Toronto Blue Jays

This year, Toronto has had to deal with more injuries and problems than usual.

Stay there for a moment, I need to unfurl my list and get my reading glasses.

Shawn Marcum, Dustin McGowan, Jesse Litsch have become casualties of the rotation. B.J. Ryan has been having troubles, and the Jays bullpen has been reshaped accordingly.

Rookies Brett Cecil and Bobby Ray were chased from the rotation, getting rocked and injured in the process. Ricky Romero and Scott Richmond have had their share of struggles lately. 

I was watching today’s game while at work and boy-oh-boy was it packed with action.  We saw Jim Leyland get himself tossed, that’s always fun.  We saw Miguel Cabrera, the AL MVP up to this point in the season, pull his hamstring and have to leave the game.  Neither of those things is terribly unique, though.  What was unique was the performance of Dontrelle Willis.

I guess the off day, and coming home after a nine game losing streak was exactly what the Jays needed. A sweep would have been nice, but considering the circumstances, taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox and pulling within a game of them is pretty good.

There is another much needed off-day today, so our series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starts tomorrow at the Rogers Center. Here are the pitching match-up previews.

Roy Halladay (8-1, 2.63 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (6-3, 3.26 ERA)

Advantage: Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the best stories in the young MLB season, riding hot bats and surprisingly-good young pitching. The Jays were in first place in the AL East until Sunday, where after a now seven-game losing streak, are in third place in the toughest division in baseball.

If you didn't see this fall coming, you must be a die-hard Jays Fan.  Here are five reasons the Jays have cooled off.

5. Overpaid, Underachievers

Toronto Blue Jays' manager Clarence "Cito" Gaston was familiar with the situation. In the eighth inning of a scoreless game at Atlanta, the Blue Jays had Scott Rolen on second base and one out.

Rod Barajas was the batter, with pitcher Roy Halladay on deck. Through seven innings, Halladay had faced 26 batters, making 95 pitches.

No Designated Hitter

Games hosted by National League teams do not use the designated hitter rule.

The Toronto Blue Jays open a series in Atlanta tonight after an extremely disappointing series against the Boston Red Sox in which they got swept. The Jays are still in first, but by just 0.5 games.

Both Robert Ray and Brett Cecil were officially sent down today, and taking their places in the rotation will be Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero. This means that Janssen will pitch Game Two of the series, and both Scott Richmond and Brian Tallet will be pushed back a day.

Game One Pitching Preview: Roy Halladay (8-1) Versus Kenshin Kawakami (2-5)

The Blue Jays are still in first place in the American League East, but one wonders how long that will last. Perhaps until the next weekend, the next time they meet the Red Sox.

Boston is a strong 8-0 against the other other two AL East contenders, the Blue Jays and the Yankees. They should be huge favorites for the AL East title.

But they're not. The reason is that they are only 17-16 against all other teams.