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TORONTO – Watching Brett Cecil pitch, its difficult to imagine that just a little more than a year ago, a group of reporters approached his locker stall in Dunedin to ask if hed cracked the 2013 lineup. Miles Boykin Youth Jersey . Whats happened since - an All-Star appearance and a 2.82 ERA in 60 appearances last season and a perfect run over his first 10 outings (eight-and-two-thirds innings) this season - is special. There was Cecil on Tuesday, called upon by manager John Gibbons in the seventh inning of a 3-3 game with the Blue Jays in a jam, bailing out his team once again. The Orioles had runners on second and third with one out. Cecil walked slugging left-hander Chris avis before striking out Adam Jones and Steve Clevenger. The clutch performance paved the way to a six-run eighth and Toronto beat the Orioles 9-3, winning the opening game of a fourth-consecutive series. “Just trying to make good pitches,” said Cecil. Cecil is a native of Dunkirk, Maryland. He went to the University of Maryland and served as the Terrapins closer in his sophomore year of 2006, saving 13 games to set a school record. His success as a reliever in college prepared him for the role hes tasked with now. “I knew right off the bat once I moved to the ‘pen that it wouldnt take long,” said Cecil. “Ive done it before and it worked out in the past and it sure has now.” GIBBONS APPROACH TO BULLPEN Entering Tuesdays action, the Blue Jays had received 103 2/3 innings in 19 games from their starting pitchers, an average of between five-and-a-third and five and two-thirds innings per outing. Toronto will need more from its starting five and the sooner the better. After this coming Mondays off day, the Blue Jays will begin a stretch in which they have one day off between April 29 and June 1. Manager John Gibbons tries to balance the short-term and long-term consequences of each decision. “I mean, youve got to think long-term, but youre trying to win that game, too,” said Gibbons. “If theyre fresh you go to them … You want (starters) to go deeper into the game, but if they start to lose it or start to tire out because of the pitches or whatever it is, you look at the lineup or what youre facing, youre trying to hold that game in check.” Youll start to see more of J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond in the fifth and sixth innings in games if the starters dont get deep. The specialists at the back-end of the bullpen cant be the daily option. “If you wear them down too much, those guys arent going to be probably effective later, anyway,” said Gibbons. “Thats why youre going to need some other guys to step up and get some big outs in the sixth, maybe the seventh.” In the last two seasons, 13 of the 20 playoff teams have had staffs that averaged six or more innings per start. The worst, Cleveland, averaged just better than five-and-two-thirds innings per start last season. The Blue Jays, in the early going of 2014, are averaging about an out fewer per start than the Indians of last year. If that doesnt seem like much, prorate that stat over 162 games. Youre asking your bullpen to get 162 more outs over the course of the season. INJURED JANSSEN IN TORONTO Casey Janssen rejoined his teammates in Toronto on Tuesday after his minor-league rehab assignment was halted. The strain in his abdominal/back area, near his oblique, hasnt improved to the point where Janssen is comfortable continuing to appear in games. He threw an inning for Single-A Dunedin a week ago Tuesday, allowing a hit and striking out one. “To be clear, it wasnt a setback,” said Janssen. “We realized it wasnt going to heal doing what I was doing. So instead of putting our foot on the gas, we had to take it off a bit and listen to my body a little bit more.” Janssen played catch before Tuesdays game with the Orioles. The plan is to throw a bullpen session in Toronto later this week and, if hes feeling better, Janssen will go back out on a rehab assignment. “Thats the frustrating part. Im not in pain,” said Janssen. “I mean theres a little bit of annoyance in there and the thing was, as long as you werent in pain, to keep progressing. So I didnt have symptoms of pain, but realizing that the swelling wasnt going to go away and Im in more jeopardy of maybe reinjuring, either that or somewhere else because Im compensating, we added it all up and it didnt make sense.” The Blue Jays bullpen, usually reliable, had two hiccups toward the end of the just-completed road trip through Baltimore, Minnesota and Cleveland. A six-run, eight-walk eighth inning turned a 5-3 lead into a 9-5 deficit in Thursday nights loss to the Twins. On Sunday, three walks and a bases-clearing double in the sixth turned a 4-2 lead into a 5-4 deficit in a loss to the Indians. Janssen is confident his mates will get back on track. “Those guys are still one of the best in the game,” said Janssen. “I dont care what a game or two happened or didnt happen. Basically, these guys are really, really good. Its a strength of our team and it will be a strength of our team.” ROGERS REBUILDING CONFIDENCE Esmil Rogers pitched two scoreless innings to mop up Saturdays shutout win in Cleveland. After a tough start, he needed it. “I know that I can do that more than one time,” said Rogers. “Anytime they need me, Im going to be there. If Im healthy, Im going to be great.” Rogers has allowed a staff-high four home runs on the season in just 10 1/3 innings pitched. Watching balls fly out of the park, he admits, rattled his confidence. “Sometimes you get a little frustrated about that because people can see you and you want to do the best you can,” said Rogers. “I think about it and I dont want it to happen again, but this is baseball. You dont know when youre going to be good and when youre going to be bad.” Miles Boykin Ravens Jersey . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. Joe Flacco Womens Jersey . LOUIS - Two-thirds of the St.VANCOUVER -- It took a while, but Dallas Eakins has posted two consecutive wins, which he has rarely done in his first season as coach of the Edmonton Oilers. David Perron helped his coachs cause by scoring three goals as the Oilers doubled the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Monday night. "It was a real good road game," said Eakins, enjoying a rare occasion to offer praise to his forwards, defence and goaltender alike. The Oilers (17-32-6) earned consecutive wins after six straight losses while the Canucks (27-18-9) suffered their second loss in the past three games. This is only the fourth time this season, and the first time since December, that the Oilers have won two games in a row. Edmonton also posted its first win in four tries against Vancouver this season. Eakins was especially grateful for the tight win after the Oilers were blanked 4-0 in their last visit to Vancouver in December. "Were slowly getting stronger and its good for the group," said Eakins. Jesse Joensuus goal at 2:20 of the third period secured the win before Perron completed his hat trick with an empty netter with just over a minute left. "You dont want to give David Perron two much room out there," said Eakins. "He can hurt you quickly. Hes a deadly shooter and he was able to get freed up a couple times tonight." Perron now has 22 goals on the season, offering a beacon of hope to an Oilers squad that has often played in a fog like the one that engulfed parts of Vancouver earlier Monday. But with the Oilers destined to miss the playoffs, he hoped the win would serve as a catalyst for success in the more distant future. "We have to be able to look them straight in the eyes and tell (the Canucks) to go away in not always the nicest way," he said. "We need to be able to play with these guys in other years, and it starts right now. We need to set it up for next year. "The last four or five games are the way we need to play and we are going to get a lot of points if we do that." The loss spoiled a strong effort from Jordan Schroeder, who had the two goals for Vancouver. They were his first since March 21, 2013. With just over four minutes remaining in the game, Edmonton goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov denied Schroeder a hat trick, stopping his shot from the slot. The Edmonton goaltender then lay back on the loose puck and prevented Daniel Sedin from jamming it in as players from both teams crowded the crease. Schroeder excelled in his first game since he was sidelined Oct. 19 with a fractured ankle. Before hurting his ankle, Schroeder sustained a broken foot in the pre-season and spent the off-season rehabilitating from shoulder surgery. "Some hockey gods repaid me tonight," said Schroeder. "It was fun to get to play aggain and getting some minutes on the top line there, that was fun. Lamar Jackson Jersey. It felt good. Its disappointing we didnt get the win, but we made some mental mistakes, a few turnovers and (they) cost us the game." Acting Vancouver head coach Mike Sullivan called, "Schroeder an infusion of energy," but lamented his top players inability to do likewise -- and fail to keep pace with the Los Angeles Kings as they also won Monday. One night after scoring five goals in a win over Phoenix, the Canucks continued their offensive struggles. Daniel Sedin, clearly missing his injured brother Henrik, has now gone 13 games without a goal. Alex Burrows remains scoreless in the 22 games that he has played in an injury-riddled season. "Its hard to win unless your best players are your best players," said Sullivan. Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo lived up to his reputation as one of the Canucks best players as both teams were playing the second games of back-to-back contests against different teams. Although its customary for the starting goaltender to rest the second night, Luongo played his second game in two nights while Bryzgalov replaced Ben Scrivens following his first win as an Oiler. Luongo finished with 16 saves while Bryzgalov posted 25. The Canucks were blanked on two power plays while the Oilers failed to score on three. Perron put the Oilers ahead 2-1 at 17:34 of the first as he jammed in a loose puck from in front after Vancouver defenceman Dan Hamhuis knocked it away from a driving Nail Yakupov. The goal came after yet another Canucks giveaway. Schroeder drew the Canucks even at 2:39 of the second period as he put the puck in off Edmonton defenceman Corey Potters skate. Joenssu gave the Oilers a 3-2 lead in the third period as he put in Ryan Smyths pass from behind the net before Perrons empty netter gave Eakins a rare chance to celebrate consecutive wins -- without getting too excited. "We know we have a very long way to go," said Eakins. Notes: Winger Dale Weise, who has two points in his last three games, was scratched as a result of Schroeders return. a Edmonton captain Andrew Ference was sidelined with a head injury suffered Sunday against Nashville. Vancouver captain Henrik Sedin remained sidelined with an upper-body problem. a The Canucks wore dark green camouflage jerseys in the warm-up in tribute to Canadas Armed Forces. Winger David Booth also wore a similar green camouflage baseball cap bearing a 1980s-era Canucks logo. Booth returned to the lineup after sitting out Sundays win over Phoenix as a healthy scratch. a Joensuu is one game away from 100 for his career. a Canucks coach John Tortorella missed the fourth game of his 15-day suspension for storming the Calgary Flames dressing room area Jan. 25. ' ' '