by ROBERT MACLEOD , The Globe and Mail

The highest-paid player on the Toronto Blue Jays has had to endure the wrath of the home-town fans over his continued struggles at the plate, which led to his recent demotion in the batting order.

So it kind of figured that when a door in the Yankee Stadium outfield wall came ajar during the fifth inning of Toronto's game against the Yankees yesterday afternoon it was left to Wells to trot over from his spot in centre field to shut it.

From millionaire outfielder to chief gatekeeper at the new Yankee Stadium, the imagery was not lost on Wells.

"I should have closed it and just stayed behind the gate," Wells noted wryly shortly after the Yankees (46-33) emerged with a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays (42-39) in a sleepy little affair played out before 46,308 spectators.

It was not the outcome the faltering Blue Jays , losers in five of their past six, were looking for to begin an important 10-day, 10-game road trip - all against their American League East rivals.

Brian Tallet, the Blue Jays starter, had his usual one sloppy inning - in the fifth, in which he walked three and surrendered two runs that proved to be the difference as the Yankees won for the eighth time in their past nine.

"I let two bad ones score and more than anything else it's a heartbreaker for the team," said Tallet, 5-6, who lost his second in a row.

To add insult to injury it was A.J. Burnett, 7-4, the former Blue Jay , who picked up the win, limiting the Blue Jays to two runs and six hits and seven strikeouts over seven innings.

It was the first of a four-game series for the Blue Jays in New York and was Toronto's first visit to new Yankee Stadium, which opened this season.

New York's new digs are stately and luxurious - and well they should be with the accompanying price tag of $1.5-billion (U.S.).

And people still bemoan the $600-million or so it cost to build the SkyDome, now known as the Rogers Centre.

After being given the day off in Toronto's last game on Wednesday to mull over a 2-for-19 skid that had dropped his batting average to .248, Wells was back in the starting lineup, playing centre.

In an effort to try to shake him out of his hitting lethargy, Gaston bumped Wells down to sixth from third in the batting order.

"You know I put him in a situation where he really didn't have a choice," Wells said when asked how he took the news. "You can't really put your head down. It's my fault and it's something that if I want to get back in to the spots that I'm used to hitting I've got to do my job."

Gaston said he made the batting order move to try to take some of the pressure off his star outfielder, but Wells said there's really not that much difference where he hits from.

"You've still got to hit, that's part of it," Wells said. "You've got to go up there and do your job no matter where you are in the lineup."

Wells responded by going 2-for-4, including his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning, which cut the New York lead to 3-2.

And his performance continued a bewildering trend of hitting far better on the road (a .325 average) than at home (.172).

With the score tied 1-1, the game got away from Tallet in the fifth when the lefty issued a leadoff walk to Brett Gardner, the Yankee's No. 9 hitter.

"No disrespect to Brett Gardner but he's the last guy we walk in that lineup, plain and simple," Tallet said.

Tallet then walked the next batter, Derek Jeter, and the problems continued to mount after the Toronto pitcher had problems fielding a bunt by Johnny Damon down the first-base line that left the bases loaded for New York with none out.

Tallet's third free pass, to Mark Teixeira, brought in the go-ahead run. The second New York run of the inning scored on a passed ball.

Wells's home run cut the New York lead back to one but Alex Rodriguez responded in kind for the Yankees in the eighth, taking Toronto reliever Jeremy Accardo over the wall in right field to restore New York's two-run bulge.

***

ON DECK

NOTES The Blue Jays have lost 13 of their past 19 games away from the Rogers Centre and their overall road record sinks to 17-21. ... Vernon Wells's home run in the sixth inning marked his 21st career homer against the Yankees, tying him with Joe Carter for second-most in Jays' history against New York. Carlos Delgado leads with 28. ... Scott Rolen singled to right field in the eighth inning, extending his career-high hitting streak to 20 games. ... David Dellucci joined the Blue Jays from Triple A in time for yesterday's game and started in left field, batting eighth.

NEXT Today at Yankee Stadium, 1:05 p.m. EDT against the New York Yankees.

PROBABLE PITCHERS Jays RHP Roy Halladay, (10-2, 2.56) v. Yankees RHP Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 10.06).

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Robert MacLeod

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