TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays want to put a couple of series losses behind them as they head out for a 10-game road trip that should give them a good idea of whether theyre actually ready to be a contender in the American League East. Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Twins starter Phil Hughes (7-2) struck out nine and allowed seven hits over seven shutout innings. With the loss, Torontos lead atop the division standings fell to five games over Baltimore and New York. The Orioles were home to Boston on Wednesday night while the Yankees were in Seattle. The Blue Jays will play Baltimore and New York next week before closing out their trip against the Cincinnati Reds. "Well see how good we are," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Were playing a couple good teams in our division. Weve got a small little lead on them but theyre right there. So we need to play good baseball on this road trip, especially the way the last four or five games have gone. "For our psyche more than anything else we need to regroup and put a couple good ball games together." Toronto (39-28) has been giving up early leads of late, with the opposition scoring first for the seventh straight time Wednesday. Danny Santana opened the game with a single off Marcus Stroman (3-1), who was making his third career start. The leadoff man scored when Willingham turned on a 1-2 pitch and put it into the second deck. "It was just a bad pitch," Stroman said. "It was probably the worst pitch of the outing. It was just one of those that was supposed to be buried but it just kind of hung up there. I tried to do too much with it." The Blue Jays starter allowed three earned runs and nine hits while striking out four. Triple-A callup Bobby Korecky replaced him in the seventh and loaded the bases before Morales cleared them with a three-run double. Toronto avoided the embarrassment of a fourth shutout loss in five games by scratching out a pair of runs in the eighth. Casey Fien got the last four outs for his first save of the season. "Theres no doubt weve cooled off with the bats," Gibbons said. "But that can turn in one day, that can turn overnight. But I do think its going to be good to get out on the road. "Weve been at home a long time. A little change of pace, a little change of scenery might do us some good." The Blue Jays led several offensive categories last month and, despite the recent cold stretch, have won 16 of their last 22 games and 21 of 29. "The bats are going to come around," Stroman said. "All the guys in the clubhouse are pretty positive about it. I have 100 per cent confidence in every single guy in that lineup that the guys are going to start doing what they were doing at the beginning of the year. Its close." The Twins, meanwhile, moved two games under the .500 mark with the win. Minnesota (31-33) outhit Toronto 16-10 while Hughes picked up his ninth quality start of the season. "Super job by him of changing speeds, moving the ball in and out," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He used his breaking ball a lot better today." Hughes did well to get out of a jam in the sixth inning after Toronto shortstop Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an infield single. Reyes moved to third base on a Melky Cabrera single to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Oswaldo Arcia made a nice sliding catch in foul territory on a Jose Bautista flyout and Hughes struck out Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind to escape. "I felt like I kind of found myself in the third or fourth inning and was able to ride that through," Hughes said. The Blue Jays fell to 20-17 at home this season. They have been much stronger away from Rogers Centre this year and at 19-11, have the fewest road losses in the major leagues. "The bats will heat up again," Gibbons said. "Hopefully sooner than later." Notes: Announced attendance was 45,080. There were several groups of schoolchildren in the crowd. ... Koreckys callup from the Buffalo Bisons was announced Wednesday morning and he was sent back down after the game. The Blue Jays also optioned outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Bisons and recalled outfielder Darin Mastroianni. ... Dozier left the game in the fourth inning due to tightness in his lower back. He was replaced at second base by Eduardo Escobar and is listed as day to day. ... Toronto will kick off a four-game series at Baltimore on Thursday night. Left-hander Mark Buehrle (10-2, 2.04 ERA) is scheduled to start against right-hander Kevin Gausman (1-1, 4.91). ... The Blue Jays will get an off-day Monday before playing three games against the Yankees and three against the Reds. ... Reyes turned 31 on Wednesday. ... The game took two hours 57 minutes to play. Dwight Powell Jersey . On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees. Jalen Brunson Mavericks Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/jason-kidd-mavericks-jersey/ . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss. Jason Kidd Jersey .C. -- Lucy Li made two double bogeys, a triple bogey and finished her historic round at the U. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . The All Blacks played their best rugby of recent years when they beat South Africa 38-27 in Johannesburg two weeks ago, clinching the Rugby Championships in a match which has been hailed as one of the best ever played.Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Jevon Carter scored 18 points with a full line off the bench on Tuesday, leading No. 16 West Virginia to a convincing 86-65 win over 18th-ranked Oklahoma. Devin Williams had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Juwan Staten, WVUs leading scorer, shot just 1-of-9 but made up for it by dishing out a game-high eight assists. Carter made 4-of-6 from 3-point range and added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Nathan Adrian chipped in 11 points for West Virginia (15-2, 3-1 Big 12), which turned 22 OU turnovers into 27 points. Buddy Hield scored 21 points and Isaiah Cousins had 14 on seven shots for Oklahoma (11-5, 2-2), but bench play was an issue once again in the Sooners second straight loss. Their four key reserves combined for just eight points, led by Khadeem Lattins four. West Virginia was the better team for 40 minutes, never trailing on its way to a wire-tto-wire victory.dddddddddddd Williams scored the games first four points, and a pair of 6-0 runs near the midpoint of the first period made it 29-17. Later, Ryan Spanglers dunk at 3:24 had the Sooners within three, but four Mountaineers scored during a 10-0 spurt to end the period and send the hosts into halftime with a 45-32 lead. Oklahoma was within 12 at 14:17 of the second half following a pair of Hield free throws, but turnovers on the next two possessions by the OU star contributed to West Virginias 8-0 run. Carter opened the flurry with a 3 and Elijah Macon scored the next five points. Game Notes Staten, who finished with four points, had scored in double figures every game this season ... Oklahoma guard Jordan Woodard is shooting 6-for-30 over his last five games ... OU is 3-2 in the series since West Virginia joined the Big 12. ' ' '