TORONTO – The Blue Jays wrapped up a nine-game homestand with a 7-4 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon and afterward, boarded a plane for the long flight to Californias Bay Area. Josh Allen Jersey . It will be in Oakland, on Thursday night, where the club begins a 10-game, pre-All-Star Break road trip which will be a grind, both in terms of miles logged and quality of opponents. After four with the Athletics, the Jays travel down the pacific coast for three with the Angels and then across the southern part of the continent, concluding with three against the Rays in St. Petersburg. Then comes the Midsummer Classic in Minneapolis, where general manager Alex Anthopoulos expects trade discussions will begin to heat up. “We still have a month. A lot can change,” said Anthopoulos. “We started out June 5-0 and obviously we did play well down the stretch. I think you reassess at the All-Star Break and this trip will be part of it. As long as youre in the hunt is probably an important way to look at it. Knock on wood; unless we go on a long streak where we dont win some games and our competition goes on a streak, as long as youre still within reach, then its going to be a battle.” The Blue Jays approach the break in a unique position, legitimate contenders for a playoff spot for the first time in a generation. The lineup is veteran laden, built to win now. Jose Bautista is 33 years old, turning 34 in October. Edwin Encarnacion 31 and so is Adam Lind. Yet, theres understandable hesitancy to part with pieces viewed as part of the future core, including star pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez, whos now toiling at Triple-A Buffalo. Anthopoulos wades into unfamiliar territory but he approaches this deadline no different than those previous, willing to make any trade to improve his ballclub. There are no untouchables. He wont divulge priority areas so as to not create a competitive disadvantage in trade talks. The bullpen and an additional infielder, be it a second or a third baseman (Brett Lawrie can play the other spot), should be points of emphasis. He would be willing to acquire a third baseman. “Lets say theres an all-star calibre player, a great player, there, I think wed be open to doing that,” said Anthopoulos. “That makes the team better. But I dont want to make that a story. Thats not the plan. Were not close to doing that. Were not actively pursuing that. Bretts our third baseman. Hes got the positional flexibility to play all over the place.” The starting rotation has been a pleasant surprise this season. Mark Buehrles 10 wins and 2.50 ERA have led the way. J.A. Happ, with seven more effective innings on Wednesday, has solidified himself after missing the start of the year injured and returning out of the bullpen. Drew Hutchison has run hot and cold but is a promising young pitcher. Marcus Stroman has fit in well and R.A. Dickey is logging innings even though the results have been mixed. The organization believes Sanchez, 23, has turned a corner with the Bisons after struggling for parts of this season with his command. Hes changed his arm slot slightly, staying better on top of the ball as a result. Anthopoulos didnt deny Sanchez could contribute to the Blue Jays down the stretch. “To me, if he can do it again, Im convinced that they got him right on track and hell be ready if we have a need,” said Anthopoulos. HOFFMAN AND PENTECOST SIGN The Blue Jays locked in their two first-round picks from last months amateur draft. General manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed that Jeff Hoffman (ninth overall), a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher out of East Carolina University and Max Pentecost (11th overall), a 21-year-old catcher who attended Kennesaw State University, signed for their bonus slot. Hoffman cashes in slightly more than $3-million; Pentecost comes in just shy of $2.9-million. Hoffman underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in May. Its club policy that no pitcher appear in a competitive game until at least one year after the procedure was completed. Hoffman is in Florida, in the early stages of his rehabilitation. Pentecost is in Dunedin, getting back into baseball shape after his college season ended about a month ago. Pentecost is waiting for his passport and when it arrives, hell report to the Blue Jays short season affiliate in Vancouver. Custom Buffalo Bills Jerseys . The rest of the team was already on the field stretching before batting practice while Puig was getting dressed in the clubhouse. He had been slated to start in right field for the afternoon game against the San Francisco Giants, who beat the Dodgers 8-4. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . -- Max Gilbert captured his first pro victory at the Tour Championship of Canada. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/ . Last years runner-up, Sara Errani, also reached the last eight in straight sets. Flipkens converted all four of her break points against Meusburger, and the third-seeded Errani broke Karin Knapps serve five times to win their all-Italian match 6-4, 6-3.Former Quail Hollow winner Rickie Fowler moved himself in to a strong position at the Wells Fargo Championship, where defending champion Rory McIlroy stayed in contention despite a poor finish to his second round. Latest leaderboard Wells Fargo Championship Fowler fired a four-under 68 at Quail Hollow to get within three strokes of leader Andrew Loupe, while McIlroy heads in to the weekend six shots adrift after closing his three-under 69 with back-to-back bogeys.Playing in the same group as McIlroy alongside Hideki Matsuyama, Fowler made progress by reeling in a hat-trick of birdies from the sixth during a bogey-free front nine. Rickie Fowlers last win came in Abu Dhabi back in January Last years Players Championship winner then recovered from missing a six-foot par save at the 13th to post successive gains over the next two holes, parachuting him in to a bunched group tied for fifth. The number was definitely a good score out there today, Fowler told Sky Sports. I had a couple of little mistakes, but it was nice to see some birdies and I made a good par at the last.Having holed 15-footers to save par at the third and fourth, McIlroy picked up his first shot at the par-five fifth but posted a three-putt bogey from 30 feet at the next. Rory McIlroy played a four-hole stretch around the turn in five under The Northern Irishman lit up his round with a chip-in eagle from just off the far side of the seventh green, before leaving a kick-in gain at the next and birdieing the ninth to reach the turn in 32. Josh Allen Bills Jersey. McIlroy continued his run on the back nine with another close-range birdie at 10, but had to settle for par at the next after leaving his approach short of the green. The world No 3 then missed the 12th green and took two attempts from 15 feet for a second bogey of the day, but got back to five under for the round with a tap-in gain at 14.After leaving approaches short over the next two holes and dropping a shot at 17, McIlroy sent his second shot in to the hazard and needed a smart up-and-down to get away with just a bogey. Loupe had missed the cut in four of his past five PGA Tour starts At the top of the leaderboard, Loupes one-under 71 was enough to cling on to the outright advantage ahead of Roberto Castro, who closed a round-of-the-day 66 with back-to-back birdies.Chesson Hadley and Mark Hubbard sit tied-third on six under, while a final-hole bogey from Phil Mickelson leaves the 2013 Open champion alongside Fowler in the large group three off the pace. 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