TORONTO — I understand that the Toronto fan base loves Reed Johnson. He’s the type of player fans tend to love and, that being the case, I’m all for giving the guy a warm welcome this weekend in his first trip north since being released by the Jays and signed by the Cubs.

All that being said, the timing of his standing ovation by the Jays’ fans at Rogers Centre on Friday night was a little unsettling. With Toronto leading 3-2 in the ninth, Johnson came on as a pinch hitter and received a loud, prolonged standing o. In that situation, why were the fans cheering so loudly for a visiting player?

“You don’t see that too often,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “But hey, I’m happy for him, man. He did a great job here for this organization and was a fan favorite.”

Still, root for the man in a situation like this afternoon, when he’ll lead off the game for the Cubs. I’m not saying the fans should’ve booed him on Friday, but shouldn’t the cheers be reserved for the home team in that critical situation, especially when closer B.J. Ryan had been struggling some of late?

“I think we all think that he deserves it. No question,” said A.J. Burnett, downplaying the crowd’s ill-timed cheers.

But what if Johnson had homered to tie the game instead of groudning out to second? Would the crowd have gone nuts for Johnson then?

“That would be different,” Burnett said with a grin. “Good thing he hit it hard. Better for us he hit it right at somebody.”

On another note, talked to second baseman Aaron Hill this morning and he’s still fighting symptoms from the concussion he suffered on May 29. That being the case, a Minor League rehab stint this week seems unlikely. Hill said he’s still running into issues after light drills — not good. You can read the full story when it’s up on bluejays.com

Today’s lineups:

CHICAGO (43-25) at TORONTO (35-34)
at 1:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

CUBS
Reed Johnson, LF
Kosuke Fukudome, RF
Derrek Lee, 1B
Aramis Ramirez, DH
Jim Edmonds, CF
Mark DeRosa, 3B
Mike Fontenot, 2B
Henry Blanco, C
Ronny Cedeno, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jason Marquis (4-3, 4.54)

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Vernon Wells, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, LF
David Eckstein, SS
Joe Inglett, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay (8-5, 3.07)

TORONTO — I’m not going to lie. I wish this Jays-Cubs Interleague series was at Wrigley Field and not trapped under this dome. Either way, any little taste of Chicago I can get is always good and I saw a lot of Cub-jersey-clad fans outside the ballpark today.

Toronto fans in attendance will be disappointed to see Reed Johnson was not in the starting lineup. Where’t the love, Lou? Well, Johnson is only hitting .232 against righties this year and A.J. Burnett is on the hill (First start since his fantastic sarcastic hat tip to the booing fans. I had no problem with that, by the way — thought it showed a good sense a humor).

Us scribes piled into the visitors’ clubhouse to catch up with Reed and he’s doing great — not bitter in the least. Would you be bitter if you moved from a .500 club that is struggling to score to a team with the best record in baseball? Johnson described Chicago as “no place I’d rather be” and you’ve got to believe him.

The Ted Lilly-Toronto reunion will happen on Sunday. It’s also Lilly’s first stop in TO since his famous on-field donnybrook with manager John Gibbons. Other than the triumphant return of a couple ex-Jays, the only news here was the non-return of a few injured Jays. Aaron Hill is a few days away from maybe being cleared for a Minors rehab and Shannon Stewart is on his way to Florida to continue his rehab workouts.

Jeremy Accardo has suffered a setback in his rehab with Class A Dunedin and will be reevaluated in a couple days. Catcher Gregg Zaun has been rained out two days in a row, so he’ll suit up for Syracuse tomorrow and perhaps be activated Sunday or, probably more realistically, in time for Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee.

Today’s lineups:

CHICAGO (43-24) at TORONTO (34-34)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

CUBS
Ryan Theriot, SS
Micah Hoffpauir, 1B
Derrek Lee, DH
Aramis Ramirez, 3B
Kosuke Fukudome, RF
Geovany Soto, C
Jim Edmonds, CF
Mark DeRosa, 2B
Eric Patterson, LF

PITCHING: RHP Sean Gallagher (3-2, 4.42)

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Vernon Wells, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, LF
Joe Inglett, 2B
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett (5-6, 4.98)

TORONTO — OK, so I’m a little behind here today. It’s the second inning and my blog isn’t live yet! Well, blame the Blue Jays and their game-time decisions. We had to wait a while to see if Vernon Wells (right ankle) and Alex Rios (back/groin) were able to play today.

Turns out they were considered go for launch and were still in Toronto’s lineup. Wells tweaked his ankle on a catch at the wall in the third inning on Monday and then when running across first base in the seventh. Rios said he tweaked his back during batting practice on Monday, but was feeling fine.

Also, it turns out that C Gregg Zaun won’t be activated on Wednesday after all. He’s going out on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse, DHing on Wednesday, catching on Thursday with the hope of coming off the DL Friday. 2B Aaron Hill (concussion) is another 5-6 days away from a rehab stint and LF Shannon Stewart (right ankle) has a Grade 2 sprain and will be out at least three weeks.

Oh, and the Jays signed their top pick from Thursday’s Draft, first baseman David Cooper (17th overall). Toronto agreed to terms with 27 of its draftees on Tuesday. Cooper will head to Auburn for starters with a ticket to Dunedin soon to come if he hits as well as he’s supposed to.

Today’s lineups:

SEATTLE (23-41) at TORONTO (33-33)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, CF
Jose Vidro, DH
Raul Ibanez, LF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jose Lopez, 2B
Jeremy Reed, RF
Richie Sexson, 1B
Jamie Burke, C
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

PITCHING: RHP Carlos Silva (3-6, 5.96)

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Vernon Wells, CF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, LF
Joe Inglett, 2B
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Dustin McGowan (4-4, 4.26)

TORONTO — No, nothing happened to me. I heard there was some concern about my whereabouts over on Wilner’s blog. Fear not. I’m perfectly fine. I merely took a few days off to celebrate the ol’ anniversary with The Wife.

But, I’m back in Blue Jays land and apparently they played on without me. And they made a bunch of moves, too, huh. Only real updates today were that catcher Gregg Zaun is due back Wednesday as planned and there is no news concerning Shannon Stewart’s MRI, though GM J.P. Ricciardi did say Stew could be out a while. Doesn’t sound good.

Ricciardi was also asked what he thought of this year’s Blue Jays Draft class.

“It’s hard to tell. I’ll let you know in a couple years,” he replied with a smile.

As noted on draft day, David Cooper — Toronto’s first overall pick — is likely ticketed for Class A Auburn for starters. Considering he’s an advanced hitter, the Jays are hoping he doesn’t have to reside in the New York-Penn League for too long. In fact, if Coop plays well, he may skip by Lansing and head straight to high A Dunedin before the year’s up.

“He’d probably start in the Penn League, like we do with most of the guys,” Ricciardi said. “Then, if he progresses for maybe about a month, if he does well, we’d move him up to Dunedin. But he’s an advanced bat, so hopefully he’ll be able to get up there.”

See, I basically just paraphrased that quote. Also, in regards to catcher J.P. Arencibia — one of last year’s first-rounders — he won’t be in Dunedin much longer. All he’s done is hit .307 with 11 homers, 22 doubles, 56 RBIs and an .882 OPS in 55 games for the Class A Blue Jays.

“He’s getting close,” Ricciardi said, when asked if Arencibia was due for a promotion. “He’s got to go. There’s not much more he can do down there.”

Today’s lineups:

SEATTLE (22-41) at TORONTO (33-32)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki, CF
Jose Vidro, DH
Raul Ibanez, LF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Jose Lopez, 2B
Jeremy Reed, RF
Richie Sexson, 1B
Kenji Johjima, C
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

PITCHING: LHP Jarrod Washburn (2-7, 6.56)

BLUE JAYS
Alex Rios, RF
Matt Stairs, DH
Scott Rolen, 3B
Vernon Wells, CF
Rod Barajas, C
Kevin Mench, LF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Marco Scutaro, 2B
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (7-2, 3.45)

NEW YORK — A reporter asked Blue Jays manager John Gibbons this morning if he had any theories about why Dustin McGowan has been so much better at home than on the road this year. Gibbons shrugged.

“It’s hard to figure that,” he said. “He’s been so good at home. I don’t know why that is.”

Gibbons then asked if we knew the numbers off-hand for McGowan’s career, noting that it was a similar situation last year. I quickly scooped up the Jays media guide off the desk and read the stat lines aloud. Here’s what they are, including this season:

CAREER AT HOME: 12-6 with a 3.31 ERA (3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 2008)
CAREER ON ROAD: 6-13 with a 5.98 ERA (1-3 with a 5.68 ERA in 2008)

“So what the hell are we doing pitching him today?” said a chuckling Gibbons, to an eruption of laughter from those in the room.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (32-29) at NEW YORK (29-30)
at 1:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Shannon Stewart, LF
David Eckstein, SS
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Kevin Mench, RF
Rod Barajas, C
Joe Inglett, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Dustin McGowan (4-4, 3.95)

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

PITCHING: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (6-2, 4.14)

NOTES: CF Vernon Wells was due to begin his Minor League rehab assignment with Dunedin on Thursday night, serving as the DH for the Class A Blue Jays. Gibbons said Wells could maybe be back by the middle or end of next week, which would be about a week ahead of the minimum six weeks originally stated. … 2B Aaron Hill ws out of the lineup for the 6th game in a row and Gibbons didn’t rule out a possible DL stint, though he said the club was hoping Hill would be ready to play this weekend. … C Rod Barajas was back in the lineup a day after leaving with tightness in his lower back. … INF Marco Scutaro was given the day off to rest a sore right wrist, though it’s not considered serious.

NEW YORK — Aaron Hill was still out of the lineup for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night. But, did you know that apparently it’s allowed for Toronto to use the same lineup two days in a row? Yeah, I know, I wasn’t sure if that was legal or not, either.

And get this, the lineup used tonight is actually the fourth time this particular lineup has been used this season. Of the 49 lineups used this season, that makes this starting nine tied for th emost often used order…and it’s without the Jays’ starting second baseman.

The other most often used lineup is the one that opened the season: 1. David Eckstein, SS, 2. Matt Stairs, LF, 3. Alex Rios, RF, 4. Vernon Wells, CF, 5. Frank Thomas, DH, 6. Lyle Overbay, 1B, 7. Aaron Hill, 2B, 8. Marco Scutaro, 3B, 9. Gregg Zaun, C. Remember that one?

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (32-28) at NEW YORK (28-30)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Shannon Stewart, LF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, RF
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch (7-1, 3.18)

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Wilson Betemit, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Jose Molina, C
Melky Cabrera, CF

PITCHING: RHP Mike Mussina (8-4, 4.26)

NOTES: RHP Brian Wolfe was activated from the 15-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Syracuse; SS John McDonald began his rehab stint with Class A Dunedin and will need around a week, perhaps less, of games before returning to Toronto; Zaun played catch and hit prior to Wednesday’s game to further test his injured right elbow; Hill (concussion) took part in pregame drills.

NEW YORK — Joba Chamberlain is starting! Did you hear?! Yeah, he was in the bullpen for the Yankees and now he’s starting. Cool, huh? Isn’t it awesome? No, I’m not making it up. I’m serious. It’s the greatest thing ever…

Well, that’s what it felt like picking up any of the newspapers here in NYC today. Holy Hype, Batman. Talk about going a bit Joberboard with a story. See what I did there? But, hey, it’s nothing new here in the Apple. What would be a minor deal elsewhere becomes a big deal around here, especially when the Yanks are involved.

“That’s just New York,” Jays skip John Gibbons said. “They hype everything. It’s always been that way here and over at Shea and everything. That’s why it’s such a unique and exciting place to go to. There’s always something going on.”

Someone asked if facing Joba amidst all the hype could be something that adds some extra motivation for Jays ace Roy Halladay (Remember him? He’s starting tonight, too, apparently, though I couldn’t find a Toronto pitcher listed anywhere in the papers out here).

“He may not even know who’s pitching tonight,” Gibbons said with a laugh. “He’s so locked in.”

The Jays are just hoping Joba doesn’t go all Shaun Marcum on them, throwing a no-hitter until his 65-70 pitch limit kicks in (see Jays vs. Rays on May 13, 2007). Hey, at least Toronto doesn’t have to face Chamberlain’s 99-mph heater in the eighth inning before possibly having to take on Mariano Rivera.

“We’re not going to miss him in that eighth inning, I’ll tell you that,” Gibbons said. “We know going in that he’s on a pitch limit, so hopefully we can kick that up on him pretty quick — get him out of there and get to their bullpen.”

Their bullpen sans Joba, of course.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (31-28) at NEW YORK (28-29)
at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Shannon Stewart, LF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, RF
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Roy Halladay (6-5, 2.93)

YANKEES
Johnny Damon, LF
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Hideki Matsui, DH
Jason Giambi, 1B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Jose Molina, C
Melky Cabrera, CF

PITCHING: RHP Joba Chamberlain (1-2, 2.28)

ANAHEIM — It’s been well documented that Jays starter A.J. Burnett has adopted “Hangin’ Tough” by the New Kids on the Block as his new pregame warm-up music. He even went as far as saying it was because Toronto has, in fact, been “Hangin’ Tough” lately.

Well, I was riding the elevator down from the pressbox to the clubhouse this morning, and — on the very day that Mr. Burnett is taking the hill for the Jays — I heard that familiar “Oh oh OH OH oh!” of the other famous New Kids tune, “The Right Stuff.”

If Burnett throws a no-no, we’ll know why.

Some actual news: Jays skip John Gibbons said CF Vernon Wells has already started swinging a bat down in Florida, where he’s rehabbing his broken left wrist. That seems to be ahead of schedule and Gibbons said Wells (injured on May 9) is hoping to return on the early side of the 6-8 week timetable he was told his comeback would require.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (31-27) at LOS ANGELES (33-24)
at 3:35 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
David Eckstein, SS
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, RF
Kevin Mench, DH
Joe Inglett, LF

PITCHING: RHP A.J. Burnett (5-5, 4.57)

ANGELS
Maicer Izturis, SS
Gary Matthews Jr., RF
Garret Anderson, LF
Vladmir Guerrero, DH
Torii Hunter, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Mike Napoli, C
Brandon Wood, 3B
Sean Rodriguez, 2B

PITCHING: RHP Jon Garland (5-3, 3.89)

ANAHEIM — At the end of April, which was a terribly dismal month for these Blue Birds, a reporter asked manager John Gibbons if he was looking forward to turning the page on the opening month and moving on as soon as possible.

“May flowers,” replied Gibby, flashing his signature smirk.

Entering Saturday, the Jays were one win shy of matching their best showing ever in the season’s second month. Toronto is a big-league best 20-9 in May — one win behind the 2003 club record of 21 May victories. For May, the Jays’ arms lead the bigs with 20 wins, 14 saves, six shutouts, 234 strikeouts, a 2.91 ERA, 263 innings pitched and a .211 opponents’ average.

Toronto has moved five games over .500 for the first time since last September, has a winning record on the road and has pulled within three games of the American League East-leading Rays. The Jays have done all of this while dealing with injuries to shortstops David Eckstein and John McDonald center fielder Vernon Wells, catcher Gregg Zaun and a few relievers.

“What, are you going to ask me if I’m going to look forward to June?” Gibbons said with a laugh on Saturday.

Here’s to avoiding the ol’ June swoon.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (31-26) at LOS ANGELES (32-24)
at 9:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Shannon Stewart, LF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, RF
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Shaun Marcum (5-3, 2.64)

ANGELS
Reggie Willits, LF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Garret Anderson, DH
Vladmir Guerrero, RF
Torii Hunter, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Maicer Izturis, SS
Jeff Mathis, C
Rob Quinlan, 3B

PITCHING: RHP John Lackey (1-1, 2.05)

ANAHEIM — I’m a little late to the party here, considering it’s already the bottom of the first inning here at Angel Stadium. But I had to hammer out a story on Casey Janssen before tending to the ol’ blog.

Janssen was on hand on Friday and was very much happy to be back around his fellow Jays. He’s still maybe a month or two away from throwing, and he’s sitting down with team trainers to discuss his throwing program on Saturday. You can read all about Janssen’s visit on bluejays.com in a bit.

Other news today was the absence of second baseman Aaron Hill. A day after saying he didn’t need to miss a game, Hill wasn’t even at the ballpark. Toronto manager John Gibbons said Hill — dazed by a mild concussion suffered during a collision with David Eckstein on Thursday — was still day-to-day and was given permission to stay at the team hotel.

That put Marco Scutaro in the lineup as the two-bagger. That makes five positions on four days for Mr. Scoot. In the series in Oakland, he started in games in left field, at shortstop and at first base and moved over to third base once. Now, enter second base — the spot he’s manned the most in his career.

Today’s lineups:

TORONTO (30-26) at LOS ANGELES (32-23)
at 10:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium

BLUE JAYS
Shannon Stewart, LF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Alex Rios, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Matt Stairs, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Rod Barajas, C
Brad Wilkerson, RF
David Eckstein, SS

PITCHING: RHP Dustin McGowan (3-4, 3.90)

ANGELS
Maicer Izturis, SS
Gary Matthews Jr., LF
Vladimir Guerrero, RF
Garret Anderson, DH
Torii Hunter, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Brandon Moss, 3B
Mike Napoli, C

PITCHING: RHP Jered Weaver (4-5, 4.16)