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TORONTO – The first-place Blue Jays hit the halfway mark of the season with 45 wins and a two-game lead on Baltimore in the American League East, territory unfamiliar to a franchise still waiting for its first playoff game since October 23, 1993, the night Joe Carter walked off Mitch Williams into World Series lore. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . "Im proud of the way the guys played," said manager John Gibbons. "It was kind of a so-so start and we kicked it in there in the month of May and put ourselves in a good position. Now, you know, we just need to do that again in the second half or even improve on that but Im very, very happy with the effort and the way the guys have been playing baseball. Its that simple." You wont find a Mission Accomplished banner hanging in the clubhouse. The expectation is much greater. "Has it met it yet? No," said Casey Janssen. "Our expectation is to make the playoffs and win the World Series and were not there yet. Weve got a long way to go. I think everyone believed we could be this type of team but were not throwing a party yet, we know that. We know theres a ton of talent here and its the AL East so anything can happen." Despite a recent downturn in offensive production, through 81 games Toronto continues to sit in the top seven of most major categories. The club sits first in the majors with 104 home runs. Its fourth with a .262 batting average and .331 on-base percentage. The on-base plus slugging percentage of .767 ranks third and its 272 walks are seventh. The most pleasant surprise and biggest disappointment reside on the same spot: the pitchers mound. The pleasant surprise: Blue Jays starters lead the American League with 35 wins (a number not reached until the 135th game last season) and the staff ERA of 3.87 is best in the AL East. The biggest disappointment: the bullpen, the ray of sunshine in a stormy 2013 season, has compiled baseballs fourth-worst ERA (4.48). Its a target for improvement. "I think there are some times when weve got to be better in the bullpen," said Gibbons. "Weve got to shore that up a little bit. Its like anything, consistency over the whole pitching staff and hopefully you stay healthy enough." The Blue Jays have been fortunate to remain relatively healthy, dealing with injuries theyve been able to cover. Maicer Izturis was a backup infielder. Brandon Morrow wasnt pitching well when he got hurt. Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring strain and the Jays got by with an Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar platoon in centerfield. The medical staff is now doing the dance with Jose Bautista as he deals with a hamstring problem, which could be made worse if rushed. Bautista will run sprints on Saturday morning and depending on how he feels, could be available to at least pinch hit on the weekend. QUIET TIME FOR JANSSEN Wondering where closer Casey Janssen has been these days? Hes around. He just hasnt pitched much due to a lack of save opportunities. Since notching his 12th save of the season on June 15 in Baltimore, Janssen has appeared twice. He mopped up the epic, 14-9 comeback win on June 20 in Cincinnati. He threw the ninth inning of a 6-6 game against the Yankees on June 24 and got the win when the Blue Jays walked off. It can be difficult for relievers when they go through a period without consistent work. "I feel like saves come in bunches at times," said Janssen. "You get opportunities to pitch maybe in a lopsided game one way or another if it gets to be too long. Sometimes there are times when you dont get in but you get up. Im one of those guys that always has relied on my command and I guess it comes a little more natural to me than others." Janssen has 12 saves in 14 opportunities this season. "Sometimes the rest is good, knowing that the tough stretch is going to come at some point," said Janssen. Expect Janssen to get into a game before the weekend is over, regardless of whether Toronto has a lead of three or less. Janssen speaks to pitching coach Pete Walker about his schedule, who relays the message to manager John Gibbons. If Janssen goes four or five days without action his arms reaction to its diminished workload becomes less predictable. "You wonder if your arms going to be a little cranky or if its going to be super fresh," said Janssen. "Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and sometimes youre kind of knocking the dust off a little bit." Remember that Janssen had an abbreviated spring training thanks to stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder. He didnt appear in a Grapefruit League game until the final week of March. Then, in Montreal, he strained his left oblique and didnt make his season debut until May 12. Its been a build for Janssen, who anticipates being able to pitch on three consecutive days, if needed, as the importance of each game ramps up. "I feel like Id love to do it and Id love to have the opportunity to do it," said Janssen. "I think a lot of those three in a rows depend on how the first two went and the stress level of those innings. My goal is to be able to pitch in every opportunity possible, especially as the season gets further along and as this division and the race gets tight and everything like that." Wholesale Jerseys China . Defenceman Tessa Bonhomme was among three players released from the team Tuesday morning along with defenceman Brigette Lacquette of Waterhen, Man. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. http://www.cheapnfljerseysauthenticshop.com/ . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result. DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars got a huge lift from Tim Thomas after a big hit knocked Kari Lehtonen out of the game. Erik Cole scored on a breakaway with 4:49 to play, and the Stars rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Saturday night. Lehtonen injured his head in a collision with the Wilds Erik Haula at 6:37 of the third period. Haula was given a major penalty for charging -- Lehtonens helmet came off as he fell backward into the crossbar -- and was ejected. Tyler Seguin scored with 26 seconds remaining in the 5-minute power play to tie the game at 3. "Obviously, not good," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "(Haula) went in hard, (Lehtonen) hit the crossbar hard. Likelihood, its a concussion on just a dirty play. He should be suspended. "Fourth-liner takes out our goaltender." The newly acquired Thomas stopped all six shots he faced for the win in his Stars debut in relief. The Stars acquired the 39-year-old goalie from the Florida Panthers at Wednesdays trade deadline, giving them another seasoned goalie. "For me, Tim looked calm in there," Ruff said. "He made some plays that maybe younger goaltenders wouldnt make. That was vintage Tim Thomas. Hes lived it and he knows how to play." With the game tied at 3, Cole picked up a loose puck at centre ice and Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper came out to stop him, but Coles shot went past Kuemper and into the upper left corner. Cole also assisted on Seguins tying goal. "We fought hard all game long and kept battling back and were able to grab the lead," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said. "And then all of sudden you take a 5-minute major and another mistake after that and you find yourself down, so its tough." Wild defenceman Keith Ballard had the turnover that led to Coles goal. "Bad read on my part," Ballard said. "I dont know if I telegraphed it a little bit or I just kind of misjudged how high he was playing in the D zone. Obviously, the guy picked it off." Both the tying and winning goals were scored under a banner raised before the game to honour Mike Modano, the franchises all-time scoring leader. Seguin also had two assists, giving him four goals and four assists in two games. Jamie Benn and Alex Chiasson also scored for Dallas. Haaula scored in the first period and Charlie Coyle in the second. Cheap Jerseys From China. Kyle Brodziak gave the Wild their only lead in the third. The Stars, eighth in the Western Conference, moved within three points of the seventh-place Wild. Minnesota had won five in a row. Dallas also increased the lead over No. 9 Phoenix to three points. "With the 5-minute power play right off the bat," Thomas said, "it kind of allowed me to settle in and adjust and think the rest of it through to be like, Man, this would be a very important win to us." Before the game, the Stars retired Modanos No. 9 in front of a Dallas-record crowd of 19,109. The Stars then scored just 31 seconds into the game. Rich Peverley dropped a pass to Jamie Benn in the right circle for a wrist shot into the right side of the net. "Its I think one of the biggest days in franchise history when you put a guy like that up in the rafters and then you cap it off with that type of game," Ruff said. "I think they were pumped by watching some of the video, some of the Mike stuff. I know I was because theres some dynamic goals there you get to watch." Added Seguin: "I think if anything that motivated me, thats a true character guy, a big leader, an incredible hockey player and now a legend. Watching his jersey go up and seeing that (1999) Stanley Cup again, I think the only thing it did was make me more motivated and I think the guys felt the same." The Wild tied it on Haulas short-handed goal at 16:32. But the Stars regained the lead 4 seconds into a power play at 1:55 of the second period. That snapped a streak of 20 successful penalty kills by the Wild over eight games. Kuemper, who was making his 16th consecutive start, had 34 saves. Lehtonen made 26 saves. NOTES: Seguin raised his team-leading totals to 29 goals and 37 assists. ... Benn has three goals and seven assists in six games. ... Forwards Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick made their Wild debuts after being traded Wednesday from Buffalo. ... The previous attendance record was 19,099 on March 16, 2012. It was only the fourth sellout in 34 Stars home games this season. ... The home team won every game in the season series. Minnesota was 2-2 and Dallas 2-1-1. The Wild are 1-14-5 in Dallas. 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