Just when I thought that it could not get any worse with the Jays, Adam Lind had to be disabled along with Brett Lawrie and Edwin Encarnacion… and this trio will not be in the lineup for at least two or three more weeks!

And to make the matters even more complicated, the hitters could not get on track in Anaheim, as the Jays suffered a fifth consecutive loss, 5-2, against the Angels.

J.A. Happ held his own for the first four innings, but he faltered in the fifth after the Jays had taken a 2-1 lead, thanks to Juan Francisco’s 14^th homerun of the season.

A double, two walks, two more hits and a sacrifice fly gave the Angels a 4-2 lead.

The potent Jays attack could not produce more two runs in each of the last five games as the hitters went 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

In the second game, the Jays finally solved their offensive dry spell against lefthanders as they struck for 14 hits, including 11 when Tyle Skaggs was on the mound, and they ended their five-game losing skid with a 4-0 win.

They needed somebody to step up and Jose Reyes did with four hits ad three rbis while newcomer Nolan Reimold got his first two hits in a Jays’ uniform.

R.A. Dickey got the win as he shut out the powerful Angels’ attack on four hits and one walk over the first seven innings.

But in the game of the series, the Jays were unable to hold a 6-3 lead and bowed 8-7. It was a game they should have won.

The Jays had overcome a 3-1 deficit with five runs in the top of the fourth inning but Marcus Stroman fell apart, giving up three runs including a two-run blast by Cole Calhoun and the game was tied, 6-6.

Even when the Jays reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning, they could not prevent Albert Pujols from hitting his 512^th homerun to give the Angels the win. Aaron Loup was his victim and it was the first homer given up by the young southpaw this year.

The worst was to come when, after that game, the Jays announced that Adam Lind had, in fact, suffered a fracture of his right foot and that he would have to go on the disabled list for six to eight weeks!

But the last weekend before the All-Star Break started on a much better note as the Jays beat the Rays, 8-5. It was not as easy as it may seem.

As the Jays were leading 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Dustin McGowan wasted the lead when he gave up a three-run homer to Sean Rodriguez. Matter of fact, Dustin did not retire any of the three hitters he faced.

Luckily, a two-run single by Steve Tolleson, in the top of the ninth, and another rbi by Jose Bautista gave the lead back to the Jays. Aaron Loup got the win and Casey Janssen, the save.

There had to be bad news waiting in the wings. Munenori Kawasaki had to leave the game with a minor leg injury and Nola Reimold’s name was added to the disabled list.

On Saturday, the Rays exploded for six runs in the sixth inning en route to an easy 10-3 win as the Jays could not take advantage of the absence of David Price who skipped his regular turn.

Drew Hutchison was not up to par. He gave up six runs on six hits and five walks and he suffered his eight loss.

And as the first part of the season came to a close on Sunday, Price was back on the mound to register his 15^th career win against the Jays, shutting them out on five hits and one walk over the first eight innings. An easy 3-0 win for the tall lefthander.

Last June 6^th, the Jays were on top of the East, enjoying a nice six-game lead… but since then, they have gone 11-13 and have fell to second place.

Such a poor showing could be explained by the lack of offensive punch as the Jays have gone 55-for-265 (,208) win runners in scoring position… by the fact that they are missing key-players like Encarnacion, Lawrie and Lind… and also by the lack of stability in the outfield as the Jays have used 10 different players in the outfield: Reimold, Bautista, Melky Cabrera, Colby Rasmus, Moises Sierra, Anthony Gose, Kevin Pillar, Darin Mastroniani, Encarnacion and Steve Tolleson.