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CHICAGO – Less than three hours before first pitch, holding court with the media in his cramped office at U.S. Cellular Field, manager John Gibbons reclined in his office chair, picked up his lineup card and smirked. "Looks much better, dont it? Looks much better." Edwin Encarnacion was back after a 33-game absence with a strained right quadriceps. His return came two games and three days after Adam Linds, who missed 28 games with a fractured right foot. Now is the time. Now is the time for the Blue Jays to emerge from a funk which has seen the club go 3-9, scoring only 30 runs in the clubs first 12 games of August. The bodies you see are the bodies they will have the rest of the way, barring injury. There will be additions, if not a waiver claim or an unforeseen trade, come September 1 when the rosters expand to as many as 40 players. Ryan Goins, optioned out when Lind returned and Anthony Gose, whos Buffalo bound to make room for Encarnacion, will certainly be back. There will be others, too, including possibly left-handed pitching prospect Daniel Norris, whos climbed each step of the ladder and is throwing lights-out baseball with the Bisons. The key is Encarnacion. That he missed one day short of six weeks and still sits tied for seventh in baseballs home run race, with 26 and having only just been passed by the Cubs Anthony Rizzo and the Angels Mike Trout, is an indication of the season hes having. So are his career highs in OPS (.959) and OPS+ (162). The slugger hit a first-pitch grand slam in his first at-bat for Buffalo on Wednesday night. "I was surprised the way I was seeing the pitches, Ive been seeing the pitches good in the four games in the Minor Leagues," said Encarnacion. "I was thinking it was going to be different with my timing and I saw the ball good right now and my timing is good. Well see now, here." Encarnacion started Friday nights game as the designated hitter. He said hes ready to play first base. Im almost 100 per cent. Im just going to take a couple of more days to be 100 per cent but Im ready to play," he said. "I dont feel any pain right now, I played four games down there and I feel great, no problem." "Hell have to play a little bit of first base, but when hes running hell be guarded a little bit," said Gibbons. "Cant do anything stupid." The Jays entered Fridays play three games back of Seattle and Detroit for the American Leagues second wild card spot. Toronto must sweep the White Sox in order to avoid losing ground on any individual day this weekend because the Mariners are visiting the Tigers. "Weve got a chance," said Lind. "Were definitely good enough to be in the playoffs, but that doesnt mean anything, youve got to go out and win games." Lind, who along with Casey Janssen has been a Blue Jay since 2006, was asked why he thought this team could give him his first crack at playoff ball. "We were in first place for a couple of months," said Lind. "Some things fell apart but thats going to happen over the course of a season this long but were solid everywhere. Good staff, good bullpen, good lineup. We dont really have a great piece to anything but were solid across the board. Usually when that happens youre good enough to make the playoffs." The decision to send out Gose is three-fold: first, hes gone to Buffalo on option, which means he can be recalled in 10 days. Hes an outfielder and after Ryan Goins was sent out, the Jays had Gose and Reimold and only one backup infielder. Also, if one considered struggling Juan Francisco a candidate to be sent out, hed first have to clear irrevocable waivers. By keeping him on the 40-man roster, the Jays assure a full allotment of inventory come September 1. Gibbons acknowledged the threat of Franciscos power coming off the bench is worth it to keep him in the fold. "I will say the last couple weeks hes had his struggles," said Gibbons. "But hes also thrown some decent at-bats together. We need him to get going, too, theres no question about that. (With EE & Lind coming back) we can slide him down a little bit and hope he catches a few of em." If the Blue Jays are to be playing meaningful games in a month, they must salvage this road trip in its final two legs, Chicago and Milwaukee. As far as the lineup goes, what you see is what you get from here on out. Youre about to find out if its good enough. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys . The Opening Day starter played 53 games this season hitting .192 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. Red Sox manager John Farrell has decided to start Jose Iglesias at third base as of late instead of Middlebrooks. Pittsburgh Pirates Store . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week. Fake Pirates Jerseys . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79. Cheap Pirates Jerseys . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games.Despite their ruinous crash in the Spanish GP, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg can continue as Mercedes team-mates according to the F1 Report guests. The two Silver Arrows drivers crashed out of the race in Barcelona following an opening-lap collision while fighting for the lead.Sky Sports F1s Martin Brundle described the image of both cars in the gravel as possibly the defining moment of where the Mercedes team heads for 2017. However, Williams co-founder Sir Patrick Head believes it would be an overreaction to change drivers.They are both fairly mature characters. On the track they have had a clash, but I dont see it as a reason they cant drive in the same team going forwards, he told the F1 Report. Watch the show in full: Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports F1s Marc Priestley and Williams co-founder Sir Patrick Head review an eventful Spanish GP. It would seem an overreaction for that to happen. I think going forward it really depends what happens, if Lewis goes out and wins the next four races in a row and closes the gap then Lewis will be happy and everything will be fine. Nico will have to be focusing on going out afterwards and winning.They have 16 races ahead of them and they will be looking forward at that rather than looking back. Yes, it will be an annoyance and they have to work out how they deal with it and how they avoid it in the future. But I dont see it as a reason why they cant be in the same team.Former McLaren No 1 mechanic Marc Priestley feels even if Mercedes did change their line-up tension would soon return. Ted Kravitz speaks to Martin Brundle about how Mercedes dealt with the fall-out from the lap crash In terms of swapping drivers at Mercedes for next year I think this is a consequence of whoever you put in that car, if they are both competitive drivers, in a car at the front of the field, battling for a world title, I dont think it matters who youve got there - they are going to fall out, he said.ddddddddddddTheir biggest rival is the guy sat a few metres away on the other side of the garage. This is a consequence of their success and it is something they have to deal with. I dont think swapping a driver out is going to allay that for very long.Indeed, the first rule of racing is always to beat your team-mate and in his long career in F1, Head doesnt remember many team-mates being friends.The only time Ive come across good friends within a team Ive been involved with is when one is clearly head and shoulders above the other and the other accepts the other one is better, he said.I dont think anyone wants that. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were involved in a dramatic crash at the Spanish GP Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here Also See: Lewis-Nico clash a defining moment What now for Hamilton and Rosberg? ' ' '