A. Pettite (1-0, 1.78)	vs.	A.J. Burnett (1-1, 5.57)

AJ Burnett is on the hill tonight against our struggling division rivals, the Yankees, hoping to keep the winning streak going.  The Jays won yesterday 10-3 over Boston to get back to .500 (10-10).  We had no doubt Roy Halladay would finish off the two-game sweep of the Sox, but Vernon Wells is starting to heat up.  He had a monster game, going 4-5 with 4 runs and 3 RBI, plus a SB.  In fact, the Jays 3-4-5 hitters feasted off of Julian Tavarez and Kyle Synder (who still rocks the Royals cap in his Yahoo photo).  You know about Wells (batting 3rd); Frank Thomas was 2-4 with 3 RBIs, and Lyle Overbay was 1-5 with 3 RBI of his own.  Adam Lind looked great in the 2-spot, going 2-4 with three runs. 

Halladay struck out 10 Sox hitters, and went 8 innings to keep the bullpen fresh.   The game went from a  close game to a blowout in the 6th, when Wily Mo Pena and Jason Varitek both had big errors that kept the inning going.  Wily Mo overthrew the cutoff man (shades of Manny), whereas Varitek attempt to throw out Vernon Wells ended up going into centerfield.  That's the second time this week Vernon Wells'  aggressiveness on the basepaths directly led to a throwing error.   The Jays ended up scoring four runs that frame.  Add in a 5th inning Manny Ramirez throwing error (he threw it into the grass!) that led to a run, and the Jays ended up scoring 5 unearned runs yesterday.

Burnett vs. The Yankees:  The Yankees are struggling, but not because of their hitting.  A-Rod's historical April is well documented, but his 23-game hitting streak was snapped yesterday by the Devil Rays.  Burnett pitched well his last start, going 7 innings and allowing only 2 runs against the Orioles, but the bullpen blew it for him.  

With regards to Burnett's stuff, here's Richard Griffen (of The Toronto Star):

"Of all the Jays pitchers, A.J. Burnett produces the most bad-looking swings because his other pitches make his well-placed fastball look devastating. With Halladay, hitters are always looking hard and down in the strike zone, so there are better swings, but with his great sinker, there is little in the way of results."

Keys for the game for the Jays:  Wear down Andy Pettite and get into the Yankees bullpen, which is overworked and struggling. 

Jays News: 

•  Add another body to the morgue:  Catcher Gregg Zaun suffered a bruise thumb after a foul tip from Eric Hinske's bat during last night's game, and was placed on the DL to make room for a familiar face to Yankees and Phillies fans - Sal Fasano (recalled from the minor leagues, which makes us laugh - we can't see Sal and his fu-manchu on a bus with a bunch of teenagers trying to make it to The Show).
  
• Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas were a combined 10-17 with 2 HRs and 8 RBI during the two-game sweep at Fenway Park.
• Tomorrow the Jays get to be the first team to see Yankees phenom Philip Hughes in a real game.
• John McDonald continues to play 3B whenever Halladay starts, because Halladay is a ground ball pitcher and McDonald is a solid fielder (though he does occasionally make a errant throw).

 Yankee Blog of the series:  No doubt, our buddies over at Depressed Fan.  For some of their finer work, check out this post - any post that ends withWelcome Back, Kotteris money.

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