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Gregg Zaun
Gregg Zaun
Execution, not talent: It's 6:30 p.m. in Boston and we're just waiting for the call on the game tonight. It rained all day and it's a wee bit chilly out. No matter, we'll slog thru it. You know we always get up to play the Red Sox.


Jamie Campbell
Jamie Campbell
Take me out to the ballgame: It’s a wild contrast, moving from the polite, tolerant mid-western crowds of Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City to the standing-room-only fervency of Boston’s Fenway Park.


Finger-pointing: The Blue Jays are dissolving like an antacid pill, and some of you may be calling for the manager's dismissal. Still, I ask: Is this John Gibbons' fault?


Gregg Zaun
Gregg Zaun
Road test: We're off on a real test of a road trip. All the teams we're playing are playing well right now. We can make or break our April on this one.


Photo Gallery

Nov. 9:
The gallery extends our deepest sympathies to anyone ever seated behind the guy with the huge drum.
Zaun blast ends NY marathon
Saturday, September 22, 2007
With one out in the 14th, Zaun hit his 10th homer of the season for the game-winning run. (AP)
With one out in the 14th, Zaun hit his 10th homer of the season for the game-winning run. (AP)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gregg Zaun homered in the 14th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays stalled New York's playoff charge, bouncing back for a 5-4 victory over the Yankees after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth.

Alex Rios hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who won their fourth straight and dropped the Yankees 2 ½ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. New York's wild-card lead was trimmed to 4 ½ games over Detroit.

Roy Halladay outlasted Chien-Ming Wang in a fast-moving matchup of elite starters, but the Yankees took advantage of a key error by second baseman Aaron Hill to tie it in the ninth.

Coming off a three-game sweep of Boston, the Blue Jays regrouped and played spoiler against New York this time. The Yankees, who had won four in a row, lost for only the third time in 15 games.

With one out in the 14th, Zaun drove a 1-1 pitch from Brian Bruney (3-2) to right-centre for his 10th homer this season and second RBI of the game.

Joe Kennedy (4-9) escaped a 13th-inning jam and got two outs in the 14th. Jason Frasor struck out pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit for his third save.

It was New York's longest game of the year by innings.

Halladay was in control all night -- until the ninth inning. Ahead 4-0 and looking for his major league-best eighth complete game, he gave up a leadoff double to Johnny Damon before Derek Jeter grounded out.

Bobby Abreu's single put runners at the corners, and Alex Rodriguez singled to set a career high with 143 RBIs. Hideki Matsui's slow groundout advanced the runners to second and third.

Jorge Posada hit a grounder toward the middle that should have ended the game, but Hill bounced a one-hop throw to first that Lyle Overbay juggled. Posada was safe on Hill's error, and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons came out for a brief argument.

Gibbons brought in left-hander Scott Downs, who promptly gave up consecutive hits to left-handed batters. Robinson Cano's single made it 4-3 and Jason Giambi tied it with an RBI single to left-centre that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Casey Janssen retired Melky Cabrera on a grounder, finally ending the inning.

Missing injured sluggers Vernon Wells and Troy Glaus, Toronto snapped a scoreless tie in the seventh with two runs off Wang. Hill hit a leadoff single, went to third on Russ Adams' single and scored when Rodriguez made a diving stop on Zaun's RBI groundout to third.

Adam Lind singled to right and Abreu made an outstanding, one-hop throw to the plate that was in plenty of time. But Posada couldn't corral the ball and was charged with an error after Adams slid in safely.

Rios' two-run shot off Edwar Ramirez in the eighth made it 4-0.

Halladay allowed four runs -- one earned -- and eight hits, striking out four and walking none. He threw 82 of his 110 pitches for strikes.

Wang yielded two runs, one earned, and six hits in seven innings.

Notes: Halladay has five complete games since the all-star break. ... Jeter doubled and singled, passing manager Joe Torre for 118th place on the career hits list with 2,343. ... Yankees rookie Ian Kennedy was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday after his back tightened up during a bullpen session Wednesday. Roger Clemens was bumped up a day to pitch in place of Kennedy.



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