TORONTO -- The Blue Jays aren't about to alter their organizational philosophy, but that doesn't mean that the club isn't keeping an open mind in certain areas. Straying from its trend in recent years, Toronto has utilized the running game in the season's early goings.

Stolen bases have hardly been a priority during the six seasons that the Blue Jays have played with general manager J.P. Ricciardi at the helm. If the first four games of this year are any indication, Toronto is at least willing to consider swiping more bags to help ignite an offense that limped through last season.

"We're going to do some more of that," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We're going to take advantage where we get it. We're not just going to run to run, but if the guy's going to give us something, yeah. I've always liked that kind of baseball.

"If you sit around waiting for something to happen, that's tough to do sometimes. Now, if everybody in the lineup is hitting home runs, that's different. But you've got to put pressure on the other team."

So far this season, Toronto has attempted at least one stolen base in each of its five games. Through the first four games, the Blue Jays had swiped six bases -- three each by Alex Rios and Marco Scutaro. As a team, Toronto didn't reach six stolen bases until the 16th game last year, and Rios didn't have three until his 44th contest.

Scutaro already has one more than the two stolen bases he managed all of last season with the Oakland A's, who steal even fewer bags annually than the Jays. Scutaro is currently filling in at third base for Scott Rolen, who is out until at least the end of April with a broken right middle finger.

"Scutaro is quick," Gibbons said. "He has good instincts and he gets good jumps."

Last season, the Jays ranked 27th in the Major Leagues with 57 stolen bases, and only Oakland (52) had fewer in the American League. It was the lowest output for Toronto since 2003, when the team stole 37 bases to rank last in baseball. Since Ricciardi took over as GM prior to the 2002 season, the Jays have averaged 60 stolen bases per season.

"It's always been something in the back of my mind," Gibbons said. "It's not something where we said, we're going to change our philosophy or anything. You've got to have the personnel to do some things. You can't just run wild."