TORONTO — The Blue Jays placed All-Star closer B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left elbow on Sunday.

Ryan, who blew his second save of the season on Saturday against Detroit, is flying to Birmingham, Ala., where he’ll meet with renowned orthropedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Monday. At that time, the Blue Jays will be able to evaluate the extent of the injury.

Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said that Ryan’s elbow had been the source of some mild discomfort during the first week of the season, when the Jays opened the year in Detroit. Ricciardi indicated that the pain worsened during the last week.

Last season, Ryan recorded 38 saves and posted a 1.37 ERA in his first season with Toronto, which signed him to a five-year deal worth $47 million in November 2005. This year, the 31-year-old closer was 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA and three saves in five chances.

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Detroit (7-4) at Toronto (6-5)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

TIGERS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Gary Sheffield, RF
Magglio Ordonez, DH
Carlos Guillen, SS
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Sean Casey, 1B
Marcus Thames, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B

PITCHING: LHP Nate Robertson

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Gregg Zaun, C
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Royce Clayton, SS
Adam Lind, LF
John McDonald, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Josh Towers

NOTES: With Ryan out, RHP Jason Frasor moves into the closer’s role. He saved 17 games for Toronto in 2004. … Toronto purchased the contract of RHP Jamie Vermilyea and added him to the bullpen, where he’ll serve mainly as a middle reliever. The Jays transferred LHP Davis Romero (torn left lebrum) to the 6-day DL to clear room on the roster. … LF Reed Johnson "has a decision to make," according to general manager J.P. Ricciardi. That means Johnson will likely have to decided whether or not to have surgery on the herniated disc in his lower back. If he does opt for the operation, he could miss at least two months. … 3B Troy Glaus might be available to play on Tuesday against the Red Sox. … Wells, Thomas, Clayton and hitting coach Mickey Brantley each donned a No. 42 jersey on Sunday in honor of the Jackie Robinson Day.

Detroit (6-4) at Toronto (6-4)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

TIGERS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Gary Sheffield, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Carlos Guillen, SS
Sean Casey, 1B
Craig Monroe, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Omar Infante, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Chad Durbin

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith, 3B
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett

NOTES: The Jays are going to rest 3B Troy Glaus through the weekend and wait until after the off-day on Monday to see if he’ll be able to get back in the lineup on Tuesday. If his tight hamstring or sore heel is still an issue, Toronto will re-evaluate his situation at that point. … LF Reed Johnson (herniated disc in lower back) flew to Florida on Saturday to see a spine specialist. It’s not clear how long Johnson could be out. … Jays manager John Gibbons is considering flip-flopping Lind (left-handed hitter) and Hill (right-handed) in the No. 2 spot of the lineup against righties and lefties, respectively.

Detroit (6-3) at Toronto (5-4)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineup:

TIGERS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Ivan Rodriguez, C
Gary Sheffield, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Carlos Guillen, SS
Sean Casey, 1B
Craig Monroe, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B

PITCHING: RHP Jeremy Bonderman

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Gregg Zaun, C
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith, 3B
John McDonald, SS

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay

NOTES: Toronto placed LF Reed Johnson (sore back) on the 15-day disabled list and planned on recalling OF Adam Lind from Triple-A Syracuse. Lind was en route to Toronto Friday and would be available on Saturday. … The Jays are giving 3B Troy Glaus (sore hamstring and bone spur in left heel) a few games off before deciding whether or not a trip to the DL could be in store for him, too. … Stairs hit second because he owns a .476 career average against Bonderman. … With a short-handed bench, the Jays have P Josh Towers available as a pinch runner. … Prior to the game, Toronto placed RHP Brandon League on the 15-day DL. The league voided his option to allow the move.

On Thursday, Jays slugger Troy Glaus was pulled from the game in the third inning, when John McDonald took over at third base. Toronto said that Glaus left the game for precautionary reasons related to soreness in his left heel and he was listed as day-to-day.

It’s the second time in a week that Glaus has left a game with the same issue. He also left Saturday’s contest against Tampa Bay with pain in his left heel. Toronto manager John Gibbons said Monday that Glaus was playing with a bone spur in his left foot — something the infielder dealt with off and on last year as well.

It’s not clear how exactly Toronto is going to deal with the situation, but it doesn’t seem good to have Glaus coming and going in games this often this early. One problem is the Jays don’t have a legit backup for third base.

Then again, playing through pain is nothing new for the 6-foot-5 Glaus. He played through leg problems last year and led the Jays with 38 homers. In ’05, he had a strained tendon behind his left knee and still appeared in around 150 games. Still, we’ll see how the current issue continues to play out.

Detroit (5-3) at Toronto (5-3)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

TIGERS
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Gary Sheffield, RF
Magglio Ordonez, DH
Carlos Guillen, SS
Sean Casey, 1B
Craig Monroe, LF
Mike Rabelo, C
Brandon Inge, 3B

PITCHING: LHP Mike Maroth

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
Royce Clayton, SS
Jason Phillips, 1B

PITCHING: RHP Tomo Ohka

NOTES: LF Reed Johnson sat out with a sore back and wasn’t available off the bench. … Boston had its game rained out Thursday, which means starter Daisuke Matsuzaka is now slated to pitch in Toronto on Tuesday. … RHP Brandon League is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list within the next few days by the Blue Jays.

On Monday night, I could barely hear myself think inside the pressbox — thanks to the 50,000-plus in attendance. Tuesday, some 22,000 fans came to the Rogers Centre, but the noise level was still pretty high. Wednesday? Well, everyone in the stadium had to put up with the constant heckling of one Toronto fan, who had no problem making himself heard among the 15,218 who purchased a ticket.

The best line of the night from Mr. Anonymous:

"Hey LaRue! You’re hitting .143! No joke needed!"

Royals catcher Jason LaRue smacked a double to right-center field right after that comment, prompting the fan to respond with: "I just got punked!"

There’s always a dropoff in attendance following home openers, and I know it was the Royals in town for the opening series, but the crowd on hand was pretty pathetic Tuesday night. Don’t just take it from me, either. Hear what Jays reliever Jason Frasor had to say about it:

"Hopefully we get more fans," Frasor said. "It’s a lot more fun and we play a whole lot better when there’s at least 25,000. Yesterday and today, it felt like it was dead — like a boring intrasquad game or something."

Ouch. Pick it up Jays fans.

EARLY EXIT: Toronto manager John Gibbons didn’t wait long to turn to his bullpen Tuesday. As soon as Reggie Sanders sent Gustavo Chacin’s 79th pitch into right-center for a double to lead off the sixth, Gibbons pulled the left-hander from the game. "They don’t call me Captain Hook for nothing," Gibbons joked afterward.

In reality, though, Chacin had given up a few hard hits, including a homer to David DeJesus, and Toronto’s ‘pen was plenty rested. Frasor looked sharp — fanning the side in the eighth — and B.J. Ryan picked up his third save. At the time Chacin was pulled, it seemed questionable. In hindsight? You can’t really complain with the results. And that’s all that really matters. Still, the Jays would love to be able to consistently get six out of Chacin.

WALKING WOUNDED: It’s not every day that John McDonald (seven career home runs) will come in to pinch hit for Troy Glaus (259 homers), but it happened in the eighth with the bases loaded. Gibbons said afterward that Glaus’ "legs are beat up" but he’ll be in the lineup on Thursday. Glaus has been playing with a bone spur in his left heal.

PLAY OF THE DAY: With runners on first and second with two outs and the Jays up, 5-4, in the seventh, Frasor induced a grounder from Sanders. The ball was hit sharply back toward the mound and, somehow, Frasor was able to reach back and grab it out of the air. If he doesn’t make that play, KC notches the tying run and has another runner in scoring position. "I don’t know how I did that," Frasor said.

Kansas City (3-5) at Toronto (4-3)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

ROYALS
David DeJesus, CF
Esteban German, 2B
Mark Teahen, RF
Reggie Sanders, DH
Emil Brown, LF
Alex Gordon, 3B
Ryan Shealy, 1B
Jason LaRue, C
Tony Pena Jr., SS

PITCHING: LHP Jorge De La Rosa

BLUE JAYS
Reed Johnson, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Gregg Zaun, C
Royce Clayton, SS

PITCHING: LHP Gustavo Chacin

Kansas City (2-5) at Toronto (4-2)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

Today’s lineups:

ROYALS
David DeJesus, CF
Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
Mark Teahen, RF
Mike Sweeney, DH
Alex Gordon, 3B
Emil Brown, LF
Ryan Shealy, 1B
Jason LaRue, C
Tony Pena Jr., SS

PITCHING: RHP Zach Greinke

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Troy Glaus, 3B
Matt Stairs, LF
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Smith, SS
Jason Phillips, C

PITCHING: RHP Josh Towers

NOTES: Day off for LF Reed Johnson, C Gregg Zaun and SS Royce Clayton. Manager John Gibbons said Rios may get a day off in the next few days, too. … Smith made his first start of the season at short, spelling Clayton against Greinkie. The Jays will likely give Smith a handful of starts against right-handers this season. … Raptors PF Chris Bosh was at the Rogers Centre and threw out the first pitch.

My wife, Kelly, was one of the 50,125 in attendance at the Rogers Centre Monday night for the home opener. I’m blessed to be married to a woman who shares a love of the game of baseball — makes being a baseball writer much easier.

So she was excited to finally have the baseball season return to Toronto, where she and I have now been living for parts of three years now — a little more than one year consecutively. She borrowed my camera for the home opener and snapped a few shots, like the one of Frank Thomas (above), who she followed with the White Sox back when we lived on the south side of Chicago.

Kelly had seats a few rows behind Toronto’s dugout, so she was able to have a nice view of the plate. Here’s another shot she snapped of Thomas (right).                  

Here are a few more pictures she took:

Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun walking back to Toronto’s dugout.

First baseman Lyle Overbay and right-hander A.J. Burnett walking off the field.

Burnett firing a pitch against the Royals. The righty gave up one run on three hits in 6 2/3 innings.

John Gibbons posed a question to the pack of reporters inside his office after Monday night’s 9-1 win over the Royals. Toronto’s manager was simply curious how long the home opener lasted.

"That’s it?!" responded Gibbons, when informed the game was 3 hours, 8 minutes long. "I would’ve said four."

That summed up the Blue Jays’ home opener. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t quick, but it was an overwhelming win for Toronto. Starter A.J. Burnett’s performance wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t quick, but he held the Royals to three hits and one run over 6 2/3 frames. Burnett worked out of two bases-loaded jams, and walked off the field to a standing ovation from the 50,000-plus in attendance.

How about the production from the Nos. 6-9 hitters? Alex Rios, Aaron Hill, Gregg Zaun and Royce Clayton combined to go 7-for-15 with six of the nine runs scored. Hill led the group with three hits — two doubles — and Rios had two singles as well. Vernon Wells belted his second homer of the year, knocking Hill out as Toronto’s team leader in moonshots.

"I told you it wouldn’t last long," Hill laughed after the game.

LOUDEST CHEER: Scratch that, and make it "loudest boos." The sellout crowd let out a resounding boo for the fan wearing a New York Islanders jersey who appeared on the jumbotron during the game. That’s a lot of disgruntled Leafs fans.

SHOW UP EARLY: On Sept. 2, the Blue Jays will have Frank Thomas Kids Pillow Giveaway Day at the Rogers Centre. I’m sure the people who weren’t big fans of the recent TV commercial where Thomas has a pillow fight with his "son" will be the first ones in line.

ON DECK: RHP Josh Towers takes the mound for his first start of the year. Not only is he coming off a 2-10, 8.42 ERA in 2006, he’ll be starting after nine days of rest. It will be interesting to see how Towers performs in his first start under those circumstances.