Jays 1 - Angels 0

1. Recaps:
   
   • Elliott Teaford:
     
     
     Blue Jays starter Justin Miller left 20 tickets for his former Little League teammates, six for family members, five for friends, "and everybody else was on their own" when he faced the Anaheim Angels on Wednesday.
     
     Miller's outing turned out to be a hotter ticket than anyone might have imagined, including the right-hander himself. He admitted not feeling all that great while warming up in the bullpen before the game.
     
     But he was nearly flawless while pitching a career-high eight innings and giving up two singles and one walk in the Blue Jays' 1-0 victory over Anaheim in front of a crowd of 36,905 at Angel Stadium.
     
     
     
   • Doug Miller:
     
     
     Normally, one run allowed in eight innings from a starting pitcher in the heat of a pennant race would bring on postgame fireworks and familiar strains of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" in Angel Stadium following a huge win.
     
     Then again, this is 2004, the year in which Kelvim Escobar continues to show how good he is and his teammates continue to not score runs for him.
     
     
     
   • Mike Ganter:
     
     
     Miller, aided by a swing-happy Angels lineup, walked just one batter and allowed just two hits in a masterful eight-inning performance in a 1-0 shutout of the red-hot Angels last night in Anaheim.
     
     
     
   • AP:
     
     
     The Anaheim Angels had trouble believing this was the same Justin Miller they faced more than three months ago, when he hit three batters and gave up three consecutive home runs.
     
     
     
   • Geoff Baker:
     
     
     Despite striking out a career-high 12 batters in this one —pushing his season total to a career-high 162 — and lowering his earned-run average to 3.97, Escobar was stymied yet again by his offence's vanishing act.
     
     A crowd of 36,905 at Angel Stadium saw Toronto score the only run it would need in the opening frame when an Orlando Hudson grounder off the glove of diving second baseman Adam Kennedy was ruled a double. With two out, Escobar got Carlos Delgado to sky a pop-up to right field that Vladimir Guerrero lost sight of in the twilight.
     
     Kennedy raced back from his infield position to try to make the play, but couldn't get to the ball in time as it fell in for a run-scoring double.
     
     
     
   
   
   
2. Fordin Notes (by Elliott Teaford) on Russ Adams, Kerry Ligtenberg, David Bush, and Josh Towers:
   
   
   The Blue Jays set their rotation for their weekend series against the Texas Rangers, and right-hander Josh Towers will miss another scheduled start because of a strained muscle near his shoulder blade.
   
   As he did last Sunday against the Oakland Athletics, right-hander Ryan Glynn will take Towers' spot in the rotation Saturday against the Rangers.
   
   
   
   
3. Ganter Notes on Gustavo Chacin, Josh Towers, and Kerry Ligtenberg:
   
   
   Anaheim Angels team doctor Lewis Yocum examined Blue Jays reliever Kerry Ligtenberg on Tuesday and assured him he could do no further damage to his hip or knee by continuing to pitch.
   
   Ligtenberg, who believes the hip is the beginnings of an arthritic condition, has been hampered by the injury for much of the season.
   
   
   
   
4. Tonight's 10:05PM EST start in Anaheim: LHP Ted Lilly (9-10, 4.05 ERA) vs. LHP Jarrod Washburn (11-5, 4.70 ERA). Read more in the game preview.