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TORONTO -- J.A. Happ changed his mindset Thursday night after giving up seven earned runs in his previous appearance. The Toronto left-hander decided to pitch "a little angry" against Chicago and it led to his best start of the season. Happ, who had a season-high eight strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings, combined with two relievers on a four-hit shutout as the Blue Jays blanked the White Sox 7-0 to kick off a four-game series. "He had that good life on his fastball and you could see them swinging through some pitches," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Thats when you know hes on." It was a strong bounceback performance by Happ after he lasted just four innings in an 8-0 loss to Cincinnati last week. He originally planned to forget about that start, but it was on his mind as he took the mound on a glorious summer evening at Rogers Centre. "I did pitch a little upset, a little angry tonight at myself," Happ said. "So that helped just trying to be in the zone, trying not to let those kind of games happen (again)." Happ walked a pair and threw 79 of his 124 pitches for strikes. Dustin McGowan and Chad Jenkins completed the shutout as Toronto (45-36) moved two games ahead of the idle Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. It capped an impressive first half of the season for the Blue Jays, who lead the American League with 35 victories from their starters. "Weve played some good baseball and really we deserve to be where were at, to tell you the truth," Gibbons said. Jose Reyes had four hits and Adam Lind drove in three runs as Toronto outhit Chicago 12-4. The stumbling White Sox (36-44) have lost seven of their last eight games and dropped 10 of 11 on the road. "That game just smelled right from the start," said Chicago manager Robin Ventura. "We didnt play very well, didnt hit very well, didnt play defence very well and it showed." The Blue Jays gave Happ an early lead after Reyes and Cabrera reached on back-to-back infield singles in the first inning off Scott Carroll (2-4). Lind drove a ball into the right-field corner that easily scored Reyes from second base. The throw from former Blue Jays outfielder Moises Sierra was between home plate and third base, allowing Cabrera to score on the error. Reyes tripled in the second inning to bring home Juan Francisco, who reached on a walk. Reyes drove the ball off the top of the wall in right-centre field and it bounced high in the air and back onto the field. The play was reviewed to see if it should have been a home run but the call was upheld. Toronto started to pull away in the fourth inning as Lind drove in Reyes and Anthony Gose with a single. Lind finished with three hits to bump his average up to .342. "Against right-handed pitchers, I mean whos been better in baseball, really?" Gibbons said. "I dont think anybody has. Lind really fits that three-hole mode. Hes got great discipline, hes kind of a pure hitter." Dioner Navarro put a charge into the crowd of 23,248 in the fifth when he hit a drive to the warning track in left-centre field. Left-fielder Dayan Viciedo flubbed the catch attempt and centre-fielder Leury Garcias throw to second base was wide. Navarro ran to third when the ball rolled into foul territory and actually got the wave home -- a stunning decision by third-base coach Luis Rivera given that the Toronto catcher is probably the slowest player on the team. Abreu threw the ball home in plenty of time for Adrian Nieto to apply the tag. Gibbons joked that Navarro might not be able to play for two weeks now after that long run around the bases. "Ill kill Luis if he sends me again, but Im ready to play tomorrow," Navarro said with a laugh. Carroll gave up nine hits, five earned runs and two walks over five innings. He had four strikeouts. Notes: White Sox centre-fielder Adam Eaton left the game in the first inning due to cramping in his left leg. He was replaced by Garcia. ... Steve Tolleson replaced Francisco at third base in the seventh inning. Tolleson had been bothered by blurry vision of late but the problem was corrected after a visit to the eye doctor earlier in the day. ... Tolleson was called out on a close play at first base in the eighth inning. After a long review of nearly 3 1/2 minutes, the call stood. ... Jose Abreu singled in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. ... The game took exactly three hours to play. ... Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista continues to make progress in his recovery from a mild hamstring strain. Theres a chance he could return to the lineup on the weekend. ... Toronto has held sole possession of first place for 35 straight days. ... Before the game, the White Sox designated former Blue Jays left-hander Scott Downs for assignment and recalled southpaw Eric Surkamp from triple-A Charlotte. ... Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (6-6, 4.04 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday night against Chicagos John Danks (6-6, 4.34). ... The Blue Jays get an off-day Monday before closing out their nine-game homestand with a two-game mini-series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Nike Sb Italia . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. Nike Sb Scarpe Sconti . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. http://www.airforce1justdoit.it/air-force-1-just-do-it-scontate/air-force-1-just-do-it-bianche.html .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Falcons by 3 1/2RECORD VS. Nike Presto x Off White Shop . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. Nike Air Force Just Do It Fake . Chelsea ripped apart Hull inside 25 minutes at Stamford Bridge, with the early goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard securing a 2-0 victory. While Lampard had earlier missed a penalty, Roberto Soldado had no such trouble from the spot for Tottenham, scoring on his debut to clinch a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.Hang a 75-pound weight from his waist and Georges St-Pierre will happily do one chin-up after another. The mixed martial arts star never takes a step back, always looking for an edge, be it working with elite gymnasts or sprinters. But St-Pierres biggest strength is also his biggest weakness. "Im completely obsessed," he said of the way he approaches each fight. When a grain of doubt enters his mind, the beast in the gym becomes brittle. And on Friday, a shopping list of distractions finally took their toll on one of Canadas most famous athletes. Citing the pressures of being champion and of being in a constant limelight, St-Pierre said his life has become "completely insane" and a "freaking zoo." Admitting he was no longer up for the rigours of fighting in a cage, the UFCs pay-per-view king vacated his welterweight title and announced a hiatus from the sport. St-Pierre (25-2) also cited personal issues, which he declined to detail. But clearly they have obscured his obsessive focus in a sport whose athletes spend months preparing for fights. "Physically Im 100 per cent, Im still young, Im on top of the world," the 32-year-old from Montreal told a media conference call. "But mentally I just feel like I cannot go through another training camp right now and I dont know when I will be able to." UFC president Dana White said No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks will fight No. 3 (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler for the title on March 15 in Dallas. "I think this is the right move for Georges St-Pierre," said White. "You can hear by listening to him hes got a lot of issues personally that he needs to deal with." St-Pierre had cast doubt about his future last month following UFC 167, a controversial split decision win over Hendricks, when he said he needed time away from the sport to sort out some personal issues. That enraged White, who did not like the idea of one of his biggest assets walking away -- especially in the aftermath of a controversial decision. But White calmed down after talking to St-Pierre later that night. And on Friday, he continued to downplay the drama. "At the end of the day, its really not that big of a deal. The guys got some things that he needs to deal with. He was classy enough to say Im not going to jam up the 170-pound division while I deal with these things, Im going to step aside and handle myself and then Ill be back." In the wake of the Hendricks fight, a TMZ report said the champion was dealing with a family illness and a personal issue. White later told The Canadian Press that St-Pierre had told him the report was not true. St-Pierre loosened up during Fridays call, joking with reporters that they were not going to get anything personal from him. "Im going to take a break. I need this," he said Friday. "I need to have a normal life for a bit. Ill feel better and come back stronger." Having a normal life was a theme repeated throughout the conference call. Asked what he wants to get away from, St-Pierre said he loves his sport. "As much as I choose to do it, now I choose to not do it." He said he expects to be back, although he sounded far from certain. "I dont know when, I dont know if, I think I will (be back) I cant say 100 per cent. But right now I just dont want people thinking about me." Press tours, cameras and trash-talking were some of the things he said he needed to avoid. St-Pierre was somewhat vague about a comeback. "I believe one day I will come back. The problem is I dont know how long (I will be away)." He said he has already conquered Everest three times before, when he lost to Matt Hughes (in 2004) and Matt (The Terror) Serra (in 2007) and when he came back (in 2012) from knee surgery. "And if I have to do a fourth time, believe me, I feel like Im, going to do it." White, who explained GSPs UFC contract was considered frozen, said he believed St-Pierre will be back. St-Pierre exits ranked second to light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings. White called St-Pierre "the greatest welterweight ever" and "the gold standard in everything." "And as far as working with us, theres nobody better. If I had 475 guys like Georges St-Pierre, my life would be a lot easier." A gentleman outside the cage who shares little of his personal life, St-Pierre has always taken his responsibilities seriously. In 2008, he missed an interview session with a visiting reporter who was left standing outside a Montreal gym. His manager at the time advised that St-Pierre haad suffered a minor injury earlier in the day and had forgotten about his interview with the reporter.dddddddddddd The journalist told the manager not to worry, given they had already had a previously scheduled appointment for the next day. St-Pierre, however, had a different idea. He drove to the gym to collect the reporter and took him out for dinner to do the interview. Then he drove the reporter to his hotel, apologizing again for having been late. While other fighters wore T-shirts and sweats, St-Pierre -- taking a page from some champion boxers -- always wore a suit for his post-fight news conferences. St-Pierre, who said he will keep training, has no need to fight again. He has made millions and made a point of looking after his family when the cheques started coming in. One of his first duties as champion was to pay off the mortgages of his parents and sisters. The UFC is wasting no time getting round to the post-GSP era. Carlos Condit is currently ranked No. 2 among welterweight contenders but he has lost to both St-Pierre and Hendricks. And White noted that Lawler just beat Canadian contender and GSP training partner Rory (Ares) MacDonald. "Not to mention the fact that theres not doubt that the Robbie Lawler-Johny Hendricks fight is going to be an absolute gunfight." White said Condit may also be on the Dallas card. Condit was previously due to fight Matt (The Immortal) Brown until Brown was sidelined by a back injury. As champion, St-Pierre has worn a target on his back since he first won the title in 2006. "The situation Im at, its a lot of pressure," he said. "Its like every fight Im carrying weight on my shoulder. Every fight, its like you add weight on your shoulder. Every fight. "At one point it comes so heavy that I have a hard time carrying it myself." St-Pierre has survived turmoil throughout his career. He lost his championship belt in his first title defence before winning it back. And he has endured a string of injuries, including knee reconstruction surgery in December 2011. That prompted the UFC to pit Condit against Nick Diaz for the interim title. Condit won but was beaten by St-Pierre when the champion returned to action at UFC 154 in November 2012. St-Pierre was the first Canadian to hold a UFC title since Carlos (Ronin) Newton, who held the welterweight crown for seven months in 2001 before losing it to Matt Hughes. St-Pierre lost to Hughes, now a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, in a title bout at UFC 50 in 2004 but won the rematch at UFC 65 in November 2006 to claim the championship belt. His initial reign at champion was short-lived. Beset by family illness and lacking focus, GSP was upset by Matt (The Terror) Serra in his first title defence at UFC 69 in April 2007. GSP fights as he prepares. A good camp equals a good performance. He paid a heavy price for a bad one. St-Pierre retooled, changing his management and revamping his coaching staff. "I truly believe that this loss is probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he said at the time. At the suggestion of a sports psychologist, he carried a brick around with Serras name inscribed on it. Then he threw it in the chilly waters of Montreals South Shore to bury the memory of the Serra loss. St-Pierre has not lost since. He won his title back from Serra three fights later in commanding fashion, at UFC 83 in Montreal in April 2008. The decision over Hendricks was a record 19th win in the UFC for St-Pierre, moving him past Hughes at 18. It also extended his string of victories to 12, the longest current run in the UFC. The Hendricks victory also moved GSP past former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 12. St-Pierre holds the record for career fight time in the UFC at five hours 28 minutes 12 seconds. He also owns the UFC mark for most championship rounds fought (52). UFC 167 was St-Pierres 14th championship fight, one behind Randy Couture. St-Pierre also leads the UFC records in total strikes landed, significant strikes landed, takedowns landed and takedown accuracy rate, according to FightMetric. "Im content," he said of his legacy. St-Pierre is not the first UFC champion to give up their title. Tim Sylvia voluntarily gave up the heavyweight championship belt in 2003 when he tested positive for steroids, which was a pre-emptive strike to being stripped. Bas Rutten gave up his heavyweight title in 1999 to campaign as a light-heavyweight. Injuries forced him to retire soon after. Frank Shamrock voluntarily vacated his title in 1999 and retired, although he later returned to action outside the UFC. ' ' '