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Rivera has been the target of derision back home in Toronto, where his early season struggles at the plate and paltry batting average have left Jays fans disenchanted with his first season in Toronto.

“I am trying to get my timing 100 per cent from what it was in spring training,” Rivera said before the game.

“I’m not worried because I start slow. I’m starting to see the ball better and my swing is getting better.”

That homer was Rivera’s second of the season, and his hitting is slowly coming around on this road trip. He is now 6-for-10 on the trip, and for a player who was batting dangerously close to .100 four days ago when the Jays were in Toronto, the slow climb back to respectability is obviously welcome.

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Prior to leaving Toronto, the Jays had lost six of eight, scoring two or fewer runs in five of those games. They entered Wednesday’s game having surprised the defending league champs with 16 runs and 21 hits in the first two games of the series.

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Moreland’s homer won it for the Rangers, but the Jays have matched up well with the powerhouse Texas team, and have outhit them 35-24 so far this series.

The injury absence of closer Neftali Feliz has forced Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington to mix and match his bullpen at the end of tight games.

This time, it was 40-year-old left-hander Darren Oliver's turn.

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“Whatever role it is, I'm just trying to get outs,” Oliver said. “Sometimes they're the last outs of the game, sometimes they're more stressful outs, but the job got done. It might just put more grey hair on my head, but that's what I wanted to have.”

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Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes was on the mound for all six runs in the third, although none were earned because of a one-out throwing error by third baseman Encarnacion.

Reyes allowed six runs and five hits in 2 2-3 innings. He hasn't won since June 13, 2008, having gone 23 starts since his last victory.

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Reyes was on the verge of escaping the third, but Encarnacion's low throw on a one-out grounder by Yorvit Torrealba eluded first baseman Lind and opened the door for the six unearned runs.

“(Encarnacion) makes a backhand play on the line ... if that throw is a foot shorter, it's a long hop and it's an easier pick (for Lind),” Toronto manager John Farrell said. “But it was a tough ball to dig out of the dirt.

"I think there's no question there's a risk for the club. It's significant in terms of dollars. It's the largest contract since I've been here. And if we're open for criticism, we're prepared for it." -- Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulous on the signing of Jose Bautista

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Until the Blue Jays either return to the elite of American League and regularly contend for the post-season or the club unravels and falls far short of its long-term potential, the short-hand reference for Anthopoulous will be how the Jays have fared in the wake of his two signature deals, just over a year apart.

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A good first month doesn’t make a career, but certainly there’s enough to be encouraged by Drabek’s April that suggests that Anthopoulous managed to pry a valuable long-term asset for the Jays in return for a franchise pitcher who wanted a change of scenery; no easy task.

As for Bautista, the stakes in some ways were higher. Placing a long-term bet on a journeyman riding just over a season of breakout success carried the risk of becoming an everyday reminder of Anthopoulous’ bad judgement for the length of the deal; precisely the kind of contract that can bury a young general manager without a track record to fall back on.

Well, one month into his five-year, $65-million deal -- or is it steal? -- Bautista is beginning to look like exactly the opposite: a bargain for a hitter who is drawing comparisons to the best hitters in the AL all of whom are paid considerably more than Bautista.

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Pujols is reportedly seeking a $300-million contract. Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees is earning $32-million this season. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers in the middle of an 8yr-$152-million deal.

Anthopoulos doesn’t seem the type to gloat; but you figure with Drabek pitching and Bautista hitting and the Jays winning – at least for one night – he allowed himself at least a smile.

Chris Woodward? Yikes. You can already hear the chants of “Free Brett Lawrie.”

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Sorry. It doesn’t work that way. The .410 average at Triple-A Las Vegas is almost as eye-opening as the six errors the young third baseman has racked up. “We have a development plan in place for him and I don’t think you deviate from it after a couple of weeks,” Anthopoulos said.

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Lawrie said earlier this week he has watched most of the Blue Jays’ games, helped by the time difference between Toronto and the Pacific Coast League. He knows who is and isn’t hitting and who’s hurt. He knows, now, he will be a major-leaguer this season, but he has too much on his plate to think much beyond that.

This week, he has had roving infield instructor Mike Mordecai doing 1-on-1 drills with him, after the organization dispatched the former major-leaguer to work out some of the early season defensive issues plaguing Lawrie. The Blue Jays, who play their home games on artificial turf, are not concerned about Lawrie’s defensive skills transferring from grass to turf.

“It’s so hot in Vegas that the field is really hard,” Anthopoulos said. “It plays very fast. It’s a good challenge for him. There are no issues, really. We just need him to tighten up his defensive game a bit.”

Ever since Adam Lind was ensconced at first base and Edwin Encarnacion at third, the Jays have acknowledged that corner infield defence could be an
issue from time to time.

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With one out in [the third] inning, catcher Yorvit Torrealba hit a ball down the third base line that Encarnacion backhanded nicely on his knees. He got to his feet but his throw was low and Lind couldn't dig it out. That misplay was magnified when the next man up, Mitch Moreland, struck out. He would have been the third out.

“This was really a productive work session,” said Butterfield. “You know, Yunel has such a good arm that his tendency is to take his time. On the double-play ball, sometimes he relies a little too much on that arm and the runner can get on him.

“When last season was over,” said Butterfield, “one of the things I told Yunel was that I was going to turn him into a ‘boring’ shortstop.”

By that, Butterfield meant that he wants Escobar to complement his extraordinary athletic ability with the practical aspect of making all the simple plays, simply.

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“The beautiful thing about Yunel is that he has such a good arm and he loves to throw the baseball,” said manager John Farrell. “Because he has such arm strength, sometimes the action can get a bit long so what we’re trying to work with him on is to quicken that transfer over the bag when he’s turning the double play, just to get rid of the ball quicker, especially in cases when the runner might be bearing down on him.”

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The Blue Jays spent most of their pitching budget on relievers last winter and it is already paying dividends. After 23 games, the bullpen has been the strength of the pitching staff, with the starting rotation taking some time to develop its consistency.

Through the first 23 games, the starters have averaged just over 17 outs per game, leaving about 10 outs per game to the bullpen. Toronto’s starters have an ERA of 4.40 with a .263 batting average against and a WHIP of 1.429. Toronto’s relievers have a collective ERA of 3.14, a batting average against of .201 and a WHIP of 1.125.

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“There are a lot of weapons down there,” said pitching coach Bruce Walton. “Many different styles. Over the course of the first few weeks of the season, we’ve started to learn where to position them.

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When he failed in his bid to earn a starting role, Rzepczynski moved seamlessly into the bullpen and has been an effective addition as the pen’s only lefthander.

“We threw him right into the fire, going through that transition from starting to relieving,” said Walton. “He’s been out there in the eighth inning, the ninth inning and the seventh inning with leads.

“He may have one of the better sliders out of the bullpen in all of baseball,” said Walton.