CLEVELAND – Ask a Blue Jays fan still hesitant to believe in the team whether a 5-4, nine-game run through Baltimore, Minnesota and Cleveland would be satisfactory early in the season, and the answer likely would be in the affirmative. Bruce Bochy Jersey . Yet its those defeats, snatched from the jaws of victory, which sting the most and Toronto had two of them on the trip. The Jays led 4-2 in the sixth inning when Aaron Loup walked the bases loaded and gave up a bases-clearing, three-RBI double to the Indians David Murphy. Cleveland had a lead it wouldnt relinquish, ultimately winning the game 6-4. The meltdown was relatively minor compared to Thursday nights eighth inning debacle in Minnesota, which saw three relievers give up six runs on just one hit and an unseemly eight walks in a 9-5 loss to the Twins. Its jarring because the Blue Jays bullpen has been consistently reliable. It raises two concerns about the pitching staff. First: the walks. Six more on Sunday afternoon for a season total of 81, which pending the behaviour of Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers in their game against the Dodgers later Sunday, ranks second-most in baseball. "The walks have killed us so far," pitching coach Pete Walker told TSN.ca before Sundays game. "I think its cost us a couple of ballgames." Walks just cost them another one. Second: with the exception of Mark Buehrle, the starting staffs inability to pitch deep into games. "Bottom line, weve got to get some innings out of our starters or our bullpen will be dead come May," said manager John Gibbons after Sundays defeat. Such was the dichotomy of Brandon Morrows performance on Sunday. His six strikeouts over five-plus innings belied the fact Indians hitters battled him throughout. Michael Bourn led off the game with a nine-pitch at-bat. He struck out. In the second, Michael Brantley put the Indians ahead 1-0 with a solo home run on the ninth pitch. An inning later, in the third, Jason Kipnis worked a full-count, 10-pitch walk. Morrow was done at 95 pitches one hitter into the sixth. He threw almost 30 per cent of his pitches (28 of 95) in those three plate appearances alone, leaving Gibbons to wish for more efficiency. "I havent been able to do it as much as I would like to," said Morrow of pitching into the sixth and seventh innings. "Today it was one long inning in the middle; without that I would have been in a better position to finish that sixth." Walker is preaching contact early in counts. He doesnt want pitchers worried about strikeout totals. He wants aggression and laments that radar gun readings are posted on electronic scoreboards. "Its trusting your stuff and really believing that your fastball is good enough that day," said Walker. "I think a couple of our guys might be down in velocity and sometimes that affects your approach. You dont see that 97 on the board and its 92, 93 and all of a sudden you dont trust that fastball in as much as you did last year." Its easy to fall in love with the radar gun and easy to forget that the Blue Jays best pitcher to this point, Mark Buehrle, no longer tops 84 miles per hour with his fastball. "I think it comes down to realizing its not the velocity, its the location," said Walker. "Your fastball is your fastball that given day and it needs to be located regardless. I think, for the most part, thats what we need to get back to and thats something were focusing on is fastball command and pitching inside a little more aggressively." Through 19 games Blue Jays starters have pitched 103 2/3 innings, averaging less than 5 2/3 innings per start. A team with playoff aspirations needs more. R.A. Dickey is presented with the next opportunity to join Buehrle in bucking the troubling trend. He starts Tuesday nights series opener at home with Baltimore. NAVARROS STRANGE ALLERGY If youve been to a Blue Jays game and noticed that Dioner Navarro kicks away the catchers box chalk outline before kneeling for first inning warm up pitches, theres a good reason. Navarros allergic to chalk. The problem dates back years to Navarros minor league days. He would come home after games with skin cracks on his hands. His wife put two and two together since Navarro would always swipe at the dirt to improve his grip, and she suggested he be tested for allergies. Now its habit for Navarro to kick away the chalk before the game begins. Evan Longoria Jersey . -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see. Will Clark Jersey . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead. http://www.sfgiantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Tony-Watson-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night.NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Rangers had just suffered a difficult loss to the Kings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, but coach Alain Vigneault didnt use the long plane ride home from Los Angeles to drill his players on how to get back into the series. Vigneault wanted the Rangers to rest and re-energize, and after a tiring start to the series the Kings had the same idea. "You shouldve seen the plane ride over here," Kings winger Justin Williams said. "It was all lights out and guys were sleeping." Kings coach Darryl Sutter voiced some concern about fatigue earlier in the series, but the true test is how these teams will react moving forward after two overtime games and then cross-country flights Sunday. Neither team practised on the day before Game 3 because rest is now at a premium. "I think the longer series go, the longer the playoffs go, (its about) courage, determination, extra effort," Sutter said. "Youre never going to feel fresh. Youre never going to feel as good as you did in November. Thats the way it works. Thats for sure. Theyre people." Williams doesnt consider fatigue a problem. For now. "Well be fine," he said. "Its the Cup finals, theres no excuse for not being ready or not being prepared or being tired. You can get yourself ready." Thats easier said than done after it took until midway through the second overtime before Dustin Brown finished off Game 2 to give Los Angeles a two games to none lead in the series. Despite Williams scoring 4:36 into overtime in Game 1, theres a build-up of extra hockey going on for the Kings. That was their third overtime game in a row. "Its pretty tough," Kings winger Marian Gaborik said. "To play this many periods the last three games, its a lot of hockey. But everyone will find the energy." The Rangers had a handful of days off after beating the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final, but that doesnt mean players could immediately re-adjust to the time change by the time they took the ice at Madison Square Garden on Monday morning. Trying to explain the mood around the team, forward Brian Booyle noted that its still early in the morning. Johnny Cueto Jersey. But he wasnt worried about being tired. "You just try and get your rest and plenty of fluids," Boyle said. "Its the same for probably everybody. Its an even playing field. So you just do your best." Even though it is an even playing field, it takes some work. "I think on the days off is where you take care of a lot of the physical fatigue, get as much liquids into you as possible and take a step back and relax a little bit," Kings forward Dwight King said Sunday at the team hotel. "As far as prepping for games, everybody has been in this situation long enough to know what they need to do to bring what they need to bring in order for our team to be successful. Defenceman Drew Doughty, who played a game-high 41:41 on Saturday night, has his own strategy. "Im the best couch-sitter in the world, so I make sure to do a lot of that," he said. Thats one way to physically re-charge. But 14 players in this series also participated in the Olympics, so the grind is no joke. "I think its my longest season ever," said Kings defenceman Slava Voynov, who played for Russia in Sochi. "But I feel like last season, a couple of years ago, same thing, its not big deal for me. Just try to play games." And there have been a lot of games. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has played 91, counting the Olympics. He thinks the bigger concern is the mental aspect of playing so many games, including the overtimes. "Physically we can all do it," Lundqvist said. "Its about how you recharge mentally. You have to make sure youre in the right place. No letdowns here." NOTES — Injured Rangers backup goaltender Cam Talbot did not skate Monday morning, and David LeNeveu is expected to continue serving in that role. Vigneault did not provide an update on Talbots status. ... Injured Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, who hasnt played since May 3, continues to skate but his status is uncertain. Sutter said the team will continue to see what happens as warm-ups and games go on. Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '