...and call it one.

the most remarkable thing to happen on Thursday was that New Hampshire fans - those who endured - got a whole 'nother ball game for free.

It has been a strange season for the Toronto Blue Jays.  They have been hovering around the 500 mark for much of the season despite losing a lot of key players to injuries and despite some notable poor performances.  The list of the bad things that have happened to the team is lengthy:

1. Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek, Sergio Santos, Drew Hutchison, Jesse Litsch, Dustin McGowan and Luis Perez are all on the 60 day disabled list.

2. More recently Jose Bautista, Adam Lind and JP Arencibia are on the 15 day DL.

It was a 4-3 night on the farm even though no affiliate could get more than seven hits. Two of the affiliates who won were outhit by their opponents and one had the same number of hits.  It was timely hitting that won games for the affiliates.  New Hampshire won 3-2, Ryan Goins scored two and drove in a third run.  For Bluefield Seth Conner drove in four runs with two of the Jays six hits.  Kevin Ahrens hit a three run home run for Dunedin.

Pitching also was key in the wins, Ryan Tepera, Marcus Walden, Taylor Cole and Kevin Comer all pitched well.  Cole was the best with six shutout innings.  Cole was followed by Marcus Stroman who pitched two perfect innings.  For the losing teams Noah Syndergaard was hit around a bit, while Bill Murphy and Jairo Labourt had forgettable days.

What's all this then? I go away for one freakin' day and all hell breaks loose?

 As you probably heard, last night the Blue Jays have traded OF Travis Snider to Pittsburgh for RHP Brad Lincoln. They then traded OF Eric Thames to Seattle for RHP Steve Delabar.

Monday night was a saw-off for the affiliates as they split their six games down the middle.

Today's POTD looks at some of the players from Seattle who could play key roles in this series against the Blue Jays at Safeco Field.

The Jays kick off a 10 game road trip with a seven game swing out west, starting with the Mariners. Let's break it down quick, Advance Scout Style.

The good Chad Jenkins made a rare appearance in New Hampshire. The bullpens struggled in both Las Vegas and Vancouver, which lead to late-game meltdowns totalling 16 runs in four innings.

Five wins in eight tries for the affiliates. Deck McGuire threw seven shutout innings and didn't have a prayer at the first star.

The affiliates managed to win six out of nine Friday night.  With any luck, it could have been eight out of nine but one slipped away in the late going and the offence was mosty absent during a doubleheader sweep.

Editor's Note - The original thread linked the wrong Dunedin game.  It has been corrected.

Next up, it's the Tigers, who were awarded the AL Central title by acclamation last winter. After a sluggish first half, they're starting to play up to the hype. They called up Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante from their NL affiliate on Monday, and they look good to go for the second half. The Jays will dodge Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, but they'll still have to navigate a lineup featuring several high OBP figures at the top.

In three of Thursday's six games, the Jays affiliate scored but a single run, and in one of those three that was all they would need.

Lansing lost a wild game and Las Vegas lost a blowout but the other affiliates won with some strong performances at the plate for New Hampshire and Lansing.

Two affiliate wins by the top teams in the system.  Las Vegas's win moved them to within a half game of first place.  Chad Jenkins was good enough to get the win for New Hampshire.  Elsewhere on the farm there were a series of blow-ups.  Egan Smith had a no hitter through five innings but blew up good in the sixth as Dunedin lost.  Vancouver lost both ends of a double header.  In the first game they had a lead going to their closer in the seventh but he coughed up the lead.  Then he gave up another run in the eighth but Vancouver came back to tie but Eugene scored the winning run in the ninth.  In game two Vancouver again had the lead but lost. The GCL Jays took a lead to the ninth but made two errors to lose the game and throw a win away.  Bluefield were rained out and Lansing had the day off.

Five days ago, the A's were under the radar and the Jays were finished. Tonight, they'll meet at the SkyDome in the biggest matchup on the baseball calendar. The rampaging A's have lost all of two games this month. They just hung a four-game sweep on the Yankees and have roared into the second wildcard spot. Their game centers around aggressive pitching and excellent defense, but this month they've also played some longball.