Music: {allcanada} Jays tossed in emotional Doc return

TORONTO – Jose Bautista was the first to take a strip off Alfonso Marquez when he didn't like a called third strike in the first inning, but he certainly wasn't the last.

By the time all was said and done, Saturday afternoon's 5-3 win by the Philadelphia Phillies over the Toronto Blue Jays was just as memorable for manager John Farrell wrestling reliever Jon Rauch away from the home plate umpire as it was for Roy Halladay's return engagement.

What began as a celebration of a former franchise giant ended in near mayhem, as the six-foot-11 Rauch charged aggressively toward the dwarfed Marquez after he was ejected in the ninth inning, with Farrell forced to make repeated attempts to intercept him.

Eventually the six-foot-four Farrell locked his right-hander in a bear hug and with some help from third base coach Brian Butterfield, funnelled him toward bench coach Don Wakamatsu, who guided a jersey-less Rauch off the field.

In the end, Halladay emerged victorious, the Blue Jays lost for the fifth time in six outings to fall four games below .500, and Rauch is surely headed for some discipline from Major League Baseball.

So, quite the afternoon at the ballpark.

"The first thing I told the umpire is it's a shame that he can't have an ERA, because those runs are his," explained Rauch, who was upset about not getting the call on 2-2 and 3-2 pitches against Ryan Howard. "I think he directly affected the outcome of the game.

"He's trying to do the job the best that he can, but missing one I understand, the other one, who knows? He tossed me then. I wasn't even really arguing balls and strikes at that point and it got heated."

The umpires turned down a request for comment.

Rauch was among several of his teammates baffled by Marquez's strike zone, and at times it seems Halladay got calls they did not.

He lost it after Shane Victorino followed Howard's walk with a single and Marquez called Chase Utley safe at home with an insurance run that made it 5-3.

Farrell immediately recognized that he needed to get in Rauch's way, and it wasn't easy – "that's a big man, it took three of us," he said tersely – but he felt the same way. After calling in Shawn Camp to take over, Farrell took up the argument and was ejected too, engaging in a nose-to-nose argument with Marquez before leaving the field.

"The strike zone that (Marquez) establishes, to me in many cases, and we had him the other night in Detroit, it's a pitchers' strike zone," said Farrell. "That's not being critical, that's stating what we've experienced with him behind the plate. I think he does a good job, and the fact is pitches similar to that were called strikes throughout the course of the ball game. In that case, (Rauch) did not get it."

Halladay (11-3), on the other hand, didn't have nearly as much trouble with the strike zone in his first game back in Toronto since his trade to Philadelphia in December 2009.

Given standing ovations on his way to the bullpen to warmup, again when the lineups were announced and once more as he took the mound from the crowd of 44,078 -- more than twice the Rogers Centre average -- Halladay proceeded to cut through his former team for his sixth complete game of the year.

Relief is what he felt afterwards.

"I was definitely anxious," Halladay said of his feelings before the game. "Warming up and walking on to the field it was definitely different. Once the game started I felt like it was a normal game but beforehand it's hard to anticipate that kind of stuff when you're not really sure what it's going to be like, how they're going to react, stuff like that.

"So that was definitely different. Really once the game started, they were cheering for their players."

Post-game video: Halladay admits to pre-game nerves.

Halladay allowed three runs on eight hits – including a massive home run off Windows restaurant above centre field by Jose Bautista – and a walk with eight strikeouts. He beat his former mates for the second time, having thrown seven shutout innings against them in a 9-0 win last year at Philadelphia.

Still, the Blue Jays (40-44) were in position to beat him, nursing a one-run lead with two down in the seventh when left-hander Luis Perez (1-1) came on for a solid Carlos Villanueva. But he promptly served up the decisive two-run blast to Utley, and the Phillies took it home from there.

Villanueva deserved better after allowing three runs on five hits and four walks in 6.2 innings. He was given a standing ovation after his outing, but didn't "really care for" the one that Halladay got.

"I know he did a lot for this team and this city but we have a new ace here and his name is Ricky Romero," said Villanueva. "I'm here to stick up for the 24 other guys that are playing behind me and when he (Halladay) steps on that mound, he's with the other team. He is who he is."

The Blue Jays squandered an edge built during an opportunistic two-run fifth that gave them a 3-2 advantage. Corey Patterson opened the inning with a high infield chopper that Utley fielded and unwisely threw away, allowing the speedy outfielder to reach third.

An out later John McDonald singled in the tying run, advanced to second on Aaron Hill's groundout and scored on Eric Thames's single, leaving the crowd frenzied.

The Phillies eked out runs in the first on Howard's RBI single and Jimmy Rollins' RBI double, but never felt secure in their victory until adding on in the ninth.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, were left looking for some positives from their latest loss.

"We respect both Johns today because they stood up for the team and tried to get a spark going," said Villanueva.

Still, Rauch's antics may prove costly if he ends up facing a suspension.

He was prepared to pay the price, and while he wasn't exactly pleased with his behaviour, felt it was necessary.

"You don't want to be that kind of role model to the kids out there watching the game, but at the same time we've got to stick up for ourselves," he said. "They have to do their job and I think the umpires need to be accountable for their actions, as well."

JESSE'S JOB: Jesse Litsch (shoulder impingement) is scheduled to start for triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday and may be ready for a return afterwards.

The problem? It looks like the Blue Jays no longer have a job in the rotation for him.

"I told him after he got hurt I can't guarantee him a spot when he's healthy," GM Alex Anthopoulos said Saturday. "I tell all our players this, I just don't know what the five-man rotation is going to look like.

"Obviously we have certain players that are out of options, certain players that are doing well that don't deserve to be yanked. He's got one more start left and then we're going to re-evaluate things. We don't want to commit to anything because who knows what's going to happen in the next 10 days or so."

Anthopoulos said a decision on what happens with Litsch could be made after his start Sunday, or perhaps after the all-star break.

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NOTES: Following the game the Jays announced that they had designated infielder Jayson Nix for assignment and recalled Mike McCoy from triple-A Las Vegas. The move might suggest shortstop Yunel Escobar's injured hand may take longer than anticipated to heal. Escobar is currently listed as day-to-day ...Double-A New Hampshire manager Sal Fasano pulled outfielder Anthony Gose from Friday's 6-2 win over Portland after he failed to run out a groundball in his second at-bat. "It's standard," said Anthopoulos. "Great player, great kid, but that's the way we do things, no matter who you are." … Asked for his take on Travis Snider's defensive potential in centre field, Anthopoulos said he hasn't seen him enough to make a judgment. "I know he's a good athlete, I know he's running a lot better than he has in the past," said Anthopoulos. "I think he's athletic enough to play it. They said he made a great catch into the right-centre field gap (Friday night), a running catch." Snider went 3-for-5 in Las Vegas' 9-7 win over Colorado Springs on Friday. … Reliever Casey Janssen (forearm), scheduled to make a rehab appearance with single-A Dunedin this weekend, will instead throw another bullpen session Monday before reporting to double-A New Hampshire, according to manager John Farrell.