Blue Jays kick off second half with a bang winning 16 to 7 against the Yankees !

The Blue Jays' offence kicked off the second half with a bang by pounding out a season-high 20 hits on Thursday night.

The club showed no signs of rust following a brief three-day layoff by scoring early and often against its divisional rivals, tying a franchise record with eight first-inning runs en route to a 16-7 victory over the Yankees at Rogers Centre.

"I think the All-Star break kind of refreshed everybody," said right fielder Eric Thames, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. "A lot of guys went home to see their families and kind of got a second wind.

"We were able to rest and sleep all day and get the energy back. I'm happy to see it, because we were swinging the bats well in Cleveland, and we carried it on to the second half."

Thames led the way in that fateful first with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. That frame was an all-around attack, though, one that featured 12 batters, six hits, two walks and an error.

The eight runs were the most scored in one inning by Toronto this season, and it marked the first time since Sept. 26, 2007, at Baltimore that the club put that many runners across home plate in the first.

The Blue Jays have been on the wrong end of those lopsided innings before. There were the late-inning collapses against the Mariners and Indians, and a one-sided series against the Red Sox earlier this year.

That made Thursday's outcome even more enjoyable.

Record number of fans set All-Star roster

With a record-setting number of votes cast via MLB.com and at ballparks nationwide, the field for the 2011 All-Star Game was set on Sunday. The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista received the most votes of any individual player ever with 7,454,753, while the system as a whole saw more than 32.5 million ballots submitted, another record. The American League East dominated that league's voting, with seven of the nine starters hailing from that division, and that included Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Jeter returned this week from a calf strain and continued his pursuit of 3,000 hits. Also back on the field is Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols, who had a wrist injury. With the All-Star Game, of course, comes the Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint and the Home Run Derby sponsored by State Farm. In the former, White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino were the latest leaders, with voting for the last spot on the All-Star rosters set to end Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. In the Home Run Derby, National League captain Prince Fielder and AL captain David Ortiz officially announced their squads, with four first-timers in the group: Bautista - the Majors' long-ball leader - Matt Kemp, Rickie Weeks and Robinson Cano. In regular-season action, the surprise second-place Pirates continued their surge and have come on the heels of the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
More news to come !