Friday was a red-letter day for the Blue Jays as sidelined players return

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With so many luxuries suddenly at his disposal, John Gibbons could be forgiven for being just a bit overwhelmed as he prepared to play the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

Who's this Troy Tulowitzki fellow, one could almost hear Gibbons saying to himself, as the Toronto Blue Jays manager was completing his starting-lineup card.

At least he got the spelling right.

And Gibbons also remembered that Josh Donaldson's preferred hitting spot is the two-hole.

"It was funny watching Gibby fill out the lineup," Blue Jays manager Ross Atkins chuckled before the game. "He didn't know what to do."

It was a red-letter day for the Blue Jays on Friday, in a season in which the wearing of black armbands would not have seemed out of place for the snake-bit team.

For the first time since April 13, the ninth game of the season, Tulowitzki and Donaldson were reunited on the playing field. The pair had been expected to be the team's lynchpins this season.

Donaldson, who has been sidelined for 38 games trying to get over a nagging right calf-muscle strain, was officially activated off the disabled list Friday and able to take up his familiar spot at third base.

And Tulowitzki, who was out 31 games after being levelled by a sore right hamstring, was back at shortstop beside Donaldson.

So starved are Toronto's baseball fans for any semblance of good news from a team that has been dogged by injuries that Tulowitzki received a hearty round of applause when he loped onto the field to warm up about 15 minutes before first pitch.

"Obviously it will be different getting out there with the team, but I'm definitely excited," Tulowitzki said before taking the field. "I know Josh is as well.

"Try not to mess up anything the team is doing. We're playing good baseball, just try to do what we can."

It is always nice to welcome a couple of former all-stars back into the fold, especially for the Blue Jays, who remain mired in last place in the American League East with a record of 21-26 heading into the game against the Rangers.

The team is hoping the return of the two stalwarts will be just the tonic it needs to get the season back on the straight and narrow before it is too late.

"We feel good," Gibbons said. "Probably answer that better in a week when we see how things are going, but they're two huge parts of our team.

"We feel good. We survived their absence, anyway. We didn't totally disappear, so we'll see."

Thanks to the likes of Ryan Goins, Darwin Barney and Triple-A call-up Chris Coghlan, who were all steady filling in for their injured teammates, the Blue Jays were able at least to stay afloat.

In the 38 games they played without Donaldson and Tulowitzki the Blue Jays went 20-18. That is not exactly global domination but it is a far sight better than Toronto's 6-17 mark on April 28.

The Blue Jays have not yet been able to fight their way out of last place in their division, but instead of a gag-worthy 10 1/2 games back (May 9), that hole is now a little more shallow at 7 1/2 as they began the three-game set against the Rangers.

And if you are the type to indulge in some early playoff gazing, Toronto started Friday just 4 1/2 games out of the wild-card race.

So their plight is looking less severe, especially now with some of their walking wounded, Donaldson and Tulowitzki, returning.

While Tulowitzki believes the Blue Jays are capable of a better showing, he was reluctant to suggest that the team was poised to put together a long winning streak just because he and Donaldson were back.

"It's not that easy," Tulowitzki said. "You get back two guys and all of a sudden go on a run? That's not the case at all.

"It's baseball, anything can happen. That's what makes it fun, right? That's why we're sitting here. We'll see what happens."