Smith and backup goalie Antti Raanta are restricted

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays want to put a couple of series losses behind them as they head out for a 10-game road trip that should give them a good idea of whether theyre actually ready to be a contender in the American League East. Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Twins starter Phil Hughes (7-2) struck out nine and allowed seven hits over seven shutout innings. With the loss, Torontos lead atop the division standings fell to five games over Baltimore and New York. The Orioles were home to Boston on Wednesday night while the Yankees were in Seattle. The Blue Jays will play Baltimore and New York next week before closing out their trip against the Cincinnati Reds. "Well see how good we are," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Were playing a couple good teams in our division. Weve got a small little lead on them but theyre right there. So we need to play good baseball on this road trip, especially the way the last four or five games have gone. "For our psyche more than anything else we need to regroup and put a couple good ball games together." Toronto (39-28) has been giving up early leads of late, with the opposition scoring first for the seventh straight time Wednesday. Danny Santana opened the game with a single off Marcus Stroman (3-1), who was making his third career start. The leadoff man scored when Willingham turned on a 1-2 pitch and put it into the second deck. "It was just a bad pitch," Stroman said. "It was probably the worst pitch of the outing. It was just one of those that was supposed to be buried but it just kind of hung up there. I tried to do too much with it." The Blue Jays starter allowed three earned runs and nine hits while striking out four. Triple-A callup Bobby Korecky replaced him in the seventh and loaded the bases before Morales cleared them with a three-run double. Toronto avoided the embarrassment of a fourth shutout loss in five games by scratching out a pair of runs in the eighth. Casey Fien got the last four outs for his first save of the season. "Theres no doubt weve cooled off with the bats," Gibbons said. "But that can turn in one day, that can turn overnight. But I do think its going to be good to get out on the road. "Weve been at home a long time. A little change of pace, a little change of scenery might do us some good." The Blue Jays led several offensive categories last month and, despite the recent cold stretch, have won 16 of their last 22 games and 21 of 29. "The bats are going to come around," Stroman said. "All the guys in the clubhouse are pretty positive about it. I have 100 per cent confidence in every single guy in that lineup that the guys are going to start doing what they were doing at the beginning of the year. Its close." The Twins, meanwhile, moved two games under the .500 mark with the win. Minnesota (31-33) outhit Toronto 16-10 while Hughes picked up his ninth quality start of the season. "Super job by him of changing speeds, moving the ball in and out," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He used his breaking ball a lot better today." Hughes did well to get out of a jam in the sixth inning after Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single. Reyes moved to third base on a Melky Cabrera single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Oswaldo Arcia made a nice sliding catch in foul territory on a Jose Bautista flyout and Hughes struck out Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind to escape. "I felt like I kind of found myself in the third or fourth inning and was able to ride that through," Hughes said. The Blue Jays fell to 20-17 at home this season. They have been much stronger away from Rogers Centre this year and at 19-11, have the fewest road losses in the major leagues. "The bats will heat up again," Gibbons said. "Hopefully sooner than later." Notes: Announced attendance was 45,080. There were several groups of schoolchildren in the crowd. ... Koreckys callup from the Buffalo Bisons was announced Wednesday morning and he was sent back down after the game. The Blue Jays also optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons and recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni. ... Dozier left the game in the fourth inning due to tightness in his lower back. He was replaced at second base by Eduardo Escobar and is listed as day to day. ... Toronto will kick off a four-game series at Baltimore on Thursday night. Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-2, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to start against right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 4.91). ... The Blue Jays will get an off-day Monday before playing three games against the Yankees and three against the Reds. ... Reyes turned 31 on Wednesday. ... The game took two hours 57 minutes to play. Philippe Coutinho Jersey .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. Diego Alves Jersey . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night. http://www.brazilsoccerproshop.com/c-34 ... ersey.aspx. The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Fabinho Jersey . The deal will pay Hainsey $3 million for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and $2.5 million in 2016-17. Hulk Brazil Jersey .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. CHICAGO -- Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane want to stay in Chicago, and the Blackhawks think the high-scoring forwards are a central part of their promising future. Get ready for a pair of big contract extensions this summer. With the Blackhawks still coming to grips with their dramatic loss in the Western Conference finals, general manager Stan Bowman said Tuesday that megadeals for Toews and Kane are his biggest priority this off-season. "Theres no doubt thats what were gonna do," Bowman said. "Weve made it clear. Weve never wavered from that. Theres no doubting the importance of those two players." The Blackhawks selected Toews with the No. 3 pick in the 2006 draft, and grabbed Kane with the No. 1 overall selection the following year. They combined to lead Chicago out of a dark period to Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. Toews and Kane each have one more year left on their contracts, and Bowman can officially start negotiating with two of the NHLs biggest stars on July 1. "I know we both love it here in Chicago and we love playing here and having a chance to win every year," said Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year as playoff MVP. Toews expressed a similar sentiment. "Who could ever think of a better situation to be in?" the captain said. "I think back to the day I was drafted, I had absolutely no idea that all this would be in store for me in my short career so far. Ive been so fortunate to be a part an unbelievable group of guys, the majority of our team that has been together since Ive been here. And just to see the growth of this franchise in the city of Chicago and the ..... fans we have here, theres no doubt in my mind that theres no better way to have it." The Blackhawks had a chance for a second straight NHL title before they lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime in Game 7 on Sunday night. Alec Martinez got the winning goal when his shot deflected off Chicago defenceman Nick Leddy and fluttered over goalie Corey Crawford. If Chicago is able to retain Toews and Kane, it looks as if it could contend for the Stanley Cup for years to come.dddddddddddd It is in a much better spot than it was following the 2010 title run, when the Blackhawks kept their core intact but parted with much of their supporting cast because of salary cap concerns. Bowman thinks the roster will look largely the same when next season begins. An overhaul "certainly is not warranted at this point," he said. "Our team performed very well in most areas of the game." Patrick Sharp had a team-high 78 points during the regular season, but struggled for much of the playoffs. He had two goals in Game 7 against Los Angeles after scoring three in the first 18 playoff games, but if he was injured he wasnt saying. "At this point in the year, everybodys got something going on," he said. "Im not gonna make any excuses for the way I played at stretches of the playoffs." It was a bitter finish for Sharp and for the Blackhawks. Instead of another Stanley Cup run, the attention turns toward the future. Chicago needs some of its younger centres to develop quickly, including prospect Teuvo Teravainen. The promising 19-year-old forward from Finland played in three games for the Blackhawks this year and could take on a more prominent role next season. "Were not going to put any pressure on him," Bowman said. "Hes 19 years old still. The one thing we have done very well over the last few years is weve given players time to develop." Coach Joel Quenneville said Teravainen "has skills to play here," but needs to add strength and develop the ability "to go into hard areas" on offence. Forward Ben Smith and backup goalie Antti Raanta are restricted free agents. Brandon Saad will be after next season, and Bowman sounded as if he plans to keep all three players. "Thats the goal here is to keep this thing going," Bowman said. "I think the reason weve been able to do that is twofold. No. 1, weve been able to keep the main players together. But No. 2, weve been able to bring in some young players, and theyve been able to support the role. We have to be able to continue to do that." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '