~~**NEWS**~~ » d also ensured maximum return for the Gar

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays relied on their big bats in the first two games of their nine-game homestand. The power game was minimized Friday and it proved costly in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels that ended Torontos season-high five-game winning streak. Angels leadoff man Erick Aybar tripled to open the ninth inning and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Raul Ibanez. Ernesto Frieri earned his fourth save to end a choppy, mistake-filled game that at times was not pretty to watch. Torontos bullpen struggled after a five-inning effort from starter Dustin McGowan. Sergio Santos left the game in the seventh with the bases loaded and Steve Delabar followed by walking in a run. Brett Cecil (0-3) was uneven in the ninth as the Blue Jays fell back to the .500 mark. "Thats where weve struggled this year -- throwing strikes out of the bullpen," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "If they beat you, make them hit it to beat you." Toronto (18-18) pumped out 22 runs over its two-game mini-sweep of Philadelphia leading into the opener of a four-game series against the Angels. The Blue Jays scratched out runs where they could on this night, scoring twice on wild pitches and getting another run on a Jose Reyes solo homer. McGowan was hit and miss on the mound and did well to escape with just two earned runs allowed. Santos breezed through the sixth inning but gave up a one-out double to Aybar in the seventh. Aybar moved to third on a groundout and after an intentional walk to Albert Pujols and another walk to Ibanez, Delabar threw four straight balls to Howie Kendrick that were well out of the zone. "It was one of those days where I thought it was right there," Delabar said. "When I released the ball, I thought it was in the zone but it was nowhere close." Mike Trout hit his seventh homer of the season for Los Angeles (17-17). Aybar, meanwhile, was 3 for 5 and is hitting .397 over his last 15 games. "Hes swinging the bat nice, he has confidence up there," said acting Angels manager Dino Ebel. "Hes putting good wood on it and he wants to be the guy ... hats off to him getting that big triple there in the ninth inning." Reyes had three hits and scored twice for the Blue Jays, who were outhit 9-7 in front of 21,383 spectators under the roof at Rogers Centre. Los Angeles starter Garrett Richards was wild at times but turned in a solid performance overall, allowing five hits, two earned runs and two walks while striking out six. "Richards is one of the best young pitchers in the game," Gibbons said. "He can overpower you. He shut down a pretty offence too tonight. So that was the key there. "We were in a position to win, we just didnt win it." Richards second wild pitch in the first inning allowed Reyes to open the scoring. Trout gave the Angels a 2-1 lead with his solo shot in the third inning but another wild pitch from Richards allowed Melky Cabrera to tie the game in the bottom half of the frame. The Angels nearly went ahead when McGowan fired a wild pitch of his own with two outs in the fifth inning. The ball bounced back toward catcher Dioner Navarro, who tagged Ibanezs leg as he slid at home plate. Umpire Angel Hernandez ruled him safe but Gibbons challenged the call and the decision was reversed to end the inning. Reliever Joe Smith (2-0) replaced Richards in the eighth and Reyes greeted him by lashing a pitch that barely cleared the wall in right field. It was the third home run of the year for the Toronto shortstop, who has struggled to find a groove after missing time with a hamstring problem last month. "He looks back," Gibbons said. "Hes feeling good, hes bouncing around. He got off to a slow start with the bat but its coming. He can do so many things." The Blue Jays put the potential go-ahead run at second base later in the eighth but Juan Francisco struck out to keep the game tied. Notes: Ebel, the Angels bench coach, will also serve as skipper on Saturday as regular manager Mike Scioscia is away at his daughters college graduation. ... Toronto slugger Jose Bautista singled in the eighth inning and has now reached base safely in a club-record 36 straight games to open the season. Its the longest season-opening on-base streak since Pujols had a 41-gamer in 2008. ... The game took three hours nine minutes to play. ... McGowan allowed seven hits, two walks and struck out a pair. ... The Blue Jays entered play Friday with five players in the American Leagues top 10 in home runs. Bautista and Colby Rasmus were tied for third spot with nine apiece. Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., and Cabrera were tied for ninth with six homers apiece. Chicagos Jose Abreu leads the AL with 12 homers and Pujols is next with 10. ... J.A. Happ (1-0) is scheduled to start for Toronto on Saturday. Fellow left-hander Tyler Skaggs (2-1) goes for the Angels. ... The challenge in the fifth inning lasted much longer than usual. The unofficial time was three minutes 20 seconds. ... Toronto has hit at least one homer in all 15 home games this season. ... The Blue Jays have dropped eight of their last nine games against the Angels. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinateam.com/. The actual winners on transfer deadline day are those clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City who were well prepared and managed to get their main incoming business done well ahead of the transfer window closing. Tottenham were able to add seven players by spending over 100 million pounds and also ensured maximum return for the Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid by managing the move superbly. Authentic NFL Jerseys . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November. China NFL Jerseys .com) - Oregon wasnt going to let Arizona ruin its national title dreams for a second straight season.ORLANDO - Julio Cesar would have preferred a different start to his Toronto FC career. The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. There wasnt much Cesar could do about Federico Higuains excellent free-kick, or the thunderbolt from Josh Williams that followed shortly after. Despite conceding the goals, it was a relatively quiet afternoon for the World Cup winner. Cesar was rarely called into action, but that didnt mean he wasnt involved. When Toronto FC announced Cesars signing on loan from Queens Park Rangers last week, Reds head coach Ryan Nelsen talked about the leadership and organizational skills the veteran will bring. That was clearly evident in Orlando against Columbus as Cesar talked his way through the game, managing his teammates in front of him. "It is part of the job of the goalkeeper because he can watch all of the games," Cesar told me following the game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney. "Many times I like to talk with my defenders and the midfield. We need to work hard tactically especially. The most important thing is to understand the coach and what he wants. "I am a little sad because it was my first game and we lost, but I am happy because I am back to playing after eight months and that was tough for me. I am really happy because the coach gave me the opportunity to start with the team." A key figure amongst the defenders in front of Cesar will be club captain Steven Caldwell, and the former Scottish international is well aware of what the Brazilian can bring to the team. "Its fantastic to have him behind us with his experience," said Caldwell. "Hes very comfortable on the ball and strong playing out of the back. Its going to be a great experience for everybody who has the privilege to play with Julio and so far he justt seems like a fantastic guy.dddddddddddd. Were all going to learn off him and it is an honour for this football club to have him play for us." One of the things that has been lacking in past seasons at Toronto FC has been leadership on the pitch, but that certainly cant be said about this squad of players. With Cesar in goal and Caldwell in the centre of defence they have two excellent communicators. When you add in US international Michael Bradley as the general in the centre of midfield, TFC has a very strong leadership core. "You want every guy taking a big role in the team with personality and leadership and commitment," said Bradley. "When you walk in that locker room there is a team full of guys who are ready to do that, so thats nothing but positive." Toronto FCs next test in preseason is on Saturday when they will return to action in Florida in their second match of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic against hometown team Orlando City. Management and players alike will be hoping to see further improvement and progression as the team builds towards its March 15 season opener in Seattle. "For us its about building the understanding and working on the things we have been working on in training," said Dwayne De Rosario. "We will continue to build and there is still a long way to go. The game (against Columbus) brought us back to reality and showed us things that we need to work on. Now we need to improve on those things that they exposed us on. Were where we want to be but there is still a lot to do." "Against Columbus we had a few guys that were having their first minutes of preseason," said head coach Ryan Nelsen. "We needed to see a few of the weaknesses that we have so that we can work on it. Theyve just got to play together. They have to get used to each other and get minutes under their belt. We will progress on from here." ' ' '