Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum exited Saturday’s contest in New York after three innings due to a sore right knee. It wasn’t clear when the young pitcher hurt himself, but he appeared to come up lame somewhat after a rundown between third base and home plate in the second inning.

Toronto already pondered pushing Marcum’s latest start back because he’s been feeling some fatigue lately. So, if the knee injury is in any way a concern, this may have been Marcum’s final outing of 2007. If it was, he wrapped up quite the campaign for the Jays, going 11-4 with a 3.91 ERA as a starter.

Hmmmm…Frank Thomas just came out of the game after singling in the fifth inning. No info on what he may or may not have done. Newbie John-Ford Griffin entered as a pinch runner. That’s usually saved for later on, so Thomas may have hurt himself running. Jays just announced Thomas also left with a sore right knee.

In the seventh now, and Scott Downs just left a half-inning ago. This is getting redundant and a tad ridiculous. UPDATE: Jays just announced that Downs left with a strained back.

I’ll update with more information after the game.

So, I walk off the elevator and step into the tunnel here at The Stadium this morning and a line of Blue Jays were walking in at the same time. As we all made our way to the clubhouse, Aaron Hill calls out, "Jordan…" and I turn to see an obviously tired second baseman dragging his feet and practically sleepwalking his way to work "…why are you here soo early?" I replied with a simple, "I don’t know." Now, I’m regretting my early arrival to get some extra work done even more, considering there’s a tarp on the diamond and God is sending a heavy misting rain down on the Bronx. Anyway, off to the pregame…

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Toronto (78-75) at New York (88-65)
at 1:05 p.m. ET (weather premitting) at Yankee Stadium

Today’s lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, RF
Matt Stairs, 1B
Alex Rios, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Aaron Hill, 2B
Russ Adams, 3B
Adam Lind, LF
Curtis Thigpen, C
Ray Olmedo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Shaun Marcum (12-6, 4.15 ERA)

YANKEES
Melky Cabrera, CF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, LF
Jorge Posada, C
Jason Giambi, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B

PITCHING: RHP Phil Hughes (4-3, 4.75 ERA)

NOTES: Toronto purchased the contract of OF John-Ford Griffin on Saturday to add some more outfield depth with CF Vernon Wells out. Wells (left shoulder) was placed on the 60-day DL to clear room for JFG on the 40-man roster. … SS John McDonald missed his fourth game with what he is now describing as a lower abdominal strain, but he’s expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday. … 1B Lyle Overbay said that he will have surgery to remove four pins from his hand on Tuesday in Baltimore. Previously, the club only indicated the operation would take place some time during the Jays’ series against the O’s. … C Sal Fasano is away from the team to be with his wife, who is expecting a baby boy any day now. Toronto manager John Gibbons wasn’t sure if Fasano would be returning to the team with only nine games left. … Thomas is going to be a part of TBS’s playoff TV team. He’ll be a part of a panel that also includes Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., and Thomas said he’s slated to provide analysis through the LCS.

BREAKING EVEN…Toronto needs to post a 4-5 record over its final nine games to finish the season above .500.

A DAY AT THE RACES:

AL EAST
entering Saturday
1. Boston 91-63 (–)
2. New York 88-65 (2.5)

AL WILD CARD
entering Saturday
1. New York 88-65 (–)
2. Detroit 84-70 (4.5)

AL BEST RECORD
entering Saturday
1. Cleveland 91-62 (–)
2. Los Angeles 91-63 (0.5)
2. Boston 91-63 (0.5)
4. New York 88-65 (3)

Toronto (77-75) at New York (88-64)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium

Today’s lineups:

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, RF
Matt Stairs, 1B
Alex Rios, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Aaron Hill, 2B
Russ Adams, 3B
Gregg Zaun, C
Adam Lind, LF
Ray Olmedo, SS

PITCHING: RHP Roy Haladay (15-7, 3.82 ERA)

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Jorge Posada, C
Robinson Cano, 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B
Melky Cabrera, CF

PITCHING: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (18-7, 3.82 ERA)

NOTES: Toronto called up INF Joe Inglett to have an extra man on the bench. He can help out if needed around the infield and in the outfield. The Jays could use an additional player, considering 1B Lyle Overbay isn’t starting and 3B Troy Glaus and CF Vernon Wells have been shelved for the year. Inglett was claimed off waivers from the Indians on Sept. 14. … SS John McDonald is still out with a sore left hip flexor.

BREAKING EVEN…Toronto needs to post a 5-5 record over its final 10 games to finish the season above .500.

A DAY AT THE RACES:

AL EAST
entering Friday
1. Boston 90-63 (–)
2. New York 88-64 (1.5)

AL WILD CARD
entering Friday
1. New York 88-64 (–)
2. Detroit 83-70 (5.5)

AL BEST RECORD
entering Friday
1. Los Angeles 91-62 (–)
2. Cleveland 90-62 (0.5)
3. Boston 90-63 (1)
4. New York 88-64 (2.5)

I can’t say I was all that surprised to see ol’ Russell come out on top in the eighth inning against Jonathan Papelbon here tonight. If you take a little stroll down memory lane, you’ll recall that it was Adams who ended the scoreless streak Pap carried into May last season.

The only downer on Wednesday night was the fact that John McDonald didn’t enter the game. He won’t be able to qualify for the fielding percentage title this year now, and he would’ve been tied for the MLB lead had he appeared in the final 11 games. I thought for sure he’d come in in the ninth with Toronto up, 6-1.

Even so, what a series for the Blue Jays, huh? A little late, but still quite the effort by the pitching staff over the past three days to sweep Boston. Dustin McGowan’s slider was unbelievable on Monday, A.J. Burnett’s curve was just plain sick on Tuesday and on Wednesday Litsch found that changeup he’s been missing. Combined, that trio went 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA.

I gotta say, I like the way Toronto’s rotation is stacking up. With Roy Halladay at the top, Burnett and McGowan both being solid No. 2 guys and Shaun Marcum a sound option behind them, that’s a tough group to match up against. I’m sure Toronto would take its chances with a Halladay-Burnett-McGowan lineup in a playoff series. Of course, there’s that whole reaching the playoffs thing…

The pitching should be fine next year, but maybe having us scribes write that is the kiss of death. Along with the team, it was us who — hey, understandably at the time — were pumping up the Jays offense going into this year. I’m not completely sold that this O can return to its 2006 form. I’ll believe it when I see it.  Injuries certainly played a role, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the wounded can all rebound in ’08.

To finish above .500, the Jays need to go just 5-5 down the stretch. The Yankees are rolling right now, so heading to the Bronx for a four-game set will be tough. Honestly, escaping with a split would be a success. Toronto should take two of three in Baltimore, and you would hope two of three against the Rays, so that’d be a 6-4 finish.

Would 83 wins make this season a success under the circumstances?

I’ll be flying out to New York tomorrow and I’ll be in Baltimore after that. I may even be bringing some postseason coverage to the blog come October. Stay tuned…

Baltimore (63-83) at Toronto (73-74)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

ORIOLES
Brian Roberts, 2B
Tike Redman, CF
Nick Markakis, RF
Miguel Tejada, SS
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Kevin Millar, DH
Scott Moore, 3B
J.R. House, C
Freddie Bynum, LF

PITCHING: LHP Kurt Birkins (1-1, 7.27 ERA)

BLUE JAYS
Vernon Wells, CF
Reed Johnson, LF
Alex Rios, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Aaron Hill, 2B
Matt Stairs, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
Hector Luna, 3B
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay (14-7, 3.91 ERA)

NOTES: Matt Stairs offered his explanation for waiting until after the season to discuss a new deal with the Jays. He wants to see what kind of playing time he’d be in stor for with Johnson still in the fold: "I feel when I’m in the lineup we have a good chance of winning each ballgame. It’s something where, are they going to plan on platooning us? There’s obviously a lot of questions that need to be answered. Is it going to come back to where I’m going to a 100 at-bat guy?" Stairs said his first choice is Toronto, but he’s obviously shown what he can still do with a solid number of at-bats. If he’s going to simply be a bench guy again with everyone healthy, Stairs may opt to explore his options elsewhere. … Don’t look now, but the Jays have officially been eliminated from the AL East division race. … Class A Auburn captured the New York-Penn League title on Friday.

AL WILD CARD RACE
entering Saturday
1. New York 84-63 (–)
2. Detroit 81-67 (3.5)
3. Seattle 78-68 (5.5)
4. Toronto 73-74 (11)

BREAKING EVEN…Toronto needs to post a 9-6 record over its final 15 games to finish the season above .500.