News » Centre this year and at 19-11, have the fewest road lo

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays want to put a couple of series losses behind them as they head out for a 10-game road trip that should give them a good idea of whether theyre actually ready to be a contender in the American League East. Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Twins starter Phil Hughes (7-2) struck out nine and allowed seven hits over seven shutout innings. With the loss, Torontos lead atop the division standings fell to five games over Baltimore and New York. The Orioles were home to Boston on Wednesday night while the Yankees were in Seattle. The Blue Jays will play Baltimore and New York next week before closing out their trip against the Cincinnati Reds. "Well see how good we are," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Were playing a couple good teams in our division. Weve got a small little lead on them but theyre right there. So we need to play good baseball on this road trip, especially the way the last four or five games have gone. "For our psyche more than anything else we need to regroup and put a couple good ball games together." Toronto (39-28) has been giving up early leads of late, with the opposition scoring first for the seventh straight time Wednesday. Danny Santana opened the game with a single off Marcus Stroman (3-1), who was making his third career start. The leadoff man scored when Willingham turned on a 1-2 pitch and put it into the second deck. "It was just a bad pitch," Stroman said. "It was probably the worst pitch of the outing. It was just one of those that was supposed to be buried but it just kind of hung up there. I tried to do too much with it." The Blue Jays starter allowed three earned runs and nine hits while striking out four. Triple-A callup Bobby Korecky replaced him in the seventh and loaded the bases before Morales cleared them with a three-run double. Toronto avoided the embarrassment of a fourth shutout loss in five games by scratching out a pair of runs in the eighth. Casey Fien got the last four outs for his first save of the season. "Theres no doubt weve cooled off with the bats," Gibbons said. "But that can turn in one day, that can turn overnight. But I do think its going to be good to get out on the road. "Weve been at home a long time. A little change of pace, a little change of scenery might do us some good." The Blue Jays led several offensive categories last month and, despite the recent cold stretch, have won 16 of their last 22 games and 21 of 29. "The bats are going to come around," Stroman said. "All the guys in the clubhouse are pretty positive about it. I have 100 per cent confidence in every single guy in that lineup that the guys are going to start doing what they were doing at the beginning of the year. Its close." The Twins, meanwhile, moved two games under the .500 mark with the win. Minnesota (31-33) outhit Toronto 16-10 while Hughes picked up his ninth quality start of the season. "Super job by him of changing speeds, moving the ball in and out," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He used his breaking ball a lot better today." Hughes did well to get out of a jam in the sixth inning after Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single. Reyes moved to third base on a Melky Cabrera single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Oswaldo Arcia made a nice sliding catch in foul territory on a Jose Bautista flyout and Hughes struck out Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind to escape. "I felt like I kind of found myself in the third or fourth inning and was able to ride that through," Hughes said. The Blue Jays fell to 20-17 at home this season. They have been much stronger away from Rogers Centre this year and at 19-11, have the fewest road losses in the major leagues. "The bats will heat up again," Gibbons said. "Hopefully sooner than later." Notes: Announced attendance was 45,080. There were several groups of schoolchildren in the crowd. ... Koreckys callup from the Buffalo Bisons was announced Wednesday morning and he was sent back down after the game. The Blue Jays also optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons and recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni. ... Dozier left the game in the fourth inning due to tightness in his lower back. He was replaced at second base by Eduardo Escobar and is listed as day to day. ... Toronto will kick off a four-game series at Baltimore on Thursday night. Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-2, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to start against right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 4.91). ... The Blue Jays will get an off-day Monday before playing three games against the Yankees and three against the Reds. ... Reyes turned 31 on Wednesday. ... The game took two hours 57 minutes to play. Gale Sayers Jersey .com) - The Denver Nuggets snapped a losing streak last time out and will try to carry that momentum Saturday night when they welcome the Indiana Pacers to the Pepsi Center. Mike Singletary Jersey .com) - Will Conant booted a 39-yard field goal as time expired and Air Force played spoiler with a 27-24 win over 21st- ranked Colorado State on Friday. http://www.officialauthenticbearsproshop...s-Bears-Jersey/. The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Brian Urlacher Jersey . Grimes signed a $32 million, four-year contract to remain with Miami. The deal, which includes $16 million guaranteed, rewards Grimes for his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to miss almost all of the 2012 season. Devin Hester Jersey . They are back to a game above .500 on the year and back to .500 on the road. It was their 10th extra time game of the year, and only the second one that did not got to a shootout. WASHINGTON -- Wizards centre Emeka Okafor is out indefinitely with a herniated disc, and Washington forward Chris Singleton will be sidelined approximately six to eight weeks with a broken bone in his left foot. The Wizards said Wednesday that Okafors injury was diagnosed by an MRI after he experienced discomfort in his neck. The team said Okafor will begin rehabilitation to reduce inflammation and correct the injurry, giving no timetable for his return.dddddddddddd. Singleton was hurt during a voluntary workout at Verizon Center on Tuesday. He was scheduled for outpatient surgery to repair a fracture in the fifth metatarsal. Okafor averaged 9.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 79 games for the Wizards last season. Singleton averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 57 games. The Wizards open training camp Sept. 28. 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