Funny story. So, you know how the Blue Jays announced that Rod Barajas was going to be placed on the disabled list last night? Yeah, well, see, it turns out that Rod felt much better this morning, so Toronto went ahead and pulled the plug on that move.

So all that stuff about Kyle Phillips being called up from Triple-A and Shaun Marcum being moved to the 60-day DL to clear room on the roster? Yeah, just kidding. That’s all voided. The Jays never filed the paperwork with the league, so the roster remains as is.

Raul Chavez will serve as the starter behind the plate for now and Barajas is available, if needed. If the strained right hammy continues to act up, the Jays will then place him on the DL. For now, he’s day-to-day and the club is in a wait-and-see mode.

Phillips did catch a flight from Las Vegas and I’m guessing the team will have him hang out in Toronto for a few days while the club sees how Barajas recovers. Hopefully Phillips can at least get some air miles out of all of this.

In other news, Johnny Mac is in the lineup! Starting at third base in order to give Scott Rolen a day off. It’s McDonald’s first start at third since April 20 of last season, when Rolen was on the DL.

FROM THE WOW DEPT: In the first inning on Saturday afternoon, Jayson Werth sent a 2-2 offering from rookie lefty Brad Mills to the first row of the 500 level seats high above left field. That’s the first 500-level bomb I’ve seen since covering this team. The last came on Sept. 16, 2004, when Vernon Wells sent one up there.

Today’s lineups:

PHILADELPHIA (37-34)
First place NL East, 0.0 GB

1. Shane Victorino, CF
2. Jayson Werth, RF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. John Mayberry, LF
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B
7. Chris Coste, DH
8. Eric Bruntlett, SS
9. Carlos Ruiz, C

Starter: LHP J.A. Happ (4-0, 3.47)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (41-34)
Third place AL East, 5.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Kevin Millar, 1B
5. Adam Lind, DH
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Jose Bautista, LF
8. Raul Chavez, C
9. John McDonald, 3B

Starter: LHP Brad Mills (0-1, 9.82)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

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Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas left Friday night’s game against the Phillies in the second inning with a strained right hamstring and was placed on the 15-day disabled list following Toronto’s 6-1 win.

With Barajas sidelined, the Jays selected the contract of catcher Kyle Phillips from Triple-A Las Vegas. To clear room on the 40-man roster for Phillips, Toronto transferred injured starter Shaun Marcum (right elbow) to the 60-day DL.

The Blue Jays will know more about the exent of Barajas’ injury on Saturday.

With two outs, Barajas sent a 3-1 pitch from Phillies lefty Cole Hamels up the middle for a single. After reaching first base, Barajas called for time, walked off the bag and was quickly met by Jays manager Cito Gaston and head trainer George Poulis.

Barajas jogged a few steps down the right-field line before deciding to head back to the clubhouse with Poulis. Backup catcher Raul Chavez entered the game as a pinch runner and remained behing the plate for the Jays.

On Saturday, Barajas was given a day off against the Nationals during a night game in Washington. Gaston said the veteran catcher was dealing with a sore hamstring and was in need of some rest. Barajas played on Sunday and started in each of Toronto’s three games against the Reds in Toronto earlier this week.

Barajas has appeared in 62 of the Blue Jays’ 74 games this season, often receiving a day off on a day game following a night game. Entering Friday’s game against Philadelphia, Barajas was hitting .263 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.

The Blue Jays also had replacement options at Triple-A in veteran Michael Barrett and prospect J.P. Arencibia. Barrett is currently rehabbing from a right shoulder injury he suffered in April and needs more at-bats before returning to Toronto, according to general manager J.P. Ricciardi. Ricciardi added that Arencibia needs to continue playing every day with Vegas.

Barrett recently joined Vegas and has hit .308 in three games with Vegas after playing three games with Class A Dunedin. Arencibia is Toronto’s top catching prospect, but has hit just .227 with eight homers and 37 RBIs in 64 games for Las Vegas.

In 51 games between stints with Double-A New Hampshire and Vegas this year, Phillips has hit .302 with four homers and 13 RBIs. Phillips, 25, is the younger brother of former big-league catcher Jason Phillips, who also played for the Blue Jays from 2006-07.

~JB

Praise the Baseball Gods Blue Jays fans, your prayers have been answered. The good doctor, Harry Leroy Halladay, is ready to rejoin Toronto’s rotation. Come Monday, Doc will be toeing the rubber at the dome against those pesky Rays.

Halladay threw in a 50-plus pitch bullpen session today and worked through all of his pitches. Afterwards, Doc declared himself healthy and ready to go. He said that mild groin strain was “completely gone” and he didn’t see why he wouldn’t be able to activated from the 15-day disabled list for Monday’s start.

Asked Halladay whether this injury might influence his decision to pitch in the All-Star Game, and he said it’s too early to make a call on that. For what it’s worth, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said he won’t hold Halladay back in any way if he’s asked to pitch, or even start, in the ASG in St. Louis.

“I would never do that,” Gaston said. “I think that it’s quite an honor to be picked or play in an All-Star Game. It’ll certainly be all up to Doc. If he didn’t want to go, that would be his choice. It certainly wouldn’t be mine. I can’t see anyway that he’s going to get around not going to the All-Star Game.

“If he wants to go pitch, let him go and pitch.”

As for those wounded relievers, Gaston said Jeremy Accardo (groin) is ready to pitch again, but lefty Scott Downs (sprained toe on his left foot) has nothing new to report. Accardo threw off the mound prior to Friday’s game and Downs threw in a long toss session on flat ground. There is still no established timetable for Downs’ return, though.

In the clubhouse, the Michael Jackson (RIP) tunes were blaring this afternoon. Marco Scutaro easily had the best moves of the players, busting out some nice footwork and a few crotch grabs during “Beat It”. Aaron Hill did part of the “Thriller” dance when that song came on. Quality entertainment.

Today’s lineups:

 

PHILADELPHIA (37-33)
First place NL East, 0.0 GB

1. Shane Victorino, CF
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Jayson Werth, RF
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. John Mayberry, LF
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B
7. Chris Coste, DH
8. Eric Bruntlett, SS
9. Carlos Ruiz, C

Starter: LHP Cole Hamels (4-3, 4.24)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (40-34)
Third place AL East, 5.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Kevin Millar, 1B
7. Alex Rios, RF
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Jose Bautista, LF

Starter: LHP Ricky Romero (4-3, 3.59)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

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It’s funny how taking just two days off away from the team can leave a beat reporter feeling a bit lost. Sure, it’s only been two days, but you walk in and you feel like you have no clue about what’s been going on. Takes a minute or two to catch yourself up.

It was a lovely little break, though. Went on a belated anniversary dinner date with the Wife — headed up to the 360 revolving restaurant at the top of the CN Tower and had a great time. But, now, it’s back to the presbox and back to covering the Fightin’ Jays.

The only real news item to emerge from today’s relaxed pregame chat with manager Cito Gaston was that the team should know more about ace Roy Halladay’s status on Friday. Doc is scheduled to throw in a bullpen session to test that sore groin, and the Jays will decide if he’s able to start on Monday.

If Halladay isn’t able to come off the disabled list for that outing, Scott Richmond would likely get the nod.

“Let’s hope it’s Doc — nothing against Richmond,” Gaston said.

In the bullpen, the Blue Jays are without the services of righty Jeremy Accardo for tonight’s game — another groin tweak. The team is giving him another day off to see if he’ll be fine in time for this weekend, hoping that sending Accardo to the DL won’t be necessary.

Today’s lineups:

CINCINNATI REDS (34-36)
Fourth place NL Central, 4.5 GB

1. Willy Taveras, CF
2. Jerry Hairston, 3B
3. Brandon Phillips, 2B
4. Joey Votto, 1B
5. Jonny Gomes, DH
6. Ramon Hernandez, C
7. Jay Bruce, RF
8. Paul Janish, SS
9. Chris Dickerson, LF

Starter: RHP Johnny Cueto (6-4, 2.55)

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (40-33)
Third place AL East, 5.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Russ Adams, DH

Starter: LHP Brett Cecil (2-1, 4.26)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

I am off for the next two days, so the Blue Jays beat will be in the hands of Erika Gilbert for the first two games of this Interleague set against the Reds at the Rogers Centre. The blog will be quiet until I return to the pressbox on Thursday. You can still follow my updates on Twitter. Find me under @MLBastian.

~JB

 

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there today. For me, it’s a happy Father-to-be Day, seeing as the Wife and I are expecting our first at the end of August. Kind of strange thinking that I’ve got a son of my own on the way now.

That’s me and my dad pictured on the right. We were at a parade and this shot actually wound up in the newspaper. I grew up with a dad who was a bit older than my friends’ fathers — he was 41 when I was born — but he always did his best to keep up with me as I got older.

I remember going out to the park behind our house and playing catch when I was still playing ball, and it got to the point where the ol’ man couldn’t get the ball to me on a fly when I’d be doing long toss. But, to his credit, he went out there and one-hopped throws to me as long as I needed to be out there.

I always thank my dad for giving me great advice when it came time to head off to college. It was either head to a Christian College in Illinois where I could still play ball, or head to the much larger Michigan State University. He told me to do what felt right to me, not to do what I thought other people wanted me to do.

I chose MSU and that pretty much directly led to me being able to now sit a Major League pressbox for a living. So, once again, thanks Dad. Father knows best…

Happy Father’s Day.

OK, ENOUGH SENTIMENTAL FLUFF:

The Jays have reordered their rotation for after Monday’s off-day. Brian Tallet, who threw just 76 pitches in five innings on Friday night, will pitch on short rest on Tuesday at home against the Reds. He’ll be followed by Scott Richmond, who worked one-plus innings in relief last night, on Wednesday and Brett Cecil on Thursday.

For now, young Brad Mills will be moved into the bullpen. Toronto doesn’t need a fifth starter until next Saturay (6/27) and ace Roy Halladay (strained right groin) is eligible to come off the disabled list on 6/28. With another off-day on Thursday, July 2, Halladay — if he returns when eligible — would be in line to start the opener of a series in New York on July 3. Halladay is scheduled to throw off a mound on Tuesday.

Also, chatted with Russ Adams today, check out bluejays.com later for that story. And, after having the day off due to a sore hamstring on Saturday, catcher Rod Barajas is back in the lineup today for the Blue Jays.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (37-33)
Third place AL East, 5.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Ricky Romero, P

Starter: LHP Romero (3-3, 3.73)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (20-46)
Fifth place NL East, 16.0 GB

1. Christian Guzman, SS
2. Nick Johnson, 1B
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Adam Dunn, LF
5. Austin Kearns, RF
6. Alberto Gonzalez, 2B
7. Willie Harris, CF
8. Josh Bard, C
9. Shairon Martis, P

Starter: RHP Martis (5-1, 4.76)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

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It’s like that famous blurry picture of bigfoot. Just who exactly did I see on the south lawn of the White House this afternoon?

After running into the Star’s Morgan Campbell at the President’s house, police began to very forcefully clear the sidewalk on the north side of the street. This sometimes means someone is coming out of the big white building, so I hung around to see what was what.

Well, someone in an orange shirt and khaki shorts came out shortly after a black SUV — probably security — rolled up. People thought they saw the Obama’s dog being walked, and everyone started screaming thinking it was Mr. Obama himself. Upon closer inspection of the photo I snapped very quickly, it looks more like the First Lady if it even is one of the Obama family.

It’s probably just a hired dog walker. Who knows? I’m sticking with my story. I saw one of the Obamas today and that’s all there is to it. I also checked out the Newseum (great!) and walked from there to the Washington monument, Vietnam memorial, Lincoln memorial and headed back down the Capitol to take some photos.

BACK TO BASEBALL

The lineup card had an odd sight for tonight’s game. Catcher Raul Chavez was starting in place of Rod Barajas. This is often the case for day game’s after night games, but Saturday’s contest in D.C. was a night game as well. Manager Cito Gaston said Barajas has a sore hamstring and might be fine to play on Sunday.

“We’re just going to give him the night off and hopefully he can play tomorrow,” Gaston said. “It’s not that he can’t play tonight, but I figure if I rest him tonight maybe he’ll be OK tomorrow.”

After using 13 relievers in the past two games, Gaston’s bullpen is a little thin tonight behind rookie starter Brett Cecil. The only available arms are Shawn Camp, B.J. Ryan and Dirk Hayhurst (Gee, who’s the closer?). If Cito needs more arms, he said starters Brad Mills and Scott Richmond are emergency options.

“It’s not good. It’s not good,” Gaston said. “It’s a night that we need Cecil to go out there and pitch a shutout.”

Gaston was asked if — to help the bullpen situation — the team considered calling someone up from Triple-A Las Vegas, just to have an extra arm on hand.

“I didn’t have my jet available,” Gaston said with a laugh. “No, who would you send out? You have to think of those things, too. Who do you get out of here to do that? Then, the guy would come in and be useless anyway, flying overnight. That’s what’s so tough where we have our Triple-A club. It’s really tough on travel for us. So, no, we never even thought about it.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (37-32)
Third place AL East, 4.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Raul Chavez, C
9. Brett Cecil, P

Starter: LHP Cecil (2-1, 4.38)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (19-46)
Fifth place NL East, 17.0 GB

1. Christian Guzman, SS
2. Nick Johnson, 1B
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Adam Dunn, LF
5. Elijah Dukes, RF
6. Alberto Gonzalez, 2B
7. Willie Harris, CF
8. Wil Nieves, C
9. Ross Detwiler, P

Starter: LHP Detwiler (0-3, 5.23)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

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Anyone wondering why Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston didn’t utilize the double switch in the eighth inning of Thursday’s win over the Phillies will be relieved to know there is a simple explanation.

“As soon as I got out there, I realized I screwed it up,” Gaston admitted on Friday.

The situation was this:

The Jays were clinging to a 7-6 lead and Gaston headed to the mound with two outs and a runner on second base to remove pitcher Brandon League. Due to lead off the top of the ninth was the pitcher’s spot for the Jays. The eighth spot of the order was occupied by catcher Raul Chavez and catcher Rod Barajas and infielder John McDonald were left on the bench.

Remaining in the bullpen were Jason Frasor, a struggling B.J. Ryan and a jet-lagged Jeremy Accardo. Gaston was turning to Frasor to face Shane Victorino, and using the double switch would have put the Jays reliever in the 8th hitting hole and brought Barajas in behind the plate and also set to lead off the ninth.

Where Gaston messed up was in walking straight to the mound and not consulting with the home-plate umpire.

“I thought about it,” Gaston said, “and then after I went to the mound, then you couldn’t do it. You have to approach the umpire first before you do that and I went to the mound. If I had the intentions of doing it, I screwed it up — you couldn’t do it.”

In the end, everything turned out OK. Frasor allowed a single to tie the game, but Chavez threw out Shane Victorino on a stolen base attempt and Barajas — used as a pinch-hitter in the ninth — belted a solo home run to send Toronto to a 8-7 win. Despite his error, Gaston came away smelling like roses.

“[Chavez] threw out a big runner and the other catcher came up and hit a home run, so it all turned out OK,” Gaston said. “I think, if you had to do it again, you’d probably do it a little different, just to save another pitcher.”

It was apparent that Gaston realized his mistake when he got to the mound. Once there, he turned back to the dugout and made a hand motion toward the dugout, pounding his fist in an open hand — signaling for the catcher. Someone in the dugout alerted him that the double switch had to be called off, though.

Managing primarily American League games is one reason the procedure slipped Gaston’s mind for a brief moment. It could have been a costly mistake and it’s just one more reason the manager believes the DH should be a part of Interleague Play.

“Once again,” Gaston said, “it’s nice to come to Washington here and see this ballpark and play, and I still don’t mind doing the Interleague Play, I just think they should use the DH and be done with it. I’ve got my closer on the DL because he went up to hit the other night. That’s one thing that I look at that I think is unfair.”

OTHER ITEMS: Ace Roy Halladay (strained right groin) and closer Scott Downs (sprained left toe) both played catch on flat ground at Nationals Park this afternoon. No news there except that they threw. As for Downs, Gaston said: “I’ve just kind of put Downs out of my mind right now.” Asked if it was because the injuries are too excruciating to think about, Gaston chuckled and replied, “That’s it.” … Gaston was asked by a local writer about his thoughts on the Jays/Expos “rivalry” back in the day. Cito said, “To be honest with you, [it wasn’t a rivalry] between the players or the teams. No, it was just something we had to do. The biggest rivalry we had back in that time was Detroit. So, it wasn’t a big rivalry. Maybe for the citizens — the fans — it might’ve been a rivalry, but I didn’t feel that way.” … Remember that heads-up stolen base Marco Scutaro had in the third inning on Thursday night in Philly? The Baseball Tonight crew on ESPN suggested that it was the result of Toronto having scouting reports that noted that infielders Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley put their heads down during a walk. Today, asked bench coach Brian Butterfield, who also serves as a baserunning instructor and was the brain behind Aaron Hill’s steal of home against Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte two years ago. Butter began to shake his head and said, “No, that was all Marco Scutaro. He’s had heads-up running plays all year long. To me, he’s the most underrated player in baseball right now.”

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (37-31)
Third place AL East, 4.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Rod Barajas, C
9. Brian Tallet, P

Starter: LHP Tallet (4-4, 4.87)

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (18-46)
Fifth place NL East, 18.0 GB

1. Christian Guzman, SS
2. Nick Johnson, 1B
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Adam Dunn, LF
5. Elijah Dukes, RF
6. Josh Bard, C
7. Willie Harris, CF
8. Anderson Hernandez, 2B
9. Jordan Zimmerman, P

Starter: RHP Zimmerman (2-3, 5.37)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB

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Every once in a while, you see something at the ballpark that you’ve never seen before. One of those moments came in the third inning on Thursday afternoon, when Marco Scutaro pulled something off that is usually reserved for the Little League playbook.

Scutaro drew a walk from Phillies starter Joe Blanton to open the inning — no big deal. He headed up the line, while Blanton caught the throw from the catcher and headed back to the mound. While running up the line, Scutaro could be seen surveying the field.

First, Scutaro checked Blanton, who had his head down. Then, the Jays’ shortstop looked at the positioning of shortstop Jimmy Rollins and second baseman Chase Utley — a pair of All-Stars. What Scutaro saw was an opportunity to sprint for second base.

Scutaro made it work, catching the whole ballpark off guard and stealing second base on a walk. Two batters later, Vernon Wells singled up the middle and Scutaro crossed home plate. It was a rare feat and manager Cito Gaston isn’t sure how long it’s been since he’s seen someone attempt it.

“Boy, I can’t remember, to be honest with you,” Gaston said. “He’s been playing just absolutely outstanding all year — just really heads-up baseball with a lot of things he does. His head’s in the game. He’s relaxed.”

Over the past two games against the Phillies, Scutaro reached base in nine of his 11 plate appearances. He had four singles, one double, four walks and four runs scored. Quite a response to going 0-for-6 on Friday night. Entering Thursday, Scutaro ranked fourth in the Majors with 124 times on base.

For those who might have missed it — shameless plug — I wrote a feature about Scutaro this past Monday. Catch you all from D.C.

~JB

The postgame notes that were passed out by the local PR department after last night’s game included this little item: “B.J. Ryan has not allowed a run in eight straight appearances.” This after Ryan allowed a hit and walked two to load the bases while working with a 7-1 lead in the ninth inning.

Brandon League came in the game with one out and bailed Ryan out by striking out Jayson Werth and inducing a game-ending groundout off the bat of Pedro Feliz. True, Ryan wasn’t charged with any runs when the smoke cleared, but it was another shaky outing by the Jays’ $10 million reliever.

When Scott Downs — Ryan’s replacement as the club’s stopper — went down with a left foot injury, Gaston didn’t hesitate to name the new closer: Jason Frasor. Gaston also rattled off the names of Brandon League and Jesse Carlson as possibile fill-ins. Ryan’s name didn’t come up and his latest performance didn’t help his cause.

“It’s not so much his velocity,” Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said about Ryan. “He doesn’t have any control. From what I hear, he throws the ball pretty good in the bullpen. When he gets on the mound, he’s been a bit off. We could really use him, especially now with Downs gone. Hopefully he gets better.”

Over that eight-game scoreless streak, Ryan has still allowed four hits and four walks, while throwing only 56 percent of his pitches for strikes. Against the Phillies, with such a large lead, he could have pounded the strike zone with room for error. Instead, Ryan struggled and registered strikes on just six of his 17 tosses.

OTHER ITEMS: As assumed, Brett Cecil will be called up to start for the Blue Jays on Saturday against the Nationals. Cecil gives the Jays four rookies (Scott Richmond, Ricky Romero, Brad Mills) and four lefties (Romero, Mills, and Brian Tallet) in the rotation. … Caught up with Jeremy Accardo today and he talked about nearly having Tommy John last year and the frustration of waiting so long to be called up this year. Check out bluejays.com later for the story.

REMEMBER WHEN? At the July 31 trade deadline last year, the Blue Jays nearly swung a trade with the Mariners for outfielder Raul Ibanez. Headed to Seattle would’ve been Frasor and first baseman Lyle Overbay, but the M’s nixed the deal at the last minute. This year, Ibanez has hit .312 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs through 62 games for the Phils. On Thursday, he landed on the DL with a strained left groin.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (36-31)
Third place AL East, 5.0 GB

1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Vernon Wells, CF
4. Scott Rolen, 3B
5. Adam Lind, LF
6. Alex Rios, RF
7. Lyle Overbay, 1B
8. Raul Chavez, C
9. Brad Mills, P

Starter: LHP Mills (MLB debut)

PHILADELPHIA (36-27)
First place NL East, 0.0 GB

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Shane Victorino, CF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Jayson Werth, LF
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B
7. John Mayberry Jr., RF
8. Carlos Ruiz, C
9. Joe Blanton, P

Starter: RHP Blanton (4-3, 5.17)

Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter: @MLBastian

~JB