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Latest Games

Date	Opponent	Result
4/20	@Kansas City Royals	W 12-4	W: Carpenter, L: Suzuki
4/21	@Kansas City Royals	L 5-4	W: Henry, L: Plesac
4/22	@Kansas City Royals	L 5-1	W: Reichert, L: Loaiza
4/24	Texas Rangers	W 7-5	W: Frascatore, L: Mahomes, S: Koch
4/25	Texas Rangers	W 8-5	W: Quantrill, L: Rogers
4/27	Anaheim Angels	W 12-4	W: Loaiza, L: Washburn
4/28	Anaheim Angels	L 4-1	W: Ortiz, L: Michalak, S: Percival
4/29	Anaheim Angels	W 2-0	W: Parris, L: Schoeneweis, S: Koch
4/30	Kansas City Royals	L 6-3	W: Suppan, L: Hamilton, S: Hernandez
5/1	@Oakland Athletics	W 5-4	W: Quantrill, L: Isringhausen, S: Koch
5/2	@Oakland Athletics	L 6-0	W: Mulder, L: Loaiza
5/3	@Oakland Athletics	L 3-2 (F/15)	W: Bradford, L: Borbon
5/4	@Seattle Mariners	W 8-3	W: Parris, L: Abbott
5/5	@Seattle Mariners	L 7-5	W: Rhodes, L: Borbon, S: Sasaki

Raul Mondesi is healthy and may be on his way to a career year. On May 4th, the Jays right fielder went 4-4 with two home runs, two doubles, and six RBI, leading the team to an 8-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. He also leads the team with five stolen bases, and as always, is a threat for a 30-30 season. "Last year, I was hurt a lot," the Jays right fielder said. "I don't know what I'll do if I can stay healthy all season. But I'll go out and give it 100 percent and see what happens." And by the way, the guy hitting in front of Mondesi isn't so shabby either - Carlos Delgado currently leads the American League in home runs (12), and it's scary considering that he says, "I'm still not happy with way I'm swinging. I'd like to get more consistent with my hitting approach." Yikes.

Manager Buck Martinez has been experimenting with the batting order. At the beginning of the season, Delgado hadn't been getting much protection, so Martinez moved Jose Cruz Jr up to the fifth slot during his hot streak (his career-best hitting streak was snapped at 19 games). He then decided to put Cruz at leadoff, sending Shannon Stewart to the third spot as his best pure hitter, and then moving Mondesi to fifth behind Delgado. Cruz and Stewart have since exchanged spots again, which is good because Stewart is better suited for the leadoff spot. The Jays lineup is packed, considering the fact that Brad Fullmer and Tony Batista, with 32 and 41 home runs last year, respectively, are batting sixth and seventh.

So who's been the Jays' MVP so far this season? Delgado, Mondesi, Stewart, and Cruz have all been stepping it up, but Martinez's choice is 30-year-old rookie starting pitcher Chris Michalak, who has compiled a 3-1 record with a 2.28 ERA through his first five major-league starts. "I'd hate to see where we'd be without him," Martinez said. "He's been pretty special."

Billy Koch may have eight saves already, but he also has two blown saves and has looked a bit shaky. I don't know what's wrong with Koch right now, but the Jays are counting on him to get straightened out. He's looked a bit more hittable this year, whereas setup men Paul Quantrill and Kelvim Escobar continue to baffle hitters. Quantrill has yet to allow a run in 22 innings of work, and Escobar has 22 strikeouts in a mere 15-1/3 IP.

Onto some other news, Toronto rookie Luis Lopez did something on April 29th that you don't see a whole lot: he was intentionally walked (by the Angels) in the first at-bat of his big-league career, pinch-hitting for Darrin Fletcher. Lopez was walked to get to Jeff Frye, who said afterwards, "It's a little embarrassing, but any time someone walks to get at you, you want to make them pay." Frye made the Angels pay, alright, as he drove in what would turn out to be the game-winning run with a single.

Now for some statistical analysis. It's interesting to note that, aside from Stewart (.344 entering Sunday's game) and Mondesi (.310), no other Jays regular is batting over .300 - Fullmer is close at .298, but Cruz is at .271 even with his hot start. Delgado is only batting .267, and after that the batting averages drop significantly. Of course, Delgado is still getting on-base, as he is tied for the AL-lead in walks with 31 and has an excellent .453 OBP. Delgado's 12 homers have only produced 24 RBI; Fullmer has actually propelled himself into the team-lead in RBI with 27. If the Jays hope to contend with the Red Sox and the Yankees the entire season, they will need to consistently get on-base, so that when the home runs are hit, they won't all be solo shots.

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