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TORONTO – Marcus Stroman is returning to the Blue Jays and will make his first career major league start on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. The purpose, as laid out by manager John Gibbons, is two-fold. "We want to get Stroman up here and give him a look," said Gibbons, identifying the first part of the equation. "Our thinking was were going to back (Drew Hutchison) off a couple of days. (Mark) Buehrle will throw Sunday. Hutch will throw Tuesday in Detroit. The plan all along, coming in, was we were going to pick some spots and give Hutch a little breather." Stromans time was coming sooner rather than later, whether it was Saturday, late next week or sometime in June. This is as much about shielding Hutchison, the 23-year-old right-hander who occupies one of the top three spots in Torontos starting rotation along with Buehrle and R.A. Dickey. Hutchison, remember, underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in July 2012. After a year-long recovery, he threw 26 2/3 innings in seven minor league starts late last year and followed that up with 21 2/3 innings in six starts in the Arizona Fall League. Do the math: Hutchison entered this season having thrown 48 1/3 innings of competitive baseball in the better part of two years. Already in 2014, in 11 starts for Toronto, Hutchison has thrown 65 innings. "After his last start I thought he looked a little bit tired," said Gibbons. "I thought it was the perfect time to give him a couple of extra days." To accommodate Stroman on the active roster, the Blue Jays designated reliever Bobby Korecky for assignment just one day after selecting his contract from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Korecky retired the final four Royals hitters in mop up duty on Friday night. The Jays fell to Kansas City 6-1. With Stroman throwing Saturday, followed by Buehrle on Sunday, an off day on Monday, Hutchison on Tuesday, Dickey on Wednesday and J.A. Happ on Thursday, Gibbons could return to Buehrle for Friday nights game against the St. Louis Cardinals. His other option is to go with a six-man rotation for the time being, something he considered earlier this season before Brandon Morrows injury changed the plan, and continue to include Liam Hendriks in the mix. "Doesnt mean anything right now," said Gibbons of Hendriks status. "Hes on schedule. Hell pitch sometime at the end of next week when hes scheduled." A six-man rotation? "No, were not sure how its all going to play out," said Gibbons. Stroman made five appearances out of the bullpen in an earlier stint with the Blue Jays this season. The results were mixed but he thrived in high-leverage situations, including getting his first big league victory in a 6-5, 10-inning win over Philadelphia on May 5. Groomed since the beginning of last season to be a starter, Stroman will bring his swagger to the mound on Saturday and his former Bisons teammate, catcher Erik Kratz, is looking forward to seeing it. "He sees that his stuff plays when hes on and when his stuff is on there are very few who are as good as he is," said Kratz. "Theres a reason hes a prospect or whatever it is or that hes being asked to come in and start in the rotation. I expect to see a guy thats going to come out and give everything hes got and have a lot of success." Stroman was sent back to Buffalo after the Blue Jays wrapped up a series in Texas almost two weeks ago. He alluded to some confusion over not having been a starter in his first go round in Toronto. Stroman sports a 3.03 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP for Buffalo. Kratz thinks hell be more comfortable with a defined role. "I think it was hard for him to understand where he needed to be out in the bullpen," said Kratz. "Does he throw all of his pitches? Does he not throw all of his pitches? The way that he goes out in the game, hes a gamer, thats something that I think he learned from his first time, that his stuff plays. He just needs to keep going after guys." David Njoku Browns Jersey .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. Jarvis Landry Womens Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Yo...-Browns-Jersey/. Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. Jim Brown Jersey . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. Austin Corbett Jersey .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov.With their loss to the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night, the Toronto Blue Jays lost sole possession of first place in the American League East for the first time in 43 days. Not only were they bumped out of first in their division, but theyve also dropped out of a wild card spot, trailing the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners by a game going into Fridays match-up. Which brings the question with just over a week until the All-Star Break - is this team actually a playoff contender? Since their last World Series victory, the Blue Jays have been mired in a 20-year playoff drought. But it wasnt like they werent trying to change their ways. That blockbuster trade with the Marlins in 2012 produced just one more win last season than the previous one. They finished 23 games behind the John Farrell-led Boston Red Sox and 17 1/2 games back of a wild card spot. So where do things sit for this season? How did they stay atop of the division for such a long period of time? The offence has certainly been a factor. The team has had their fair shaare of home runs - especially in the month of May led by Edwin Encarnacion - but the small ball has been evident too.dddddddddddd And it certainly has - until recently - a lot to do with a healthier roster. But the real question around this team making it to the postseason will depend on their ability to crawl back to a comfortable lead. They have a tough ten-game road trip prior to the All-Star break. In their first lengthy road trip of the season, they went a combined 3-7 in Baltimore, New York and Cincinnati. And over the past six seasons, Toronto has struggled hard on road trips of nine or more games. In fact, since their nine-game road losing streak in 2009, the Blue Birds have an abysmal 66-108 record over 18 road trips of nine or more games. Over those 18 road trips, they returned home with a winning record just three times. That all said, do you think the Toronto Blue Jays will re-take the division and make the playoffs this October or will are we looking at another disappointing season? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '