MINNEAPOLIS -- Esmil Rogers knows the important of pitching well in September despite his team being long out of the playoff picture. On Sunday, the 28-year-old righty continued making his case to stay in Torontos starting rotation with his second-straight scoreless outing, helping the Blue Jays beat Minnesota 2-0 to complete a three-game sweep. Rogers (5-7) allowed three hits and a walk while striking out four over a career-high 7 2-3 innings, and Jose Reyes late double broke a scoreless tie. Rogers, who started the season in the bullpen, hasnt allowed a run since allowing two in a relief outing Aug. 27. "Thats the key, finish strong and try to be normal," Rogers said. "You go home and you obviously think about September," Rogers said. "They think, how did everybody do in September? When you finish the season theres already a lot of people who forget a little bit about it . but September is more closer to the finish of the season." Rogers won back-to-back starts for the first time since June 13 and 18. He outdueled Twins rookie Andrew Albers, who took a no-decision despite a brilliant outing. Albers made his own case for Minnesotas rotation for next year, scattering four hits over seven innings with no walks and a season-high five strikeouts. "The kid has thrown really well and he did again today," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Hell be in the mix and thats what you want is to be in the mix when you get to spring training." Albers frustrated Torontos lineup for much of the afternoon, but the Blue Jays quickly got to Twins reliever Jared Burton (2-9), who came out to start the eighth. Ryan Goins led off with a single and came around to score on Reyes double two batters later. Reyes then stole third and scored when Brian Dozier couldnt grab Rajai Davis pop-fly in shallow left to make it 2-0. Goins also made a big play on defence when he threw out Pedro Florimon at the plate in the sixth. Florimon led off the inning with a double. Alex Presley followed with a single, but Twins third-base coach Joe Vavra lost sight of the ball and held up the speedy Florimon at third. On the next at-bad, Chris Herrmann hit a grounder to Goins, who fired the ball back to catcher J.P. Arencibia rather than go for the double play. "Youve got to tip your hat, thats the play of the game right there," Arencibia said. The Twins knew it, too. "Hes pretty upset," Gardenhire said of Vavra. "He was bummed about it in the dugout." Presley eventually advanced to third on Brian Doziers long fly, but Oswaldo Arcia grounded out to short and end the threat, drawing loud boos from the home crowd. The boos were almost as loud as the cheers from the healthy contingent of visiting Blue Jays fans, who gave Rogers a standing ovation when he left in the seventh and was replaced by Brett Cecil. Cecil and Sergio Santos combined to close out the eighth and Casey Jannsen pitched the ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances. Toronto has won 10 of its last 13 games since a season-high seven-game losing streak from Aug. 18-24. The Blue Jays are 11-3 all-time at Target Field, where the Twins have lost 10 straight. "Thats terrible, to be honest with you," Dozier said. "Were not playing very good. Offence, defence, anything." Notes: The Twins announced several call ups after the game -- INF Eduardo Escobar, OF Chris Parmelee, LHP Scott Diamond, RHP Michael Tonkin and RHP Cole De Vries. They also selected the contracts of C Eric Fryer and RHP Shairon Martis. The Twins made room for the moves by transferring RHP Samuel Deduno (shoulder) and OF Wilkin Ramirez (fractured shin) to the 60-day DL. . Blue Jays INF Edwin Encarnacion sat out with a sore left wrist. . Minnesotas bullpen entered the game having allowed 11 runs in 14 1-3 innings against the Blue Jays, including six runs in three innings in Saturday nights loss. "Its really hard for me to say anything bad about those guys in the bullpen, theyve been our saviours," Gardenhire said. . Asked if he regularly checks in on injured All-Star catcher Joe Mauer (concussion), Gardenhire quipped: "I said Hi, at breakfast. Do I need to say more than that? Im not going to follow him around, you guys do that." Gardenhire said Mauer hit in the batting cages Sunday and followed a regular cardio routine. There is still no timetable for his return. . The Blue Jays have Monday off before beginning a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at home on Tuesday. RHP Jerome Williams (6-10) is scheduled to start that game against the Angels Mark Buehrle (11-7). The Twins will host the Angels on Monday in a makeup game from April 17; Pedro Hernandez (3-1) will start for Minnesota against Jered Weaver (9-8). Cheap Jordan From China . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. Air Jordan Discount . Completely. Two days after releasing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of the franchise, the Colts announced they were cutting four fan favourites: running back Joseph Addai, linebacker Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt and tight end Dallas Clark. https://www.jordanchina.us/. The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. Fake Jordan . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Wholesale Air Jordan . Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place.DETROIT – Pat Hentgen isnt traveling with the Blue Jays this season, having ceded his role as bullpen coach to Bob Stanley in order to spend time with his ailing father, but his eyes light up at the mention of the ballclub. "You know I watch every single game, right?" He once again holds the title of special assistant to the organization, which affords Hentgen the opportunity to rove through the minor league system. Hes at home a lot, he needs to be with his dad battling cancer, but he may as well be at the field with the way he scrutinizes each development. "Buehrles great start right off the top, 10-1 is huge, it reminds you of what Buchholz did last year for the Red Sox," said Hentgen. "On top of that, Dickeys solid. Hutch is solid. The starting rotations been pretty solid overall so I think thats been a big difference." The statistics back Hentgen up. How many times did you hear general manager Alex Anthopoulos say, last year, no team that ranks in the bottom five in starting staff ERA has a chance to compete? The answer: more than a few times. The Blue Jays starters ERA of 3.77 ranks 14th in baseball and is the best in the American League East. Last year, only the Minnesota Twins had a worse staff ERA than Torontos. Rare was the occasion last season, when Hentgen presided over the disappointing clubs bullpen, its greatest strength, its best players were on the field at the same time. Brett Lawrie missed the start of the season with a strained oblique. Jose Reyes rolled his ankle in the second week of the season and Lawrie, back from the oblique, did the same in late May. The two werent on the field together until after the All-Star Break and by then, it didnt matter because the Jays were out of the race. Now, Lawrie is the key to manager John Gibbons rotation which features Juan Francisco at third base against right-handed starting pitching and Steve Tolleson at second base against left-handers. Lawrie fills the positional void on the infield. "I like the fact that theyre getting platoons because sometimes those guys need the rest," said Hentgen. "When you run the same nine guys out there every single day, its not easy for the position players, especially on our turf. The rotation of the designated hitters is a nice move." Blue Jays fans old enough to remember Hentgens heyday will recall his nasty, looping curveball. Naturally, Hentgens impressed with 23-year-old rookie Marcus Stroman. "He really spins the ball well, really well actually," said Hentgen. "I think hes got multiple looks with his breaking ball. He can curve it, he can slide it, he can cut it, you know, talented guy. I think hes just got to focus on staying on top of the ball and driving the ball down with his fastball, especially when hes behind in the count. Hes got great stuff and hes a hell of a competitor." What about adjustments? Stroman made the likes of Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler look silly on two-strike curveballs last Saturday. Stroman will start Friday nights opener against St. Louis and surely, the Cardinals will have a better book on the young righthander. "Second time through the league, you have to make an adjustment as a pitcher because the hitters will and I think that he will," said Hentgen. "Hes athletic enough and hes good enough. Hes just a young guy whos trying to get his feet wet here and get established. Hes got a great start under his belt already and probably looking forward to his next start here. I think he shouldnt change a thing.dddddddddddd He should go at St. Louis like he just did against Kansas City." Hentgen isnt trying to split the atom with his analysis of the current Blue Jays. Continued good health, he believes, is the key. "The starting pitchers have got to stay healthy," said Hentgen. "The key relievers, the core guys out there, they have to stay healthy and obviously the position players. We saw what happened last year when we lost Reyes and Lawrie and Jose (Bautista). Its not easy when you lose three-fifths of your rotation and three of your position players." Encarnacions Special Month Edwin Encarnacion is the American League Player of the Month for May, the first time in his career hes been awarded the honour. "Its a lot more special for me because the way weve been playing, weve been winning games so thats the more important thing for me and my teammates," said Encarnacion. "Its nothing about just myself. Its just something that we want to play like a team and win like the way weve been doing so thats made it more special." The numbers dont lie. Encarnacions 16 home runs in May set a Blue Jays franchise mark for a single month; he became only the third player in major league history to have five multi-home run games in a single month (Harmon Killebrew – May, 1959 and Albert Belle – September, 1995). He led the league with a .763 slugging percentage and 22 extra-base hits. Encarnacion is also putting together a strong season at first base. "I feel very proud about my defence," said Encarnacion. "I worked very hard during the offseason. Its something you have to do great. If you dont play good defence, you cant win games." Lineup Construction When the Blue Jays face a right-handed starting pitcher, Adam Lind and Juan Francisco are in the lineup. Manager John Gibbons has, typically, employed two different middle-of-the-order constructs in these situations. 3. Bautista4. Lind5. Encarnacion6. Francisco Or 3. Bautista4. Encarnacion5. Lind6. Lawrie7. Francisco Gibbons picked the latter for Tuesdays game against Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez. "Weve bounced them back and forth a couple of times," said Gibbons. "Tonight, Im looking at Eddie. You know, Sanchez has been tough on Francisco. Hes got the good breaking ball and good off-speed stuff so space them out a little bit." Gibbons went with the first lineup on Sunday, a 4-0 win over the Royals and right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. "The other day against Guthrie, I mean Francisco had three home runs off him in six at-bats," said Gibbons. "I just look at the pitcher were facing, this guy can maybe give him trouble, maybe thats the case, protect Eddie with Lindy there instead." Injury Updates Colby Rasmus is rehabbing his injured right hamstring in Dunedin, Florida without a timeline for his return to the Blue Jays. His skipper hasnt received any updates of late. "No," said manager John Gibbons. "When I do, Ill let you know." Rasmus has been on the disabled list since May 13. The word is hes progressing toward getting into game action. As for Sergio Santos, out since May 10 with a strained right forearm, hes scheduled to throw a bullpen session at Comerica Park on Thursday. If that goes well, hell throw another bullpen session in Toronto on Sunday. If that goes well, Santos expects to join the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on a rehabilitation assignment next week. ' ' '