TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle has no explanation for the best start of his 15-year career, which sees him with a Major League-leading seven wins in the seasons first eight starts. "You dont ask too many questions," Buehrle said Monday after gutting it out through six-plus innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 at the Rogers Centre. "You just go with it. "I dont feel like Im pitching different. I havent changed anything. (I have) no answer for it." The 35-year-old Buehrle said he struggled "big time" Monday, surrendering six hits and walking five. But he limited the Angels to a pair of runs even though he had base runners in each of his final five innings. "I figured it out. Walk enough guys, theyre not all going to score," quipped Buehrle, who ran his record to 7-1 before 13,603 at Rogers Centre. Its the first time hes won seven of the first eight starts in a season. "I just felt like I was not getting ahead in the count. Guys were making plays behind me," he said. "It didnt feel like it was an easy game. Obviously, the five walks shows that." Jose Bautista with a three-run home run in the first and Brett Lawrie with a two-run shot in the sixth gave Buehrle all the offence he needed. Each of the round-trippers found the second deck as the Blue Jays (19-20) ended a three-game losing streak and salvaged the finale of the four-game series against L.A. Bautistas blast, his 178th as a Blue Jay, moved him to within one of Jesse Barfield for fifth all-time on the clubs home run list. Lawrie, returning to the line-up after missing six games with a sore right hamstring, pounded the first pitch he saw from Angels (19-18) starter C.J. Wilson (4-3) in the sixth inning for his seventh home run of the season. The blast widened the Blue Jays lead to 5-2 after L.A.s Mike Trout with a two-run, two-out double in the third to get the visitors to within a run. "A lot of good things happened tonight," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, pointing to the Buehrle start, key home runs, solid performance by reliever Steve Delabar to quell an Angels rally in the seventh. He also welcomed back Casey Janssen, making his first appearance of the season after returning from a stint on the disabled list with a back injury. The right-hander worked a hitless ninth, yielding a walk. Gibbons said one of the keys for Buehrle this season is that hes surrendered just one home run, compared to 11 at this point a season ago. Hes also come out of spring training feeling better. It was Buehrles 437th consecutive start without a stint on the disabled list, the longest active streak in the Majors. "Hes old reliable," Gibbons said. "He goes out there and you know what youre going to get. "Hes going to get hit around every now and then like they all do but hes used to winning. Hes had a great career and hes one of those guys who knows how to survive." Lawrie said of his home run that he "was just trying to extend the inning and stepped into one." Centrefielder Colby Rasmus came out of the game after the sixth inning with tightness in his right hamstring. While Gibbons said he might need to look at putting him on the disabled list as its the second time its flared up in a week, Rasmus insisted after the game he was day-to-day. Toronto Raptors Shirts . Austin Watson, Scott Ford, Filip Forsberg and Mark Van Guilder had the other goals for the Admirals (30-21-12). Scott Darling made 30 saves for his 10th win of the season. Raptors Jerseys 2020 . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. https://www.cheapraptors.com/. Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers. Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . His second visit, not so much. Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday. Wholesale Raptors Jerseys . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard.TORONTO – To get himself acclimated with the talents and potential of James van Riemsdyk, Randy Carlyle went to the tape. He looked back at the 2011 playoffs when the then-sophomore winger made the hockey world take notice with seven goals in 11 games for the Flyers, including three in the second round against Boston. "We saw that again last year in the playoffs for us," said Carlyle of the 24-year-old, who scored twice in a wild 6-5 win against Edmonton on Saturday night. "He made it difficult for himself because now were going to expect it every game." van Riemsdyk is showing definite star potential in his second season with the Leafs, now with five goals in the first six games this season. He is quickly raising his game to yet another level after an explosive 2013 which saw him tally 18 goals in 48 games before notching seven points in a first round loss to the Bruins. Improvements to his craft are noticeable, the first of which lies with a powerful set of wheels. "Big guys, a lot of times they dont look like theyre covering a lot of ground, but if he gets a step on anybody, hes big and strong enough in his body position that not many people catch him," Carlyle observed. Registered at an imposing 6-foot-3 and a sturdy 200 pounds, van Riemsdyk manages to chug along quite well for a big man. Thats due in part to the work hes put in with Leafs skating consultant Barb Underhill. Just this past summer, Underhill traveled to Connecticut to work with van Riemsdyk and fellow training partners Colton Orr and Martin St. Louis. Viewing video clips of van Riemsdyk alongside Underhill, it was St. Louis, the 2013 scoring champ, who noticed the hitch, one that both agreed required fixing. The adjustment "helped me become a little bit more explosive of a skater out there". In addition to his efforts with Underhill, van Riemsdyk also credited offseason training with Ben Prentiss, with whom hes worked alongside since the summer after his first NHL season with the Flyers. "Hes done a tremendous job with me every year since as far as just getting me more athletic, more explosive and more dynamic out there," said van Riemsdyk. Such explosiveness was evident when he charged hard around the Oilers net for the fourth Toronto goal, beating Devan Dubnyk with a wrap-around which proved akin to the one he scored two nights previous in Nashville. Earlier in the evening, it was a striking presence around the net that would yield results. Parked around the blue paint of the Edmonton goal, van Riemsdyk would deftly redirect the point shot of Cody Franson, his second marker on the power-play this season. "Hes very good at tracking pucks," Franson said of van Riemsdyk. "You see a guy like him coming across and you just try and put it in an area where he can get a stick on it. Thats one of his major talents is to be able to do that." "Hes good around that tight area of the net," Carlyle added. "For a big man, hes got soft hands." It was Carlyle who prodded the more consistent use of such skills in the early days of the 2013 calendar, the coach and player just becoming acquainted upon their landing in Toronto. "Obviously Im always a guy who likes to be around the net and thats where I have to get to if Im going to score goals," van Riemsdyk said. "Thats a place I like going. I know its not necessarily the easiest part of the rink to play on, but its fun getting in there and just digging at pucks and trying to bang them in." Consistent run on the man advantage, van Riemsdyk added, has proved beneficial not only toward developing chemistry with members of the top unit, but also to the "little nuances about being in front and positioning your body and being in a good spot to be able to get those rebounds". Running shotgun on a first line that includes Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, van Riemsdyk is getting plenty of opportunity for the Leafs, the kind he envisioned upon his disappointing exit from Philadelphia. van Riemsdyk is averaging nearly 22 minutes per game this season, adding increased responsibility on the penalty kill early on. The array of tools which made him so attractive to the organization in the summer of 2012, when they first acquired him from Philadelphia in exchange for Luke Schenn, are being realized in rapid order. van Riemsdyk is evolving into a star. Five Points 1. Incomplete victory The efforts have been neither pretty nor complete and yet the Leafs are 5-1-0 after six games, all this without David Clarkson from the outset (suspension) and regulars Nik Kulemin and Mark Fraser (injuries) more recently. A game of shinny with the Oilers on Saturday nearly ended in defeat. Instead, as they have throughout the first two weeks of the season, the Leafs managed to grind out a win, albeit it barely on this night. With just 31 ticks left in regulation and the home side down 5-4, it was Joffrey Lupul playing hero, the 30-year-old scoring his second of the game and fifth this season. Breaking loose for a 3-on-1 rush minutes later, Dave Bolland would bury his second game-winner of the season in overtime. "My teeth are going to be ground down by the 20-game mark if we continue to play the way we did tonight as far as exchanging chances and mistakes," Carlyle smirked afterward.dddddddddddd As they have been at various points in the early stages this season, the Leafs were sloppy and error-prone against the Oilers, yielding a number of high-quality opportunities in critical areas. Jonathan Bernier rescued some of those miscues with terrific play in his previous four games – .971 save percentage – but he could not erase them once more on Saturday, yielding five goals on 31 shots. "It was a game of mistakes and each team seemed to capitalize on one anothers mistakes," Carlyle said. "The fortunate part for us is we were on the right end of it." 2. Bollands way A ready-made favourite of the head coach, Bolland added to his resume with another game-winner on Saturday. "To get the true read on Dave Bolland is when you come to practice," Carlyle preached shortly after the game. "He does every drill at the highest possible speed. He practices like a pro. Hes trying to make himself better every day. Some of our younger players could take notice to that." Carlyle said such a message has been imparted to the Leafs youth. "We have a motto," he continued, "that if your skill level is at one level and if your will or your ability to work doesnt match that skill level or exceed it, youre not going to get any better. Its guys like Dave Bolland that sell your program and help coaches in leading by example and showing the way." 3. Franson/Rielly Saturday proved a difficult night for the Leafs second pair of Cody Franson and Morgan Rielly. The duo was caught on the ice for four of the five Oilers goals. "It was just one of those nights where thats the way it was going," Franson said afterward. The 26-year-old made good on a rough night in some respect in overtime though, outmuscling Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the puck in the defensive zone before springing the odd-man rush which would ultimately result in Bollands game-winner. 4. Eakins return A seventh round selection in 2007, Carl Gunnarsson first met Dallas Eakins when he was in charge of player development for the Leafs. Eakins had traveled to Sweden to watch Gunnarsson while he was still in the Swedish Elite League, offering tips and advice to the late round pick after games. The now 26-year-old would then play for Eakins when he moved to the bench for the organization as Marlies head coach in 2009. "He was a fair guy and thats all Ive heard from the guys thats been down there too," Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report. "If youve got that reputation I guess its just a matter of time before you get that job in the big league." Gunnarsson would play only 12 games for Eakins in the AHL that fall before joining the Leafs and never looking back. Upon his exit, the now Oilers coach had a simple message. "He told me he didnt want to see me again," Gunnarsson recalled. "And Dallas can keep a straight face too. I knew it was a joke, but still hes looking at me, Gunnar, get out of here I dont want to see you again. Just looking back at that, I take it as a good thing." Eakins spent eight seasons in the Leafs organization before landing the top job in Edmonton. He was an assistant coach at the AHL and NHL levels, the director player of development and finally the head coach with the Marlies. Saturday marked his return to Toronto. 5. Eakins return Pt. 2 Like countless others who played for him in Toronto, Eakins made an impact in just 16 games on Troy Bodie. The now 28-year-old was a Marlie late in the 2009-2010 season. "He made you want to play for him and want to win for him," Bodie told the Leaf Report. "And if you lost you felt bad; you honestly felt bad that you let him down. He just had that way about him. Its not a coaching style you see very often." "Whatever the players wanted he gave them rather than some coaches thinking I think this is what they need," Bodie continued. "He was really good at reading his players and seeing what they needed and catering to it." Stat-Pack 22 – Goals for the Leafs after six games, good for an average of 3.67, fourth-best in the league after Saturday. 21:59 – Ice-time for Paul Ranger on Saturday, a season-high. 1 – Career point for rookie David Broll, who helped set up Joffrey Lupuls first goal of the game. 8 – Points for Joffrey Lupul, who sits second in NHL scoring behind only Sidney Crosby. 6 – Points for Mason Raymond, including a pair of assists on Saturday. 6 – Points for Nazem Kadri in six games this season, including a goal and an assist on Saturday. .946 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier after yielding five goals on 31 shots against Edmonton. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-3 PK: 3-4 Quote of the Night "My teeth are going to be ground down by the 20-game mark if we continue to play the way we did tonight as far as exchanging chances and mistakes." -Randy Carlyle following Saturdays 6-5 victory. Up Next The Leafs host the Wild at the ACC on Tuesday. ' ' '