TORONTO -- Blue Jays manager John Gibbons didnt hold his usual post-game availability with reporters after Toronto dropped a 5-3 decision to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. His brief quote issued through a team spokesman said it all. "Skaggs was great -- he man-handled us," Gibbons said. It was the first time Los Angeles pitcher Tyler Skaggs had started against Toronto and he didnt allow the Blue Jays to find their rhythm. The 22-year-old left-hander gave up a run in the first inning and then retired 21 straight batters. Skaggs was pulled after giving up two singles in the ninth inning. The Blue Jays scored twice in the frame to make things interesting for the crowd of 31,412 at Rogers Centre. Toronto (18-19) brought the potential winning run to the plate but reliever Joe Smith got pinch-hitter Adam Lind to hit into a game-ending double play. Skaggs (3-1) gave up four hits and two earned runs over eight-plus innings of work. "He pitched one heck of a game for us, took us into the ninth inning," said Angels acting manager Dino Ebel. "Cant say enough about the kid today." Skaggs struck out four and didnt walk a batter. He threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes. "He was missing our barrel," said Jays catcher Erik Kratz. "He did a good job of mixing his speeds a little bit but attacking with his fastball. He had some good movement on his fastball that kept us (hitting) ground balls, popups, ground balls, popups. "Not a lot of hard hits today." Smith earned his fourth save of the season. C.J. Cron hit his first career home run and Chris Iannetta added a two-run shot for the Angels, who knocked Toronto starter J.A. Happ (1-1) out of the game in the third inning. "He just got hurt on a couple of balls in the middle of the plate or up," Kratz said. "He got behind in a few counts and they made him pay." Los Angeles (18-17) has won two straight over Toronto. The teams will continue the four-game series on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the first when slugger Jose Bautista reached base after Skaggs misplayed a comebacker. Edwin Encarnacion drove a double into the left-field corner that brought Bautista home. Howie Kendrick hit a ground-rule double off Happ in the second inning and came around on a single by Cron. Iannetta made it a 3-1 game with his third homer of the season. The Angels batted around in the frame and nearly broke the game wide open. Slugger Albert Pujols flew out to deep left field with the bases loaded for the final out. Happ didnt fare much better in the third. He gave up a solo shot to Cron and was replaced by Todd Redmond after an Iannetta single. "Obviously theyre a great-hitting ballclub," Happ said. "Weve got a lot of those in our division though too and throughout baseball. So you kind of put that out of your mind and try to pitch and try to execute. "It certainly was frustrating today not being as sharp as Id like." Skaggs, meanwhile, was in complete control. Steve Tolleson finally got to him with a two-out double in the eighth inning but Chris Getz grounded out to strand him at second base. Redmond did a nice job in long relief, allowing just one unearned run and five hits over 4 2-3 innings. Happ, meanwhile, allowed seven hits, four earned runs and a walk while striking out four. Jose Reyes started the Toronto rally in the ninth with an infield single and Melky Cabrera followed with a single up the middle. Bautista hit another single to drive in Reyes. Encarnacion hit a grounder that moved Cabrera to third but forced out Bautista at second base. Smith gave up another single to Dioner Navarro that brought Cabrera home. Lind followed by hitting a comebacker to Smith and the Angels turned the double play for the win. The game took two hours 46 minutes to play. Notes: Drew Hutchison (1-2) is scheduled to start for the Blue Jays on Sunday. The Angels will counter with fellow right-hander Jered Weaver (3-2). Toronto will close out its nine-game homestand next week with a three-game set against Cleveland ... Bautista has reached base safely in all 37 games this season. Hes one away from Carlos Delgados club record set in 1998. ... Ebel filled in for regular manager Mike Scioscia, who missed the first two games of the series to attend his daughters college graduation. ... Former Blue Jays infielder John McDonald batted ninth for the Angels and played third base. ... It was the first home game this season that the Blue Jays didnt hit at least one home run. Toronto fell to 7-9 at home and has dropped six of its last nine games at Rogers Centre. Stitched Soccer Jerseys . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. 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Clearance Soccer Jerseys . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.Canadian Jordan Meins career appears to be at a tipping point. Following a vicious first-round destruction of Mike Pyle in August, the Lethbridge, Alta. native stated hed shed the prospect label that hovered over him throughout much of his career. Mein then made it clear in no uncertain terms that big fights were in his future. I want these co-main event spots, these main event spots, the 25-year-old welterweight told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 49 post-fight press conference five months ago. Thats where I belong, Mein now has the opportunity to back up his remarks when he faces former title challenger Thiago Alves on the main card of UFC 183 in Las Vegas Saturday. The headliner will see Anderson Silva return against Nick Diaz. UFC 183 will be available on pay-per-view Saturday, with the preliminary fights airing on TSN4 at 8pm et/5pm pt. Mein said Alves is the perfect opponent for him to stake his claim as a welterweight threat. Yeah, definitely, Mein told UFC.ca during a phone interview Wednesday. Hes had a great name for a long time and its definitely going to be a good win for me. I wish I would have had a co-main event spot or something, but other fights got booked. People wanted to see more (on the card), I guess — and thats what happened. But yeah, Thiagos a great opponent for me. Of course, Mein can keep his momentum rolling in the UFCs 170-pound division, but he also stands to lose footing at the hands of the dangerous Brazilian striker. Though Alves competed for the championship, that was more than five years ago at UFC 100. Since then hes gone 3-3, with his most recent outing being an entertaining unanimous-decision win over Seth Baczynski to cap off a two-year hiatus this past April. Mein admitted a victory may not move him up the official rankings, but stated an emphatic win against a name fighter never goes unnoticed by UFC matchmakers. I dont know if it will really move my ranking if I beat him, Mein said. Hes off the ranking (list) and hed been out (for a while). So Im not too sure as far as my ranking goes, but as far as the UFC sees me, maybe itll change a little bit. It has to be impressive for it to (earn me) a co-main event spot. If not, maybe Im back to where I was. But thats what I want, that co-main event spot and then getting to the main event. I think an impressive win would do that for me. On paper, the fight is a striking fans dream, punctuated by a clash of styles. In the past, Mein has put his boxing to good use, netting impressive wins over Pyle, Dan Miller and Hernani Perpetuo since joining the UFC roster. However, Alves Muay Thai skills have been on full display in victories against Matt Hughess, Josh Koscheck and Karo Parisyan.dddddddddddd. Though Mein tends not to watch tape on his opponents, he has closely followed Alves career. He said he has a good idea of what to expect when the octagon door shuts. I dont really watch tape on guys, but I have been watching him for so many years, Mein said. So I kind of already know what he looks like — his style and his game plan. Other than that, I just try to perfect my technique, my style and then go forward from there. (He may fight) more flat footed and then I can maybe move around a little bit more. Hes got dangerous leg kicks — that plays against me a little bit. If he kicks my legs, I wont be able to move as well. Thats why its going to be a sweet matchup. I dont know how quick his kicks are. Hes also got good counter strikes. So well see what happens. Mein knows that even if he gets out to an early lead, he cant recklessly pursue Alves. The sole TKO loss on the American Top Team fighters record came against Jon Fitch in 2006 via stunning upkick, a rare finishing technique in the UFC. Mein said Alves is a durable and powerful opponent. I think he likes to counter a lot, Mein stated. As soon as you strike him, hell take a couple to give one back. Im going to keep that in mind so I dont get too carried away trying to exploit something and get caught. Though Mein aspires to reach the upper echelon of the sport, he isnt looking past Alves. At this point, his focus is purely on picking up an impressive win. Once hes done so, he can spend time contemplating his next steps. Mein said fans will be in for a treat Saturday. Fans can expect two guys that really want to finish each other, Mein said. He just had a good, long fight and I just had a quick fight. So I think hes wanting a short fight and I want to keep it that way. Were each going to bring it to one another and try to finish each other. So thats going to happen and the fans are going to love watching it. CATCHING THE MAIN EVENT Regardless of how his fight with Thiago Alves shakes out, Jordan Mein will attempt to race through his post-fight medicals in order to get a good seat for Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz. Though Diaz is considered an underdog going into the bout, Mein said the former Strikeforce welterweight champion shouldnt be counted out. Oh definitely, he said. I definitely want to watch those two. That ones so difficult to call. I like watching both. I like their styles, but theyre so different. Diaz is quite a bit of an underdog, betting-wise. It wouldnt be stupid to put money on him because he could definitely win. If youre betting, I think its a good idea. But to be honest, I have no idea. ' ' '