Ever since A.J. Burnett joined the Blue Jays' rotation, he's teamed with staff ace Roy Halladay during workouts. Adapting to Halladay's strenuous routine is hard enough, but Toronto was hoping the hard-throwing Burnett would also be able to adopt some of the former Cy Young Award winner's philosophies on the mound.

"Halladay has rubbed off on many guys," Toronto manager John Gibbons said after Tuesday's win.

The question was how long it would take Halladay to rub off on Burnett. Two stints on the disabled list hurt Burnett's progress this season, but he's currently riding a four-game winning streak that has included characteristics of Halladay's style: pitching to contact and not worrying as much about strikeouts.

"You watch him every day and see what he's all about and that's what he does," Burnett said after defeating the A's in his last start. "He attacks, he keeps the ball down and that's what I try to do. We feed off each other so well. I've learned a lot from him."

Burnett's latest victory was an example of his evolving approach. In 6 2/3 innings against Oakland, the right-hander picked up the win despite giving up nine hits and only striking out two batters. In fact, across his last two wins, Burnett has yielded 13 hits and has whiffed just three in 13 2/3 frames. He posted a 3.29 ERA for those two outings.

"I do feel like I'm throwing more strikes," Burnett said. "I'm just trying to get them to swing as early as I can. If I get two strikes, I'll try to punch them out. Otherwise, I'm just trying to get quick outs by pounding the strike zone."

That statement might as well have come from Halladay's mouth.

Burnett is right, too -- he is throwing more strikes. This season, his walks per nine innings ratio (2.24) is lower than his career average (3.82), and his strikeouts-to-walks ratio (3.38) is higher than his career average (2.07). Not coincidentally, Burnett has allowed more hits per nine frames (10.03) than he has in his career (7.91).

"That's command," Gibbons said. "He's pitched great for us since he's been back. When you think contact, you get quicker outs. It doesn't always do you good to try to overpower guys."

McGowan's future: The Blue Jays have yet to find a specific role for right-hander Dustin McGowan, who was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. Toronto likes what the 24-year-old rookie can do out of the bullpen, but he's been tabbed as a future starter for much of his pro career.

McGowan will likely be recalled to rejoin the 'pen when rosters expand in September, but it's unclear what his job might be next season. According to Gibbons, McGowan is out of options. That means if he doesn't make the big-league team out of Spring Training next year, another club could claim him off waivers.

As of right now, Toronto's rotation for next year includes Halladay, Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, and Josh Towers, who is currently at Triple-A, but is under contract for '07. The fifth spot would be for Ted Lilly, but he's eligible for free agency after this year and the Jays might not re-sign him.

That means McGowan will likely be one of a few candidates for a spot in the rotation. Of course, attempting to add another starting pitcher will probably be on the offseason agenda, considering all the issues that have happened this year.

"I think we'll go through the year and through September here and kind of map it out," Gibbons said. "We'll just kind of look at what happens during the winter -- the way the team shapes up."

Lind may get a look: Minor League outfielder Adam Lind -- who began this season at Double-A but was promoted to Triple-A in July -- could be one prospect called up after Sept. 1. Lind has hit .322 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 117 games between Double-A and Triple-A this year.

"He's just a hitting machine. I saw a little bit of him in Spring Training and you could tell he could hit," said Gibbons, who noted that Lind would probably play left field in the Majors. "We may bring him up, I don't know. I'd definitely like to see him."

Jays ink Canadian arms: Toronto agreed to terms on contracts with right-hander Brad Cuthbertson (49th-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft in June) of Sherwood Park, Alberta, and left-hander Michael Lynch (non-drafted free agent) of Brockville, Ontario. The Blue Jays have now signed 35 of the 48 players, including five Canadians, that they drafted in June.

Did you know? On Tuesday night, Toronto closer B.J. Ryan recorded his 12th save of at least four outs this year. That's five more than any other Major League pitcher this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it also represents the most by a left-hander since 1992, when Randy Myers had 13 for the Padres and Norm Charlton had 12 for the Reds.

Coming up: After an off-day on Thursday, Toronto right-hander Shaun Marcum (1-3, 6.49 ERA) is scheduled to take on Kansas City righty Luke Hudson (6-4, 5.77 ERA) at 7:07 p.m. ET on Friday at the Rogers Centre.