As far as I can see, the biggest difference with the Jays, this year, is on defense… as I am sure nobody has forgotten their poor showing with the glove last year.

Even with Jose Reyes out of the lineup, the defense has been superb behind the pitchers as Jonathan Diaz, Ryan Goins and Maicer Izturis have been sharp up the middle. Matter of fact, the Jays have committed only four errors over their first 13 games, three of them by pitchers.

Mark Buehrle was sharp against the Astros, in the first game of the series, as he scattered eight hits to register his second win of the season. Once again, the defense was timely as it recorded it’s seventh double-play while Melky Cabrera kept his hot bat going with his fourth homer in as many games.

For the second time this season, there was a video replay as L.J. Hoes was called out at the plate, trying to score from third base. The umpire’s call was confirm despite the fact that the Astros said that Dioner Navarro had blocked the dish.

And Sergio Santos registered his third save.

The next day, Brandon Morrow resurfaced as he handcuffed the Astros on two hits over the first five innings, while striking out nine batters. He ran out of gas in the sixth inning as the Astros struck for three runs.

But, the Jays climbed to first place as the beat the Astros 7-3… in first place for the first time since April 2012. And Cabrera added two more hits while Izturis also git two singles ans Brett Lawrie smacked his first homerun.

But in the third game of the series, R.A. Dickey gave up three homers and when he exited in the seventh inning, the Jays were trailing 6-1. They tried to comeback with three runs in the ninth inning and they had the tying runs on the bases when Izturis hit a dribbler to the pitcher for the last out.

The Jays requested another video replay of a close call at first base in the fifth inning and once again, they were wrong for the sixth time in as many tries.

The next stop was Baltimore where, over the last two seasons, the Jays have struggled with a 3-18 record.

Finally, the tide turned as the Jays won two out of three against the Orioles!

In the first game, the Orioles committed two errors in the same innings and despite getting only three hits, the Jays won it 2-0 to start their nine-game road trip on the right foot.

Dustin McGowan was sharp over the first six innings, allowing only five hits and one walk for his first win of the season. Santos notched his fourth save in as many trips to the mound with a perfect ninth inning.

Cabrera got one of the three hits to extend his streak to 11 games.

The second game was another instance where the Jays could not get on track with men on the bases. They stranded nine and did not get a hit with a runner in scoring position.

The Jays almost pulled it off as Colby Rasmus hit a two-out, two-strike solo homerun in the top of the ninth inning to send the game in overtime. It was his career 100^th homer.

Once again the defense was very sharp, with Diaz starting two double-plays.

Strangely enough, the outfielders were playing shallow in the bottom of the 12^th inning when Steve Lombardozzi hit a triple in right-center field and David Lough followed with a game-winning single to left field. Usually, the outfielders are guarding against doubles or triples in such situations.

It was, otherwise, a very sharp outing by young Drew Hutchison who held the Orioles in check for sis innings. And, Cabrera got a hit for a 12^th straight game.

The last game of the series finally saw the hitters come to life as they pounded Ubaldo Jimenez for 10 of their 17 hits for five runs before he exited.

The Jays hammered four doubles and three homeruns for their first big offensive output of the season. Jose Bautista clubbed his fifth homer of the season, a three-run blast, while Rasmus and Lowrie added solo shots.

Ramus, Lind and Encarnacion closed the day with three hits each while Bautista, Cabrera and Lawrie added two each.

Buehrle gave up one run the the first inning, but then settled down and recorded his third win of the season as he limited the Orioles to five hits over the first seven innings.

Usually, players are happy to have an off-day, even this early in the season, but I bet you that the Jays would rather play and keep their hot bats going instead of waiting for 24 hours before their series in Minnesota!