BOSTON – Josh Johnson wasnt looking for excuses. Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Jersey . "No," replied Johnson when asked if he felt he was getting squeezed by home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman early in Fridays 7-5 loss to the Red Sox. "I mean, thats part of the game. I dont ever complain about the calls or anything like that." Johnsons performance of 3 1/3 innings, five earned runs on eight hits and a whopping 90 pitches, had manager John Gibbons rolling through his bullpen once again. "We got beat up in the rotation again," said Gibbons. "That makes it tough." Johnsons evening of hard labour came one night after Chien-Ming Wang was shelled for seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings. The math wont come up Blue Jays here: the bullpens been taxed for 11 innings of work in 24 hours. "We battled to come back and tie it," said Gibbons, crediting his offence for overcoming an early 5-0 deficit. "They dropped two on us, again, real quick. But the bullpen cant be perfect every night, theyve been pitching so well. It starts with the starter and theyve been taking it to us pretty good." Toronto chipped away with three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and the tying run in the seventh on Edwin Encarnacions club-leading 23rd home run. In the bottom half, Neil Wagner was chased from the game after back to back singles by Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia, both of whom would later come around to score, breaking the 5-5 logjam. It would have been inconceivable in spring training to consider the notion of Johnson having but one win as a Blue Jay at the halfway point of the season. But, due in part to injury and in part to inconsistency when available, the lone victory is all Johnson has to show for his time in Toronto. The Blue Jays werent taking the bait on the subject of Dreckman, who appeared to have a fluctuating strike zone early in the ball game, one that benefitted Bostons rookie starter, Allen Webster. On the fourth pitch of the game, with the count 2-1, Jose Reyes took a second strike that, according to the Red Soxs TV rightholders "K-Box," was slightly off the outside corner of the plate. A fair call, if its made consistently and for both pitchers. It wasnt. Johnson was forced to grind through deep count strikeouts of Jacoby Ellsbury and Victorino in the first. In both at-bats, Johnson was just off the outside corner with fastballs similar to Websters versus Reyes. Those pitches were called balls. In the second, Johnson battled Mike Napoli to a full count but lost him to a walk, then fell behind 2-1 to left-hand hitting Daniel Nava on another close pitch. Nava would single, both he and Napoli would later score and the Red Sox were off to the races. Johnson struggled. He didnt pitch well enough to win. To his credit, he didnt make excuses when offered an opportunity to do so. That said, its reasonable to argue Johnson was forced to pitch a different game than Webster, a game which required him to cut more of the plate with his pitches. Bostons offence, chalk full of notoriously patient hitters, sat on ready made fastballs and sliders which didnt have their customary break. It added up to a tough night. Toronto dropped to 1-4 on the road trip and now the best the Jays can hope for this weekend is a split of this series at Fenway Park. ROGERS LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK Esmil Rogers gets the start in Saturdays late afternoon game against the Red Sox. Hes looking to bounce back after taking the loss in a 4-1 defeat on Monday in Tampa Bay. "I dont try to worry about nothing," said Rogers. "Im just trying to go into the game like the same as I do right now. The confidence I lost was just one inning, the third inning thats it, the other innings it was great. Ive just got to get everything back and get ready for tomorrow." In four starts since taking the rotation spot of the injured Brandon Morrow (forearm strain), Rogers is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA. Left-hander Felix Doubront (4-3, 4.33) is scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox. KAWASAKI RETURNS Munenori Kawasaki returned to the Blue Jays clubhouse after a two-day stop with Triple-A Buffalo. He didnt miss a beat with the media. "Good to see you," he said. As for his brief time in the minor leagues: "Buffalo," he said. "I like Buffalo teammates. Good. Everybody nice guy. I appreciate it. Thank you very much." Asked what he hoped to accomplish this go-around: "I cant speak English." The affable 32-year-old embraced teammates upon arriving in the clubhouse. MILLER PASSES AWAY The Blue Jays are mourning the death of pitcher Justin Miller, a member of the 2002, 2004 and 2005 teams. Miller, 35, was found dead at his home in Palm Harbor, Florida. No cause of death has been released. Miller had a career 24-14 record with a 4.82 ERA over 216 appearances, 33 starts. He had appeared most recently for the Dodgers in 2010. Mattia De Sciglio Jersey . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. Leonardo Spinazzola Jersey .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Alex-Sandro-Jersey/ .com) - The St.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Nets centre Brook Lopez has had the screw replaced in his surgically repaired right foot and is expected to resume basketball activities in August. General manager Billy King insists hes not worried despite the latest issue relating to Lopezs foot, saying the All-Star centre felt no discomfort and doctors were just being proactive. "For me, I dont have any concern over it, because it wasnt something that he had pain with. It wasnt like it was preventing him from playing," King said Monday after watching some draft prospects work out at the training facility. King said an X-ray during Lopezs post-season physical showed the screw had bent. "Just take it out and put a new screw inn so that something doesnt happen later," said King, who added Lopez is in a walking boot. Carlo Pinsoglio Jersey. Lopez was limited to five games during the 2011-12 season after breaking his foot during the preseason, then aggravating it following an ankle injury. He missed seven games early this season with a sprained right foot but ended up averaging 19.4 points in 74 games. King said the surgery is the reason Lopez was among the 27 young players chosen for next months USA Basketball minicamp. Notes: King said the Nets expect to make some announcements about Jason Kidds coaching staff in the next few days. The Nets hired their 40-year-old former point guard this month following his retirement as a player. ' ' '