TORONTO - Jose Bautista entered Wednesdays play at or near the top of most of baseballs important offensive categories. [url=htt

TORONTO - Jose Bautista entered Wednesdays play at or near the top of most of baseballs important offensive categories. Rob Gronkowski Patriots Jersey . The 33-year-old is the league leader with 34 walks. His 1.058 OPS and 191 OPS+ are the best in the game. Bautistas hit nine home runs, which ties him for fourth in the majors. Hes reached base safely in each of the Blue Jays 33 games to begin the year. Thats a club record. "I think Ive had a pretty strong first month, as strong as I might have had ever in my career," Bautista told TSN.ca during a conversation in Philadelphia. "But the seasons long and its hard to look at small samples and how thats going to portray into a complete season. I try not to pay attention to those things and just focus on the preparation and the work and my effort and hopefully at the end of the year everythings taken care of itself." As teams around the league rely more heavily on spray charts and advanced offensive data, Bautista, like most sluggers around the league, often hits with three infielders on the left side of second base. The percentages show that if Bautista hits the ball on the ground, most of the time hell pull it. With that in mind, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has encouraged Bautista to occasionally take pitches the other way. Manager John Gibbons believes the approach helps Bautista stay on breaking pitches down and away. He sees those often as opposing pitchers often work around him or, at least, are particularly careful about keeping the ball out of the middle of the strike zone. "The only difference I see with him is hes taking some hits the other way and I think its making him a tougher out," said manager John Gibbons. "You hear some people who complain about, well, hes a home run hitter, youve got to do it this way. Well, you know what? His home run numbers havent suffered one bit." Bautistas coaches and teammates took notice of his approach in the 10th inning of Tuesday nights 6-5 win over the Phillies. Melky Cabrera led off with a single. Bautista worked a 2-2 count and with the infield pulled around to the third base side he pushed a 93 miles per hour fastball through the gaping hole where the second baseman would usually stand. Cabrera advanced to third on the play and one out later scored the game-winning run on Juan Franciscos sacrifice fly. Manager John Gibbons called it "winning baseball." "Its good to see, thats what winning players and winning teams do, the little stuff," said Jose Reyes. "In that situation he didnt try to hit a two-run home run and pop it up to the infield or something. He just tried to move Melky over, he saw that huge space there at second base and he hit the ball that way, first and third and we win the game right there." Outfield coach Tim Leiper paid Bautista the ultimate praise last week, equating his pregame preparation and in-game adjustments to that of a coach. Bautista doesnt want the label but he is involved in every pitch. From the dugout hes studying the opposing pitcher, watching for tendencies that may indicate which type of pitch will be thrown. Not a base stealer himself, Bautista tries to help his faster teammates get a read on a pitchers move. Defensively, hell involve himself in outfield positioning based on his extensive knowledge of hitters. "I try to pay attention to things like that and I share all kinds of information with my teammates," said Bautista. "I also encourage them to share stuff that they know and information that they have with me. I like to listen to that kind of stuff and put it into my database, I guess." Gibbons recalls a game in Kansas City early last year when injuries to Jose Reyes and Brett Lawrie forced Bautista from his usual spot in right field and in to play third base. Bautista would frequently hover around the mound in between outs, giving the pitcher a scouting report on the next hitter. "Joses not just out there playing," said Gibbons. "He studies this and hes paying attention to whats going on. Hes played against a lot of these guys over the years so hes got a pretty good idea of what they do." The Blue Jays entered Wednesdays action with a record of 16-17 following a 4-4 road trip to Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Like on their previous road trip, they left some games on the table due to poor, late-game pitching. Bautista isnt panicking, however, because the American League East remains tight six weeks into the season. Torontos just a game and a half back of first-place Baltimore. "The only thing that would matter if we were 15 games back," said Bautista. "That would mean wed dug ourselves a big hole to come out of. From that perspective it doesnt really matter. What matters is how we play from here on out and weve got to focus on that." Drew Bledsoe Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Rob Gronkowski Jersey . The result was a game-winning, power-play goal. Chiasson snapped a third-period tie and lifted the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory on Monday night. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Kevin-Faulk-Patriots-Jersey/ . Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was also taken to three sets but emerged with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Tobias Kamke of Germany, while second-seeded David Ferrer joined Murray in making an early exit after a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Daniel Brands of Germany. BOSTON -- Jordan Crawford says the young Boston Celtics have a few things to learn about finishing out close games. Crawford took over the role of teacher Tuesday night, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the Celtics hold off the Milwaukee Bucks 108-100. "Weve just got to learn to stay focused and pull out these wins -- grind them out," said Crawford, who was 5 for 5 from the field in the fourth, including three 3-pointers. Jeff Green added 18 points and Brandon Bass added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who were coming off a 92-85 loss to the Bucks on Saturday in Milwaukee. Of Milwaukees three wins this season, two have come against Boston and the Celtics avoided having the total reach three by holding off the Bucks down the stretch. "We moved the ball side to side and inside-out way better than we did Saturday," coach Brad Stevens said. "Maybe thats a little bit of karma for why the shots went in." Avery Bradley scored 15 and Jared Sullinger finished with 12 points as all five starters scored in double figures for Boston, which had lost two of three. The Bucks had just snapped an 11-game losing streak by beating the Celtics on Saturday in Milwaukee, but couldnt quite rally from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. "I think were getting a little better. They still made a run and made it close," Crawford said. O.J. Mayo scored 19, and Brandon Knight had 15 points and six assists for Milwaukee. Khris Middleton added 14 points for the Bucks, who were outrebounded by the Celtics 40-33. The win put the Celtics at least in a temporary tie for first place with Toronto, which played later Tuesday at Golden State. But in the Atlantic Division, which currently doesnt have a team with a winning record, the standings arent all that impressive. "Were 8-12. Its not likee were lighting the world on fire," Stevens said. Stephon Gilmore Youth Jersey. The Celtics led by as many as 15 points and had a 13-point lead in the final period cut to three twice before holding on for the win. "I felt we were right there. They just made the tough shots," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. "They made the plays down the stretch and we did not." Giannis Antetokounm pulled Milwaukee within 69-65 with an alley-oop dunk to open the fourth quarter. Crawford answered for Boston with a 3-pointer, starting the Celtics on a 15-6 run that nearly put a comeback out of reach for Milwaukee. Lee followed his 3-pointer with a jumper to put the Celtics up 81-71, then Crawford hit a 3-pointer to put Boston up 84-71 with 7:51 left. The Bucks got back in it with a 13-4 run, pulling within 90-87 on a pair of free throws by John Henson, then made another charge late in the period for a close finish. Knights 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining cut Bostons lead to 99-96, but Sullinger answered at the other end, beating the shot clock with a jumper that put Boston back up 101-96. Stevens said he put Sullinger in a bad position with the play, but the young forward beat a double-team and got the shot when the Celtics needed it. "Its a good player making a good play and bailing out a bad coach," Stevens said. Knight missed everything on another 3-point attempt for Milwaukee and the Celtics held on to win it. NOTES: Two of the Bucks three wins this season have come against the Celtics. ... Caron Butler (knee) missed his third straight game for the Bucks. ... Boston rookie Kelly Olynyk (sprained right ankle) did not dress. ... The Celtics committed just one turnover in the first quarter. ... Milwaukee was playing the first of back-to-back nights. The Bucks host Detroit on Wednesday. ... Kris Humphries and Sullinger pulled down eight rebounds apiece. ' ' '