oming off a four-day break, Phoenix turned up the pressure in the

TORONTO - Kevin Pillar doesnt know how long his second shot with the Blue Jays will last but hes here, excited to play and eager to use the opportunity to showcase the strides hes made toward becoming a consistent major league player. Amongst Torontos starting outfielders, only Jose Bautista is signed for next season. Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera are in the final year of their deals. "I think guys like myself, guys like Anthony (Gose), know that theres potential for some openings in the outfield coming up," said Pillar. "Were really here to just take care of our business. Any time you get to go out on a big league field its an audition, not only for your team but all the other 29 teams out there. As guys who play the game we want to play in the major leagues. Ideally we want to play for the Blue Jays, theyre the team that drafted me and theyre dear to my heart but anytime you step onto the field you know its an audition for a major league job somewhere." Pillar joins the club red-hot at the plate. After stumbling out of the gate to a .114 batting average (5-for-44), Pillar has gone 38-for-97 (.392) since, which included an 18-game hitting streak. At the time of his recall, hed reached base safely in each of Triple-A Buffalos last 26 games. His nine walks represent an upward trend over his time with the Bisons last year. Pillar has struck out 16 times which, prorated, is a positive trend downward. "Just getting back, using the whole field and being aggressive in counts, hunting the heater and getting better pitches to hit," said Pillar of his early-season adjustments. "Kev, in the minor leagues last year, had a tremendous year," said manager John Gibbons. "He came up here, got his feet wet and it was a little bit of a struggle for him last year. Went back down there to Triple-A this year and really got it going again. Hes a good baseball player. A real good defender, good baserunner and the guy can hit." Like Chad Jenkins and Jonathan Diaz (the man whose roster spot he took – Diaz was optioned to Buffalo on Tuesday) the day before, Pillars travel day began in Charlotte and involved a complicated path to Toronto. He flew from Charlotte to Baltimore, changed planes and flew into Buffalo. After quick stops at his apartment to gather clothes and toiletries and at the Bisons home, Coca Cola Field, where he transferred his equipment to a bag with a Blue Jays logo, he picked up the waiting car service for the drive to Toronto. This time when Pillar arrived in the clubhouse, he knew what to expect. He knew where to go to find what he needed. Its nice to feel comfortable. "That was a huge difference compared to last time," said Pillar. "Coming in, I walked in on egg shells. I didnt really know anyone here. I was greeted with open arms. At least I knew where my locker was, I knew where things were at this time. Its definitely a different feeling this time." "Hes coming back the second time, you know the shock, now he knows what to expect, said Gibbons. "The awe of the big leagues is kind of out the way now. The first time you show up you dont know what to expect and youre kind of overwhelmed or you can be sometimes." Pillar started in centerfield in place of Colby Rasmus on Tuesday night. Rasmus is nursing a tight right hamstring, the condition of which Rasmus said was improving. After Monday nights game, in which Rasmus was removed to start the seventh, Gibbons offered that maybe Rasmus was in need of a stint on the disabled list. Rasmus is hoping to avoid the DL and by Tuesday afternoon Gibbons had changed his tone, sounding hopeful Rasmus would need only a day or two on the bench. Meanwhile, while hes here, Pillar just wants to relax. "I dont have those same butterflies that I did six months ago when I came here the first time," said Pillar. "I kind of feel like Im here on a business trip and Im prepared." 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Jordan Crawford Jersey . - For years William Gay kept quiet.TORONTO -- James Reimer wanted to keep things simple. It had been a while since he started a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his return came against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the potent Pittsburgh Penguins. "Maybe there was some circumstances surrounding the game, but honestly I didnt really pay much attention to them or think about them much," Reimer said. "It was just the Toronto Maple Leafs playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I was trying to get in the way of pucks." Reimer got in the way of a lot of pucks Saturday night as he was the backbone of the Leafs 4-1 victory over the Penguins at Air Canada Centre. The 26-year-old made 37 saves to give Nazem Kadri the chance to score the game winner, and many of his stops came when the majority of the action was in the Leafs zone. "You dont win in this league without goaltending that gives you a chance, and Reims gives us a chance," coach Randy Carlyle said. Reimer hadnt started since Oct. 17 when he left 32 seconds into Torontos game against the Carolina Hurricanes after a collision with winger Josh Leivo. The long layoff didnt bother him. "I felt normal right from the get-go," Reimer said. "I didnt feel any uneasiness or uncertainty, really. The puck dropped, and I was ready to stop it." Reimer gave up a power-play goal to Kris Letang, the Penguins defencemans first of the season, 6:52 in but shut the door from there. One of his more memorable saves came on Malkin a few minutes later, and Dave Bolland went right down the ice and tied it up for the Leafs shorthanded. But Reimer was really tested in the second period when the Penguins turned up the heat on him and outshot the Leafs 16-4. He made a couple of stops on two-on-one rushes, denied Crosby of a one-timer goal at the side of the net and flashed his glove against Matt DAgostini to the delight of many of the 19,539 fans in attendance. "I thought he was outstanding," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "There was flurries and pucks around his net he was strong on. ... He certainly was the difference in the second period." Had Reimer cracked even once, the Penguins mightve been able to ride some momentum and cruise past the Leafs. Instead, Toronto still had hope at the second intermission. "I think thats been the story of our season, for the most part," said James van Riemsdyk, who assisted on Kadris goal and Phil Kessels later in the third. "Theres been stretches where we get outshot, but our goaltending is making big saves for us. Theyve gave us a chance allmost every night.dddddddddddd Thats all you can ask for out of your goalies." All Reimer and Jonathan Bernier seemingly need is a little goal support. Reimer got it Saturday night in the form of a strong third period led by the new-look first line. Kadri replaced Tyler Bozak between van Riemsdyk and Kessel, and Carlyle said after the victory that Bozak would miss at least 7-10 days with a lower-body injury. Kadri beat Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 1:26 into the third after smart passes from van Riemsdyk and Kessel but took more pride in stopping Malkins line. "Were all on the same page offensively. It was great," Kadri said. "Its not just the offensive side of things, we took care of the D-zone. We were able to shut down a few of their key players." Bolland, David Clarkson and Mason Raymond also did a good job against Crosby, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Malkin finished the night with a minus-3 rating, while Crosby was a minus-2. As much credit as captain Dion Phaneuf and those forwards got for their defensive play, it eventually came down to Reimer, who didnt fold under a lot of pressure. "James played great. Both tenders all season have been unbelievable," Clarkson said. "Its always good when you can have that confidence in your goaltending. No matter who goes in net there we have confidence that if were getting outshot or outplayed, then we know what we can do." Reimer frustrated the Penguins all night and improved to 4-0-2 in his career against Pittsburgh. But he wasnt crowing about that success. "They have arguably the best players in the world, and they bring it every time they come and play," Reimer said. "Im just lucky enough to have teammates step up and play big games. I dont know if it has much to do with me more than the guys in front of me working their butts off. Again tonight I thought they worked as hard as they could, and they really earned it." Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at (at)SWhyno NOTES -- A CT scan revealed Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul did not have a fracture in his right foot and he will travel with the team on their Western Canadian road trip, according to Carlyle. The team hopes Lupul, who has missed two games after taking a shot off the foot in practice Thursday, will be able to play Tuesday at the Edmonton Oilers. ... Penguins defenceman Rob Scuderi left the game with a lower-body injury late in the first period after taking a hit from Clarkson along the boards. Bylsma did not have an update, saying only that Scuderi would be re-evaluated Sunday. ' ' '