In the seventh inning, with runners on second and third, Ottawa intentionally walked Adam Lind.  In the ninth, with the bases empty, they pitched to him and Lind hit a walk-off home run.  Josh Towers was one out away from a complete game win, having allowed one run, but bad luck intervened.  Ben Zeskind also hit a game winning home run, for Auburn, but his was in the top of the tenth.

After an off-day, the Jays continue the road trip with three games in Tampa Bay and three in Baltimore. Meanwhile, things are tightening up in the other league.

Think about who you think is the worst (or least valuable) member of the Blue Jays bullpen. If you have trouble with recent promotions and demotions, just think back a few weeks and see who you would have thought then. We’re not looking for a Matt Whiteside here. Which relatively consistent member do you think? Get that name in mind.

Here are A.J. Burnett and Gregg Zaun strolling out of the bullpen towards the mound.  Add your own musical accompaniment:

Here is yet another look at your Toronto Blue Jays, plus maybe a random thought or two. Enjoy and/or scroll past!

Attempting to prick their Wild Card bubble
Making a Twin hit into a double
Words that, to Twins fans, are nothing but trouble
McDonald to Hill to Overbay

No, not a dyslexic Chicago tune. It's your score for the night in the minor leagues, as the farm affiliates win 5 of 6.

Tough night for the farm, as it looks like a career minor leaguer might end up with the first star. Only one win on the night; a good effort from the starter in Lansing prevents a SkyChief Star Sweep. And can you guess what Travis Snider did last night? Without looking, I'm going with two hits, one of which was for extra bases.

The beat goes on.

Jays win 5-0.

Despite a relatively successful start, Ricky Romero fell to 0-5 on the season at Double-A New Hampshire. Meanwhile, fellow 2005 first-rounder Matt Garza will make his big league debut today against the Blue Jays. It’s way too early to even speculate as to which of the two pitchers will have the more successful major league career. At this point, the odds have to favour Garza, but so much could happen in the next year, let alone five or ten, that I doubt they’re significantly in his favour to any degree.

Here's Frank Catalanotto, looking over into foul territory (or perhaps the dugout) with a pained expression on his face -- what's going through his mind?

In the most recent Advance Scout, Da Box's own Alex Obal pegged Minnesota's Jason Kubel "already one of the ten greatest position players to ever come out of South Dakota, and may even be in the top five after a full season." Is that so? Sounds like a Hall of (Place) Names challenge, the first we've undertaken since the All-Mexico squad back in mid-June.

But let's not limit ourselves to South Dakota, hmmm? After all ...

The three games with Baltimore provided an interesting perspective on the bullpen, for both the balance of this year as well as next.

Here's all you need to know:

Team A: 31-9
Team B: 36-37

The Jays have a four-game date with Team B; they dodge the dreaded Team A, and they have an opportunity to gain four games on wild-card leader Team A+B. This Scout will tell you who those "teams" are, along with a reference to Sparky Anderson, a stud pitcher (or two), and reliever walk rates in the chart that actually make sense.

On to the Advance Scout!