6/29 - This afternoon, the Jays crushed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 12-3, to take two out of three, and have a chance to increase their division lead to four games over the Yankees, who play later tonight. Brad Fullmer had a huge game, going 4-4 with 3 RBI. He fell a double short of the cycle, being walked in his final at-bat in the ninth inning. Jose Cruz Jr hit his second homer in as many games, while Raul Mondesi and Tony Batista both had two-run shots. Carlos Delgado extended his career-best hitting streak to 22 games. Frank Castillo (W, 5-5) got the win, allowing three runs over eight innings. He struck out eight and walked two, winning his fourth straight.

6/28 - David Wells (W, 13-2) became the first to 13 wins, as he threw his fourth complete game of the season en route to a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Allowing only five hits while striking out five, Wells won his sixth straight decision. "What can you say ... he's 13-2," Jays manager Jim Fregosi said. "To me, he's been the best pitcher overall in the league this year, and that's saying something because that guy in Boston in pretty darn good." On the offensive side of things, Jose Cruz Jr smashed a home run and added an RBI double, while Carlos Delgado extended his career-high hitting streak to 21 games. Toronto is now 3 games in front of the Yankees.

6/27 - After sweeping the Red Sox, the Jays took a beating from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, losing 11-1. Kelvim Escobar (L, 6-9) remained inconsistent, going only 3-1/3 innings while allowing 9 runs, following a complete game shutout his last start. One of the few bright spots for Toronto was Carlos Delgado, who went 2-4 to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. However, the Jays' club record of at least a home run in 23 straight games got snapped by D-Rays starter Steve Trachsel (W, 6-7). With both New York and Boston also losing, the Jays retained their lead in the division race.

6/25 - The Jays have done it again. They beat Boston for the series sweep, and won for the season-high fifth game in a row. This afternoon, though, it took a bit longer. Despite early homers by Shannon Stewart (10) and Tony Batista (19), the Jays found themselves down 5-3 to Pedro Martinez in the seventh. That is, before birthday boy Carlos Delgado smacked a two-run shot, his league-best 27th on the year, to even the score. Delgado took a curtain call following the homer, on his 28th birthday. It then turned into a battle of the bullpens, and in the bottom of the 13th, the Jays finally prevailed when Batista singled off Bryce Florie (L, 0-2) to send home Chris Woodward (who had made it to third on a missed catch by Carl Everett) for the winning run. Matt DeWitt (W, 1-0) was a benefactor, as he picked up his first big-league win for a scoreless inning of work. Toronto is now eight games over .500, and two ahead of the second place Yankees. Following the game, Delgado talked about the team coming together, and BlueJayFan Net has the audio clip you can find at The Sounds. On a side note, Raul Mondesi and Alex Gonzalez are both day-to-day, nursing minor injuries.
Streak Update: Delgado's hitting streak is now at 19 games, the Jays' club record streak of games with at least one home run is now extended to 23, 2 shy of the major league record.

6/24 - For the second straight day, the Jays took it to the Red Sox, today winning 6-4. Carlos Delgado hit his AL-leading 26th homer, and Alex Gonzalez crushed a two-run go-ahead shot, as Toronto remained tops in the AL East by a full game over the Yankees. Roy Halladay (W, 3-4) got his confidence back, being recalled from Syracuse to make the start. The young pitcher threw into the eighth inning and allowed only two runs before leaving the game. He was sent down May 17, struggling and winless in his prior six starts at the time. Billy Koch (S, 17) pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

6/23 - The Jays are in first place. Well, for the day, at least. Frank Castillo (W, 4-5) pitched 7-1/3 solid innings, and Raul Mondesi sparked the offense, as the Jays topped the Boston Red Sox by a score of 5-4, to move into the AL East division lead. Castillo held the Red Sox to four runs and six hits, at one point retiring 15 straight batters. Castillo's victory comes after two other strong pitching performances: a 6-0 shutout by Kelvim Escobar, and a 7-4 final in which David Wells picked up his MLB-leading 12th win, both against the Tigers. Billy Koch (S, 16) notched the save despite allowing an RBI double to Carl Everett. Mondesi's homer in the third extended the team's club record of a home run in 21 straight games, and Jose Cruz Jr's dinger in the fourth was the decisive blow. Carlos Delgado was quiet, but extended his hitting streak to 17 games. The Jays' division lead marks their first after June 1 since their championship season of 1993. Hopefully they'll be able to keep it up. Toronto fans, it's going to be a great summer.

6/19 - Don't look now, but the Jays are one game out of first place in the American League East. Defeating the Red Sox 5-1 Sunday night, and extending their franchise-record home run hitting streak to 17 consecutive games in the process, the Jays tightened the gap on both Boston and New York. Frank Castillo (W, 3-5) pitched 7 solid innings, striking out 6 and allowing only 3 hits and 2 walks. Billy Koch (S, 15) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth for the save. Raul Mondesi led the way offensively with two homers (15), while Carlos Delgado extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games. On an injury note, Darrin Fletcher is out with a right shoulder strain, but could return any time now as he is listed as day-to-day.

6/15 - The Jays are just off a three-game set with the Tigers in which they took two of the matches, and are now ready to face the Boston Red Sox. Led by Carlos Delgado, the AL Player of the Week for June 6-12, the Jays have moved within 3 games of first place in the division. Taking this series at Fenway will go a long way in building confidence for the team.

6/11 - Sorry about the lack of updates for quite some time now. I've been extremely busy and will probably remain extremely busy until the end of the month. However, I'm updating today to inform you about the Jays-Expos series. Today, the Jays put up a 5-spot in the eighth to take the rubber game over the Expos. Carlos Delgado continues his run for the All-Star Game, going 2-3 with his league-leading 24th homer on the year and the 2-run single that put Toronto up for good. Tony Batista added his 14th longball of 2000, a grand slam. Billy Koch (W, 4-1) pitched two innings for the win in relief of David Wells' solid 7-inning outing, in which the Jays starter fanned 11. With the win, the Jays improved their record to 33-31 and can move to 3 games back of first if the Yankees lose tonight.

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