FIRST: Should he stay or should he go? That was the question Fred Lewis had running through his mind as he sprinted around the bags in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the A’s.

The Jays’ offense had struggled for most of the game and was finally putting together a rally. There were two outs, though, and Lewis drove on into the right-center gap for a sure double.

Lyle Overbay scored on the play to cut Oakland’s lead to one run. If Lewis holds up at second base, he’s likely a single away from scoring. If he legs out the triple, a wild pitch or passed ball ties the game. There was a catch, though…

“It’s like I was telling my third base coach,” Lewis said. “Out there in the gap, you can’t see the ball with the sign out there. So I told him, I said, ‘If we had that dark out, I probably would’ve pulled up.'”

There are video boards built into the walls in the right-center and left-center gaps at Rogers Center. For years, players, coaches and managers on both sides have complained about them. In short, the complaint is that baseballs disappear when they fly in front of the signs, making it hard for runners to properly track the ball.

This is what happened with Lewis. He said he could not tell where the ball was. As it turned out, right fielder Gabe Gross was picking it up and making a quick relay to second baseman Adam Rosales. Lewis nearly made it to third, but the throw came into third just ahead of Lewis.

Lewis was out. The rally was over. And the A’s went on to win.

“It was one of those tough plays,” Lewis said. “It was real bright out there in that gap, I couldn’t tell if he had the ball or not. [Third base coach Brian Butterfield] told me they’ve been trying to tell them about it for years.”

SECOND: Dana Eveland wasn’t sharp in the early going for the Jays, allowing four runs on six hits over the first four innings. The pitch that hurt the most came in the fourth, when Eveland allowed a two-run homer to rookie catcher Josh Donaldson with one out and a runner on third base.

Congrats to Donaldson, though. Nice way to get your first big league hit.

“I really wish i could have that pitch back,” Eveland said. “I was trying to get in. It was a runner on third, less than two out situation. A lot of times, hitters are looking for balls out over in that situation, trying to get a sac fly or drive a ball up the middle. So I tried to get in on him and I threw it inner half and up.

“He can pull the ball — that’s one thing I remember about him from when we played in Spring Training a year ago. He hits the ball pretty well to left. He’s got some pop. I just didn’t get it in enough.”

THIRD: Don’t look now, but manager Cito Gaston has used five pinch hitters in the past four games (yes, I realize John McDonald’s appearance was bases on the rout yesterday). On Saturday, Gaston called upon Lyle Overbay as a pinch hitter with two outs and a runner on first base in the seventh. Overbay doubled to right, helping to continue the rally that later ended with Lewis being thrown out at third base. And, what do you know? Overbay is 8-for-his-last-24. His average has climbed to .181 in the process.

HOME: The bullpen had been thrown under the bus quite a few times in recent days, so now it’s time to show some love. Scott Downs and Casey Janssen turned in 2.1 shutout innings in Saturday’s loss, giving the bullpen no runs allowed over its last 8.1 innings of work. That’s called progress. In their previous 18.1 innings, the relievers combined to give up 21 runs.

~JB

FIRST: OK, now be honest, who had Alex Gonzalez launching seven home runs in the first month of the season for the Blue Jays?

Anyone?

Didn’t think so.

Gonzalez has had decent power totals over the course of his career (23 in 2004, 18 in ’03, even 16 as recent as ’07), but the 33-year-old shortstop had knee issues in recent seasons and launched all of eight homers over 112 games a year ago.

Gone-zo hit two homers in Friday’s 10-2 win over the A’s, giving him seven on the year.

The Blue Jays even billed the one-year signing of Gonzalez as a way to bring in a Gold Glove-caliber defender. Any kind of offense would be a bonus. Well, consider this first month — a club record for home runs by a Jays shortstop — a major bonus for Toronto.

SECOND: Vernon Wells was quick to say that what Gonzalez is doing right now is unbelievable: “I just look at him and shake my head sometimes.” While discussing Gonzalez, Wells broke into a smile and laughed.

“He tells me to look out, because he’s right behind me,” Wells said.

Said Gonzalez…

“That’s what I told him in the dugout,” he said, grinning. “I said, ‘I’m coming behind you. Watch out.’ It’s just, you make it fun during the game.”

Obviously, Gonzalez is having fun with this while it lasts, too.

Wells launched a two-run homer in Friday’s win over Oakland, picking up career blast No. 200. After the game, Jays manager Cito Gaston presented Wells with the baseball that was hit for the milestone shot. Wells’ two RBIs also moved him past Geroge Bell for second on the club’s all-time list.

Wells said he’ll appreciate such moments after his career is over.

“When I’m done, it’ll be neat,” he said.

THIRD: Let’s step away from the long balls for a moment, shall we?

Gonzalez and Wells got all the postgame love, and will surely be the focus in all the Toronto papers (and on bluejays.com), but right-hander Brandon Morrow also turned in a solid outing for Toronto. Morrow worked six innings, struck out nine and limited the damage to two runs after allowing seven hits and two walks.

A few starts ago, pitching coach Bruce Walton worked with Morrow on lowering his arm slot. It’s still a work in progress, but Morrow is getting more comfortable with the change and has looked better over his past three outings.

“My arm’s been feeling really good,” Morrow said. “Those little tweaks we made a few starts ago, I’m starting to get more comfortable with it. My release point has been really good out of the stretch. It’s getting there out of the windup, getting more consistent. And my slider’s been great.”

HOME: OK, back to the home runs to wrap this up. The Blue Jays have belted a Major League-high 35 homers, producing 53 runs in the process. That accounts for 48.2 percent of the runs Toronto has scored this season. The team average is down, as are the walks and on-base percentage, while the strikeouts are aplenty.

Basically, the Jays are what the are — a team based on power. All-er-nothin’.

Wells had this to say about it…

“It’ll be difficult to keep this pace up. We need to start scoring runs in some different ways.”

~JB

FIRST: So, maybe a few of the Blue Jays hitters should take part in some extra-early batting practice from now on.

Early this afternoon, when the lights were low and the stadium was empty, John Buck took to the field with manager Cito Gaston, hitting coach Dwayne Murphy and pitching coach Bruce Walton.

Walton threw. Murphy advised. Gaston observed and offered his two cents as well. The goal? To get Buck’s timing back on track.

Um, it worked a little.

Buck slammed three home runs in a 6-3 win over the A’s that felt like a rout even though the difference was just three runs. Buck victimized Justin Duchscherer, Jerry Blevins and Craig Breslow to become the 15th Blue Jay to belt at least three homers in a game in franchise history.

There weren’t many fans here tonight — announced attendance of 10,721 — but those in the stands began chanting, “Buck! Buck!” during his final at-bat. Alas, Carlos Delgado remains the lone Jay to launch a quartet of moonshots in a single contest.

Buck might have a few more early sessions in his future.

“I might as well. I’ll do it every day if I’ll get those results,” he joked.

SECOND: Had Buck not dominated the storyline tonight, we might have been writing more about the solid effort from Ricky Romero. He did not look sharp early, allowing three runs on four hits in the first three innings. Then he settled in and managed to log six innings, giving Buck time to do his damage

Buck was impressed with how Romero battled his way through six frames.

“I think that’s a really good thing on Ricky’s part,” Buck said. “Normally he’s able to go out there and just be nasty. Tonight his changeup didn’t have that bit — they got a coupld early hits on that. I told Ricky, ‘You’ve just got to pitch.’ It was like he felt too good.

He made the adjustment right away and did a real good job. I was really, really proud of him, the way he was just able to go out there and pitch.”

THIRD: Another player lost in the wake of Buck’s wallops was Travis Snider. Like Buck, Snider has been fighting through a month-long slump. Like Buck, Snider homered on Thursday. Snider just didn’t go yard two more times.

Following Buck’s solo shot in the third inning, Snider crushed a pitch from Duchscherer to right field for a rocket of a home run. Or, as Cito put it…

“That missile got out of here in a hurry,” Gaston said. “Then Buck came back and put one off the restaurant.”

Yeah, that one was crushed. Off the windows of the restaurant in center field.

Oh, wait. I was talking about Snider. Right. Anyways…

Snider finished 2-for-4 with that homer and a double. The Jays can only hope that gets him jump-started.

HOME: OK, I’ve always got to play Debbie Downer at least once, right? Well, the A’s led 3-0 after three, but had it not been for a “wild pitch” from Romero it would’ve likely been just a two-run advantage. Buck did not properly block a pitch and it skipped away. There have been a few of those this year.

But, Buck made up for it. Three times. So, all’s forgiven.

~JB

FIRST: Jon Lester. I mean, what else is there to say after that 2-0 stinker against the Red Sox, really?

Seven innings. One hit. 11 strikeouts.

Blue Jays: baffled.

“That’s the best I’ve seen him,” said Aaron Hill. “He just absolutely dominated us tonight — that’s the bottom line.”

That said…

“You don’t want to give him too much credit, because he’s an opposing pitcher,” Hill added. “There’s no excuse for a one-hit, two-hit — whatever it was.”

And that’s more to the point, because it hasn’t just been Lester. The Jays have now gone 17 innings without a run, their longest skid since being blanked 31 frames in a row from May 9-12, 2008.

This after Toronto pounded out 12 runs on 16 hits in a loss to the Sox on Monday night. Jays have now dropped five games in a row and are in fourth place in the East.

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston always has a way of sifting through the wreckage and pulling out the positives…

“The way we’re losing is certainly not as bad as you think,” Gaston said. “You don’t want to get beat up out there every night. Our guys have been keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win. If we can just stay at the same pace, then we’ve got a chance to win some games. We’ve just got to score some runs. That’s all.”

SECOND: You’ve got to love it when a guy admits he was out for a little revenge.

Last May, Cecil was absolutely drilled in a brief appearance at Fenway Park, where Boston slugged five homers off the young lefty. In two losses to the Red Sox in 2009, Cecil allowed 12 runs over nine innings with seven homers surrendered.

Was that showing on his mind when he took the hill Wednesday?

“Absolutely,” Cecil said. “Nobody gets tore up like that last year and doesn’t look for a little extra something against the team.”

Cecil delivered with a strong performance against the Sox in the spring and he followed it up with a solid six-inning outing on Wednesday. The lefty scattered five hits and allowed one run.

“I feel like I’ve gained a little bit of their respect this year,” Cecil said of the Sox.

THIRD: That bring us to the fact that Cecil — despite his performance — was pegged with a big “L.” But, Blue Jays fans are growing accustomed to seeing such results by now, right? Consider this…

Through 22 games, Toronto’s rotation has turned in 14 quality starts (at least six innings pitched with three runs or fewer allowed), posting a 2.13 ERA in those outings. Nine of those starts have resulted in a loss or a no-decision for the starter.

Said Cito: “I guess the only thing we can take out of it is hopefully our hitters know that if we can go out and get four or five runs, we have a chance to win with the way these guys are pitching. It’s just one of those things. We’re just not driving in any runs or getting any hits right now.”

HOME: There’s got to be a silver lining in here. Let’s look to the eighth and ninth inning. Josh Roenicke logged his first inning of the year for the Jays and blanked Boston and struck out two in the eighth. Rommie Lewis made his big league debut in the ninth with a shutout frame of his own. (Pay no attention to the run Casey Janssen allowed in the seventh, making it 19 runs allowed by the Jays’ bullpen over its last 14 innings of work)

EXTRAS: Only three times over the course of Toronto’s first 21 games did Gaston use a pinch hitter. In the eighth on Wednesday, Gaston used three pinch hitters in a row: lefties Adam Lind, Fred Lewis and Travis Snider to face righty Daniel Bard with a runner on second base. So much for that idea, though. All three struck out in order.

~JB

BOSTON AT TORONTO
at 7:07 p.m. ET
Rogers Centre

RED SOX (10-11, 5.5 GB)
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Victor Martinez, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Varitek, C
7. Adrian Beltre, 3B
8. Bill Hall, LF
9. Darnell McDonald, CF

Pitching: Jon Lester (0-2, 6.23)

BLUE JAYS (10-11, 5.5 GB)
1. Mike McCoy, LF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Jose Bautista, RF
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Lyle Overbay, 1B
6. Alex Gonzalez, SS
7. Randy Ruiz, DH
8. Jose Molina, C
9. John McDonald, 3B

Pitching: Brett Cecil (1-0, 5.40)

~JB

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FIRST: It was only a matter of time before the infectious disease that’s making its way through the Jays’ bullpen got to Kevin Gregg.

Before Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Red Sox, Gregg had sidestepped much damage this year, aside from one run allowed in an April 17 appearance against the Angels.

On Tuesday, Gregg was brought in with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning to face Mike Lowell. Slider. Slider. Fastball. Fastball. Ball four. Take your base.

The bases-loaded walk forced in the decisive run. Not exactly great timing for Gregg’s first walk of the season. And it marked the first inherited runner to score of the seven he’s worked with this year. That hung a run on Scott Downs’ line and resulted in a third loss in the past five Jays’ defeats for the lefty.

For those keeping track at home, the Jays’ bullpen has now surrendered 18 runs over its last 11 innings. The group now has a 5.65 ERA this season. This from a bullpen billed as the club’s strength going into the year.

SECOND: Not that it was the bullpen’s fault, since he was already out of the game in a 1-1 contest, but Shaun Marcum once again walked away without a win. His last victory for the Jays? Try Sept. 11, 2008.

He’s made five starts — five solid starts this year — and has one loss and four no-decisions to show for it. In those four NDs, Marcum has posted a 2.89 ERA. There’s been a lack of run support, a shaky ‘pen and some bad luck along the way.

Against the Red Sox, he allowed one run in the second inning and blanked Boston the rest of the way. He worked seven innings and scattered four hits and wanted to keep pitching. With his count up to 103 pitches, though, Gaston didn’t want to run him out for an eighth inning.

“I told him I had more left, but he’s the manager,” Marcum said. “That’s his call. Either way, I would’ve been fine wiht it. Being a competitor, you want to go out there and pitch as much as you can, especially on a day like today where the bullpen has been getting used a lot lately.”

THIRD: Complain all you want about the lack of offense, or about the 0-for-3s turned in by Lyle Overbay and Travis Snider, or about the Jays going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position after Wells’ RBI double in the first. But also give some credit to that guy named Clay Buchholz. He pitched a heckuva ballgame here tonight.

HOME: Times have certainly changed, haven’t they? In that decisive eighth inning, with the game on the line and Gregg on the mound with the bases jacked, the Red Sox pulled David “Big Papi” Ortiz back to the bench and sent Lowell up to the plate as a pinch hitter. It’s the second time Papi has been removed for a pinch hitter in a tight situation this season.

~JB

BOSTON AT TORONTO
at 7:07 p.m. ET
Rogers Centre

RED SOX (9-11, 5.5 GB)
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Victor Martinez, C
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Adrian Beltre, 3B
8. Jeremy Hermida, LF
9. Darnell McDonald, CF

Pitching: Clay Buchholz (1-2, 2.70)

BLUE JAYS (10-10, 4.5 GB)
1. Fred Lewis, LF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, DH
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Lyle Overbay, 1B
6. Alex Gonzalez, SS
7. Jose Bautista, 3B
8. John Buck, C
9. Travis Snider, RF

Pitching: Shaun Marcum (0-1, 4.00)

~JB

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FIRST: What was the main thing we learned tonight? How about the fact that the Blue Jays’ bullpen needs some help.

Jeremy Accardo has been struggling. Merkin Valdez has been rarely used, and struggled when he has found work. Jason Frasor has been off. Casey Janssen hasn’t looked sharp recently. Scott Downs and Shawn Camp have taken their lumps, too.

Well, the Jays did something about it after Monday’s 13-12 mess at Rogers Centre.

Accardo (8.10 ERA to go along with all six of his inherited runners scoring) has been optioned to Triple-A Vegas and Valdez (20.25 ERA in two outings) has been designated for assignment. Josh Roenicke (0.00 ERA in 8 2/3 innings) has been recalled from Vegas and Rommie Lewis (2.35 ERA in seven games) had his contract purchased from Triple-A as well.

Over the past three games — all losses — the Jays’ bullpen has yielded 17 runs on 20 hits over nine innings. It has not been pretty and a three-inning performance from starter Dana Eveland only made matters worse on Monday.

Jays sure could use a complete game right about now. Paging, Mr. Marcum.

SECOND: The offense at least looked good (or was Boston’s pitching that bad?).

Eight Jays had hits. Five had more than one hit. Three had three hits. Seven Jays scored at least one run. Five drove in at least one. Toronto churned out a season-high 12 runs on 16 hits and went 7-for-14 with runners in scoring position. An RBI single from Aaron Hill in the third actually snapped an 0-for-22 for the team with RISP.

And that third?

Try 10 hitters, six runs, six hits, one walk, two singles, two double, one triple and one home run — a monster of a three-run blast from Jose Bautista. That gave the Jays a 6-5 lead after Eveland dug a 5-0 hole. That one-run advantage proved to be short-lived in light of the bullpen’s woes, though.

THIRD: Leading the way for the Jays was none other than first baseman Lyle Overbay. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. How bad has his month been going? Overbay had five RBIs in the first 19 games and his big night upped his average to .183. He’s showing signs of life, though.

Overbay had an RBI double on Friday. He had a homer and two hits on Saturday. And then, after a day off on Sunday, Overbay collected three hits in Toronto’s loss to Boston. Baby steps. The Jays are hoping this is a sign that Overbay is pulling himself out of his month-long slump.

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said it would be nice to have another solid lefty in the lineup beyond just Adam Lind.

HOME: That brings us to Travis Snider. He’s the third lefty in the lineup, but his performance on Monday has him hitting .133 right now. Gaston insists that Snider looks improved at the plate right now than he was at this point a year ago. That said, the young outfielder went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday’s loss. Every other Blue Jay had a hit.

Play GM for a minute and discuss…

Is it better to keep running Snider — still just 22 years old and a big part of the team’s future — out there every day with the hope that he turns this around? Or would he be better served going back to Triple-A like he did in May of last year during a similar slump? 

~JB

BOSTON AT TORONTO
at 7:07 p.m. ET
Rogers Centre

RED SOX (8-11, 6.0 GB)
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
4. Mike Lowell, DH
5. J.D. Drew, RF
6. Jason Varitek, C
7. Adrian Beltre, 3B
8. Bill Hall, LF
9. Darnell McDonald, CF

Pitching: Josh Beckett (1-0, 5.26)

BLUE JAYS (10-9, 4.0 GB)
1. Fred Lewis, LF
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Adam Lind, DH
4. Vernon Wells, CF
5. Lyle Overbay, 1B
6. Alex Gonzalez, SS
7. Jose Bautista, 3B
8. John Buck, C
9. Travis Snider, RF

Pitching: Dana Eveland (2-0, 1.93)

~JB

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I’ll be back blogging and tweeting from the Rogers Centre on Monday. For now, feel free to use this post as a forum for dicussing the three-game set against the Rays at the Trop. Catch you in a few days…

~JB