TORONTO – The Blue Jays play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Yankees on Sunday. With a win, Toronto (3-3) would head into its first off-day of the regular season above .500 and with the Astros coming to town for a three-game set starting Tuesday. KRATZS FIRST START Catcher Erik Kratz was looking forward to being behind the plate for Drew Hutchisons start on Sunday afternoon. “I like his demeanour,” said Kratz. “I like how he goes after hitters and hes not afraid of contact. Hes going to go right after these guys and Im excited about it.” Its been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Kratz. Acquired from Philadelphia in the offseason, along with pitcher Rob Rasmussen, it was assumed Kratz would have the inside track to be Dioner Navarros backup because hes an offensive threat. Kratz lost the job to Josh Thole, who has a lengthy track record catching knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, but was recalled in time for opening day when Casey Janssen went on the disabled list. “Theyve been up and down for sure,” said Kratz. “When I got sent down I was disappointed but when I got called back up obviously youre excited again. Its something that, its part of the game, its part of where Im at in my career.” He understands the business and knows there are limited opportunities to impress. But Kratz is familiar to the organization, the Blue Jays drafted him in 2002, and hes confident hes built up enough of a resume during his time in Philadelphia. He hit 18 home runs in 375 at-bats over the last two seasons. “I cant sit here and say, Oh man, this one at-bat that Im going to get off the bench is going to make or break my season,” said Kratz. “Its something that you do have to take advantage of your opportunities. Ive been fortunate to have opportunities in the big leagues so Ive put together a little bit of a resume.” Should he be called upon to catch Dickey this season, Kratz has confidence in his ability to receive the knuckleball. “Its as good as its been,” said Kratz. “I think he said it right and he knows the pitch the best. I definitely improved. Is there room for more improvement? Absolutely. I think its something that, getting that comfort level out in those games, lights are a little brighter than in spring training. Just the more reps I can get the more comfortable Ill get.” WALDEN “SHOCKED” AT CALL-UP Needless to say Marcus Walden was surprised when his contract was purchased from Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday. “I was definitely shocked,” said Walden. “I saw that they were calling up Chad Jenkins. I didnt hear of a 10-day rule, I had no knowledge of it, so my skipper called me in and I was shocked. Really shocked.” The 10-day rule to which Walden is referring applies to players optioned to the minor leagues. Players on option already are on the 40-man roster and if theyre sent to the minor leagues, they must spend 10 regular season days on option before theyre eligible to be recalled. The lone exception is to be an injury replacement when someone on the big league roster is placed on the disabled list. The Blue Jays intended to recall Chad Jenkins but, because hes on option, he isnt eligible for call up until April 10, the 11th day of the regular season. Walden wasnt on the 40-man roster, hence his contract being “purchased,” and so he was selected as Jeremy Jeffress replacement when Jeffress was designated for assignment. Walden, 25, is a sinkerball pitcher who relies on ground ball outs. His career minor league strikeout rate of 5.4 per nine innings reflects his approach. He missed most of 2009 and all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Walden made a number of adjustments to his training regimen as a result. “Ever since then Ive kind of changed a lot of stuff about working out and doing a lot of things to get myself ready to pitch,” said Walden. “At the end of the day I think its paid off.” Walden swears by yoga; he estimates he participated in 40 to 50 sessions in the offseason. Hes considered one of the strongest players in the Blue Jays organization and he credits yoga. “I think its something, it kind of gets people to be more limber and more flexible,” said Walden. “If youve got really big, strong, tight muscles it does you no good. The more limber you are, the more flexibility you can have, the looser your muscles are to help with not having injuries.” ,b>POSITIVE SIGN For the first time in franchise history, the Blue Jays first three wins of a season have come with the club scoring fewer than four runs in each of the victories. The starting pitching, with the benefit of improved defence, is off to a much better start than last year. Its early but the Blue Jays 3.78 starting staff ERA has the team on track to vastly improve on last seasons 4.81 ERA amongst starters, which ranked second worst in baseball. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . Kerber will next play Estonias Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3. In other first-round matches, Lucie Safarova beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. Cheap Sneakers Free Shipping .Inter Milan and Napoli also advanced to ensure there will be at least three Italian clubs in the last 32 of Europes secondary competition.Spurs victory, secured by Benjamin Stamboulis 49th-minute winner, was overshadowed by a succession of pitch invasions that forced the referee to halt the game after 41 minutes. http://www.cheapsneakersfromchina.com/ . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. Sneakers Outlet . "This is my city," the Toronto native said upon his arrival Wednesday night. And the 35-year-old former league MVP says he is hoping to making 2014 a memorable year. Wholesale Sneakers .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics.SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Chris Wondolowski and Walter Martinez each scored and the San Jose Earthquakes beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday in the season finale for both teams. The Earthquakes came into the game in contention for a playoff berth, but would have needed to score 13 goals and have Colorado lose Vancouver on Sunday. Stephen Keel scored in the 90th minute for FC Dallas, which already had been eliminated from playoff contention. David Bingham made his first start of the season for the Earthquakes. San Joses victory gave the retiring Ramiro Corrales a successful send off. The last original member of the MLS from 1996, Corrales made his first start since Sept. 14 and had two chances to score in the first 11 minutes. The Earthquakes finished the season with a seven-match unbeaten streak and a 16-game unbeaten run at home. Dallas, which ended its home season with a victory its last time out, went 1-5-1 over its last seven games. Martinez came back from a missed shot in the 23th minute to give the Earthquakes a 1-0 eddge four minutes later.dddddddddddd Justin Morrow sent a forward pass along the left sideline, where Martinez collected it and kicked a low shot past Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz and into the right corner of the net. Wondolowski received a pass from Shea Salinas just inside the penalty box and fired a drive into the near top corner in the 57th minute. San Jose went 11-5-3 under interim coach Mark Watson, who replaced Frank Yallop midway through the season. Watson remains a leading candidate to become coach. Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman was on the sidelines for the final time after announcing earlier that he would retire following the season. He spent the past six years in the MLS. Corrales leaves as the Earthquakes leader in games played with 250. A brief, pregame ceremony was held for him and he received a standing ovation when he subbed out in the 60th minute and was carried off the field by teammates Steven Lenhart and Victory Bernandez. Peter Luccin received a yellow card in the 85th minute. ' ' '