Despite losing two in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays will still be in control of the American League East once they close out a four- game series with the Chicago White Sox this afternoon. Toronto, which has posted back-to-back wins only once since the first week of June, is still 1 1/2 games in front of Baltimore for the lead in the division, with just two weeks remaining before the All-Star Break. Yesterday the Jays made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning when they drew to within a single run, but that was as close as the hosts would get in the 4-3 setback. Darin Mastroianni stroked his first home run of the season and plated two of his teams three runs, the other RBI coming from Munenori Kawasaki. Starting pitcher Marcus Stroman made it through 6 2/3 innings before giving way to the Toronto bullpen. The hurler allowed just two runs on a pair of hits and two walks, while striking out six. Dustin McGowan was charged with the loss, his third of the season, after permitting three runs on three hits in just one inning of action. "If you could do things over, you leave him in," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Stroman. "But my thinking was, he pitched his butt off, it was kind of uncharted territory, I dont want him to lose the game right there. Thats the way it goes. But you always look back on things like that. I had a plan and it just didnt work." "Its tough, because obviously I want to be out there," said Stroman. "I felt strong but Im also young, so that was Gibbys choice. "Dustin has been great for us all year, so its not like I was mad about coming out of the game. I had 100-percent confidence for Dustin to come in and get that out. Just one of those things and Im sure hell be right back to it." McGowan was charged with giving up a three-run home run by Dayan Viciedo, one of his two hits on the day. Adam Dunn added a pair of hits and two walks as well for a Chicago squad that is fourth in the AL Central, six games below .500 and 8 1/2 games out of contention. Chris Sale was credited with the win for the White Sox as he worked through seven innings, permitting just two runs on four hits, although he did have some issues with his control, issuing five walks. Sale also struck out six on the day. Zach Putnam stepped in late to collect his first save of the season. The Sox now turn their attention toward Jose Quintana, their starter for the series finale today. The left-hander had gone four outings without a win until picking up a much-needed victory on Tuesday versus Baltimore on the road. In that clash Quintana surrendered just a single run on six hits and three walks, striking out eight over the course of seven innings for his fourth win of the season. When it comes to his experience against the Jays, Quintana, now in his third major league season, has a record of 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts. Going up against the Chicago batting order is former White Sox standout Mark Buehrle. Selected by Chicago in the 38th round of the 1998 draft, the left- hander started his major league career with the Sox in 2000 and remained on the staff until 2011. Now just four wins shy of 200 for his career, Buehrle has struggled of late, last earning a victory against Kansas City on the first of the month. Most recently the Missouri native went up against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, permitting four runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, but even though the Jays eventually came away with the 7-6 win, Buehrle did not factor into the decision. Against his former Chicago team, Buehrle is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA. Chicago, which won the season series with the Jays each of the last two years, now owns a 2-1 edge in 2014 battles. Nike Tn Pas Cher Chine . 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The Raptors point guard has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Jan. 27, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the league announced ahead of Torontos meeting with the Jazz on Monday. Lowry led off the week topping 30 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career - including a season-high 33 points in Wednesdays win over the Magic - carrying his team to a pair of victories without injured leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Overall, the eighth-year guard averaged 25.0 points and 8.0 assists as Toronto finished the week with a 3-1 record. For Lowry, the recognition is long overdue. "He is one of the best point guards in the league right now," Dwane Casey said in Denver Thursday evening, hours after the all-star reserves were announced and Lowry, despite his body of work this season, was left off the list. DeRozan, a first-time all-star, was voted in by the coaches and will deservedly represent the Raptors in New Orleans later this month but Lowrys case should have been just as, if not more, compelling. Since the early-December trade of Rudy Gay, Lowry has come out of his shell, emerging as the teams leader. Hes been the Raptors most reliable contributor and a big part of the post-trade resurgence. Toronto has won 19 of 29 games since moving Gay, recording 20 or more assists in 23 of those contests. "Me personally, I thought he should have made [the All-Star team]," DeRoozan said Thursday.dddddddddddd "Especially [with] what he means to this team. There are not too many players that are doing the things he is doing." Lowry, sincerely happy for his teammate, shrugged off the coaches oversight, concerning himself with team success over individual accolades. Similarly, he downplayed a couple nominations for earlier Player of the Week awards and will likely do the same after winning one, but after putting the team on his shoulders this past week, the honour comes well deserved. With DeRozan sidelined for the first time this season, nursing an ankle injury, Lowry engineered a thrilling victory over the surging Nets in Brooklyn to begin the week. In that game, Lowry become the first player this season to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, something only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant accomplished last year. The 27-year-old is also having a career year from beyond the arch, connecting on 16 of his 36 attempts from three-point range last week. Lowry goes into Mondays game in Utah needing nine more threes to match his career-high for treys in a season (129). Hell also chase down Morris Petersons franchise record for most three-pointers made in a single campaign (177). Lowry became the fifth Raptor to win Player of the Week, joining Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, Mike James and Jalen Rose. Also left off the All-Star squad, Suns guard Goran Dragic - Lowrys former teammate in Houston - captured the award in the West. ' ' '