Blue Jays recap

The 2010 Blue Jays have started the season surprisingly well, winning four of their first five games to lead the tough AL East. But how long before they plummet down the standings?

The pitching has been good so far, but how will the staff respond as the number of innings pile up? Remember, there is no more Roy Halladay, who not only pitched quality innings for the Blue Jays and sucked up innings to keep the bullpen rested.

The opener in Texas started out well, with No. 1 starter Shaun Marcum taking a no-hitter into the seventh. (How many times have we seen Marcum take a no-no late into ballgames?)

The Blue Jays had a 3-0 lead over the Rangers when Marcum walked Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero singled for the first Texas hit. With the no-hit bid broken, manager Cito Gaston still kept his starting pitcher in the game, but the next batter, Nelson Cruz, took Marcum deep to tie the game.

In the eighth, Vernon Wells knocked in the go-ahead run, meaning Marcum was still in line for the victory. But alas, the Rangers rallied for two runs in the ninth off Jason Frasor to win 5-4.

After the game, the media crucified Gaston for not lifting Marcum immediately after he had allowed the first hit. In fact, the manager didn't even have anyone warming up in the bullpen at the time! Or at least Gaston or someone should have gotten out to the mound to slow the game down, as the media guys were saying.

The Blue Jays then salvaged the last two games of the series in Texas, including a thriller in the finale. Down 1-0 in the ninth, Wells homered to tie it, before Edwin Encarnacion's sacrifice fly scored Lyle Overbay (who had tripled). Mike McCoy added an RBI single to make it 3-1.

Wells, who went 6-for-10 in the series, became the first Blue Jay to homer in each of the first three games of a season. He had four home runs and seven RBIs.

On Friday night in Baltimore, the Blue Jays did it again, rallying for a two-run ninth to upset the Orioles 7-6. Brandon Morrow, acquired from Seattle in the offseason, was brutal in his first start, giving up five runs and walking five in five innings.

The second consecutive ninth-inning comeback prompted FAN 590's Mike Wilner to say after the game that the Blue Jays never even come back like this five times last season. But now, two in the first four games?

No comeback was needed on Saturday, when the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 3-0 in Dana Eveland's debut with Toronto. The left-handed Eveland pitched five-hit ball in 7.1 innings, and catcher Jose Molina drove in two runs, as the Jays won their fourth straight game.

It didn't look good in the fourth inning, when Toronto loaded the bases but got only one run when Molina was hit by a pitch. McCoy, a rookie, could have blown the game open but instead flied out to center for the final out of the inning.

But Eveland, who had an unimpressive 13-17 career record and a 5.54 ERA coming in, did the rest.

The Blue Jays are expected to finish in last place this season behind the Yankees/Red Sox, Rays, and Orioles. We'll see how many games Toronto can win this season in Cito Gaston's last year as manager.