I had my foreman in Melbourne looking after Denmagic

TORONTO -- The New York Yankees would like to take a walk on the wild side during their four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays that opens Friday at Rogers Centre.It is a key series for the Yankees because the Blue Jays are where they would like to be, occupying an American League wild-card spot.This series between American League East rivals could help sort out a tight wild-card race.Left-hander Francisco Liriano will start Friday for the Blue Jays, who have 10 games left in the regular season, including the next seven at home.A lot of games are left and the position were in, we just have to finish strong, Toronto right fielder Jose Bautista said after a 2-1 loss in 12 innings to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. I think that should be the focus.Right-hander Bryan Mitchell will start for the Yankees, who also have 10 games left after losing 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. They dropped to three games behind the Detroit Tigers, who moved into the second wild-card spot after sweeping a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.The Blue Jays are in the first wild-card position, one game ahead of the Tigers.The Yankees helped make the wild-card race that much closer Sept. 5-7 when they swept three games from the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.The Blue Jays have continued to stagger through September, going 7-12 so far despite winning two of three from the Mariners to end a seven-game trip at 4-3.Toronto ended August with a two-game lead in the AL East but after losing six of their first six games in September, it had dropped two games behind the Boston Red Sox for the lead. The Red Sox lead reached 5 1/2 games after they completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.Obviously we needed to start playing better, but I didnt sense a change in mood in the room, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. We like playing at home. I know our record the last homestand wasnt great (2-4), but we feel good there in front of the home crowd. Theres not a lot of time left so weve got to play good. Youve got to be optimistic.The Blue Jays have played sloppy defense and their hitting has been inconsistent for the past few weeks. There were signs in a 10-2 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday that that there might be an offensive revival.My feeling has always been that with so many guys struggling this month that it was going to change, that it had to change, Gibbons said.The Yankees had some bad news on Thursday. Masahiro Tanaka, who is 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA, has a forearm strain and will not be able to make his scheduled start Monday in the fourth game of the series against Torontos 20-game winner J.A. Happ.Its very disappointing; were making a push, Tanaka said through an interpreter. This is a very important time for us. This is definitely not the time you want to skip anything.Liriano will make his ninth appearance, and seventh start, for Toronto since he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates Aug. 1. He is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA for Toronto. He has faced the Yankees once this season, a two-inning relief outing on Sept. 5 in which he allowed one hit and no runs while striking out three.In 10 career games against the Yankees, including eight starts, he is 2-4 with a 3.72 ERA.Mitchell will make his fourth start of the season Friday. He is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in four career appearances (one start) against Toronto. He earned his first major league win against the Blue Jays on Sept. 7. tossing five scoreless innings -- four hits, two walks and two strikeouts -- in his first start of the season.What we need to do is keep playing the way that were playing now; keep playing hard, keep winning games, said Yankees rookie catching sensation Gary Sanchez, who became the quickest player in history to hit 19 home runs, doing so in his 45th career game on Wednesday.Weve had a tough week, but we have to keep having fun, said Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who is retiring at the end of the season. Weve got to play relaxed and have fun. Thats why we were winning so many games, because we were enjoying ourselves, playing one game at a time and just trying to have fun out there. Morgan Tiller Jersey Store . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. DeShawn Williams Jersey Store . 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The all-consuming nature of working with racehorses got a little bit harder for trainer David Pfieffer when his second child decided to arrive the night before his stable star faced her toughest test.Pfieffers partner Lizzie gave birth to their son on the eve of the Myer Classic in which Denmagic put in a career-best effort to finish third in the Group One race at Flemington.The addition to their family prevented the proud father-of-two travelling to Melbourne and did nothing to lighten his workload.Its been hectic lately. Its been a hard slog, Pfieffer said.I had my foreman in Melbourne looking after Denmagic so Ive had a fair bit to do in the barn as well as stay on top of everything.But the hard work has been paying off.Aside from Denmagics gallant performances in Victoria which also netted two Group Two fourths, Ziggie Willie won the $80,000 feature at Canterbury on Friday night and the stable has Dixie Chick and Chestnut Road set to race at Rosehill on Saturday.Pfieffer is leaning towards the the fillies and mares benchmark handicap over 1400m, rather than the 1200m race for Dixie Chick.Dixie Chick was strong first-up when she flashed home late to grab second at Warwick Farm on September 21, but haas encountered bad luck in two unplaced Saturday runs since.ddddddddddddI think shes a horse that will probably be contending at stakes level, Pfieffer said.She probably deserves to have a few more wins next to her name.Pfieffer has booked Tye Angland for the 1400m race, while Tim Clark is on stand-by to ride if she starts over the shorter course.Youd like to think shell be a bit closer settling in the run and still have that great turn of foot at the end, Pfieffer said.Seven-year-old stablemate Chestnut Road, whose career has been restricted by injury, is entered in the colts, geldings and entires benchmark handicap over 1400m.Hes a horse that is better suited when hes on top of the ground as opposed to most horses who have had issues, Pfieffer said.Meanwhile Denmagic has gone to the paddock, with Pfieffer nominating the Coolmore Classic, Queen Of The Turf and the Doncaster Mile as potential Group One targets.One of her Melbourne fourths was in the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) on November 5, but Pfieffer said she was likely to race between 1200 and 1600m during autumn. 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