- Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsbu

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TORONTO - The Blue Jays lost 5-4 to the Angels on Wednesday, snapping a streak of four consecutive series victories. R.A. Dickey pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs. His streak of 15-straight starts working at least six innings came to an end. Prior to the game, Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Griffin, MLB.coms Gregor Chisholm and I convened for the latest edition of the Baseball Podcast. Topics we cover include the handling, and the future, of Ricky Romero; the performance of the Blue Jays young call ups; manager John Gibbons and the two-game exhibition set the Jays will play in Montreal next March. To listen, click here. Meantime, in other news: ENCARNACION STILL BANGED UP Edwin Encarnacion, bothered by a sore left wrist, still isnt ready to return to the Blue Jays lineup. His status begs the question; could Encarnacions season be over? "Theres always that chance but we dont think so," said manager John Gibbons. "Theres not a whole lot of season left either, though." Encarnacion, whos been the Blue Jays best all-around hitter for the last two seasons, has a slash line of .276/.375/.542. With 36 home runs, if Encarnacion returns soon hell have a shot at back to back 40 home run seasons. "He feels better," said Gibbons. "Hes not good enough to play today." GOSES HITTING MECHANICS Anthony Gose isnt shy about the reason why hes trying to eliminate a leg kick from his swing. "Because I suck with it," said Gose. Gose, hitting .244 with a .661 OPS in 90 major league plate appearances this season, met with manager John Gibbons and hitting coach Chad Mottola about his struggles. The agreed upon solution: Less leg kick. "Its a process," said Gose. "It looks good in the cage without it but obviously, still in the game, on video and everything theres still a little kick there. Just trying to slowly eliminate it." OUTFIELDERS VYING FOR PLAYING TIME Colby Rasmus is expected to return this weekend from a month-long stint on the disabled list. Manager John Gibbons has difficult decisions to make when it comes to doling out playing time amongst Rasmus, Anthony Gose, Rajai Davis, Moises Sierra and Kevin Pillar. "Yeah were still going to let the kids play some but hell get back in there," said Gibbons. "We might give him a day off or two. Hell play. We might give him a day off here or there. We want to keep those guys working too. I mean, heck, how many games we got left? If he gets in this weekend what do we have left, 14 games?" Rasmus, who is arbitration eligible and will be due a raise over the $4.68-million he made this season, is two home runs shy of hitting 20 for a third time in his career. Davis, set to test the free agent waters for the first time, has 40 stolen bases for the fourth time in his career and would like to add to the total. Meantime, the three kids are looking for playing time and a continued opportunity to prove they fit in the Blue Jays plans for 2014. J.A. Happ Jersey . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. Devon Travis Jersey . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. http://www.authenticbluejayspro.com/blu ... er-jersey/. Starters, when they struggle, have to live with it for five days. For Sergio Santos and Steve Delabar, two of the three men who authored one of the ugliest pitched innings in Blue Jays franchise history on Thursday night, the bounce-back chance came right away. Russell Martin Jersey . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Marco Estrada Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract.RALEIGH, N.C. -- Coach Kirk Muller and the rest of the Carolina Hurricanes are making the most of a makeshift lineup. Without No. 1 goalie Cam Ward and captain Eric Staal, the Hurricanes stretched their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday night. "Momentum is a big thing," Muller said. Alexander Semin and Jeff Skinner both had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin made 31 saves. Skinner netted the winner with 3:31 left on a shot from the right wing that slipped under goalie Carter Huttons pads for his team-leading 20th goal. He has scored six times during the winning streak. "Were just trying to keep this thing going right now," Skinner said. "Were being consistent in our game and playing solid for all 60 minutes." Patric Hornqvist had tied it for Nashville with a power-play goal at 6:46 of the third period when he tipped in the puck at the right post for his ninth goal. But the Predators, who had earned points in four straight games, dropped their third in a row. The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead on Semins goal 4:28 into the game. Semin gathered the puck from behind the net and sent a shot in off of Huttons back. Nashville coach Barry Trotz wasnt pleased with either goal allowed by Hutton. "I thought we really held them down to no chances," Trotz said. "We got zero saves. (Skinners goal) wasnt much of a shot at all." The Predators will now return to Nashville for a five-game homestand after an 0-3 trip. "We should have had five or six points out of this trip," Trotz said. "We came away with two, annd thats discouraging.dddddddddddd We put ourselves in the position to get points, so we just need a save." Staal sat out after he sustained a lower-body injury Saturday night in a win at the New York Islanders. He could be sidelined for a few more days. Nashville, which avoided its first shutout against the Hurricanes, held a 32-25 shots advantage. The Predators went 1 for 2 on the power play and killed Carolinas two man-advantages. Khudobin, filling in for Ward, improved to 5-0 this season and helped the Hurricanes win both ends of a back-to-back set for the first time this season. "It wasnt easy at all," Khudobin said. "I was just doing my job, trying to stop the pucks. We know the situation right now with every game being important." Khudobin started his third straight game after missing 33 because of an ankle injury. Muller said it was a risk to go back to him after Khudobins 38-save effort against the Islanders. "We took a chance, three in four nights for him, but hes been playing well," Muller said. "We just went for it." The Hurricanes, in their third game in four nights, played well without Staal in the lineup. Staal, who missed his first game since Feb. 26, 2011, had played in 191 consecutive regular-season games -- the third longest streak in franchise history. He holds the team record of 349 straight games. NOTES: Skinner extended his point streak to five games. ... The Hurricanes activated D Jay Harrison from the injured list and placed Ward on it, retroactive to Dec. 31. ... Hornqvist moved into a tie for seventh place on the Predators career goal list. NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL Gear China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '