Happy homecoming for Janssen

After 10 days, nine crushing defeats and a whole lot of misery, the Blue Jays are losers no more. The Toronto team, which tumbled out of first place in the AL East and into a deep funk with nine consecutive road losses, rediscovered its mojo at home last night with a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, the team that launched that debacle of a streak back on May 19. There was a five-run fifth inning - one that emphatically stated "we're back" - that did the trick. The Jays banged out five hits in that frame and, for the major-league leaders in hits, it was a most welcome flash of their almost-forgotten hitting prowess. There was Casey Janssen, in his second start of the season, knocking down seven innings and picking up his first win. Simply great timing for a kid who needs to establish himself again after missing all of last season with shoulder issues. There was a real winner in the crowd - ex-Leafs captain Doug Gilmour in a field-level chair - and former Jays lefty Paul Spoljaric being honoured in the club's regular Flashback Friday trip down memory lane. Most important, though, there was a win - sweet and long overdue. "They never quit, they played hard every game (in the losing streak). ... Someone asked me if I had a meeting, but I didn't because they played hard," Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "But it was nice to get one." Toronto finally cashed in a winning chip by handling knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Not an easy task, though, since Wakefield's baffle ball normally tames Toronto hitters. Wakefield entered the game with 17 wins in 40 career starts against Toronto, the fourth most by any pitcher. He had also racked up 201 strikeouts over that span, third most all-time. There was the spectre of that May 19 loss in Boston, which came against Wakefield, hanging over the Jays . This was the guy who started the streak - with a five-hitter over eight innings. "He was the guy who put us in the funk, so it was nice to get one back," said Jays centre fielder Vernon Wells, who keyed that five-run fifth with a stolen base. Rod Barajas put an exclamation mark on the inning with a two-run single. Toronto trailed 2-1 entering the frame, but Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay, Barajas and Marco Scutaro all drove in runs with two out for a 6-2 cushion. Barajas also scored the sixth run, rounding the bases from first on Scutaro's double and ending the dash with a belly-first slide. "I didn't slide, I fell," said a laughing Barajas. "Ten more feet and they'd have needed the paramedics out there." Janssen was in survival mode all night. He gave up eight of his 11 hits and two walks in the first four innings, but got double plays in the third and fourth to help keep the damage to two runs. A key point came in the first inning when David Ortiz just got under a pitch with the bases loaded and two out. Ortiz drove it long and high, but it stayed in the park, landing in Wells' glove just to the right of the 400-foot sign in centre. "I felt like I was struggling with my command for most of the game," Janssen said. "I was a little excited to be back. "I was hitting too much white (middle of the plate). I needed to expand the plate, but I wasn't doing it for the most part."