Jays Win Second Straight But Lose Ace Halladay and Two Others

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Well, the Blue Jays won their second straight game in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and coupled with the Yankees' 3-2 loss against Washington (!!), are only two games back in the Wild Card standings.

The only thing though, is that Tampa Bay and the Angels are now in the mix too, having put together six game winning streaks.

But the real bad news came when it was announced that Roy Halladay (10-1 this season) and closer Scott Downs will be placed on the DL on Thursday.

Before Wednesday's game, starter Casey Janssen (2-3, 6.23) was placed on the DL also.

That means the Blue Jays have their projected top five starters (Halladay, Janssen, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, and Jesse Litsch) on the disabled list.

Say goodnight to the Jays' season.

It doesn't matter if they're only two games back in the standings. If teams like the Rays and Angels can win put together six-game winning streaks (and the Yankees have all those big bats and that $200-million payroll) there's no way Toronto can overcome all these pitching injuries.

I think Brian Tallet will give the Jays decent starts, but even he got bombed last Sunday...by the Marlins, of all people.

I guess people are right when they said the '09 Jays are just like the '05 Orioles: a team that got out to a fast start but then slowly faded away.

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Meanwhile, how about that Chien-Ming Wang? He's now 0-5 this season, and it seems like every time he's on the mound, the Yankees find a way to lose.

Perhaps they should trot him out every day.

Also with the Yankees, it is unfortunate to hear about what happened to ex-Bomber Mel Hall earlier today. 45 years is a long time.

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I guess I was wrong about Scott Richmond.

He hasn't slumped at all. In fact, he fanned 11 (a career-high) as Toronto beat Philadelphia 7-1 on Wednesday. This came after the Jays rallied in the ninth inning one night earlier and stunned the first-place Phils 8-3 in 10.

Ricky Romero started Tuesday's game and did all right, though he struck out three times in three at-bats, stranding eight baserunners. If you remember, for interleague games, the Jays lose the DH in NL ballparks, thus pitchers have to bat in such contests away from Rogers Centre.

But that's not the worst thing to have happened Tuesday.

Downs' injury came when he strained his big left toe while swinging at a pitch during the Jays' five-run 10th inning...yikes. And to make things worse, Downs' at-bat came AFTER Toronto had gotten the five runs (and he made the final out of the inning with his ground-out), so that means Cito Gaston could have pinch-hit for him and brought in another reliever to pitch in the bottom of the inning.

Toronto left the bases loaded in the sixth, eighth, and ninth innings, but still recovered with those five runs in the 10th.

I would guess Cito would much rather have lost the Tuesday game than to lose Scott Downs.

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