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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- After watching Esmil Rogers stumble, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons pulled out a baseball maxim. "Some of our top guys are putting together some good at-bats and some things like that," he said. "The key is pitching though. Thats going to take us as far as were going to go this year. Were trying to iron some things out, find out whos going to do what. We want strike-throwers." Rogers, in the mix for the Jays fifth starter, struck out six in his three innings Thursday in a 7-5 exhibition loss to the Houston Astros. But he also walked two and gave up four runs on five hits including two homers. "First inning he was good. Then he was shaky after that," was Gibbons pithy assessment of Rogers performance. "The key to him is throwing enough strikes. He could be a heck of a pitcher when he gets the ball into the strike zone. Weve seen it before, thats where he runs into trouble." With spring training entering its final weeks, the Jays are still looking wondering about their starting rotation. Gibbons pronouncement on pitching, while accurate, is hardly soothing to Toronto fans. Barring injuries, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow are expected to emerge as the first three starters. Rogers is competing against Drew Hutchison, J.A. Happ, Ricky Romero, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin and Dustin McGowan for the fourth and fifth spots. Hutchison has drawn praise from general manager Alex Anthopoulos -- "We think Drews got a chance to be outstanding" -- while Gibbons called Romero "the big talk of camp right now." But questions remain. Rogers likely did not do himself any favours Thursday after a 1-2-3 first inning that featured a groundout and two strikeouts. Things went downhill from there. "My pitches were a little bit high," he said. "I lost my control." Teenage shortstop Carlos Correa, a 19-year-old who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, and Jon Singleton hit back-to-back homers for Houston in the third inning off Rogers. Correa then drove in two more runs with a blast to centre in the eighth off Neil Wagner. In between, he made a slick fielding play in the fourth to throw out Brett Lawrie. Rogers said the Singleton homer came off a change-up, a pitch he suggested he might put aside for the time being. Starter Dallas Keuchel pitched four scoreless innings as Houston (7-6) posted its fourth straight win in the spring. The last time the Astros won four in a row in the Grapefruit League was in March 2011. McGowan was the best of the Blue Jays pitchers with two scoreless innings despite not having pitched in 10 days after being sidelined by a stomach bug that saw him lose eight pounds. The only blemish on his outing Thursday was a walk. McGowan still thinks of himself as a starting pitcher but, with only four spring innings under his belt, he is behind others. "Theres what I want to be," he said. "If Im there, great. If Im in the bullpen, also great. Its a win-win situation, I think." Houston went ahead 2-0 in the second on a Cesar Izturis single after Rogers dug himself in a bases-loaded hole with two walks and a single. Lawrie did his bit for the Toronto defence, gunning down Jesus Guzman at the plate before the Izturis hit. The Blue Jays (6-8) scored three in the fifth off Collin McHugh to cut the lead to 4-3. Houston made it 5-3 in the sixth via a sacrifice fly. Houston threatened again when Toronto pitcher Jeremy Jeffress loaded the bases in the seventh with no outs. He struck out one before giving way to Wagner, who struck out another and then escaped the inning when Ryan Goins made an eye-popping fielding play off a ball that flew off the pitchers body. There was action in the bottom of the seventh as Anthony Gose somehow turned a shallow fly ball into a triple when sliding Houston outfielder Adron Chambers was unable to chase the ball down. Kevin Pillar then was drilled by Josh Zeid with the Jays outfielder taking a long look at the Astros pitcher as he left the batters box. Gose scored on a fielders choice when Pillar was cut down stealing second, cutting the lead to 5-4. Gose also scored on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 7-5 after Correas second homer extended the Houston lead. Keuchel has yet to give up a run in nine innings this spring. He scattered six hits over his four innings Wednesday, striking out two with no walks. The game featured half-brothers Cesar and Maicer Izturis, both starting at second base and batting ninth (the older Cesar for Houston and Maicer for Toronto). Toronto outhit Houston 13-12. The contest, which lasted three hours 11 minutes, drew 4,510 to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on a 15-degree day. Cheap Air Jordan 12 . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team. Jordan 12 Cheap Real . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. http://www.cheapairjordan12.net/. You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus. Jordan 12 Cheap China . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. Air Jordan 12 Wholesale .5 million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers that could be worth $32.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos have signed free agent Marquice Cole to replace injured cornerback Chris Harris Jr. on their roster. The Broncos placed Harris on IR after he tore his left ACL in Denvers 24-17 win over San Diego last weekend. Cole was released Dec. 26 by the New England Patriots (13-4), whom the Broncos (14-3) host Sunday in the AFC championship. A fifth-year pro with 64 games of experience, including two starts, Cole had 10 tackles, one interception and three pass breakups for New England this season. Harris is the fifth Broncos starter lost for the season, joining Von Miller, Rahim Moore, Kevin Vickerson and Wolfe. A versatile cornerback adept at playing on either side or in the slot, Harris might just prove the toughest of Denvers injured defenders to replace, especially going against Tom Brady, who has a 10-4 career record against Peyton Mannings teams. Harris took to Twitter after an MRI on Monday revealed a torn ACL that willl require surgery and at least six months of recovery and rehab and said, "Blessed to be able to help the team get this Far, and will still do my part in meeting room to help my guys out.dddddddddddd." Cole has played for the New York Jets (2009-11) and Patriots (2012-13), totalling 36 tackles, four interceptions, 14 pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and 51 special teams stops in his career. In eight career playoff games, including six with the Jets, he has five tackles on defence and five on special teams. Also Tuesday, the Broncos gave up hope of defensive end Derek Wolfe returning to the field in the playoffs after suffering seizure-like symptoms on Nov. 29. He had practiced just twice since then, on Dec. 25 and 27. Wolfe also was placed on IR and the Broncos replaced him by promoting offensive tackle Vinston Painter, their sixth-round draft pick from Virginia Tech who spent the entire season on Denvers practice squad. ' ' '