molina 2 (12), Wells 2 (32), Hillenbrand (19), Overbay (23).
2-out RBI: Wells; Overbay.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay; McDonald 3; Johnson 2.
SF: Molina.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (4, 2nd base off Fossum/Hall).

FIELDING
E: Towers (1, pickoff).
DP: (McDonald-Hill-Hillenbrand).


Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 .229
Crawford, LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .261
Gomes, DH 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .288
Huff, 3B 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 .132
Wigginton, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .242
Norton, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
Hall, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .288
Hollins, RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .248
Gathright, CF 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 .192
Totals 29 3 5 3 1 3 5

BATTING
HR: Lugo, J (1, 9th inning off Towers, 1 on, 0 out).
TB: Lugo, J 4; Crawford; Hall; Hollins; Gathright.
RBI: Huff (4), Lugo, J 2 (3).
SF: Huff.
GIDP: Lugo, J.
Team LOB: 2.

BASERUNNING
CS: Gomes (4, 2nd base by Towers/Molina).

FIELDING
E: Norton (1, missed catch).
Outfield assists: Crawford (Molina at 2nd base).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (W, 1-7) 8.0 5 3 2 0 2 1 8.45
Ryan 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.51

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fossum (L, 1-2) 6.0 9 4 3 1 1 1 5.24
Harper 2.0 2 1 1 2 1 0 2.93
Orvella 1.0 4 3 3 0 0 0 7.71

Towers pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

WP: Fossum, Orvella.
IBB: Overbay (by Harper).
HBP: Gomes (by Towers), Hill (by Orvella).
Pitches-strikes: Towers 76-55, Ryan 13-8, Fossum 84-52, Harper 30-15, Orvella 32-19.
Ground outs-fly outs: Towers 11-10, Ryan 1-1, Fossum 9-7, Harper 2-3, Orvella 1-2.
Batters faced: Towers 28, Ryan 4, Fossum 27, Harper 10, Orvella 8.
Umpires: HP: Marty Foster. 1B: Fieldin Culbreth. 2B: Bill Welke. 3B: Tim McClelland.
Weather: 72 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:17.
Att: 12,224.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Ok so I missed last night's game. Can someone please tell me how in the eorld Bengie Molina stole a base? He is one of the slowest players I think I've ever seen. What kind of weird alignment were the stars in that this could possibly happen?

[Reed Johnson]

I missed most of the game because I was out playing street hockey. I wish I would have seen it!

He also almost stole a base today. He is a speed demon!

[Reed Johnson]

What a win!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060518&content_id=1460727&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ANAHEIM -- A little luck and an abundance of quality relief pitching on Thursday night sent the Blue Jays off to Denver feeling a mile high.

After a botched suicide squeeze play in the bottom of the eighth inning by the Angels kept the game tied, and the Jays dodged another predicament in the ninth inning -- runners on first and third base with none out -- the end came in the 10th when Toronto scored four runs off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez for an 8-4 victory before 37,853 at Angel Stadium.

Lyle Overbay ignited the uprising with a leadoff double and scored the go-ahead run on Aaron Hill's double. Russ Adams followed with a two-run single into left-center.

Toronto relievers surrendered three hits but no runs after starter Roy Halladay departed after seven innings. The Jays open a three-game Interleague Play series against the Rockies Friday night, just one game behind the AL East-leading Red Sox.

A gift run in the seventh inning, compliments of a dropped fly ball in shallow right field by Vladimir Guerrero, gave the Jays a 4-3 lead. But Mike Napoli led off the bottom of the inning with a home run and the Angels loaded the bases before Halladay worked out of trouble, settling for a no-decision.

Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_18_tormlb_anamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 8, LA Angels 4 LAA
LA Angels (17-24)
Lost 2
May 18, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Toronto
0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 8 12 1
LA Angels
0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 11 1
Standings thru 5/18/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 6 1 2 0 0 1 3 .364
Catalanotto, DH 5 0 0 0 1 1 2 .305
Wells, CF 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 .350
Glaus, 3B 2 1 0 2 2 1 1 .261
Overbay, 1B 5 2 2 1 0 0 5 .298
Rios, RF 5 0 1 1 0 2 1 .356
Zaun, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .339
1-Hinske, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
Molina, C 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .291
Hill, 2B 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 .206
McDonald, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 .231
a-Adams, PH-SS 2 1 1 2 0 1 2 .255
Totals 41 8 12 7 6 8 19

a-Struck out for McDonald in the 8th.
1-Ran for Zaun in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Overbay 2 (7, Lackey, Rodriguez), Rios (14, Lackey), Johnson (5, Donnelly), Hill (8, Rodriguez).
TB: Johnson 3; Wells 2; Overbay 4; Rios 2; Zaun; Hill 3; McDonald; Adams.
RBI: Glaus 2 (34), Overbay (24), Rios (29), Hill (10), Adams 2 (16).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay 2; McDonald; Johnson; Wells.
SF: Glaus.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: McDonald (4, 2nd base off Lackey/Napoli, M).

FIELDING
E: Wells (2, fielding).
DP: (Speier-Glaus).


LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Kennedy, 2B 5 1 1 1 0 2 4 .268
Cabrera, SS 5 1 1 1 0 0 4 .272
Guerrero, RF 3 0 1 1 2 0 0 .314
Salmon, DH 4 0 0 0 1 1 6 .264
McPherson, 3B-1B 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 .211
Rivera, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .239
2-Aybar, E, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Alfonzo, 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .104
Napoli, M, C 5 2 3 1 0 1 1 .333
Quinlan, 1B 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .286
1-Figgins, PR-3B-LF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .256
Murphy, CF 4 0 2 0 0 2 2 .292
Totals 40 4 11 4 3 11 21


1-Ran for Quinlan in the 7th. 2-Ran for Rivera in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Kennedy (7, Halladay), Rivera (4, Speier).
HR: Napoli, M (2, 7th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Kennedy 2; Cabrera; Guerrero; Rivera 2; Napoli, M 6; Quinlan; Figgins; Murphy 2.
RBI: Kennedy (18), Cabrera (26), Guerrero (35), Napoli, M (4).
2-out RBI: Kennedy; Cabrera; Guerrero.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: McPherson; Murphy; Salmon 4.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Figgins (14, 2nd base off Speier/Molina), Napoli, M (1, 2nd base off Halladay/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Guerrero (3, fielding).
Outfield assists: Guerrero (Wells at 2nd base).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay 7.0 8 4 4 2 7 1 3.04
Schoeneweis 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 7.30
Speier 0.2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1.84
Downs 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.58
Frasor (W, 1-0) 1.2 0 0 0 1 3 0 8.31

LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lackey 6.0 4 3 3 5 3 0 3.70
Donnelly 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 0 3.26
Romero 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.19
Shields 1.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.79
Rodriguez (L, 0-1) 1.1 3 4 3 1 2 0 3.63
Carrasco 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.90

Speier pitched to 2 batters in the 9th.

WP: Halladay.
IBB: Guerrero (by Halladay), Guerrero (by Frasor), Molina (by Rodriguez).
Pitches-strikes: Halladay 93-61, Schoeneweis 5-3, Speier 15-11, Downs 5-2, Frasor 23-13, Lackey 104-59, Donnelly 20-14, Romero 7-4, Shields 21-15, Rodriguez 32-18, Carrasco 10-7.
Ground outs-fly outs: Halladay 9-5, Schoeneweis 0-0, Speier 0-2, Downs 0-1, Frasor 0-2, Lackey 4-11, Donnelly 1-0, Romero 1-0, Shields 1-0, Rodriguez 1-1, Carrasco 2-0.
Batters faced: Halladay 31, Schoeneweis 1, Speier 4, Downs 1, Frasor 6, Lackey 27, Donnelly 4, Romero 1, Shields 5, Rodriguez 8, Carrasco 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Downs 2-0, Frasor 2-0, Romero 1-0, Carrasco 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Paul Emmel. 1B: Bruce Froemming. 2B: Mike Winters. 3B: Brian Runge.
Weather: 65 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, In from CF.
T: 3:24.
Att: 37,850.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Big_Mac]

wow, we got some good pitching from the boys down the strech and a little luck (failed squeeze play, few shallow flies) but we sure poured it on in the 10th. it was a good win and hopefully we can take colorado this weekend.

[Reed Johnson]

I cant beleive we got swept by the damn Rockies!!! :(

Game Summary: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060521&content_id=1465088&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

DENVER -- Coors Field can play tricks on temporary tenants such as Toronto. The Blue Jays knew the reputation of the mile-high ballpark when they traveled to Denver this weekend for the first time in team history and they had to make adjustments accordingly.

The main characteristic of Colorado's home park that can change the way an opposing team approaches a game is the thin air, which can turn snapping curveballs into spinning floaters. That wasn't welcome news for Toronto starter Ted Lilly, who is most effective when he has good control of his breaking pitch.

Prior to the Jays' 5-3 loss to the Rockies on Sunday afternoon, Lilly and catcher Gregg Zaun discussed how the left-hander would use his curve. Apparently, the pair opted to use the pitch sparingly and that significantly hindered Lilly's pitch selection.

The lack of curveballs, coupled with the spacious gaps at Coors Field -- not to mention a pair of errant throws in the field by Lilly -- sent the Blue Jays to their third straight loss. It was the first three-game losing streak of the season for Toronto and the first time the club had been swept since last August.

"Nothing breaks as good as it does at sea level here," said Zaun, referring to the effect the thin air of Colorado has on curveballs. "You deal with it when you come in here as a visiting player. It's a major adjustment.

"We talked about it coming in. We thought we'd use [the curve] as a get-me-over pitch early in the count," he added. "We both agreed that [Lilly] didn't have a real good feel for it today, for whatever reason."

Lilly (4-4) exited the game after just 1 2/3 innings and allowed five runs -- four earned -- on six hits for Toronto (23-20). The lefty struck out one and walked two in the loss -- his second straight defeat. Lilly's outing was his shortest of the season and it marked just the third time that he did not last at least five innings. The four earned runs he allowed were also a season high.

After the loss, a frustrated John Gibbons didn't seem to be aware of Zaun and Lilly's pregame plan. Toronto's manager wasn't even sure if the pitcher even attempted a single curve.

"Did he even throw any?" Gibbons said. "Ask him what his game plan was. I don't know."

Zaun noted that only one of Lilly's 68 pitches was a curveball.

"Normally, I'd like to mix more in. I certainly intend to," Lilly said. "Regardless, the main thing is whatever pitches you decide to throw -- whatever they may be and whatever the selection is -- you have to execute it and throw it for a strike."

Zaun decided to have Lilly stick more with his slider, which was working better against Colorado. It wasn't working well enough, though.

Lilly was touched up for two runs on four hits in the first inning by Colorado (24-19). Two of the hits -- singles by Todd Helton and Eli Marrero -- were bloop hits that fell in between charging fielders. Marerro's hit and a single later in the inning by Clint Barmes both came with the bases loaded.

"There were a lot of cheap hits early in the game. It's tough," Zaun said. "He's making pitches that were inducing weak contact and they were still falling in front of everybody. It couldn't have come at a better time for those guys because everyone was on base."

After giving up a two-spot in the opening inning, Lilly essentially sunk Toronto in the second. The left-hander walked Colorado's Choo Freeman to lead off the frame and then was forced to field a sacrifice bunt attempt by pitcher Josh Fogg. Lilly one-hopped the throw to the right of first base, where second baseman Aaron Hill was pulled off the bag while fielding the ball.

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"I just kind of grenaded that first one. The ball was laid down and it was a routine play," Lilly said. "I've got to get an out there -- make that play simple and make a good throw. I've been throwing a baseball now for a long time, so I kind of expect myself to be able to hit the guy in the chest."

The next batter, Jamey Carroll, squared for a second straight sac bunt and Lilly gloved the ball again. This time, Lilly fired the ball to third baseman Troy Glaus in an attempt to force out Freeman. Instead, the ball skipped away from Glaus, who tumbled over backwards on the play.

What could've been an easy two outs turned into a bases-loaded opportunity with no outs for Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins. He promptly pushed an offering from Lilly into right-center field for a bases-clearing double that proved to be the decisive margin in the Interleague finale between the two clubs.

"[Lilly] was all over the place and we fell behind big," Gibbons said. "We just got outplayed all three games in this series. It's nothing more than that. We got some hits. We just didn't get the big ones."

Fogg (3-2) did just enough to pick up the victory. He gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. The trio of runs Fogg allowed came on a pinch-hit home run by Toronto's Alex Rios in the fifth inning. The blast was the ninth of the season for Rios.

"Every good-hitting team is going to have a period of time where it doesn't swing the bats well," Zaun said. "It's kind of ironic that it happened here at Coors Field, which tends to be a hitter-friendly ballpark."

At least the Jays know plenty about the ballpark for next time.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_21_tormlb_colmlb_1&c_id=tor

Colorado 5, Toronto 3 COL
Colorado (25-19)
Won 3
May 21, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 9 1
Colorado
2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 8 0
Standings thru 5/21/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .256
Frasor, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hillenbrand, 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Catalanotto, LF 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .316
Downs, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
McDonald, SS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .236
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .333
Glaus, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .255
Ryan, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Overbay, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .287
Zaun, C 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .361
Hinske, RF-LF 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .281
b-Johnson, PH-LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .341
Hill, 2B 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .227
Lilly, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rosario, P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-Rios, PH-RF 3 1 1 3 0 1 3 .356
Totals 34 3 9 3 2 7 16

a-Homered for Rosario in the 5th. b-Flied out for Hinske in the 6th.

BATTING
2B: Zaun (6, Fogg).
HR: Rios (9, 5th inning off Fogg, 2 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams; Catalanotto; Wells; Zaun 4; Hinske; Hill; Rios 4.
RBI: Rios 3 (32).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay; Johnson; Rios.
GIDP: Glaus; Adams.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
E: Lilly (1, throw).
DP: 3 (Adams-Hill-Overbay, Hill-Adams-Overbay, Hill-McDonald-Overbay).


Colorado AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Carroll, 2B 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 .315
Atkins, 3B 3 1 1 3 1 0 2 .308
Helton, 1B 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .292
Holliday, LF 4 0 1 0 0 3 5 .331
Marrero, RF 3 0 1 1 1 0 2 .265
Mesa, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Fuentes, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Barmes, SS 4 0 1 1 0 1 5 .213
Ojeda, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .238
Freeman, CF 3 1 1 0 1 2 0 .256
Fogg, P 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Martin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Ramirez, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Hawpe, RF 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .342
Totals 29 5 8 5 6 7 21

BATTING
2B: Atkins (13, Lilly).
TB: Carroll 2; Atkins 2; Helton; Holliday; Marrero; Barmes; Freeman.
RBI: Marrero (10), Barmes (27), Atkins 3 (25).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Barmes 3.
S: Fogg; Carroll.
GIDP: Ojeda; Helton; Carroll.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Barmes-Carroll-Helton, Carroll-Barmes-Helton).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (L, 4-4) 1.2 6 5 4 2 1 0 4.15
Rosario 2.1 1 0 0 2 2 0 1.08
Downs 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 4.95
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7.71
Ryan 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.46

Colorado IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fogg (W, 3-2) 5.2 7 3 3 1 5 1 4.35
Martin (H, 2) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.74
Ramirez (H, 5) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.40
Mesa (H, 10) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.32
Fuentes (S, 10) 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1.45

WP: Rosario.
Pitches-strikes: Lilly 68-44, Rosario 32-18, Downs 23-13, Frasor 12-9, Ryan 18-8, Fogg 83-54, Martin 3-2, Ramirez 13-7, Mesa 10-7, Fuentes 15-9.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lilly 3-2, Rosario 2-3, Downs 3-1, Frasor 0-1, Ryan 2-1, Fogg 5-7, Martin 0-1, Ramirez 2-0, Mesa 0-2, Fuentes 2-1.
Batters faced: Lilly 14, Rosario 10, Downs 6, Frasor 3, Ryan 4, Fogg 24, Martin 1, Ramirez 3, Mesa 3, Fuentes 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Rosario 2-0, Martin 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Ron Kulpa. 1B: Dale Scott. 2B: Dan Iassogna. 3B: Bob Davidson.
Weather: 85 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, R to L.
T: 2:50.
Att: 30,291.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Roy31]

Let me just say that I am a big Jays fan as well :).

We need casey to pitch a gem this afternoon, ughhh getting swept by the rockies sucks and it looks like our bats are in a slump for the first time this year.

[Chris from NY]

I cant beleive we got swept by the damn Rockies!!! :(

Ya no kidding. I guess it could be worse though. Just as long as we don't get swept by the Kansas City Royals. That would be much worse.

[Roy31]

Hey the rockies are in first...

[Chris from NY]

First place in the NL West.Yipee! The prize for winning the NL West is a sweep in the NLDS.

[Roy31]

Glaus hit the sign in straightaway center there hey!?!

Lol I watch like every jays game and nobody ever comes close to the sign but glaus hit it today just hit the bottom right corner. Some lucky ******* wins a car heh.

[Reed Johnson]

We snapped our losing streak!! Yeah!!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060522&content_id=1466289&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- With strong pitching, sharp defense and a pair of home runs, the Toronto Blue Jays put an end to their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Troy Glaus and Eric Hinske hit homers, Hinske made a "game-saving" catch and rookie Casey Janssen earned his third victory in four starts as the Jays beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-4.

"It's not an easy win, but we beat a team that's been hot lately," said Jays manager John Gibbons. "It was a big game for us. We needed that one, no question."

Tampa Bay had the tying run at third base in the eighth, but B.J. Ryan got pinch-hitter Toby Hall to ground out, turning the Rays away empty-handed.

Ryan wrapped things up in the ninth to earn his 10th save.

Coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies, the Blue Jays were in trouble early against the Rays. Julio Lugo led off the game with a double and advanced on a bunt single by Carl Crawford.

Jonny Gomes followed with a line drive that seemed destined for the gap in right-center, but Hinske made a tremendous diving catch, holding the Rays to just a sacrifice fly.

"Hinske's play was a game-saver," Gibbons said. "If that ball gets through, you're looking at a whole different game. That may be a blowout-type inning."

An infielder until last year, Hinske is experiencing the outfield for the first time, but he played Gomes' drive like a seasoned professional.

"I took a good angle to the ball," he said. "I realized about halfway there that it was hanging up there a little bit and I was going to have a chance to make a play on it.

"I just laid out for it and caught it. It was cool -- it was exciting."

There was more nifty defense in the second, when Frank Catalanotto started an inning-ending double play, sliding feet-first to catch a sinking liner from Joey Gathright, then throwing to first base to double up Josh Paul.

"Those were two great plays that were key for the ballgame, and we were able to hold on at the end," said Glaus, who wasted no time in wiping out Tampa Bay's early 1-0 lead by smacking a two-run homer in the first, his 13th. The long ball struck a sponsor's display in the outfield seats and won a car for a lucky Jays fan.

Tampa Bay's Russell Branyan tied the game in the second with a leadoff homer to center, his fifth, but Hinske put the Jays back in front with a solo shot in the bottom of the second.

Hinske's drive came with a dose of controversy, striking a metal railing on the bullpen bench over the left-field fence and bouncing back into play. Crawford threw the ball back in and Hinske was tagged as he rounded the bases, but second-base umpire Greg Gibson ruled that the ball had gone out, giving Hinske his second homer of the season.

"When I got to second, I saw the umpire put his arm up and make the home run sign, so I kept going," Hinske said. "Then the ball came back, and I was like, 'What's going on?' "

The Jays added two more in the third. Lyle Overbay doubled home Catalanotto, then scored on Gregg Zaun's sacrifice fly.

A second sac fly by Zaun in the eighth inning gave Toronto some valuable insurance after the Rays had closed the gap to one.

Janssen turned in a solid if unspectacular outing, retiring eight of the last nine batters he faced. He allowed four runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings, walking none and striking out three.

"He did what he had to do," said Gibbons. "He kept us in the game. It wasn't pretty -- it was exciting but the bullpen came through."

Janssen struggled with his command, but he concentrated on keeping the ball down.

"I knew I wasn't going to blow anybody away today -- not that I do normally, but I just knew I had to mix it up and not make too many mistakes," he said. "I got into a little bit of a groove in the fourth, but from the first pitch, I knew I didn't have great stuff."

Ian Harrison is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_22_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 4 TOR
Toronto (24-20)
Won 1
May 22, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 12 0
Toronto
2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 X 6 6 1
Standings thru 5/22/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 5 1 3 1 0 1 1 .262
Crawford, LF-CF 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .267
Gomes, DH 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 .281
Huff, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .169
1-Perez, T, PR-3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .179
Wigginton, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250
Branyan, RF 4 1 1 1 0 2 2 .206
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
b-Hall, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .277
Paul, C-LF 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 .317
Gathright, CF 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
a-Norton, PH-LF-1B 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .297
Totals 37 4 12 4 0 6 14

a-Singled for Gathright in the 7th. b-Grounded out for Lee in the 8th.
1-Ran for Huff in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Lugo, J 2 (6, Janssen, Janssen).
HR: Branyan (5, 2nd inning off Janssen, 0 on, 0 out), Paul (1, 5th inning off Janssen, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Lugo, J 5; Crawford 2; Huff; Wigginton; Branyan 4; Paul 5; Norton 2.
RBI: Gomes (37), Branyan (13), Paul (1), Lugo, J (4).
2-out RBI: Lugo, J.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wigginton; Huff; Crawford; Hall; Gomes 2.
S: Crawford.
SF: Gomes.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Crawford (13, 2nd base off Ryan/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Perez, T-Wigginton-Norton, Wigginton-Lugo, J-Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, CF-RF 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .353
Catalanotto, LF 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 .320
Johnson, LF 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .341
Overbay, 1B 4 1 1 1 0 0 3 .286
Glaus, 3B 2 1 1 2 1 0 0 .258
Zaun, DH 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 .349
Molina, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .263
Hinske, RF 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .283
McDonald, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .236
Adams, SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
Wells, CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .331
Hill, 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .229
Totals 27 6 6 6 3 2 8

BATTING
2B: Overbay (8, McClung).
HR: Glaus (13, 1st inning off McClung, 1 on, 2 out), Hinske (2, 2nd inning off McClung, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Rios; Catalanotto; Overbay 2; Glaus 4; Hinske 4; Hill.
RBI: Glaus 2 (37), Hinske (7), Overbay (25), Zaun 2 (15).
2-out RBI: Glaus 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hinske.
SF: Zaun 2.
GIDP: Overbay; Molina.
Team LOB: 3.

FIELDING
E: Adams (10, throw).
Outfield assists: Catalanotto (Paul at 1st base).
DP: (Catalanotto-Overbay).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McClung (L, 2-5) 7.0 6 6 6 2 2 2 5.72
Lugo, R 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 5.76
Camp 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.10

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Janssen (W, 3-3) 6.2 6 4 4 0 3 2 3.46
Frasor 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.71
Schoeneweis (H, 5) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.75
Speier (H, 6) 0.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.69
Ryan (S, 10) 1.1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.43

McClung pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Frasor pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

WP: McClung, Ryan.
HBP: Glaus (by McClung).
Pitches-strikes: McClung 113-69, Lugo, R 10-5, Camp 2-1, Janssen 103-70, Frasor 11-7, Schoeneweis 1-1, Speier 20-12, Ryan 32-21.
Ground outs-fly outs: McClung 10-9, Lugo, R 0-1, Camp 2-0, Janssen 10-7, Frasor 0-0, Schoeneweis 1-0, Speier 0-1, Ryan 1-1.
Batters faced: McClung 29, Lugo, R 3, Camp 1, Janssen 26, Frasor 2, Schoeneweis 1, Speier 4, Ryan 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Lugo, R 1-1, Camp 2-0, Frasor 1-1, Schoeneweis 2-0, Ryan 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Charlie Reliford. 1B: Larry Vanover. 2B: Greg Gibson. 3B: Paul Nauert.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:59.
Att: 22,563.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Chris from NY]

Was a bit of a strange game yesterday, what with the kid picking up Lugo's double in left, Hinske's catch, Glaus winning someone a car, and Hinske's homer. Just seemed like a different game.

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060523&content_id=1468061&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- As Roy Halladay stepped off the mound and walked back towards Toronto's dugout, the fans inside Rogers Centre erupted with a loud round of boos. The negative reaction stemmed from the outing that he had turned in. The crowd wanted more.

It was the fans' way of pleading with Toronto manager John Gibbons to leave Halladay in. After all, the Jays' ace was just one out away from his third complete game of the season. Instead, those in attendance had to settle for an overpowering strikeout from closer B.J. Ryan, who sealed a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay and picked up his 11th save of the season.

"They love you or hate you. But as long as you win, they'll probably forgive you," Gibbons said with a smile. "We got down to that last out, and with anybody but Ryan out there we'd give [Halladay] the chance. Thankfully, it worked out like it's worked out 11 times this year."

It worked out the way that Halladay expected it to. He knew heading into the game's final frame that his skipper would turn to the club's new closer at the first sign of trouble. After inducing two groundouts, Halladay gave up a single to Jonny Gomes -- Tampa Bay's seventh, and final hit.

That prompted Gibbons to make the slow walk out to the mound and call for the 6-foot-6 Ryan, who inked a five-year deal this past offseason to become the Jays closer.

"You want to stay in as long as you can, but I knew I was probably going hitter to hitter, especially with B.J. over here now," Halladay said. "You get a save situation and guys on base, it's hard not to go to him. He does a great job and you never have doubts with him coming in."

Gibbons knew what the crowd wanted, but he had his own agenda -- making sure the victory was even more imminent than it seemed throughout Halladay's dominant performance.

"We didn't really want to use B.J. tonight," Gibbons said. "But [Halladay] gets the win. [Ryan] gets a nice, little one-out save. You can't beat it. What a country."

Halladay's win over the Rays was another typical day for the right-hander -- nothing fancy, very methodical, and always economical. But the description that best fits the season that Toronto's ace has built so far might simply be "reliable."

It was Halladay's fifth consecutive win in seven decisions. During that span, Halladay has posted a 2.36 ERA with 30 strikeouts versus eight walks for Toronto (25-20).

There Halladay (6-1) was again -- in the midst of ongoing issues facing the pitching staff -- mowing down the Devil Rays. He struck out seven, walked none and saw his ERA dip down to 2.77. Of the 26 outs he recorded, 15 came via groundout. Besides the hits -- six of which were singles -- only two outs notched by Halladay were of the fly-ball variety.

The only blemish on his outing was a fielder's choice RBI recorded by Tampa Bay's Greg Norton in the second inning. That grounder back to the mound allowed Ty Wigginton to score from third base for Tampa Bay (20-26). After that run, Halladay went on to retire 10 straight batters.

"He hit his groove probably about the third inning, when you could tell he found it," Gibbons said. "It wasn't like he was laboring early, but he just wasn't in sync. Then all of a sudden he took off. Typical Doc. You give him a lead and he's going to shut you down."

Rays manager Joe Maddon was particularly impressed with how Halladay shut down the left-hander hitters. The four lefties in Tampa Bay's lineup went a combined 1-for-13 against the former American League Cy Young winner.

"You look at his numbers against lefties, he just doesn't make mistakes against lefties. He just doesn't," Maddon said. "And if we had more righties, I'd put them in there. Because this guy just kills lefties. He's the starting version of Mariano Rivera."

The Jays gave Halladay all the support he needed through three frames. First baseman Shea Hillenbrand belted a solo shot off Rays starter Mark Hendrickson (3-4) in the second inning, and Troy Glaus chipped in with an RBI double that scored Vernon Wells in the third. Alex Rios and Wells both added RBIs in the seventh inning to give Toronto some insurance.

Toronto's rotation has been riddled with injuries and slumps all year, but Halladay has been solid throughout each mounting dilemma.

Halladay has three wins this month -- the same number of losses Josh Towers has piled up in May. Gustavo Chacin is currently out with an arm injury and Halladay has collected more wins this month than the lefty has starts. For every Major League appearance that rookie Casey Janssen has had for the Jays, Halladay has as many wins on the year.

Gibbons doesn't underestimate how important it is to have a pitcher of Halladay's caliber on his staff.

"He's arguably the best pitcher in the game," Gibbons said. "He's big every year. He's your ace and we really missed him last year when we lost him [to injury] after July. He's a cornerstone guy. Teams need those guys."

Whether the fans agreed with the ninth-inning decision or not, teams also need guys like Ryan. Halladay wouldn't argue.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_23_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 4, Tampa Bay 1 TOR
Toronto (25-20)
Won 2
May 23, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0
Toronto
0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 X 4 11 1
Standings thru 5/23/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .261
Crawford, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .266
Gomes, RF 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .280
Huff, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .160
Wigginton, 2B 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .258
Hall, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .278
Norton, DH 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 .275
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .195
Hollins, CF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .246
Totals 31 1 7 1 0 8 9

BATTING
2B: Wigginton (7, Halladay).
TB: Lugo, J; Crawford; Gomes; Wigginton 3; Hall; Hollins.
RBI: Norton (5).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Huff 2.
GIDP: Gomes; Hall.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
SB: Lugo, J (7, 3rd base off Halladay/Zaun).
CS: Norton (1, 2nd base by Halladay/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: 3 (Huff-Wigginton-Lee 2, Lugo, J-Wigginton-Lee).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .359
Rios, RF 3 0 1 1 1 0 2 .353
Wells, CF 3 1 1 1 0 0 2 .331
Glaus, 3B 3 0 1 1 1 1 1 .260
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 1 1 1 0 2 2 .331
Molina, DH 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 .271
Zaun, C 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .348
Hill, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 .224
McDonald, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .241
Totals 30 4 11 4 3 4 13

BATTING
2B: Zaun (7, Hendrickson), Glaus (11, Hendrickson).
HR: Hillenbrand (5, 2nd inning off Hendrickson, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Johnson 3; Rios; Wells; Glaus 2; Hillenbrand 4; Molina 2; Zaun 2; McDonald.
RBI: Hillenbrand (20), Glaus (38), Rios (33), Wells (35).
2-out RBI: Glaus.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Glaus; McDonald; Hillenbrand.
SF: Wells.
GIDP: Rios; Zaun; Hill.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
CS: Rios (4, 2nd base by Camp/Hall).

FIELDING
E: Wells (3, throw).
DP: 2 (McDonald-Hill-Hillenbrand 2).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hendrickson (L, 3-4) 6.0 8 2 2 3 3 1 3.50
Harper 0.0 2 2 2 0 0 0 5.94
Camp 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.95
Harville 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.75

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay (W, 6-1) 8.2 7 1 1 0 7 0 2.77
Ryan (S, 11) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.42

Harper pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Pitches-strikes: Hendrickson 106-64, Harper 7-3, Camp 9-5, Harville 12-11, Halladay 110-73, Ryan 6-3.
Ground outs-fly outs: Hendrickson 14-1, Harper 0-0, Camp 0-2, Harville 2-0, Halladay 15-3, Ryan 0-0.
Batters faced: Hendrickson 26, Harper 2, Camp 3, Harville 3, Halladay 30, Ryan 1.
Inherited runners-scored: Camp 2-2, Ryan 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Larry Vanover. 1B: Greg Gibson. 2B: Paul Nauert. 3B: Charlie Reliford.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:26.
Att: 34,594.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Damn Towers and screw the bullpen. Especially Jason Frasor.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060524&content_id=1470226&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- It was a fate that seemed increasingly inevitable with every start that Josh Towers made for the Blue Jays. It was a move that Toronto probably didn't want to make, but needed to, considering the playoff aspirations that entered this season right alongside the revamped roster.

On Wednesday night, the Jays quickly pulled the plug on another rough outing for Towers and they decided that a trip to the Minors might best suit their scuffling starter. Following Toronto's 10-8 loss to Tampa Bay, the club outrighted Towers to Triple-A Syracuse, where he'll aim to work through the problems that have plagued him all season.

"All I'm going to say is he's going down to clear his head. That's all I'm going to say on that," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I don't want to beat it to death. That's pretty much all I'm going to say."

Toronto also optioned shortstop Russ Adams, who has been working through some defensive issues this season, to Triple-A after the loss. Gibbons said that John McDonald and Minor Leaguer Luis Figueroa will split duties at short for now. Figueroa is expected to be with the team on Friday, but the roster move hasn't officially been announced.

With Towers (1-8) out of the current picture, Gibbons said Toronto will call up a reliever to help the bullpen out until injured starter Gustavo Chacin returns to the mound on Tuesday. Filling in on the starting staff for Chacin is rookie Ty Taubenheim, who will make his second appearance of the year on Sunday.

Upon Chacin's return, though, the Jays don't need a fifth starter to take over for Towers until June 6 due to off-days on Thursday and the following Wednesday. Gibbons wasn't ready to say who might replace Towers in the rotation at that point.

"We've got it set up until next week," Gibbons said. "We'll deal with it after that."

Towers, who cleared waivers prior to his win over Tampa Bay on May 14, wasn't available for comment, but Gibbons did note that the expectations that the Jays had for this season played a role in his demotion.

"We've been saying that from Day 1," said a frustrated Gibbons. "You try to win anyway, but we're going to put the best team out there that we can every night."

Buried in the boxscore of Toronto's latest defeat is another dismal stat line for Towers. The struggling right-hander may have avoided the loss, but he couldn't escape his season-long issues.

It didn't take long for the Jays to pull Towers, who dropped eight straight decisions to start the year and saw his ERA jump to 9.00 after the outing against Tampa Bay. After he had faced just three batters -- two of which singled -- Toronto had reliever Scott Downs warming up in the bullpen. Towers had only thrown 14 pitches when Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg came jogging out to the mound to talk things over with the pitcher.

Fans were still entering the gates at Rogers Centre by the time Towers was pulled from the game. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings -- his shortest outing of the season -- and gave up four runs on six hits, including a two-run homer to Carl Crawford in the second inning.

After the homer by Crawford, who went 5-for-5 with a franchise record five runs and four stolen bases, Towers walked Jonny Gomes. That's when Gibbons cut Towers' outing short and Downs emerged from the 'pen. The pitcher threw 43 pitches, including 27 for strikes.

"Even great players have had to go back [down] and get it together," Gibbons said. "It's not unusual. It's probably not as common as it used to be, but sometimes you have to do it."

Downs turned in 2 1/3 scoreless frames, but the relievers that followed him didn't fare as well. Francisco Rosario gave up one run in the fifth, Scott Schoenweis and Jason Frasor combined to give up three in the seventh, and Justin Speier yielded two in the ninth.

Toronto (25-21) led 7-5 in the seventh -- thanks in part to home runs by Shea Hillenbrand and Aaron Hill -- but Frasor (1-1) picked up the loss after giving up a two-run shot to Toby Hall that gave the Rays (21-26) the lead for good.

Adams entered the game as a pinch-runner for catcher Bengie Molina in the seventh inning and remained in the game at shortstop. Adams made two putouts in the field and chipped in an RBI double in the ninth inning that cut Toronto's deficit to 10-8.

It wasn't enough, though, and just a few minutes after knocking home the Jays' final run, Adams was called into Gibbons' office, where he learned he would be heading to the Minors with Towers.

"We're just doing what's best for both of them and best for the team right now," Gibbons said. "It's that simple. Josh can go down there and get it together. It's not happening here. Russ can go down and clear his mind."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_24_tbamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Tampa Bay 10, Toronto 8 TOR
Toronto (25-21)
Lost 1
May 24, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
2 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 10 14 1
Toronto
0 3 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 8 14 0
Standings thru 5/24/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 5 2 3 0 0 1 1 .284
Crawford, LF 5 5 5 2 0 0 0 .287
Gomes, DH 3 0 0 1 1 1 3 .275
Huff, 3B 3 1 1 1 2 0 1 .167
Lee, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .195
Wigginton, 1B-2B 4 1 3 4 0 0 0 .269
Hall, C 5 1 1 2 0 1 4 .275
Hollins, RF 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .248
Perez, T, 2B-3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .172
Gathright, CF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .189
Totals 36 10 14 10 4 4 14

BATTING
HR: Crawford (2, 2nd inning off Towers, 1 on, 2 out), Hall (6, 7th inning off Frasor, 1 on, 2 out), Wigginton (11, 9th inning off Speier, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Lugo, J 3; Crawford 8; Huff; Wigginton 6; Hall 4; Hollins.
RBI: Gomes (38), Huff (8), Crawford 2 (19), Wigginton 4 (37), Hall 2 (16).
2-out RBI: Crawford 2; Wigginton 3; Hall 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hollins; Hall; Lugo, J.
SF: Gomes; Wigginton.
GIDP: Perez, T.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Crawford 4 (17, 2nd base off Rosario/Molina, 2nd base off Speier/Zaun, 2nd base off Towers/Molina, 3rd base off Schoeneweis/Molina), Lugo, J (8, 2nd base off Towers/Molina), Gathright (10, 2nd base off Taubenheim, T/Molina).
CS: Gomes (5, 2nd base by Downs/Molina).

FIELDING
E: Camp (1, throw).
Outfield assists: Hollins (Wells at 3rd base).
DP: (Perez, T-Lugo, J-Wigginton).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 5 1 1 0 0 3 6 .351
Rios, RF 4 1 2 2 1 0 3 .357
Wells, CF 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 .328
Glaus, 3B 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 .258
Hillenbrand, DH 5 2 3 1 0 0 1 .340
Molina, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .270
1-Adams, PR-SS 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .258
Overbay, 1B 5 1 1 1 0 1 4 .289
Hill, 2B 3 2 3 1 1 0 0 .240
a-Catalanotto, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .317
McDonald, SS 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .233
Zaun, C 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .348
Totals 40 8 14 6 4 6 24

a-Struck out for Hill in the 9th.
1-Ran for Molina in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Rios (17, Fossum), Hillenbrand (9, Fossum), Glaus (12, Walker), Adams (9, Walker).
HR: Hillenbrand (6, 5th inning off Fossum, 0 on, 2 out), Hill (1, 6th inning off Fossum, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Johnson; Rios 3; Wells; Glaus 2; Hillenbrand 7; Molina; Adams 2; Overbay; Hill 6.
RBI: Overbay (26), Rios 2 (35), Hillenbrand (21), Adams (17).
2-out RBI: Rios 2; Hillenbrand.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Glaus; Wells 2; Rios; Catalanotto.
GIDP: Overbay.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Johnson (Lugo, J at 2nd base).
DP: (Hill-McDonald-Overbay).


Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fossum 5.2 9 6 5 2 3 2 5.46
Camp (W, 2-0) 0.2 2 1 0 1 0 0 2.86
Lugo, R (H, 4) 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 5.47
Walker (S, 9) 1.1 2 1 1 0 2 0 7.71

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers 1.2 6 4 4 1 0 1 9.00
Downs 2.1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.43
Rosario 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 1.93
Taubenheim, T 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.50
Schoeneweis (H, 6) 0.1 1 2 2 1 0 0 7.90
Frasor (BS, 1)(L, 1-1) 1.2 2 1 1 0 1 1 7.47
Speier 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 1 2.65

IBB: Huff (by Rosario).
Pitches-strikes: Fossum 89-56, Camp 20-9, Lugo, R 20-12, Walker 27-20, Towers 43-27, Downs 20-11, Rosario 35-19, Taubenheim, T 13-8, Schoeneweis 12-5, Frasor 19-15, Speier 18-12.
Ground outs-fly outs: Fossum 8-6, Camp 0-1, Lugo, R 2-1, Walker 1-1, Towers 1-4, Downs 6-0, Rosario 0-2, Taubenheim, T 1-1, Schoeneweis 1-0, Frasor 1-2, Speier 1-1.
Batters faced: Fossum 28, Camp 5, Lugo, R 5, Walker 6, Towers 12, Downs 6, Rosario 6, Taubenheim, T 4, Schoeneweis 3, Frasor 6, Speier 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Camp 1-1, Lugo, R 2-0, Walker 2-0, Downs 1-0, Frasor 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Greg Gibson. 1B: Paul Nauert. 2B: Charlie Reliford. 3B: Larry Vanover.
Weather: 68 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:11.
Att: 20,187.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060526&content_id=1473149&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- The ball that flew off Troy Glaus' bat and bounced off the top windows of the restaurant located in center field carried more than just 442 feet. It also carried a message -- a testament to one of Toronto's newfound abilities.

The Blue Jays' lineup lacked power a year ago, but belting home runs has become one of the club's specialities this season. Glaus, who was acquired in an offseason trade to help give the offense a boost, has been a large part of that.

His fifth-inning blast helped pace the Jays to an 8-2 win over the White Sox on Friday night at Rogers Centre. Glaus was one of four players to record a roundtripper in the rout of the World Series champs and he's now four behind Chicago's Jim Thome, who leads the American League with 18 homers.

"We've hit a lot of home runs. Coming in, you didn't know what to expect," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "You figure you add Glaus and [Lyle] Overbay and they'll hit some."

As a group, Toronto has actually sent 64 pitches over the fence through its first 47 games. That's 23 more than the Jays' home-run total at the same point last season. Incidently, the three players added to the lineup this past winter -- Glaus, Overbay and Bengie Molina -- have combined to hit 23 long balls.

Overbay and Molina combined for four of Toronto's 15 hits in the win over the White Sox, but they weren't participants in the barrage of homers that accounted for five of the Jays' eight runs.

Alex Rios, who leads the Majors with a .364 average, sent the second pitch of the game from Chicago starter Freddy Garcia over the wall in left-center field. Two innings later, Vernon Wells belted his 11th homer of the year -- a two-run shot off Garcia. Reed Johnson capped off Toronto's scoring with a solo shot off reliever Cliff Politte in the eighth.

"It's fun," Wells said. "It's great knowing that you have guys up and down the lineup that can hit the ball hard and hit it out of the ballpark. When you're able to do that consistently, you're never out of the game."

Like Glaus, the explosive offense that Rios and Wells have displayed in the first two months of the season has Gibbons impressed.

"Vernon being off to the hot start and Rios," said Gibbons, who paused. "We strike quick."

Toronto (26-21) broke through quickly against a pitcher that's been tough to handle this year.

Garcia (7-2) had only allowed five home runs before Friday's game and the right-hander hadn't given up more than one in any start. The five runs Garcia gave up in 5 1/3 innings were also the most he'd allowed since yielding seven in his first start of the season. Since then, he put together eight straight outings without allowing more than three runs.

"He's a really good pitcher and he's been pitching really, really well on a team that can score a lot," Glaus said. "We were fortunate to jump out early. We're just trying to put good at-bats together and take advantage of the opportunites we're given. You're not going to get a lot of opportunities with a guy like Freddy."

Chicago (31-16) received few scoring chances on Toronto starter Ted Lilly (5-4). Lilly gave up two runs on six hits, including a pair of solo homers to Paul Konerko, and he struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. After Konerko went deep to lead off the second inning, Lilly allowed just one hit to the next 17 batters he faced. The 18th was Konerko, who hit his 14th shot of the season in the sixth.

Lilly may have been more effective than he had in his previous two outings, in which he have up seven runs in six innings, but he was grateful for the run support the offense gave him.

"It's great, especially when we're scoring runs like that early," Lilly said. "It creates a little buffer zone, which is nice. It's something that you can't expect going in there. There are going to be games when I'm going to need to hang in there in tight ballgames and keep it close."

The offense made sure the game wasn't close, thanks in part to the moonshot delievered by Glaus, who made his first career start at shortstop. That small fact made the victory that much sweeter for Toronto's skipper.

"I'm very happy," Gibbons said with a laugh. "A shortstop that can hit homers."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_26_chamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, Chi White Sox 2 TOR
Toronto (26-21)
Won 1
May 26, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chi White Sox
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 5 1
Toronto
1 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 X 8 15 0
Standings thru 5/26/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .280
Iguchi, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .299
Thome, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .302
Konerko, 1B 4 2 2 2 0 2 1 .310
Dye, RF 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .287
Pierzynski, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .333
Crede, 3B 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .287
Uribe, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .193
a-Cintron, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .257
Anderson, CF 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 .163
b-Mackowiak, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
Totals 32 2 5 2 4 9 12

a-Grounded out for Uribe in the 9th. b-Grounded out for Anderson in the 9th.

BATTING
HR: Konerko 2 (14, 2nd inning off Lilly, 0 on, 0 out; 6th inning off Lilly, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Podsednik; Thome; Konerko 8; Pierzynski.
RBI: Konerko 2 (40).
2-out RBI: Konerko.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Anderson; Crede; Thome.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
E: Podsednik (4, fielding).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 5 2 3 1 0 1 3 .364
Catalanotto, LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 .317
a-Johnson, PH-LF 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 .354
Wells, CF 5 1 1 2 0 1 2 .324
Glaus, SS-3B 4 2 2 1 1 1 0 .264
Overbay, 1B 5 2 3 0 0 1 2 .299
Hillenbrand, 3B 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .338
McDonald, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .233
Molina, C 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .270
Hinske, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .270
Hill, 2B 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 .248
Totals 38 8 15 8 2 6 18

a-Grounded out for Catalanotto in the 6th.

BATTING
2B: Overbay (9, Garcia), Hill (10, Garcia), Hillenbrand (10, Politte).
HR: Rios (10, 1st inning off Garcia, 0 on, 0 out), Wells (11, 3rd inning off Garcia, 1 on, 1 out), Glaus (14, 5th inning off Garcia, 0 on, 1 out), Johnson (1, 8th inning off Politte, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios 6; Catalanotto; Johnson 4; Wells 4; Glaus 5; Overbay 4; Hillenbrand 2; Molina; Hill 3.
RBI: Rios (36), Wells 2 (37), Glaus (39), Molina (13), Hillenbrand (22), Johnson (8).
2-out RBI: Molina.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand 2; Catalanotto; Wells; Rios.
SF: Hill.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (5, 2nd base off Garcia/Pierzynski), Glaus (2, 2nd base off Garcia/Pierzynski), Overbay (2, 3rd base off Garcia/Pierzynski).


Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Garcia (L, 7-2) 5.1 12 5 5 0 4 3 4.31
Cotts 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.20
Politte 2.0 3 3 3 2 2 1 7.00

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (W, 5-4) 6.1 5 2 2 4 7 2 4.00
Speier (H, 7) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.60
Schoeneweis (H, 7) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.71
Walker 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.68

IBB: Hinske (by Politte).
Pitches-strikes: Garcia 101-72, Cotts 6-5, Politte 46-26, Lilly 110-68, Speier 4-3, Schoeneweis 1-1, Walker 18-14.
Ground outs-fly outs: Garcia 3-9, Cotts 1-1, Politte 2-2, Lilly 4-8, Speier 0-0, Schoeneweis 1-0, Walker 4-1.
Batters faced: Garcia 28, Cotts 2, Politte 11, Lilly 28, Speier 1, Schoeneweis 1, Walker 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Cotts 1-0, Speier 2-0, Schoeneweis 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Randy Marsh. 1B: Angel Hernandez. 2B: Hunter Wendelstedt. 3B: Sam Holbrook.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:43.
Att: 22,729.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Cat27inLF]

Ahhh Fantastic game tonight!

Our bats sure did knock around Garcia. I thought Glaus played well at SS and it was nice to see Reed Pinch hit and hit a Home Run. Hill is catching fire fo real! It was also nice to see the bullpen come in and not give up any runs or any hits for that matter.

With Glaus at SS , we sure had a big infield .

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060527&content_id=1474718&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- A horde of Blue Jays players stood at home plate as Shea Hillenbrand came running around third base, waiting to give him a proper "thank you" after he ended Saturday's marathon against the White Sox. Hillenbrand ran down the line and disappeared into the crowd, which circled around him and quickly become a bouncing mob.

The celebration ensued after Hillenbrand sent a slider from Chicago's Jeff Nelson into the second deck in left field at the Rogers Centre to seal a 3-2, 11-inning victory over the World Series champions -- a game that took three hours and 32 minutes to finally put in the books.

"We were going nuts in here," said a smiling Casey Janssen, who turned in another solid outing for Toronto.

Jays closer B.J. Ryan, who blew his first save of the season in the ninth inning, was right in the middle of the pack and he was still thanking Hillenbrand well after the game's conclusion.

"For Shea to step up right then, when you needed it," Ryan said. "In the back of your mind you want him to do it and you know he's thinking about it, but he got a pitch and he put a great swing on it."

The swing put a final exclamation point on a win that included 5 1/3 strong frames from Janssen, some stellar defensive plays that held Chicago in check, and some clutch innings from the Jays' bullpen.

Hillenbrand may have been the one receiving high fives and smacks on his helmet as he crossed the plate, but he made sure some of the credit was given to the rest of the team.

"We've got an unbelievable clubhouse here," Hillenbrand said. "We've all been supportive of each other and we're all leaning on each other and the camaraderie in this clubhouse is unbelievable. That's what carries ballgames. We've been doing a good job at that."

The praise for Hillenbrand's performance extended into the manager's office, where John Gibbons wanted to make sure that one of the designated hitter's smaller contributions didn't go unnoticed.

With Toronto trailing, 1-0, in the second inning, Hillenbrand barreled into second base on a potential inning-ending, double-play grounder that Gregg Zaun chopped up the middle. Hillenbrand was forced out at second, but not before he hindered Chicago shortstop Juan Uribe from throwing out Zaun at first base. Zaun was safe, which enabled Troy Glaus to score from third base -- accounting for the only run scored against White Sox starter Jose Contreras.

"Shea -- you can't get any more clutch than that. But don't forget, he broke up that double play," Gibbons said. "That's key. That disrupts Uribe and we end up getting that run. Otherwise that game doesn't go extra innings. Sometimes those things get lost, but they're just as important. Of course, the big homer -- huge homer."

What ended with the walk-off blast began with a pitchers' duel between Janssen and Contreras.

Janssen, who began the season 0-2, has gone 3-1 with a 2.31 ERA in his last five starts, including a no-decision against Chicago. The rookie allowed one run -- a bases-loaded walk issued to Scott Podsednik in the second inning -- on seven hits.

Contreras also earned a no-decision on Saturday to stay a perfect 5-0 this year. After giving up one run in seven innings versus Toronto (27-21), Contreras finished the game with a 1.83 ERA.

"Contreras was great today. He's been great ever since the second half of last year," Ryan said. "You know you have your work cut out for you and you go out there with that mindset. He was tough and Casey matched him pitch for pitch."

Both starters traded zeros until Gibbons and Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen were forced to turn to their respective bullpens. Gibbons called upon left-handed reliever Scott Downs after Janssen had retired just one batter and loaded the bases on three singles in the sixth inning.

Downs struck out Rob Mackowiak and then induced a grounder from Uribe that seemed destined for left field. The ball slipped under the glove of a diving Glaus, but shortstop John McDonald snagged it with a back-handed grab before firing a strike to first baseman Lyle Overbay.

"It's always fun when you get to make a play that affects the outcome of the game," said McDonald, who left the game with a groin injury in the eighth inning.

Janssen admitted that, when the ball left Uribe's bat, he thought Chicago (31-17) would notch the go-ahead run.

"My heart sank for a second," said Janssen, referring to when the ball scooted passed Glaus. "But then I saw [McDonald] there and he flung it over there and my heart stopped again -- oh man, it was unbelievable. That was a big play in the game."

In the eighth inning, Frank Catalanotto sliced an RBI double into left field to score Aaron Hill -- putting Toronto up, 2-1. That's when Gibbons turned to Ryan, who had successfully converted his first 11 save opportunities this season.

The 6-foot-6 left-hander allowed a lead-off single to Joe Crede, who later scored on an infield single by Uribe. After that, though, Ryan struck out four of the next seven batters he faced.

"You hate to waste a great run driven in by Cat," Ryan said. "But you get out there and grind and there's a lot of class and a lot of character in this clubhouse and guys pick each other up."

That's exactly what Hillenbrand did when he belted his seventh home run of the season -- a shot that clinched a series win over a team that claimed many similar victories on their road to the World Series crown a year ago.

"You watch what they did all last year and into the postseason -- those kinds of games are nothing new to them," Gibbons said. "They expect to win them every time, but we hung tough and it's always key when you get that last at-bat."

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_27_chamlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 3, Chi White Sox 2 TOR
Toronto (27-21)
Won 2
May 27, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Chi White Sox
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 14 1
Toronto
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 9 1
Standings thru 5/27/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Podsednik, LF 5 0 1 1 1 1 2 .278
Iguchi, 2B 6 0 2 0 0 2 5 .301
Thome, DH 6 0 0 0 0 3 5 .292
Konerko, 1B 5 0 1 0 0 2 1 .307
Dye, RF 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 .283
Pierzynski, C 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .336
Crede, 3B 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 .296
Mackowiak, CF 2 0 1 0 1 1 3 .278
a-Ozuna, PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
Anderson, CF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .171
Uribe, SS 5 0 2 1 0 0 5 .200
Totals 45 2 14 2 2 10 24

a-Hit a sacrifice bunt for Mackowiak in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Crede (11, Ryan).
TB: Podsednik; Iguchi 2; Konerko; Dye; Pierzynski 2; Crede 4; Mackowiak; Anderson; Uribe 2.
RBI: Podsednik (14), Uribe (14).
2-out RBI: Podsednik.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Iguchi 2; Uribe 2; Thome 2.
S: Ozuna.
GIDP: Uribe.
Team LOB: 13.

FIELDING
E: Contreras (1, throw).
DP: 2 (Pierzynski-Iguchi, Crede-Iguchi-Konerko).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .361
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .315
1-Johnson, PR-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .350
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 .317
Glaus, 3B 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .262
Overbay, 1B 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .299
2-Hinske, PR-1B 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .270
Hillenbrand, DH 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 .340
Zaun, C 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .343
Hill, 2B 3 1 1 0 1 1 2 .250
McDonald, SS 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .242
Figueroa, SS 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000
Totals 36 3 9 3 5 5 18


1-Ran for Catalanotto in the 8th. 2-Ran for Overbay in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (9, McCarthy), Overbay (10, Thornton).
HR: Hillenbrand (7, 11th inning off Nelson, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Rios; Catalanotto 2; Glaus; Overbay 2; Hillenbrand 5; Zaun; Hill; McDonald.
RBI: Zaun (16), Catalanotto (17), Hillenbrand (23).
2-out RBI: Catalanotto.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rios; Glaus; Figueroa.
S: McDonald.
GIDP: Wells.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
CS: Zaun (1, 2nd base by Contreras/Pierzynski), Hinske (1, 2nd base by Nelson/Pierzynski).

FIELDING
E: Zaun (2, fielding).
Outfield assists: Rios (Dye at 3rd base).
DP: (Glaus-Hill-Hinske).


Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Contreras 7.0 5 1 1 1 3 0 1.83
McCarthy 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 0 5.19
Thornton 1.1 1 0 0 2 1 0 3.68
Nelson (L, 0-1) 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 1 6.75

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Janssen 5.1 7 1 1 2 3 0 3.25
Downs 1.2 0 0 0 0 3 0 4.12
Speier 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.45
Ryan (BS, 1) 2.0 4 1 1 0 4 0 0.77
Frasor 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.16
Schoeneweis (W, 1-0) 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.53

Pitches-strikes: Contreras 111-64, McCarthy 30-17, Thornton 26-15, Nelson 19-12, Janssen 102-62, Downs 19-14, Speier 10-7, Ryan 32-23, Frasor 6-5, Schoeneweis 8-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Contreras 10-7, McCarthy 2-1, Thornton 0-3, Nelson 0-1, Janssen 10-3, Downs 2-0, Speier 0-3, Ryan 1-0, Frasor 2-0, Schoeneweis 0-1.
Batters faced: Contreras 25, McCarthy 6, Thornton 7, Nelson 4, Janssen 25, Downs 5, Speier 3, Ryan 10, Frasor 2, Schoeneweis 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Nelson 1-0, Downs 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Angel Hernandez. 1B: Hunter Wendelstedt. 2B: Sam Holbrook. 3B: Randy Marsh.
Weather: 73 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 11 mph, In from CF.
T: 3:32.
Att: 30,063.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[starkeeper]

Great game in Toronto yesterday.

Walk off home run by Hillenbrand,
an outfield assist by Rios to gun out the Sox go ahead run at third,
two incredible defensive gems by Macdonald,
Ryan blowing a save but recovering to keep from losing...

All in spite of some of the worst managing I think I have ever seen.

Gibbons made roster decisions on the fly that boggled reason.

Pulling Macdonald, who was as hot as you can get, in the ninth inning, for a rookie who boggled a potential dp play.
Pinch running Hinske for Overbay at 2nd base. I would take Overbay at the plate anyday ahead of Hinske left or right.

I really think Gibbons thought the game was in the bag when Ryan came out to close and was caught with his pants down.
I guess he forgot that he was playing the World Series Champions.

His team won in spite of him, not because of him.

[Roy31]

Ricky Williams is at the game hehe! Im going to go watch him play against the bombers in the season opener.

[Chris from NY]

Pulling Macdonald, who was as hot as you can get, in the ninth inning, for a rookie who boggled a potential dp play.
Pinch running Hinske for Overbay at 2nd base. I would take Overbay at the plate anyday ahead of Hinske left or right.

McDonald clearly left the game limping in his final at bat so Gibbons had no choice there (except putting utility infielder Troy Glaus at short :D)
And I'm sure Gibbons would much rather have Overbay at the plate too; thing is Hinske came in as a pinch-runner, not as a pinch hitter. Hinske runs alot better than Overbay. And besides maybe Gibbons is friends with MIchael Barrett and wanted to send 235 pounds of Eric Hinske to unleash the beast on Pierzinski at the plate, given the chance.

[starkeeper]

My apologize to Gibbons for slamming him over the Macdonald move. I found out later today that he tweaked his groin in his last at bat. I still question many of his moves yesterday.

[Chris from NY]

MAny of his moves? How many is required to constitute many? Because you only named two. I'm not trying to be a jerk or nothing, but which other moves do you question, and what would you have done instead?

[Reed Johnson]

Stupid Spier gave up the win for Halladay.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060529&content_id=1478062&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- It appeared as though a sure win was going horribly wrong for the Blue Jays on Monday night.

Toronto's bullpen had just allowed three runs in the top of the eighth inning to let Boston right back into the game. A vocal group of Red Sox fans were assailing the Jays faithful with boisterous chants and turning Rogers Centre into Fenway Park North. An apparent hit down the left-field line by catcher Bengie Molina was instead called foul by third-base umpire Larry Young, frustrating manager John Gibbons.

In the end, however, the Blue Jays saved their evening with three at-bats. Molina shook off the umpire's call and sent a controversy-free double to the wall in right-center field. After Aaron Hill advanced pinch-runner Eric Hinske to third with a sacrifice bunt, pinch-hitter Shea Hillenbrand delivered a sharp single to drive in the winning run in a nail-biting, 7-6 victory.

"Those are the things that we need to do to win games and get us over the hump," Molina said of the execution following his double. "That's what we're looking for -- to go to the playoffs. That's a good sign, and I hope we keep doing it."

Though he'd argued Young's decision regarding Molina's foul ball, Gibbons felt the game turned in the right direction. Had that foul ball been called fair, Molina might not have been able to stretch it into a double.

"The baseball gods were smiling on us," Gibbons said. "It was a big game for us. The good guys came out on top."

The comeback also may have saved Gibbons from some second-guessing about how he handled his bullpen.

After reliever Scott Downs allowed the first two Red Sox hitters in the eighth to get on base, Gibbons had right-hander Justin Speier and closer B.J. Ryan both warming up. Gibbons elected to bring in Speier, who retired two batters and then allowed a three-run homer to Boston catcher Jason Varitek that tied the score at 6. After Mike Lowell doubled, Ryan (1-0) was brought into the game to retire Coco Crisp, and the big left-hander then threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his first win of the season.

The skipper admitted that he erred in not bringing in Ryan earlier.

"In hindsight, I screwed that up," he said. "A day ago, [Ryan] threw two innings, and I've been telling him all year that I can't keep bringing him in for more than an inning. This early in the year, it's going to kill you. Anything but a home run, he would've come in to get Lowell."

Gibbons didn't feel as though he'd made a mistake in going to the bullpen in the first place, since starter Roy Halladay had thrown 97 pitches after seven innings.

"It was a hot night, and [Halladay] looked like he had taken it as deep as it could go," he said. "I looked at the matchups with the lefties ... and [Downs] has handled those guys OK."

Early in the evening, it looked as if it was going to be an easy win for the Jays (28-22). Vernon Wells opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the third inning, then Toronto scored four times in the fourth to extend their lead to 6-0 with their ace on the mound. Alex Rios contributed a two-run single, and Lyle Overbay sent a solo homer over the wall in right-center off Boston starter Matt Clement, who exited after just 3 1/3 innings.

Halladay allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings but had trouble keeping the ball out of the air. The right-hander, who is a renowned ground-ball pitcher, recorded an unusually high 11 fly-ball outs. All of Boston's offense against Halladay came via the long ball -- a solo shot from Crisp in the fifth and a two-run blast by Manny Ramirez in the sixth.

"They're a team that works the count," Halladay said. "They fight the count, and you end up making a lot more pitches. They're a team where you really can't go fastball all the time, and there's where I get a lot of my ground balls. You have to mix it up -- changeups, curveballs -- to try and keep them guessing a little bit.

"An out's an out to me, so I'll take them all."

Gibbons noted that the oppressive game-time temperature -- 93 degrees Fahrenheit, plus humidity -- added to the pressure for the Blue Jays. Molina said that the team's attitude remained focused on the Red Sox (30-19), who now hold a 2 1/2 game lead over the Jays in the American League East.

"Our team is based on character, and we have teammates here that don't give up for anything," Molina said. "We came here to win today, and that's what we did."

Mark Polishuk is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_29_bosmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 7, Boston 6 TOR
Toronto (28-22)
Won 1
May 29, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston
0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 6 9 2
Toronto
0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 X 7 11 0
Standings thru 5/29/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Youkilis, 1B 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 .317
Loretta, 2B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .317
Ortiz, DH 2 2 0 0 1 0 3 .267
Ramirez, LF 4 1 1 2 0 2 4 .309
Nixon, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .299
Varitek, C 4 1 2 3 0 0 0 .239
Lowell, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .322
Crisp, CF 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .333
Gonzalez, SS 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .221
Totals 35 6 9 6 1 5 15

BATTING
2B: Lowell (23, Speier).
HR: Crisp (1, 5th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 1 out), Ramirez (12, 6th inning off Halladay, 1 on, 1 out), Varitek (5, 8th inning off Speier, 2 on, 2 out).
TB: Youkilis; Loretta 2; Ramirez 4; Varitek 5; Lowell 2; Crisp 5.
RBI: Crisp (2), Ramirez 2 (31), Varitek 3 (24).
2-out RBI: Varitek 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Nixon; Crisp.
GIDP: Youkilis.
Team LOB: 5.

FIELDING
E: Youkilis (2, pickoff), Nixon (1, fielding).
DP: (Gonzalez-Loretta-Youkilis).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Rios, RF 3 1 1 2 2 0 1 .351
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .313
Johnson, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350
Wells, CF 4 1 1 2 1 0 5 .316
Glaus, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .256
Overbay, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .306
Zaun, DH-C 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .333
Molina, C 4 1 3 1 0 0 1 .285
1-Hinske, PR 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .266
Ryan, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hill, SS 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .252
Alfonzo, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .094
a-Hillenbrand, PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .338
Figueroa, 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Totals 33 7 11 7 4 2 15

a-Singled for Alfonzo in the 8th.
1-Ran for Molina in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Molina 2 (6, Clement, Riske), Hill (11, Clement).
HR: Wells (12, 3rd inning off Clement, 1 on, 2 out), Overbay (8, 4th inning off Clement, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Rios; Catalanotto; Wells 4; Overbay 4; Zaun; Molina 5; Hill 3; Hillenbrand.
RBI: Wells 2 (39), Overbay (29), Molina (14), Rios 2 (38), Hillenbrand (24).
2-out RBI: Wells 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hill; Wells 3.
S: Hill.
GIDP: Alfonzo.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (6, 2nd base off Van Buren/Varitek).

FIELDING
DP: (Alfonzo-Hill-Overbay).


Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Clement 3.1 7 6 6 2 0 2 6.91
Van Buren 2.1 1 0 0 2 1 0 1.69
Delcarmen 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.20
Riske (L, 0-1) 0.2 2 1 1 0 0 0 10.12
Foulke 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.50

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay 7.0 7 3 3 0 2 2 2.88
Downs 0.0 0 2 2 1 0 0 4.88
Speier (BS, 1) 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 1 2.84
Ryan (W, 1-0) 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.73

Downs pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

HBP: Johnson (by Riske), Ortiz (by Halladay), Loretta (by Downs).
Pitches-strikes: Clement 86-48, Van Buren 39-23, Delcarmen 22-16, Riske 15-12, Foulke 1-1, Halladay 97-63, Downs 8-3, Speier 11-7, Ryan 14-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Clement 5-5, Van Buren 4-2, Delcarmen 3-0, Riske 1-1, Foulke 0-1, Halladay 7-12, Downs 0-0, Speier 0-1, Ryan 0-2.
Batters faced: Clement 19, Van Buren 9, Delcarmen 5, Riske 5, Foulke 1, Halladay 28, Downs 2, Speier 4, Ryan 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Van Buren 1-0, Delcarmen 1-0, Foulke 2-0, Speier 2-2, Ryan 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Tom Hallion. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Larry Young.
Weather: 93 degrees, clear.
Wind: 7 mph, L to R.
T: 3:03.
Att: 24,038.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[starkeeper]

MAny of his moves? How many is required to constitute many? Because you only named two. I'm not trying to be a jerk or nothing, but which other moves do you question, and what would you have done instead?

I was at the game and I recall being regularly ticked with Gibbons. I don't remember all of the issues without going through the game wrap, however, last night he almost blew it by not using Ryan early enough, he had two catchers in the line up that could very easily have come back to bite him.

BTW I wouldn't have pinch run Overay with Hinske in a close game. There are other weak spots in the order where Hinske could have been used. ie Figeoura

I may have been a little strong in the wording of "worst game I've seen managed". I said that before I knew Macdonald was hurt. I guess it pays to know the facts before you spout off.

[Reed Johnson]

Holy crap Vernon and Troy!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060530&content_id=1479438&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- As the crowd inside Rogers Centre roared, Vernon Wells walked down the steps of Toronto's dugout. As the fans became louder, he realized that circling the bases after belting his third home run of the night wasn't going to be enough to satisfy those in attendance.

Wells made his way back up the steps, waved his helmet in the air and received a standing ovation from the Blue Jays faithful. After Toronto's 8-5 victory over Boston on Tuesday night, though, Wells admitted that he wasn't exactly sure he was answering the fans' cheers properly.

"It was my first curtain call. I didn't know what I was doing," Wells said with a laugh. "I just went out and tried to do what I see people on TV doing."

Manager John Gibbons said that it seems as though most of the players he has seen answering curtain calls have been on rival teams in the American League East. He was happy to see Wells as the recipient of similar star treatment in Toronto.

"That's a nice, little added twist to it," Gibbons said. "We need some of that. They get those in Boston and New York all the time. We need some of those, too."

Tuesday didn't just mark the first time Wells tipped his hat to the crowd, it was the first time in the center fielder's career that he'd launched three home runs in a single game. Wells now has 15 home runs on the season. Last year he didn't reach that many until June 29.

In its 30-year history, Toronto has had nine players belt three or more home runs in a game. The last time it happened was on Sept. 25, 2003, when Carlos Delgado hit four.

"It was a good night. It was a good night for everybody," Wells said. "I got lucky. I made some good swings on some pitches, and that's baseball. We've got another one in the win column."

In the first inning, Wells sent a 1-0 pitch from Boston starter Josh Beckett (7-2) hurtling into the second deck in left field for a two-run blast that put the Jays on the board first. Two innings later he deposited the first offering he saw from Beckett into the bleachers in left-center to put Toronto ahead, 4-1. Finally, with two outs in the eighth inning, he brought the score to 8-5 when he crushed a solo homer off Red Sox reliever David Riske.

The last home run provided an insurance run for closer B.J. Ryan to work with in the ninth inning. Ryan retired the side in order and picked up his 12th save of the year for the Jays (29-22). The 6-foot-6 left-hander, who signed as a free agent with Toronto this past offseason, is glad he doesn't have to face Wells anymore.

"He's got me twice," Ryan said, laughing. "Those three hits tonight aren't the only ones he's hit off people."

Wells wasn't alone in the offensive onslaught. Third baseman Troy Glaus smashed a pair of pitches from Beckett for his 16th and 17th homers of the year. The first followed Wells' shot in the opening frame -- the fifth time this season that Toronto has had batters hit consecutive home runs. The second was a solo blast that led off the fifth.

This was the first time that Beckett, who exited after giving up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings, yielded four home runs in a game in his career. Though the power totals against the right-hander were up on Tuesday, Wells noted that facing Beckett is no easy task.

"He's one of the best, so you've got to bring your best in order to have a chance," he said. "I'd rather miss him one of these times. It's not a fun at-bat. I'm going up there swinging early and often just to give [myself] a chance. He's supplying the power, I've just got to figure out some way to put the bat on it."

The offense that Wells and Glaus provided in the early innings helped seal the win for starter Gustavo Chacin (6-1), who was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game. In his first outing since injuring his left elbow and forearm on May 10, Chacin gave up two runs on four hits in five innings.

Wells admits that he's received better pitches to swing at this year because Glaus is behind him in the batting order. Toronto acquired Glaus in an offseason trade with Arizona in order to give the Jays' offense a boost. Having Glaus hit cleanup has benefited Wells the most.

"Having Troy behind me is huge," said Wells. "It kind of forces guys to come after me a little bit. But I still have to do my job of hitting it."

That last statement is why Glaus has nothing but praise for what he's seen this year from Wells.

"He's a tremendously talented player. He does everything well," Glaus said. "He's showing his abilities. I don't think anyone's necessarily surprised at what he's doing, because he's done it before."

What Wells hadn't done before is answer a curtain call. So when the fans yelled his name, he looked to his teammates for help.

"They told me to hold on a little bit, hold on a little bit," he said. "Then they pushed me out."

The way his season is going, the Jays may have to push him up the dugout steps a few more times before it's all said and done.

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_30_bosmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, Boston 5 TOR
Toronto (29-22)
Won 2
May 30, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston
1 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 5 8 0
Toronto
3 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 X 8 13 0
Standings thru 5/30/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crisp, CF 4 2 1 0 1 1 3 .324
Youkilis, 1B 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .315
Ortiz, DH 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .267
Ramirez, LF 2 0 0 1 3 1 2 .305
Varitek, C 4 1 1 1 1 1 6 .240
Lowell, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .321
Nixon, RF 5 1 1 1 0 0 3 .295
Gonzalez, SS 4 1 1 0 1 2 1 .221
Cora, 2B 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .273
Totals 35 5 8 4 8 7 23

BATTING
HR: Nixon (4, 6th inning off Walker, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Crisp; Youkilis; Ortiz; Varitek; Lowell; Nixon 4; Gonzalez; Cora.
RBI: Varitek (25), Cora (5), Nixon (27), Ramirez (32).
2-out RBI: Varitek; Ramirez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lowell; Crisp 2; Varitek 3.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: Crisp (3, 2nd base off Chacin/Molina).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Nixon (Hill at 2nd base).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 .343
Rios, RF 5 1 2 0 0 2 2 .352
Wells, CF 4 3 3 4 1 1 2 .325
Glaus, 3B 4 2 2 2 1 0 2 .261
Overbay, DH 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .299
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .335
Molina, C 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .288
Zaun, C 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .342
Hill, SS 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 .257
Alfonzo, 2B 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 .089
Totals 36 8 13 8 2 8 15

BATTING
2B: Molina (7, Beckett).
HR: Wells 3 (15, 1st inning off Beckett, 1 on, 1 out; 3rd inning off Beckett, 0 on, 1 out; 8th inning off Riske, 0 on, 2 out), Glaus 2 (17, 1st inning off Beckett, 0 on, 1 out; 5th inning off Beckett, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Johnson; Rios 2; Wells 12; Glaus 8; Hillenbrand; Molina 2; Zaun; Hill 2.
RBI: Wells 4 (43), Glaus 2 (43), Alfonzo (2), Hill (13).
2-out RBI: Wells.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wells; Alfonzo; Overbay.
Team LOB: 8.


Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Beckett (L, 7-2) 4.2 10 7 7 1 7 4 4.46
Tavarez 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.30
Seanez 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.87
Riske 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 9.82

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 6-1) 5.0 4 2 2 4 1 0 5.11
Walker 0.2 2 3 3 2 2 1 4.76
Downs 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.88
Frasor (H, 3) 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.38
Schoeneweis (H, 8) 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.04
Speier (H, 8) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.79
Ryan (S, 12) 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.69

Downs pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

WP: Downs.
IBB: Ramirez (by Chacin).
HBP: Alfonzo (by Beckett), Molina (by Beckett), Lowell (by Frasor).
Pitches-strikes: Beckett 93-61, Tavarez 22-14, Seanez 16-13, Riske 25-16, Chacin 88-52, Walker 28-16, Downs 11-3, Frasor 14-10, Schoeneweis 6-5, Speier 5-4, Ryan 12-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Beckett 6-0, Tavarez 2-2, Seanez 2-0, Riske 2-1, Chacin 7-7, Walker 0-0, Downs 0-0, Frasor 1-2, Schoeneweis 1-0, Speier 0-0, Ryan 0-2.
Batters faced: Beckett 26, Tavarez 6, Seanez 4, Riske 4, Chacin 23, Walker 6, Downs 2, Frasor 5, Schoeneweis 3, Speier 1, Ryan 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Tavarez 1-0, Downs 3-2, Frasor 3-0, Speier 2-0, Ryan 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Everitt. 1B: Alfonso Marquez. 2B: Larry Young. 3B: Tom Hallion.
Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:31.
Att: 27,324.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[starkeeper]

They just keep on winning, especially against the Red Sox. I hope a starter gives the bullpen a break soon. Ryan has pitched quite a bit over the last 4 games and without him we have been somewhat weak lately. 4 consecutive walks from Walker and Downs had me pretty nervous.
Has anyone heard how Molina is doing?? That was quite a shot he took off his hand.
The Red Sox are using a AA pitcher to start today for Wells. A good opportunity for a sweep.

Go Jays!!

[tonyc123]

I managed to watch the sunday Chisox game and the monday Bosox game over here and was quite impressed with the fight we seem to have in the lineup. The only problems that we are having are with the rotation and bullpen. Hopefully we'll catch a break soon regarding our pitching but remember it's a long season and other teams in the division will hit their own pitching problems at some point. We're looking good at the moment but I'm not getting too excited.....yet ;)

T

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060531&content_id=1482345&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- A barrage of long balls and some brilliant bullpen work ensured the Boston Red Sox kept the brooms in the closet.

Manny Ramirez and Mark Loretta each hit two-run homers, while David Ortiz and Trot Nixon added solo shots as the Sox held off the Blue Jays on Wednesday, 8-6, salvaging the finale of a three-game series.

"We needed it," said manager Terry Francona. "That's what they've been doing to us the last couple of nights."

Four Boston relievers combined to throw 4 2/3 shutout innings of relief behind rookie starter David Pauley, who made his Major League debut.

"Our bullpen came up big, and if they didn't, we don't win," said Francona. "They did a great job."

Ortiz got Boston rolling with a two-out solo blast in the first inning, but Toronto tied the game with a bases-loaded walk in the second.

Loretta extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a third-inning homer that put Boston in front to stay.

"They're a tough team," Loretta said of the Blue Jays, who have won seven of 11 against Boston this season. "They keep coming back, and they're tough to put away, for sure. I thought we did a good job of hanging in there and kept putting runs on the board. It was a good game for us tonight. We needed it."

The Sox added two more against Toronto starter Ted Lilly in the fourth. Ramirez scored on a wild pitch before Coco Crisp singled home Kevin Youkilis.

Ramirez closed the book on Lilly with a two-run drive in the fifth, his 13th.

Pauley lived dangerously in the early innings and was the beneficiary of three inning-ending double plays through the first three frames.

"I got some ground balls when I needed them," he said. "That was big for me. I made a couple of good pitches when I needed to and got out of those situations."

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez made the highlight-reel play of the game, snaring a high throw and completing an acrobatic 1-6-3 twin-killing that helped Pauley escape a bases-loaded jam in the second.

"That ball has got a chance to go into the outfield, and they'd have to call icing," said Francona. "Everybody would have been chasing it. That was a great play."

"Whatever [Gonzalez] did at the plate, you might as well give him some RBIs," added Francona. "He saved runs. I know that doesn't count as driving in runs, but they might as well."

Pauley's luck ran out in the fifth as the Blue Jays scored four runs, closing the gap to 7-6.

Called up to start in place of David Wells, Pauley was charged with six runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out three.

Jermaine Van Buren (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the win.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 19th consecutive save to begin the 2006 season, breaking Jeff Russell's 1993 Red Sox record for consecutive saves to begin a season.

Nixon hit a solo shot leading off the sixth, his second homer in as many nights. Both came off Blue Jays reliever Pete Walker.

Mike Lowell suffered a strained left hamstring trying to score from second on Crisp's single in the fourth. He left the game after grounding out in the fifth.

"Just coming out of the box on my third at-bat, I felt it again," he said. "Tomorrow I'm going to get treatment and see how it responds. I know it's not a tear or anything like that. Hopefully I'll be all right."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_05_31_bosmlb_tormlb_1&c_id=mlb

Boston 8, Toronto 6 TOR
Toronto (29-23)
Lost 1
May 31, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston
1 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 8 9 2
Toronto
0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 6 13 0
Standings thru 5/31/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crisp, CF 5 0 1 1 0 2 4 .310
Loretta, 2B 5 1 1 2 0 0 3 .314
Cora, 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
Ortiz, DH 4 2 1 1 1 1 0 .267
Ramirez, LF 4 2 1 2 1 0 0 .304
Youkilis, 1B-3B 2 1 1 0 3 0 0 .317
Lowell, 3B 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .317
Snow, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .233
Mirabelli, C 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .167
Nixon, RF 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 .296
Gonzalez, SS 4 1 2 0 0 0 3 .229
Totals 34 8 9 7 8 7 18

BATTING
2B: Youkilis (14, Lilly), Mirabelli (3, Schoeneweis).
HR: Ortiz (15, 1st inning off Lilly, 0 on, 2 out), Loretta (2, 3rd inning off Lilly, 1 on, 2 out), Ramirez (13, 5th inning off Rosario, 1 on, 1 out), Nixon (5, 6th inning off Walker, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Crisp; Loretta 4; Ortiz 4; Ramirez 4; Youkilis 2; Mirabelli 2; Nixon 4; Gonzalez 2.
RBI: Ortiz (48), Loretta 2 (27), Crisp (3), Ramirez 2 (34), Nixon (28).
2-out RBI: Ortiz; Loretta 2; Crisp.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Mirabelli; Loretta 2; Snow.
GIDP: Mirabelli.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Youkilis (2, 2nd base off Taubenheim, T/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Youkilis (3, fielding), Ramirez (1, fielding).
DP: 4 (Pauley-Gonzalez-Youkilis, Lowell-Loretta-Youkilis, Gonzalez-Loretta-Snow, Gonzalez-Youkilis).


Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Catalanotto, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 .308
Zaun, C 5 0 2 0 0 1 2 .345
Rios, CF 4 2 3 0 1 0 1 .361
Glaus, DH 4 0 1 1 1 1 4 .261
Overbay, 1B 5 1 1 0 0 1 4 .297
Hillenbrand, 3B 5 2 2 1 0 1 3 .337
Hinske, RF 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .269
Hill, SS 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 .265
Alfonzo, 2B 3 0 0 1 1 0 2 .085
Totals 37 6 13 5 4 5 20

BATTING
2B: Rios (18, Pauley).
3B: Hill (2, Pauley).
TB: Catalanotto; Zaun 2; Rios 4; Glaus; Overbay; Hillenbrand 2; Hinske; Hill 4.
RBI: Alfonzo (3), Glaus (44), Hillenbrand (25).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun; Catalanotto; Hillenbrand.
GIDP: Glaus; Catalanotto; Hillenbrand; Overbay.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (7, 2nd base off Papelbon/Mirabelli).

FIELDING
Outfield assists: Catalanotto (Lowell at home).
DP: (Hillenbrand-Alfonzo-Overbay).


Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Pauley 4.1 11 6 6 3 3 0 12.46
Van Buren (W, 1-0) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.42
Delcarmen (H, 1) 1.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.40
Foulke (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.34
Papelbon (S, 19) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.33

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (L, 5-5) 4.0 5 5 5 4 3 2 4.50
Rosario 1.0 1 2 2 2 1 1 3.75
Walker 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 4.94
Schoeneweis 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 6.48
Frasor 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 6.16
Taubenheim, T 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.75

WP: Lilly.
HBP: Hill (by Pauley).
Pitches-strikes: Pauley 101-56, Van Buren 24-14, Delcarmen 19-12, Foulke 16-10, Papelbon 17-11, Lilly 78-45, Rosario 25-15, Walker 12-8, Schoeneweis 22-12, Frasor 12-8, Taubenheim, T 18-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Pauley 7-3, Van Buren 3-0, Delcarmen 3-1, Foulke 1-2, Papelbon 0-2, Lilly 4-4, Rosario 2-0, Walker 2-1, Schoeneweis 2-1, Frasor 1-0, Taubenheim, T 2-0.
Batters faced: Pauley 26, Van Buren 4, Delcarmen 5, Foulke 3, Papelbon 4, Lilly 19, Rosario 6, Walker 4, Schoeneweis 6, Frasor 3, Taubenheim, T 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Van Buren 1-0, Delcarmen 1-0, Frasor 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Alfonso Marquez. 1B: Larry Young. 2B: Tom Hallion. 3B: Mike Everitt.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 3:36.
Att: 24,526.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060603&content_id=1486738&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ST. PETERSBURG -- Toronto seems to have Tampa Bay worked down to a simple science -- have your starter keep it close during the opening innings, and then pounce on the bullpen.

That's how it played out on Saturday night, when the Blue Jays scored five in the final two innings to turn a one-run deficit into a 6-2 win. It was along the lines of what happened the night before, when Toronto scored nine in the ninth inning to break open a 4-3 game and finish with a 13-4 win.

On Saturday, it didn't hurt that Toronto's starter was Cy Young winner Roy Halladay.

Halladay did his job and then some in his fourth outing of at least eight innings this season. The right-hander allowed just two runs on five hits -- none of them coming back-to-back -- for his seventh win. Four times this season Halladay has faced the Rays, and four times he's thrown into the eighth inning or longer.

"He's Robopitcher," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "You know what he's going to throw and you still can't hit him."

Halladay said a big key to his continued success against a team he's faced several times over a short period is preparation.

"The biggest thing is just going back over and watching the last time we faced them and trying to pick up on adjustments that they're making so I can kind of counter that," he said. "I feel like I learn the guys a lot better. So I can do what I want to do but there's also sometimes where they might kind of change game plans on me in the middle of the game."

The extra time spent paid off, and the only one to crack Halladay for extra bases was second baseman Ty Wigginton, who drove out his 13th homer on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.

Halladay and the rest of his team knew what was coming.

"We're going to score a lot of runs, it's just a matter of time. If we don't do it in the first four, five, six innings, it'll come," said Frank Catalanotto, who doubled in the tying run in the seventh to spark a three-run rally off reliever Travis Harper. "It seems like every night we seem to have a big inning and string some hits together and put some runs on the board."

And after the scoring began, Halladay was there to hold up his end of the deal, ensuring the Rays would stay down. He faced the minimum three batters in the eighth and saw his team add two more in the top of the ninth before leaving reliever Justin Speier and closer B.J. Ryan to wrap it up in the ninth. Through eight innings, Halladay threw just 84 pitches, 58 of them for strikes.

It was reminiscent of his May 13 game at Tampa Bay, where the Jays ace tossed his second straight complete game and used just 89 pitches.

"He's good at that, what can you say?" Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Every time he's on the mound you feel you can win. There's a guarantee he's going to give you a chance, let's put it that way.

"He's arguably the top pitcher in the game and they're an aggressive team, he throws strikes. He comes right at you and you've got to go up there swinging because you know he's there. He's going to get ahead of you, so that works in his favor. But he dominates a lot of teams. He's had some tough outings against these guys. It's no easy task, he's just that good."

The Rays had their own weapon on the mound in the form of 6-foot-9 lefty Mark Hendrickson, who kept Tampa Bay in the game by allowing just one run -- Shea Hillenbrand's ninth home run of the year -- through the first six innings. But when Hendrickson left the game, Toronto jumped on the bullpen for five runs and the Rays couldn't duplicate the effort.

"We score some runs," Gibbons said. "It just gives you some breathing room and you never feel like you're out of it, unless you get blown out early. We've got a good team and we're starting to feel like we can win."

And having Halladay doesn't hurt any, either.

"He's probably the best pitcher in the American League, if not all of baseball," Hendrickson said. "When he's on, it's difficult to get runs and get wins. Every time they get him a lead they feel they can win the game."

Dawn Klemish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_06_03_tormlb_tbamlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 6, Tampa Bay 2 TB
Tampa Bay (22-34)
Lost 2
June 3, 2006
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 2 6 13 0
Tampa Bay
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 0
Standings thru 6/3/06 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .360
a-Catalanotto, PH-LF 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 .317
Rios, RF 5 1 3 2 0 0 1 .363
Wells, CF 5 0 2 1 0 1 4 .327
Glaus, 3B 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 .269
Hillenbrand, DH 4 1 1 1 0 1 3 .343
Molina, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .287
Overbay, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .288
Hill, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .270
Alfonzo, 2B 3 2 0 0 1 0 2 .091
Totals 36 6 13 6 2 4 15

a-Doubled for Johnson in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Wells (10, Hendrickson), Catalanotto 2 (11, Harper, Camp).
HR: Hillenbrand (9, 4th inning off Hendrickson, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Johnson 2; Catalanotto 4; Rios 3; Wells 3; Glaus; Hillenbrand 4; Molina; Hill.
RBI: Hillenbrand (28), Catalanotto 2 (21), Rios 2 (40), Wells (44).
2-out RBI: Wells.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Alfonzo.
GIDP: Glaus; Hillenbrand; Wells.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (5, 3rd base off Hendrickson/Hall).

FIELDING
DP: (Alfonzo-Hill-Overbay).


Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Lugo, J, SS 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .259
Norton, RF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .273
Gomes, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .267
Wigginton, 2B 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 .275
Huff, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .184
Hall, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .263
Lee, 1B 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .210
a-Paul, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .302
Hollins, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .247
Gathright, CF 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .190
Totals 33 2 7 2 0 3 10

a-Struck out for Lee in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Hall (11, Speier).
HR: Wigginton (13, 6th inning off Halladay, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Lugo, J; Gomes; Wigginton 5; Huff; Hall 2; Lee.
RBI: Lee (13), Wigginton (42).
2-out RBI: Lee; Wigginton.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lugo, J; Paul 2.
GIDP: Norton.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Gathright (12, 2nd base off Halladay/Molina).

FIELDING
DP: 3 (Hendrickson-Wigginton-Lee, Huff-Wigginton-Lee, Lugo, J-Wigginton-Lee).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay (W, 7-1) 8.0 5 2 2 0 1 1 2.81
Speier 0.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.61
Ryan (S, 13) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.68

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hendrickson (L, 3-6) 6.1 8 3 3 2 4 1 4.01
Harper (BS, 2) 0.2 3 1 1 0 0 0 5.64
Camp 2.0 2 2 2 0 0 0 3.67

HBP: Gathright (by Halladay), Hill (by Camp).
Pitches-strikes: Halladay 84-58, Speier 16-10, Ryan 3-3, Hendrickson 114-79, Harper 15-11, Camp 28-18.
Ground outs-fly outs: Halladay 14-9, Speier 0-1, Ryan 0-0, Hendrickson 9-6, Harper 0-1, Camp 4-2.
Batters faced: Halladay 29, Speier 4, Ryan 1, Hendrickson 27, Harper 4, Camp 8.
Inherited runners-scored: Ryan 2-0, Harper 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Bruce Dreckman. 1B: Mark Wegner. 2B: Gary Darling. 3B: Larry Poncino.
Weather: 72 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:29.
Att: 15,696.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[Reed Johnson]

Once again our pitchers have kept us from sweeping a series. DAMNIT!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060604&content_id=1487924&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

ST. PETERSBURG -- As Toronto must have learned from its first two games at Tampa Bay this week, it only takes one inning to doom a ballclub. Unfortunately, for the Blue Jays, they were on the receiving end of the big inning on Sunday.

Starter Gustavo Chacin allowed three home runs in the fifth inning, as the Rays scored five, swinging the momentum away from Toronto in a 10-5 loss.

"I was missing my spots," said Chacin, who fell to 6-2. "[I was] leaving the ball open, [in the] middle and up and they made great swings. They didn't miss my mistakes."

Tampa Bay's difference-making inning mirrored the Blue Jays' efforts in the