NEW YORK – The Blue Jays entered Thursdays series finale at Yankee Stadium losers of eight of their last 11 games. Theyd dropped 15 in a row in the Bronx dating back to 2012 and had seen their lead over their pinstriped rivals in the American League East dwindle to two and a half games. This is a slump. Its lasted for about two weeks. The downturn comes on the heels of a terrific May, when Toronto won 21 of 30 games and Edwin Encarnacion captured the imagination of fans with his 16-home run month. This is not is the end of the world, nor does this slump suggest a long-term trend. This is on the offence and thats a good thing because theres too much talent in the Blue Jays lineup for the widespread malaise to continue. To wit: The starting pitching has been fine. You could say its been good and you wouldnt be wrong. In the last 11 games, Jays starters have allowed four or more earned runs only twice and have pitched to a staff ERA of 3.71. The starting pitching was supposed to be the weakness. So far it has held up. The Jays have hit only four home runs in their last 11 games. Not surprisingly, three of the home runs came in two of the three victories. Toronto continues to lead baseball with 93 team home runs, which is crucial to the clubs attack. Of the 338 runs the Jays have scored this season, 147 (43.4 per cent) have come via the long ball. Jose Bautista hasnt hit a home run in 11 games, his longest power drought of the season. Hes still hitting for a respectable average, .275 with five of his 11 hits going for doubles, but the Jays miss his power bat as the club struggles, having scored three or fewer runs eight times in the span. This is a phase, both for the individual and for the ballclub, Bautista said, that was bound to happen. "If you can execute every single day for 162, youd probably win 140 games," said Bautista. "We dont expect to execute every single day. But we do have to pick it up. Its one thing, were running into some St. Louis good pitching, some other pitching staffs. I dont want to speak badly or worse about the Yankees or the Orioles but its not the same. We faced much better pitching at home during the last homestand than we have on this road trip, except for Tanaka, who did a tremendous job. So we shouldve won some of these games that we lost." It hasnt helped, either, that Edwin Encarnacion has hit only one home run in the last 11 games. "Weve lacked some timely hitting," said Bautista. "Our pitching has been there enough, I think, that we shouldve won some of these games that weve lost. We just need to keep going on offence. We got really hot at one point and kind of hitting a little cold spurt now. Weve just got to overcome it and not get 10 hits a day but get them when you get the baserunners on." Bautista has repeatedly acknowledged hes bought in to hitting coach Kevin Seitzers philosophy of using all fields. The slugger has become a better all round hitter. His 1,000th career big league hit, achieved in the eighth inning of Wednesday nights loss, was a double to right field. That alone would have been a story last season. This year its commonplace. "I think Im more aware of some situations where people are going to keep challenging me inside, especially when Im behind in the count or theres the right situation when theres a defensive shift," said Bautista. "Why not try to go over there and it ended up working out again? But the previous at bat I tried going that way and I hit into a force out, when Melky got forced out at second. So it works sometimes, sometimes it doesnt." Its difficult to watch a team go into a funk, especially when it had become customary for fans to watch Toronto out-slug and, often, out-pitch opponents. Despite the recent struggles, the Jays offence remains top 10 in important statistical categories: Home runs – 93 (1st)On-base percentage - .329 (5th)On-base plus slugging percentage - .760 (2nd)Walks – 243 (9th) Air Max 97 Plus Australia . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Air Max 270 React Sale . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. http://www.outletairmaxaustralia.com/air...-australia.html. Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kupchak had one year left on his current contract. Air Max Deluxe Australia . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. Buy Air Max Australia . PAUL, Minn.ST. LOUIS -- As far as Ryan Howard is concerned, there is no place like home. Howard, a St. Louis native, homered and drove in three runs and rookie David Buchanan pitched into the eighth inning Thursday night, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Howard has hit safely in 22 of 27 regular season games at Busch Stadium. He has 38 RBIs in St. Louis and a .374 batting average. It was Howards first time playing in his hometown since 2011. Injuries caused him to miss chances in 2012 and 2013. "Its always good to be able to come back home and play in front of family and friends," Howard said. "Its a very familiar feeling. Its always good to be back." Howard also has been hot on the road. In his last 15 games away from Philadelphia, he is hitting .350 with three homers and 14 RBIs. "Hes on a good roll for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes played big in the last four wins, putting a crooked number of there and swinging a good bat." Buchanan (3-3) made his deepest start yet, pitching 7 2-3 innings. He threw 105 pitches and kept the Cardinals off balance and off the scoreboard until the eighth. Buchanan allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four. Not wearing out the bullpen is important to Buchanan. "Ive been wanting to go deep into the ballgame to help the team out, not always have the bullpen get nervous when I come into games," Buchanan said. "Overall, I had great plays made behind me. It was fun. Great run support. So, it was a good game. It was fun. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to pick up 17th save in 19 opportunities. Shelby Miller (7-6) gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. Miller has thrown six innings or more in his last four starts. Philadelphia touched Miller for two runs in the fourth. Carlos Ruiz doubled and Chase Utley singled to lead off the inning. Howard singled home Ruiz and Utley scored on Domonic Browns sacrifice fly. Howards homer in the sixth -- his 10th career homer at Busch Stadium -- came after Utley led off with a single. Howard went to the opposite field and his ball just flew inside the left field foul pole. It was his 14th this season and 325th of his career. It gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead. "I wasnt sure if the ball was going to stay fair or not," Howard said. "Off the bat, it started to kind of slice. I wasnt sure if it was going to go out. I was a little surprised, but Im not mad at it." Miller was surprised to see it slip overr the fence.dddddddddddd "It was a little bit in," Miller said of the pitch. "I didnt think he got it all. He hit it in the right spot. The ball was in his numbers. Hes just a good hitter." The Cardinals had runners at first and third with one out in the second inning but Buchanan pitched out the jam and then again in the sixth when Miller doubled to lead off. Four of Millers five hits this season have been doubles. "He rose to the occasion and I think he has that kind of makeup and that kind of character," Sandberg said. "He seems to be showing improvement. It looks like hes growing out there. "For him to go four times through the lineup, that says something about the stuff that he had. Him having to make adjustments the third and fourth time through, that was very good." St. Louis chased Buchanan in the eighth on a two-out single by Matt Carpenter that scored Jhonny Peralta. "I was upset there with the leadoff walk in the eighth," Buchanan said. "I was really wanting to get through that. But that happens." The rookies performance impressed St. Louis manager Mike Matheny. "He had good stuff," Matheny said. "There were not a lot of surprises. He had stuff that we couldnt get on tonight." Third baseman Reid Brignac was hurt on a play at first in the fifth. Matt Adams dived to nab the ball behind the base. Adams flipped it to Miller, who slid into the base for the out. Brignac extended his left foot and jammed it into the base. Brignac lay on the ground before being helped off the field with a noticeable limp. The club said Brignac sprained his ankle and will be re-evaluated Friday. NOTES: The Cardinals said P Michael Wacha will miss Sundays start in the series finale with the Phillies. Wacha has thrown 90 1-3 innings this season. Reliever Carlos Martinez, who started Monday against the New York Mets and threw 59 pitches, will take Wachas place. ... St. Louis P Joe Kelly, who has been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury since the middle of April, threw a bullpen session before the game. No date has been set for a rehab start. ... Cardinals P Tyler Lyons was activated Thursday from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Lyons went on the DL on May 13 with a shoulder strain. ... Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins and 2B Utley have started 1,130 games together as a double-play combination, the most among all active combos in the leagues. ... Rollins extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ' ' '