Toronto v Baltimore. Series opener. Friday September 26,2008
Preview: Jays have won 10 of 15 against Baltimore this season, including four of six in Baltimore.
What is to play for here ? For a start a share of third with Yankees if they win them all and Yankees get swept in Boston this weekend. Boston will show no mercy they are after Tampa for Division title still within their grasp. All four teams still have something to play for. Media not happy with JP contract extension. I don’t understand this constant negativism with JP. If they are happy with Cito and what he has done with the team then this is the same team that JP put together so why are they not happy with him? It is not his fault that the hitters have underachieved all season. Plus his farm teams and draft picks are starting to show their strengths even though some of them could have done with an extra year in the minors, certainly Snider, tonight’s pitcher Richmond. On paper this team should have been competing for playoffs. If they don’t like JP sounding off on Adam Dunn then they should be grateful they don’t have Ozzie Guillen in Toronto. JP is certainly not a classic baseball character but I for one would take his style over the laid back fall asleep in the dugout that we have now. Joe Maddon came out day one in spring training with that infamous double steal in the first inning. That showed me they were playing serious this season and they have not stopped since. Would that we had half that fire and determination to win in Toronto. Does anyone steal a base besides Rios occasionally?
Pitching: Waters (3-4 5.06 ERA) v Richmond (0-3, 5.14). Battle of the rookies. Waters shut out the Jays on Sept. 16, allowing four hits in the 2-0 win. Richmond pitched five innings against Boston on Sunday, allowing three runs and five hits in a 3-0 loss. In the four games that rookie Richmond has started this season, Toronto has scored four runs of support. He has not faced Baltimore.
Lineups: Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, 1B is not his best position he is a 3B guy. Rios, Wells, DH tonight. Lind, Rolen, Snider, Thigpen, McDonald and Richmond pitching. Richmond- Thigpen battery tonight looks like Spring training.
Baltimore: Roberts, Markakis, Mora, Huff, Salazar, Jones, Scott, Santos, Fahey and Waters pitching.
The Result: Jays win 3-0. Game called in top of the seventh inning with rain.
The good: Richmond pitching 79 pitches in six scoreless innings before rain delay. Thigpen first ML HR. Rolen two hits. Bautista good execution for third run.
The bad: Jays hitters watching third strike. This is yet another priority to work on Cito and your fellow hitting coaches, this team is awful, awful in this category. Another work item Cito, staying out of double play balls by Vernon and others. Rios has to steal more with Vernon behind him.
Top 1st: Scutaro leading off grounds to 3B Huff throw to 1B Salazar for the out. Bautista, gets hold of this one, high fly ball to Jones in CF, good hit for Jose nut not far enough. Rios at bat, opposite field single, unusual for Alex but he will take it single to RF. Wells fresh from good 4 RBI game last night. Pops this one up into shallow RF Markakis long run to make the catch and third out. 12 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Richmond making his fourth start He has pitched well but needs run support, Jays have only hit four runs in his three starts. Roberts first pitch pops it up to LF Lind. One down for Markakis grounds to Scutaro throw to Bautista, two down for Mora DH tonight. Fly ball to Snider in RF, five pitch inning Richmond will take that to settle the nerves, now if his hitters could only give him a five run cushion, please?
Top 2nd: Lind grounds to 2B Roberts throw to 1B Salazar for the out. Rolen at bat, singles up the middle, one on for Snider strikes out. Two down for Thigpen, full count making Waters work. Strikes out swinging. 34 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Huff singles to right centre, Salazar, long fly ball out to Rios in CF tonight. One down for Jones fly ball out to Lind in LF two down. Scott, high pop up first pitch to Thigpen to end the inning. 16 pitches, not bad for two innings work.
Top 3rd: McDonald, grounds to 3B Huff throw to 1B Salazar for first out. Scutaro singles into CF. One on one down for Bautista, come on Jose hit this one out. Not like that, swings wildly at a pitch three feet off the plate. Hits him on the foot. Two on one down for Rios. Alex takes called third strike, when are the Jays going to stop doing this? 50 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Santos grounds to Rolen great throw to Bautista for first out. Fahey grounds to Scutaro throw to Bautista for second out. Rain getting heavier, Boston Yankees game is delayed also. Roberts full count. Singles 30 to Lind in LF. One on two down. Markakis at bat, strikes out. Very nice Scott. 36 pitches.
Top 4th: Lack of run support has been Richmond’s lot this season….. Jays hitters silent again so far after breakout game last night and eight runs for Halladay. Wells, sitting on the bench in the dry tonight, grounds one to Huff great bare hand play to get Vernon. I don’t think Vernon likes not being in the action, he will not be a good DH. One down for Lind, Adam gets hold of this one high off the wall in RF corner for a double. Nice swing that would have been a HR in most other parks. Rolen strikes out, he argues that one, replay does not show that he went around. Snider at bat, grounds this to SS throw to Huff for third out and Jays leave yet another in scoring position. 65 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Mora 3-0 count, come on Scott. There’s a strike. Grounds this one to Johnny Mac and throw to Bautista for the first out. Huff at bat, full count, strikes him out on a great change up. Two down for Salazar, fly ball out to Rios in CF. 54 pitches but still no run support.
Top 5th: Tampa losing 5-1 for second game to Tigers in Detroit, they will not like that with Boston at home. Pressure on the Rays this weekend. Can Boston catch them ? or will Yankees recover from their loss to Halladay ? Thigpen strikes out looking, one down for Johnny Mac. Lines out to CF Jones . Scutaro fly ball out to RF Markakis. Best inning for Waters so far. 75 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Jones strikes out swinging. Scott high fly ball out to Snider in left centre. Two down. Santos grounds to Johnny Mac and that is it for Baltimore, three up and down very quickly. 64 pitches. Poor guy it must be so discouraging pitching for this team with no run support. My theory also why Burnett will not stick around. With a better hitting team AJ and also Roy Halladay would have been Cy Young candidates this year.
Top 6th: Bautista there’s a hit, singles up the middle. One on for Rios and the big bats, but don’t place your bets here yet . Rios walks. Two on no outs for Vernon. Here we go, we have seen this before far too many times this season. Grounds to Salazar at 1B throw to Fahey SS back to Waters double play ball. I guess the good news is that Jays have someone at 3B for first time tonight, Lind at bat. Walks, that double play hurts here. Rolen at bat two on, but two down. Finally, yes Scott, doubles over the wall in left centre. Bautista scores 1-0 Jays. Lind at 3B. Lines very hard to RF great highlight reel diving catch Markakis save two runs there. Could have been much more without Vernon’s double play and that great catch, that could have been big inning for Jays. 95 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Richmond has a lead at least however stingy. Fahey grounds up the middle, no problem for Johnny Mac throw to Bautista for first out. Roberts at bat, full count, don’t walk this guy Scott, lines out to Bautista nice catch. Two down. Markakis singles into right centre . One on two down. Mora singles into CF. Two on two down for Huff. This guy has 108 RBIs. Jays top guy is Rios with 79 and therein lies the tale of 2008. Pops it up to Rolen, very nice pitching by Richmond. Definitely playing for consideration in 2009 rotation. He has my vote. 79 pitches.
Top 7th: Thigpen first pitch gets holds of this one and this is out of here fast into LF seats , his first ML HR, 2-0 Jays. Way to go Curtis. McDonald Singles into RF. Scutaro is he bunting? Showing it. 3-1 count. Full count. Singles up the middle and Johnny Mac is at 3B. No one out for Bautista. Break it open Jose. That’s it for Waters. 101 pitches. Rain is now heavier and crowd starting to stream out as well. Cormier now pitching, Bautista grounds first pitch to Salazar throw to Cormier McDonald scores 3-0 Jays. Scutaro moves to 2B. One down and one in scoring position for Rios. Here comes the ground crew, this game is in rain delay. 8.50.
9.50 Game is called and Jays win one.
What they are saying:
Baltimore Adam Jones: "I'm out here having fun still, but the outcome is not what we all want. That's the hardest part. We're men out there. We're not looking for someone to pat us on the back when we do wrong."
Halladay on the management contracts: "I like what Cito has done in the time he's been here. I think we've gone in some good directions and I've always trusted J.P. I feel confident the organization will continue to go the right way
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Halladay perfect for win number 20 and bats show up to finish Yankees off.
Toronto v New York. Series finale and last home game of the season.Thursday September 25, 2008.
Preview: Lots here in this game, can Halladay win number twenty tonight ? Yankees are trying to match their longest winning streak of the season eight wins. Will Cito bounce back from his poor decision making last night OR worse still has nothing changed since his first exit from Toronto ? To many fans, the biggest knock against Cito, was having a team in 92 and 93 that didn’t need any managing and was made up of intense committed professionals who knew and did their jobs every day. Thus they fitted his style of passive indifference perfectly. The second knock was his inability to handle pitchers. He left them in too long and never changed them until the last minute which was usually too late if they were in trouble. Let them pitch out of trouble was the motto. Of course his predecessor Captain Hook was the opposite extreme and had no problems using three pitchers to get three outs. So far this season Cito has steered the middle path and enabled the great bullpen to do their work but also played the percentages which is about as far as this guy will gamble. Last night however he strayed from that philosophy. Whether or not he was still dewy- eyed over Burnett’s curtain call, but whatever his reason, Carlson was left in probably at least three hitters too many. Why was he pitching the tenth when he had already pitched a great inning ? Cito has at his disposal one of the best bullpens in baseball, there were several options some of who had already been warming up. But no, he left Jesse in far too long and Abreu who was 0-4 and had already struck out three times made him pay for that error. Cito should have noticed that Carlson was in trouble long before he loaded the bases, and even then he left him in. Strange decision, but probably playing the percentages in his mind at least, not the minds of the few who were left. I never understand people who leave a game tied at two in the top of the ninth ???? Can Jays hold Yankees win streak ? Not as a result of Halladay but because this team is underachieving bigtime with the bat up and down the lineup. But especially so with the heart of the order Rios, Wells and Overbay. It is very sad when the team leading RBI guy has less than 80. But we all know they could also score 20 tonight. Cito and the coaching staff still need work. The hitting has not improved, they are still awful with runners in scoring position. They have scored a total of three ! runs in the last three games. Can’t get worse than that, although the optimists would say they are improving each game, zero, one and two in the last three games. That is a joke friends. The oft quoted ten game run streak was a once in a decade achievement and not normal for this poor group of athletes. Yankees can’t wait to sweep them tonight at home for the first time since 2003. Ouch… Interesting stat. Many fans are not happy with BJ Ryan despite 32 saves after coming back from Tommy John surgery but Rivera only has 38 saves…. BJ has had a very good season.
What they said: Manager Girardi on Abreu grand slam. "That's the amazing thing about the game. You can have an awful day and in your last at-bat, you can have the biggest hit of the night. That's why you have to be able to turn the page and he's really good at doing that."
Halladay on potential twenty game win: "It's obviously a great milestone. It would mean a lot, but I think that it's always reflected more so on the team than anything." (he is 100% right on that. Roy could pitch a complete game and has done and still lose with this team.)
Pitching tonight: Halladay (19-11, 2.81 ERA) v Pavano (4-1, 4.99 ERA)
Halladay is trying for his first 20-win season since 2003 when he finished with 22 en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award. Halladay is 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA in five starts against Yankees this season, and has won both of his home outings against them, posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings. Halladay is 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 29 starts and two relief appearances against Yankees. He is 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA against them at Rogers Centre.
Parvano is 2-2 with a 4.65 ERA in six career starts against Toronto. On Aug. 29 against them, he allowed one run in six innings to gain credit for a 2-1 win. That sounds like a typical Halladay game loss.
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Cano, Abreu, Nady, Giambi, Betemit, Ransom, Cabrera, Cervelli and Pavano pitching. No Damon, Jeter or Rodriguez, Yankees feel they can handle Jays anyway. That should be red flag to Jays hitters.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Snider, Zaun and Halladay pitching. I rest my case above re Cito and his managing style. At very minimum he should be moving Lind down, and changing Rolen’s position. But this is Cito and the bad news is that this is it until 2010.
The result: Jays hammer Yankees 8-2. Thanks to great complete game win number 20 for Halladay and hitting up and down the lineup. As we suggested in the preview, this team can score big one night and then go cold for a week, IF ONLY they could be consistent this team would be a challenger no doubt. Lets see if they can carry this in to Baltimore tomorrow.
The good: 13 hit attack. Wells first two at bats, HR and single, 4RBIs. Jays 6/13 with runners in scoring position and still left ten on base. Snider 3-4. Lind back to form with two hits. Ten singles from these Jays tonight. Turning two double plays.
The bad: No not tonight… lets enjoy the Yankees losing.
The game: Top 1st: Gardner at bat, singles into CF. Cano at bat one on, grounds to Scutaro flip to Inglett on to Overbay double play ball, just what the doctor ordered. Two down for Abreu,fly ball out to Lind in LF for third out. Eleven pitches.
Bottom 1st Let’s see what the Jays hitters have brought tonight. Inglett leading off. Grounds to 2B Cano throw to Giambi, one down. Scutaro last night’s goat with his terrible throw away at 1B to allow two runs to score, grounds out to Giambi at 1B two down for Rios. Fly ball out to Gardner. Jays go quietly, no meekly more like it. Is that just eight pitches ?
Top 2nd: Nady at bat, fly ball out to Snider in RF tonight. That is his best position and let’s hope it will not be too long before he is out there everyday. Giambi with one down. Doubles into LF, the shift right was on and Lind’s throw weak and off the bag. One on one down for Betemit, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for the out, Giambi moves to 3B. Ransom at bat. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay for third out. Twenty nine pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Wells, has been sitting for half an hour DH tonight. Swings at first pitch though, good to see he is consistent. Grounds to Betemit, who drops the ball. Wells safe on the error. That would have been an easy out. Can Jays make them pay? Lind at bat, strikes out, Adam really is in an end of season slump. Head in the air and off the ball as he swings away. One down for Overbay. 3-1 count, Lyle is patient, takes ball four outside.Two on now with one down for Rolen. Scott this is where we all need a big HR here. Fly ball out to Gardner in CVF, runners have to hold. Snider at bat, moving up the order, good for Travis. Good time to cash in, singles into RF, Wels holds at 3B, bases loaded. Zaun at bat two down, this is probably Gregg’s last home game for the Jays. Takes ball three there a little too close Gregg. Grounds out to Giambi and that is one reason why he is history with this team. Thirty five pitches.
Top 3rd: Cabrera bunting pops it up foul but Zaun cannot get there, lines this one hard up the middle great highlight reel catch by Halladay. Cervelli grounds first pitch to Scutaro throw to Overbay for second out. Gardner doubles into RF corner, Cano doubles into RF corner, Gardner scores. 1-0 Yankees. Two down one on for Abreu. Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. 41 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett at bat, pops it up to shallow RF Nady, one down for Scutaro. Grounds to SS Ransom nice play and throw to Giambi for second out. Rios at bat. singles into LF. Finally a clean hit. Wells with one on and two down. Is Alex running ? seems like a long time since he did steal. Yes, he is going here and safe at 2B. Some aggressive play here for a change by the Jays. 3-1 count now on Vernon. Line drive into LF this one is out of here, HR Vernon,just clears the fence and Jays finally get a run and go out ahead of Yankees 2-1 Jays. Lind at bat, keep the line moving Adam. Grounds one hard off Pavano’s foot, no chance for Betemit throw and Lind safe at 1B. Overbay now keep the pressure on this guy Lyle. Pops it up foul to LF nice running catch by Cabrera for third out but Jays hit back to take the lead. 53 pitches.
Top 4th: Nady fly ball out to Rios in RF, one down. Giambi at bat with shift right on again and pops up foul at 3B. Rolen would have had that in normal fielding position. Come on Cito take note here that is the second at bat Giambi is going opposite field. Strikes out. Two down for Betemit. Strikes out. Good quick inning for Halladay here. 51 pitches. Now for the hitters to put this one away for him.
Bottom 4th: Rolen first pitch high fly ball to CF wall for Gardner. One down. Snider at bat. I like this kid, always seems to be thinking, does not swing at first pitch for a start. 3-1 count. Chops this one to 2B Cano throws the ball away at 1B. Would not have had Snider anyway. Zaun swings way off the ball, now singles this one up the middle past a diving Cano, two on for Inglett. Singles into RF, Snider scores. 3-1 Jays. Zaun moves to 2B and Inglett at 1B for Scutaro. 72 pitches. Grounds to SS throw to Cano for Inglett out but Zaun moves to 3B. Two on two down for Rios. Make me a believer Alex. You can break this one open. 3-0 count, and now walks on four pitches. Bases loaded for the big guy sitting on the bench tonight. Wells with bases loaded. Earn your money here Vernon. Good man, lines it into LF Zaun scores, Scutaro scores. 5-1 Jays. 4 RBIs tonight for Vernon. That’s it for Pavano. Here comes Girardi. Rios at 3B, Vernon at 1B for Lind at bat. Dan Giese now pitching. Lid high fly ball out to Gardnber in CF for third out. Jays have given Halladay something to work with now finally, Burnett must be sorry these guys were not doing this last night.
Top 5th: Ransom at bat 3-0 count and walks on four pitches,that is unusual for Roy. Cabrera with one on. Singles into RF corner, Ransom moves to 3B. Two on and no outs. Grounds to Scutaro on to Inglett on to Overbay double play ball. Perfect timing for Halladay. Cabrera scores 5-2 Jays. Two down for Gardner. Grounds to Inglett great diving stop and throw to Overbay not in time. First pitch, Gardner stealing, Cano grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. 65 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Can Jays hitters keep the line moving? Overbay at bat strikes out swinging. One down for Rolen. Singles into RF, no chance for diving Betemit. Snider at bat one down and one on. Doubles to the wall in CF Rolen scores from 1B. Snider’s sixth double this season 6-2 Jays. Zaun with Travis at 2B and one down. Full count, hits this one off the wall in right centre, Snider scores 7-2 Jays. Hit number nine for Jays.That’s it for Geise. David Robertson now pitching. Inglett at bat, grounds to Cano throw to Giambi for second out. Zaun to 3B. Scutaro now. Full count. Walks him high and outside pitch. Rios again, would love to get in on the action, not like that Alex, high fly ball first pitch swing for out to Nady in RF. Not the smartest at bat when he has just walked Scutaro, but then it is Alex.
Top 6th: Halladay with a nice comfortable lead here. He has not had many of these this season so deserves it. Abreu at bat. Grounds to 2B Inglett throw to Overbay for first out. Nady grounds out to Overbay at1B. Two down. Giambi, this time the shift does work, grounds first pitch to Inglett almost behind Overbay at 1B, throw to Lyle for third out and very quick three up and down for Roy. 70 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Wells at bat, Edwar Ramirez pitching. Vernon two hits and four RBIs tonight. Jays hitters are already 5/11 tonight go figure this team, someone. Vernon swings wildly at this one One down for Lind. Adam lines this one into right centre. One on one down for Overbay Overbay and Scutaro are the only ones without a hit tonight. Full count. Strikes out swinging over this one. Rolen with two down and one on. Grounds to Betemit at 3B throw to Cano to get Lind at 2B.
Top 7th: Betemit grounds to Overbay, throw to Halladay for out at 1B, one down for Ransom bounces first pitch back to Halladay throw to Overbay for second out. Cabrera strikes out, eight pitch inning for Halladay. 79 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Snider at bat, Humberto Sanchez now pitching. Pitcher number five for Yankees tonight. Lines one to LF corner but Cabrera runs it down for nice catch. Zaun with one down. Gregg 2-3 tonight. Walks, he has had a good evening. Top of the order again for Jays. Inglett his fifth at bat. Twelve hits and three walks will do that for a team. 3-0 count. Walks another. Two on and one down for Scutaro who is hitless tonight. Your big chance Marco. There you go Marco, singles into RF corner, Zaun scores 8-2 Jays. Inglett at 3B.Two on for Alex. Keep this going Alex, these are the Yankees, not like that, grounds to SS Ransom on to 2B Cano on to Giambi double play ball.
Top 8th: Cervelli at bat, strikes out on three pitches. Number 285 for Roy a career high.Gardner at bat, one down. 3-3 tonight, not this time grounds to Overbay throw to Halladay beats out Gardner at 1B, two down. Cano grounds out to Overbay. 88 pitches. He will be out for the ninth.
Bottom 8th: Wells at bat, Darrell Rasner now pitching. Grounds to Betemit throw to Giambi for first out. Lind at bat, 2-4 tonight, much better game for him, maybe he can finish this weekend hitting. Grounds out to Giambi. Two down. Overbay the only Jays hitter without a hit tonight. Not this time either, grounds to SS Ransom throw to Giambi for third out.
Top 9th: Can Halladay finish this one and get number twenty win? Abreu at bat, strikes out on three pitches, not tonight Bobby. Nady lines out first pitch to Snider in RF. Two down for Damon pinch hitting for Giambi, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay and Roy has win number twenty. Is he a happy guy ? Jays win this one 8-2 going away with a great all-round performance that we have not seen much of this season.
Hitting, fielding and Halladay on form for yet another complete game. In only 96 pitches.20 ground ball outs for Roy.
.
Preview: Lots here in this game, can Halladay win number twenty tonight ? Yankees are trying to match their longest winning streak of the season eight wins. Will Cito bounce back from his poor decision making last night OR worse still has nothing changed since his first exit from Toronto ? To many fans, the biggest knock against Cito, was having a team in 92 and 93 that didn’t need any managing and was made up of intense committed professionals who knew and did their jobs every day. Thus they fitted his style of passive indifference perfectly. The second knock was his inability to handle pitchers. He left them in too long and never changed them until the last minute which was usually too late if they were in trouble. Let them pitch out of trouble was the motto. Of course his predecessor Captain Hook was the opposite extreme and had no problems using three pitchers to get three outs. So far this season Cito has steered the middle path and enabled the great bullpen to do their work but also played the percentages which is about as far as this guy will gamble. Last night however he strayed from that philosophy. Whether or not he was still dewy- eyed over Burnett’s curtain call, but whatever his reason, Carlson was left in probably at least three hitters too many. Why was he pitching the tenth when he had already pitched a great inning ? Cito has at his disposal one of the best bullpens in baseball, there were several options some of who had already been warming up. But no, he left Jesse in far too long and Abreu who was 0-4 and had already struck out three times made him pay for that error. Cito should have noticed that Carlson was in trouble long before he loaded the bases, and even then he left him in. Strange decision, but probably playing the percentages in his mind at least, not the minds of the few who were left. I never understand people who leave a game tied at two in the top of the ninth ???? Can Jays hold Yankees win streak ? Not as a result of Halladay but because this team is underachieving bigtime with the bat up and down the lineup. But especially so with the heart of the order Rios, Wells and Overbay. It is very sad when the team leading RBI guy has less than 80. But we all know they could also score 20 tonight. Cito and the coaching staff still need work. The hitting has not improved, they are still awful with runners in scoring position. They have scored a total of three ! runs in the last three games. Can’t get worse than that, although the optimists would say they are improving each game, zero, one and two in the last three games. That is a joke friends. The oft quoted ten game run streak was a once in a decade achievement and not normal for this poor group of athletes. Yankees can’t wait to sweep them tonight at home for the first time since 2003. Ouch… Interesting stat. Many fans are not happy with BJ Ryan despite 32 saves after coming back from Tommy John surgery but Rivera only has 38 saves…. BJ has had a very good season.
What they said: Manager Girardi on Abreu grand slam. "That's the amazing thing about the game. You can have an awful day and in your last at-bat, you can have the biggest hit of the night. That's why you have to be able to turn the page and he's really good at doing that."
Halladay on potential twenty game win: "It's obviously a great milestone. It would mean a lot, but I think that it's always reflected more so on the team than anything." (he is 100% right on that. Roy could pitch a complete game and has done and still lose with this team.)
Pitching tonight: Halladay (19-11, 2.81 ERA) v Pavano (4-1, 4.99 ERA)
Halladay is trying for his first 20-win season since 2003 when he finished with 22 en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award. Halladay is 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA in five starts against Yankees this season, and has won both of his home outings against them, posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings. Halladay is 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 29 starts and two relief appearances against Yankees. He is 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA against them at Rogers Centre.
Parvano is 2-2 with a 4.65 ERA in six career starts against Toronto. On Aug. 29 against them, he allowed one run in six innings to gain credit for a 2-1 win. That sounds like a typical Halladay game loss.
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Cano, Abreu, Nady, Giambi, Betemit, Ransom, Cabrera, Cervelli and Pavano pitching. No Damon, Jeter or Rodriguez, Yankees feel they can handle Jays anyway. That should be red flag to Jays hitters.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Snider, Zaun and Halladay pitching. I rest my case above re Cito and his managing style. At very minimum he should be moving Lind down, and changing Rolen’s position. But this is Cito and the bad news is that this is it until 2010.
The result: Jays hammer Yankees 8-2. Thanks to great complete game win number 20 for Halladay and hitting up and down the lineup. As we suggested in the preview, this team can score big one night and then go cold for a week, IF ONLY they could be consistent this team would be a challenger no doubt. Lets see if they can carry this in to Baltimore tomorrow.
The good: 13 hit attack. Wells first two at bats, HR and single, 4RBIs. Jays 6/13 with runners in scoring position and still left ten on base. Snider 3-4. Lind back to form with two hits. Ten singles from these Jays tonight. Turning two double plays.
The bad: No not tonight… lets enjoy the Yankees losing.
The game: Top 1st: Gardner at bat, singles into CF. Cano at bat one on, grounds to Scutaro flip to Inglett on to Overbay double play ball, just what the doctor ordered. Two down for Abreu,fly ball out to Lind in LF for third out. Eleven pitches.
Bottom 1st Let’s see what the Jays hitters have brought tonight. Inglett leading off. Grounds to 2B Cano throw to Giambi, one down. Scutaro last night’s goat with his terrible throw away at 1B to allow two runs to score, grounds out to Giambi at 1B two down for Rios. Fly ball out to Gardner. Jays go quietly, no meekly more like it. Is that just eight pitches ?
Top 2nd: Nady at bat, fly ball out to Snider in RF tonight. That is his best position and let’s hope it will not be too long before he is out there everyday. Giambi with one down. Doubles into LF, the shift right was on and Lind’s throw weak and off the bag. One on one down for Betemit, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for the out, Giambi moves to 3B. Ransom at bat. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay for third out. Twenty nine pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Wells, has been sitting for half an hour DH tonight. Swings at first pitch though, good to see he is consistent. Grounds to Betemit, who drops the ball. Wells safe on the error. That would have been an easy out. Can Jays make them pay? Lind at bat, strikes out, Adam really is in an end of season slump. Head in the air and off the ball as he swings away. One down for Overbay. 3-1 count, Lyle is patient, takes ball four outside.Two on now with one down for Rolen. Scott this is where we all need a big HR here. Fly ball out to Gardner in CVF, runners have to hold. Snider at bat, moving up the order, good for Travis. Good time to cash in, singles into RF, Wels holds at 3B, bases loaded. Zaun at bat two down, this is probably Gregg’s last home game for the Jays. Takes ball three there a little too close Gregg. Grounds out to Giambi and that is one reason why he is history with this team. Thirty five pitches.
Top 3rd: Cabrera bunting pops it up foul but Zaun cannot get there, lines this one hard up the middle great highlight reel catch by Halladay. Cervelli grounds first pitch to Scutaro throw to Overbay for second out. Gardner doubles into RF corner, Cano doubles into RF corner, Gardner scores. 1-0 Yankees. Two down one on for Abreu. Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. 41 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett at bat, pops it up to shallow RF Nady, one down for Scutaro. Grounds to SS Ransom nice play and throw to Giambi for second out. Rios at bat. singles into LF. Finally a clean hit. Wells with one on and two down. Is Alex running ? seems like a long time since he did steal. Yes, he is going here and safe at 2B. Some aggressive play here for a change by the Jays. 3-1 count now on Vernon. Line drive into LF this one is out of here, HR Vernon,just clears the fence and Jays finally get a run and go out ahead of Yankees 2-1 Jays. Lind at bat, keep the line moving Adam. Grounds one hard off Pavano’s foot, no chance for Betemit throw and Lind safe at 1B. Overbay now keep the pressure on this guy Lyle. Pops it up foul to LF nice running catch by Cabrera for third out but Jays hit back to take the lead. 53 pitches.
Top 4th: Nady fly ball out to Rios in RF, one down. Giambi at bat with shift right on again and pops up foul at 3B. Rolen would have had that in normal fielding position. Come on Cito take note here that is the second at bat Giambi is going opposite field. Strikes out. Two down for Betemit. Strikes out. Good quick inning for Halladay here. 51 pitches. Now for the hitters to put this one away for him.
Bottom 4th: Rolen first pitch high fly ball to CF wall for Gardner. One down. Snider at bat. I like this kid, always seems to be thinking, does not swing at first pitch for a start. 3-1 count. Chops this one to 2B Cano throws the ball away at 1B. Would not have had Snider anyway. Zaun swings way off the ball, now singles this one up the middle past a diving Cano, two on for Inglett. Singles into RF, Snider scores. 3-1 Jays. Zaun moves to 2B and Inglett at 1B for Scutaro. 72 pitches. Grounds to SS throw to Cano for Inglett out but Zaun moves to 3B. Two on two down for Rios. Make me a believer Alex. You can break this one open. 3-0 count, and now walks on four pitches. Bases loaded for the big guy sitting on the bench tonight. Wells with bases loaded. Earn your money here Vernon. Good man, lines it into LF Zaun scores, Scutaro scores. 5-1 Jays. 4 RBIs tonight for Vernon. That’s it for Pavano. Here comes Girardi. Rios at 3B, Vernon at 1B for Lind at bat. Dan Giese now pitching. Lid high fly ball out to Gardnber in CF for third out. Jays have given Halladay something to work with now finally, Burnett must be sorry these guys were not doing this last night.
Top 5th: Ransom at bat 3-0 count and walks on four pitches,that is unusual for Roy. Cabrera with one on. Singles into RF corner, Ransom moves to 3B. Two on and no outs. Grounds to Scutaro on to Inglett on to Overbay double play ball. Perfect timing for Halladay. Cabrera scores 5-2 Jays. Two down for Gardner. Grounds to Inglett great diving stop and throw to Overbay not in time. First pitch, Gardner stealing, Cano grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. 65 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Can Jays hitters keep the line moving? Overbay at bat strikes out swinging. One down for Rolen. Singles into RF, no chance for diving Betemit. Snider at bat one down and one on. Doubles to the wall in CF Rolen scores from 1B. Snider’s sixth double this season 6-2 Jays. Zaun with Travis at 2B and one down. Full count, hits this one off the wall in right centre, Snider scores 7-2 Jays. Hit number nine for Jays.That’s it for Geise. David Robertson now pitching. Inglett at bat, grounds to Cano throw to Giambi for second out. Zaun to 3B. Scutaro now. Full count. Walks him high and outside pitch. Rios again, would love to get in on the action, not like that Alex, high fly ball first pitch swing for out to Nady in RF. Not the smartest at bat when he has just walked Scutaro, but then it is Alex.
Top 6th: Halladay with a nice comfortable lead here. He has not had many of these this season so deserves it. Abreu at bat. Grounds to 2B Inglett throw to Overbay for first out. Nady grounds out to Overbay at1B. Two down. Giambi, this time the shift does work, grounds first pitch to Inglett almost behind Overbay at 1B, throw to Lyle for third out and very quick three up and down for Roy. 70 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Wells at bat, Edwar Ramirez pitching. Vernon two hits and four RBIs tonight. Jays hitters are already 5/11 tonight go figure this team, someone. Vernon swings wildly at this one One down for Lind. Adam lines this one into right centre. One on one down for Overbay Overbay and Scutaro are the only ones without a hit tonight. Full count. Strikes out swinging over this one. Rolen with two down and one on. Grounds to Betemit at 3B throw to Cano to get Lind at 2B.
Top 7th: Betemit grounds to Overbay, throw to Halladay for out at 1B, one down for Ransom bounces first pitch back to Halladay throw to Overbay for second out. Cabrera strikes out, eight pitch inning for Halladay. 79 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Snider at bat, Humberto Sanchez now pitching. Pitcher number five for Yankees tonight. Lines one to LF corner but Cabrera runs it down for nice catch. Zaun with one down. Gregg 2-3 tonight. Walks, he has had a good evening. Top of the order again for Jays. Inglett his fifth at bat. Twelve hits and three walks will do that for a team. 3-0 count. Walks another. Two on and one down for Scutaro who is hitless tonight. Your big chance Marco. There you go Marco, singles into RF corner, Zaun scores 8-2 Jays. Inglett at 3B.Two on for Alex. Keep this going Alex, these are the Yankees, not like that, grounds to SS Ransom on to 2B Cano on to Giambi double play ball.
Top 8th: Cervelli at bat, strikes out on three pitches. Number 285 for Roy a career high.Gardner at bat, one down. 3-3 tonight, not this time grounds to Overbay throw to Halladay beats out Gardner at 1B, two down. Cano grounds out to Overbay. 88 pitches. He will be out for the ninth.
Bottom 8th: Wells at bat, Darrell Rasner now pitching. Grounds to Betemit throw to Giambi for first out. Lind at bat, 2-4 tonight, much better game for him, maybe he can finish this weekend hitting. Grounds out to Giambi. Two down. Overbay the only Jays hitter without a hit tonight. Not this time either, grounds to SS Ransom throw to Giambi for third out.
Top 9th: Can Halladay finish this one and get number twenty win? Abreu at bat, strikes out on three pitches, not tonight Bobby. Nady lines out first pitch to Snider in RF. Two down for Damon pinch hitting for Giambi, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay and Roy has win number twenty. Is he a happy guy ? Jays win this one 8-2 going away with a great all-round performance that we have not seen much of this season.
Hitting, fielding and Halladay on form for yet another complete game. In only 96 pitches.20 ground ball outs for Roy.
.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Burnett's last gem ruined by Scutaro and Cito errors
Toronto v New York Game two, Wednesday September 24, 2008.
If Cito and coaching staff had not already been anointed and discussing contract on the table, I seriously believe Rogers /Jays management would be looking at new faces. Take out that ten game win streak and what do we have? This team is just not hitting. One run in eighteen innings before today’s game is hardly playoff material. Tonight Burnett going for his win number nineteen against a Phil Hughes 0-4 this season after injured rib caused him to miss most of the season. You know that is a recipe for disaster for the Jays tonight and they will not be able to blame the umpire this time. Yankees have also won six straight and nine of 11 but AJ is one guy who can stop them, but once again Jays have to score more than one run.
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Cano, Abreu, Nady, Giambi, Betemit, Ransom,Miranda, Moeller and pitching. Second team for the Yankees tonight which is an even worse omen. No Damon, Jeter or Rodriguez.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Snider, Zaun and Burnett pitching. (the first team) I don’t think Lind should be batting behind Wells, should probably switch with Rolen. He needs to get his confidence back. His hitting is not good right now but then who is hitting?
Pitching: Burnett (18-10, 4.18 ERA) Hughes. 0-4. Yankees have struggled against Burnett, who is 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA in four starts against them this season. Burnett, who is 8-1 with a 3.06 ERA in his last 12 overall starts. Burnett is 6-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 10 career starts against New York.
Result: Yankees win with grand slam in the tenth by Abreu 6-2. Tough no decision for Burnett after pitching so well for eight. Is that his last game for Jays? Did Cito blow this one ? Scutaro’s error certainly made it a tie game instead of 2-1 lead for Jays in the top of the ninth and is the goat tonight.
The good: Burnett a tremendous effort. Rolen HR, good execution in the 1st by Jays hitters.
The bad: Scutaro game losing error, Cito and his pitching judgement which backfired tonight. Jays 0-4 with runners in scoring position. Priority number one for Dunedin but do Jays have the coaching staff to make a difference ?
The game: Top 1st: Gardner singles to LF, trying for two and great throw by Snider to 2B Inglett to get Gardner out. That was a Forrest Gump moment “stupid is stupid be”. Gardner trying to impress manager ? I think Damon is safe for now. Cano grounds to SS Scutaro to 1B Overbay. Two down for Abreu pops up to SS Scutaro. Quick inning for AJ.
Bottom 1st: Inglett doubles down the line into LF. Nice start. Scutaro, is he bunting ? No, but grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda, and moves Inglett to 3B. Key though is can Alex or Vernon bring him in from 3B ? Rios gets hold of this one, a high fly ball to LF Nady, Inglett scores and Jays go ahead 1-0. Good execution for a change by Jays. Wells with two down singles to CF. They are jumping on Hughes this first inning as they should. Lind grounds out, to 1B Miranda. His troubles continue. I think he should move down the order and take some pressure off him.
Top 2nd: Nady strikes out. Giambi strikes out. Two quick outs. Betemit infield single to SS Scutaro. Ransom full count and walks, Betemit moves to 2B. Miranda fly ball out to LF Snider.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda. One down. Rolen strikes out.Snider strikes out. Jays quiet again.
Top 3rd: Moeller singles to CF. One on for Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to SS Scutaro, to get Moeller. One down one on for Cano, singles to SS Scutaro short, Gardner moves to 2B, Scutaro trying a Johnny Mac play throws it away at 1B. There was no chance there, that was reckless brain spasm play by Scutaro. Gardner moves to 3B and Cano to 2B. Scutaro's error. Still only one down but two runners in scoring position. Abreu strikes out. Two down for Nady singles to CF, Gardner and Cano score. Yankees take the lead 2-1. There Scutaro’s error is big as Cano would have had to hold at 3B. Giambi grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. Now that error is even greater, this should be a tied game. A small thing but I am sure Burnett is not happy.
Bottom 3rd: Zaun fly ball out to LF Nady. No way is Gregg striking out. Inglett fly ball to CF Gardner. Scutaro grounds to Hughes throw to 1B Miranda and Jays go quietly.
Top 4th: Betemit doubles to CF. Ransom grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Miranda singles to CF, Betemit moves to 3B. Two on again and only one out. Moeller strikes out. Two down. Gardner strikes out. Great pitching by Burnett to get out of big trouble.
Bottom 4th: Rios doubles to LF Good start, Alex is producing tonight. Wells grounds to 3B Betemit throw to 1B Miranda. Alex has to hold at 2B. Lind strikes out. Please Cito get this kid out of his misery, you can see him tighten up in his at bats. Too much pressure for him. Overbay lines out to SS Ransom. Jays hitters have three tries and cannot bring in the runner at 2B. Cito this is the problem you and your staff should be working on bigtime.
Top 5th: Cano grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Abreu strikes out.Two down for Nady fly ball out to RF Rios. Good inning for AJ, he is more than doing his part.
Bottom 5th: Rolen grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda.Snider grounds to Hughes throw to 1B Miranda. Zaun singles to CF. No messing around with taking strikes tonight for Gregg. Inglett fly ball out to LF Nady. Jays leave another one on.
Top 6th: Giambi walks on four pitches. Betemit grounds to 2B Inglett on to Scutaro, that was not a good play Joe but Scutaro manages throw to 1B Overbay, Betemit just out. Two down. Ransom strikes out. Another quick one for AJ but helped by that double play.
Bottom 6th: Top of Jays order, Hghes is making it look very hard for Jays hitters tonight. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Abreu. One down for Rios grounds to 2B Cano on to 1B Miranda. Two down for Wells. Fly ball out to CF Gardner. Looks as if Burnett will have to be perfect tonight there is nothing coming from the Jays bats again tonight for the third game this week.
Top 7th: Miranda strikes out. Moeller fly ball out to CF Wells. Two down for Gardner strikes out. Three up and down for AJ pitching very well but pitch count is nearing 100, you know he wants to stay in to get the win.
Bottom 7th: Lind fly ball out to CF Gardner. One down for Overbay, strikes out. Rolen, here we go, gets hold of this one, from my seat this is going out all the way. HR Scott to LF and this game is tied up 2-2. Snider strikes out.
Top 8th: Burnett still out there with pitch count over 100. Cano strikes out. Abreu strikes out. Burnett is just getting stronger. Nady with two down fly ball out to CF Wells. AJ gets a standing ovation all the way back to the dugout. Is this the last time we shall see him pitching for Jays? Eleven strike outs tonight and but for Scutaro error in the third he would be leaving game 2-1 lead and BJ Ryan would be preparing for the ninth. Little things and Jays have lots of those recently and throughout the season.
Bottom 8th: Can Jays hitters get one run for AJ ? Zaun strikes out looking Gregg ? not again.. that is the first time you have not been aggressive tonight. Top of the order. Inglett ground sto 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda. Two down for tonight’s goat. Scutaro fliy ball out to CF ed out to Gardner.
Top 9th: Not BJ Ryan I am afraid. Carlson now pitching. Giambi hit by a pitch. One on and here comes Damon pinch-running for Giambi. Betemit pops up to 2B Inglett. One down for Ransom, Damon stealing, Zaun throw to 2B Inglett, lots of time and Damon is out. Nice throw Gregg.
Ransom strikes out.
Bottom 9th: Damon in as designated hitter. Veras now pitching to the big bats. Alex and Vernon have hits tonight. Can they do it here ? Rios grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Miranda. One down for Wells fly ball out to CF Gardner. Two down for Lind, strikes out. Cito are you watching this kid ? Give him a break here. Take the pressure off him.
Top 10th. Extra innings for Jays. No Ryan though, Carlson in for a second inning, Cito is rolling the dice here, not his usual one inning and with such a great bullpen plus Halladay pitching tomorrow they should be available. Miranda doubles to RF. Cabrera pinch-running for Miranda.
Moeller full count and walks. Carlson is staying in there ???? Gardner trying to bunt and not a great at bat but finally manages it to 3B Rolen throw to 2B Inglett, Cabrera to 3B, Moeller to 2B.
Cano hit by a pitch to load the bases, still no Cito. Abreu with bases loaded, there it goes HR to RF, this game is blown open 6-2 Yankees. Cito you blew this one by not taking out Carlson here. Definitely not your style to leave a guy in like that, you were gambling on his previous inning but that is why you have a (very good) bullpen. This one will come back to haunt you for the naysayers who remember your last stint as Manager and the handling of pitching staff. Still only one out for Nady and Carlson still pitching. Nady grounds out to 1B Overbay. Two down here comes Damon. Singles to RF. Carlson is in there to finish this one off. Betemit with one and two down pops up to SS Scutaro.
Bottom 10th: Nady in at 1B. Cabrera in at LF. Ponson now pitching to finish this one up.. Overbay grounds out to 1B Nady with the crowd that are left groaning. Not happy with Lyle. Rolen grounds back to Ponson throw to 1B Nady. Two down for Snider fly ball out to LF Cabrera. Yankees didn’t need Rivera tonight. Very disappointing loss.
What they are saying: A-Rod. "The last two weeks we've shown the kind of baseball we can play. It's just very unfortunate and frustrating that we weren't able to put stretches like this together more often. It was a very inconsistent year for all of us. With the talent that we have in this clubhouse, that's the way we should have played all year." ( I think he could be talking about the Blue Jays)
Burnett on future: "My plans, my goals are to finish out a healthy season. And then we'll go from there."
Hughes on his early season problems: "I really felt like I would have gotten out of it, it's just the injury held me back. I never really got an opportunity to dig myself out of that hole."
Manager Cito Gaston. “Third place is certainly better than fourth place," "With some luck we wouldn't be playing for third place, we'd just about have it wrapped up. But to finish third is very important for us."
Gaston said of last night home umpire Vanover's strike zone "Guys were complaining about it, but I'm not back there, I can't see it. That's a lot of strikeouts." (14) tied a season high.
If Cito and coaching staff had not already been anointed and discussing contract on the table, I seriously believe Rogers /Jays management would be looking at new faces. Take out that ten game win streak and what do we have? This team is just not hitting. One run in eighteen innings before today’s game is hardly playoff material. Tonight Burnett going for his win number nineteen against a Phil Hughes 0-4 this season after injured rib caused him to miss most of the season. You know that is a recipe for disaster for the Jays tonight and they will not be able to blame the umpire this time. Yankees have also won six straight and nine of 11 but AJ is one guy who can stop them, but once again Jays have to score more than one run.
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Cano, Abreu, Nady, Giambi, Betemit, Ransom,Miranda, Moeller and pitching. Second team for the Yankees tonight which is an even worse omen. No Damon, Jeter or Rodriguez.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Snider, Zaun and Burnett pitching. (the first team) I don’t think Lind should be batting behind Wells, should probably switch with Rolen. He needs to get his confidence back. His hitting is not good right now but then who is hitting?
Pitching: Burnett (18-10, 4.18 ERA) Hughes. 0-4. Yankees have struggled against Burnett, who is 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA in four starts against them this season. Burnett, who is 8-1 with a 3.06 ERA in his last 12 overall starts. Burnett is 6-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 10 career starts against New York.
Result: Yankees win with grand slam in the tenth by Abreu 6-2. Tough no decision for Burnett after pitching so well for eight. Is that his last game for Jays? Did Cito blow this one ? Scutaro’s error certainly made it a tie game instead of 2-1 lead for Jays in the top of the ninth and is the goat tonight.
The good: Burnett a tremendous effort. Rolen HR, good execution in the 1st by Jays hitters.
The bad: Scutaro game losing error, Cito and his pitching judgement which backfired tonight. Jays 0-4 with runners in scoring position. Priority number one for Dunedin but do Jays have the coaching staff to make a difference ?
The game: Top 1st: Gardner singles to LF, trying for two and great throw by Snider to 2B Inglett to get Gardner out. That was a Forrest Gump moment “stupid is stupid be”. Gardner trying to impress manager ? I think Damon is safe for now. Cano grounds to SS Scutaro to 1B Overbay. Two down for Abreu pops up to SS Scutaro. Quick inning for AJ.
Bottom 1st: Inglett doubles down the line into LF. Nice start. Scutaro, is he bunting ? No, but grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda, and moves Inglett to 3B. Key though is can Alex or Vernon bring him in from 3B ? Rios gets hold of this one, a high fly ball to LF Nady, Inglett scores and Jays go ahead 1-0. Good execution for a change by Jays. Wells with two down singles to CF. They are jumping on Hughes this first inning as they should. Lind grounds out, to 1B Miranda. His troubles continue. I think he should move down the order and take some pressure off him.
Top 2nd: Nady strikes out. Giambi strikes out. Two quick outs. Betemit infield single to SS Scutaro. Ransom full count and walks, Betemit moves to 2B. Miranda fly ball out to LF Snider.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda. One down. Rolen strikes out.Snider strikes out. Jays quiet again.
Top 3rd: Moeller singles to CF. One on for Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to SS Scutaro, to get Moeller. One down one on for Cano, singles to SS Scutaro short, Gardner moves to 2B, Scutaro trying a Johnny Mac play throws it away at 1B. There was no chance there, that was reckless brain spasm play by Scutaro. Gardner moves to 3B and Cano to 2B. Scutaro's error. Still only one down but two runners in scoring position. Abreu strikes out. Two down for Nady singles to CF, Gardner and Cano score. Yankees take the lead 2-1. There Scutaro’s error is big as Cano would have had to hold at 3B. Giambi grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. Now that error is even greater, this should be a tied game. A small thing but I am sure Burnett is not happy.
Bottom 3rd: Zaun fly ball out to LF Nady. No way is Gregg striking out. Inglett fly ball to CF Gardner. Scutaro grounds to Hughes throw to 1B Miranda and Jays go quietly.
Top 4th: Betemit doubles to CF. Ransom grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Miranda singles to CF, Betemit moves to 3B. Two on again and only one out. Moeller strikes out. Two down. Gardner strikes out. Great pitching by Burnett to get out of big trouble.
Bottom 4th: Rios doubles to LF Good start, Alex is producing tonight. Wells grounds to 3B Betemit throw to 1B Miranda. Alex has to hold at 2B. Lind strikes out. Please Cito get this kid out of his misery, you can see him tighten up in his at bats. Too much pressure for him. Overbay lines out to SS Ransom. Jays hitters have three tries and cannot bring in the runner at 2B. Cito this is the problem you and your staff should be working on bigtime.
Top 5th: Cano grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Abreu strikes out.Two down for Nady fly ball out to RF Rios. Good inning for AJ, he is more than doing his part.
Bottom 5th: Rolen grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda.Snider grounds to Hughes throw to 1B Miranda. Zaun singles to CF. No messing around with taking strikes tonight for Gregg. Inglett fly ball out to LF Nady. Jays leave another one on.
Top 6th: Giambi walks on four pitches. Betemit grounds to 2B Inglett on to Scutaro, that was not a good play Joe but Scutaro manages throw to 1B Overbay, Betemit just out. Two down. Ransom strikes out. Another quick one for AJ but helped by that double play.
Bottom 6th: Top of Jays order, Hghes is making it look very hard for Jays hitters tonight. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Abreu. One down for Rios grounds to 2B Cano on to 1B Miranda. Two down for Wells. Fly ball out to CF Gardner. Looks as if Burnett will have to be perfect tonight there is nothing coming from the Jays bats again tonight for the third game this week.
Top 7th: Miranda strikes out. Moeller fly ball out to CF Wells. Two down for Gardner strikes out. Three up and down for AJ pitching very well but pitch count is nearing 100, you know he wants to stay in to get the win.
Bottom 7th: Lind fly ball out to CF Gardner. One down for Overbay, strikes out. Rolen, here we go, gets hold of this one, from my seat this is going out all the way. HR Scott to LF and this game is tied up 2-2. Snider strikes out.
Top 8th: Burnett still out there with pitch count over 100. Cano strikes out. Abreu strikes out. Burnett is just getting stronger. Nady with two down fly ball out to CF Wells. AJ gets a standing ovation all the way back to the dugout. Is this the last time we shall see him pitching for Jays? Eleven strike outs tonight and but for Scutaro error in the third he would be leaving game 2-1 lead and BJ Ryan would be preparing for the ninth. Little things and Jays have lots of those recently and throughout the season.
Bottom 8th: Can Jays hitters get one run for AJ ? Zaun strikes out looking Gregg ? not again.. that is the first time you have not been aggressive tonight. Top of the order. Inglett ground sto 2B Cano throw to 1B Miranda. Two down for tonight’s goat. Scutaro fliy ball out to CF ed out to Gardner.
Top 9th: Not BJ Ryan I am afraid. Carlson now pitching. Giambi hit by a pitch. One on and here comes Damon pinch-running for Giambi. Betemit pops up to 2B Inglett. One down for Ransom, Damon stealing, Zaun throw to 2B Inglett, lots of time and Damon is out. Nice throw Gregg.
Ransom strikes out.
Bottom 9th: Damon in as designated hitter. Veras now pitching to the big bats. Alex and Vernon have hits tonight. Can they do it here ? Rios grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Miranda. One down for Wells fly ball out to CF Gardner. Two down for Lind, strikes out. Cito are you watching this kid ? Give him a break here. Take the pressure off him.
Top 10th. Extra innings for Jays. No Ryan though, Carlson in for a second inning, Cito is rolling the dice here, not his usual one inning and with such a great bullpen plus Halladay pitching tomorrow they should be available. Miranda doubles to RF. Cabrera pinch-running for Miranda.
Moeller full count and walks. Carlson is staying in there ???? Gardner trying to bunt and not a great at bat but finally manages it to 3B Rolen throw to 2B Inglett, Cabrera to 3B, Moeller to 2B.
Cano hit by a pitch to load the bases, still no Cito. Abreu with bases loaded, there it goes HR to RF, this game is blown open 6-2 Yankees. Cito you blew this one by not taking out Carlson here. Definitely not your style to leave a guy in like that, you were gambling on his previous inning but that is why you have a (very good) bullpen. This one will come back to haunt you for the naysayers who remember your last stint as Manager and the handling of pitching staff. Still only one out for Nady and Carlson still pitching. Nady grounds out to 1B Overbay. Two down here comes Damon. Singles to RF. Carlson is in there to finish this one off. Betemit with one and two down pops up to SS Scutaro.
Bottom 10th: Nady in at 1B. Cabrera in at LF. Ponson now pitching to finish this one up.. Overbay grounds out to 1B Nady with the crowd that are left groaning. Not happy with Lyle. Rolen grounds back to Ponson throw to 1B Nady. Two down for Snider fly ball out to LF Cabrera. Yankees didn’t need Rivera tonight. Very disappointing loss.
What they are saying: A-Rod. "The last two weeks we've shown the kind of baseball we can play. It's just very unfortunate and frustrating that we weren't able to put stretches like this together more often. It was a very inconsistent year for all of us. With the talent that we have in this clubhouse, that's the way we should have played all year." ( I think he could be talking about the Blue Jays)
Burnett on future: "My plans, my goals are to finish out a healthy season. And then we'll go from there."
Hughes on his early season problems: "I really felt like I would have gotten out of it, it's just the injury held me back. I never really got an opportunity to dig myself out of that hole."
Manager Cito Gaston. “Third place is certainly better than fourth place," "With some luck we wouldn't be playing for third place, we'd just about have it wrapped up. But to finish third is very important for us."
Gaston said of last night home umpire Vanover's strike zone "Guys were complaining about it, but I'm not back there, I can't see it. That's a lot of strikeouts." (14) tied a season high.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bring back Denbo and Gibbons, Jays leave eight on base and go 1/5 with runners in scoring position.
Toronto v New York, Tuesday September 23, 2008.
Preview: Jays have chance for payback tonight to knock Yankees out of playoffs by winning. That would be sweet. Does not look like a big crowd tonight at the start, Mr Rogers would not like all those blue seats for a series with Yankees that normally sells 40,000 for each game, there must be under 30,000 tonight.
Pitchers: Litsch 12-8. v Mussina 18-9
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Damon, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Nady, Cano, Ransom, Molina and Mussina.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Litsch pitching.
Result: Jays lose 3-1. Same old story, good pitching, lousy hitting with runners in scoring position, poor baserunning by Scutaro, poor fielding judgement by Inglett. Terrible hitting by Zaun. Six of the lineup gets hits but not at the right time, do Jays hitters choke ? One run now in the last two games. I think Cito and coaching staff had better get working on this, I thought they were supposed to improve the hitting? Does not look like it from my seat. Perhaps JP should hold on that contract extension for Cito for a few months..
The good: Litsch goes seven innings and kept them in the game. Bullpen also keeps it close. Overbay covering Inglett’s poor throw in the 8th and Lyle getting runner at 2B
The bad: Goats Scutaro, Inglett and Zaun but other hitters as well. Just a poor game all round hitting.
The game: Top 1st: Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B 1B Overbay. One down. Damon hitting in Jeter’s position, grounds out to 1B Overbay two down. Abreu grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. Good first inning for Jesse.
Bottom 1st: Inglett fly ball out to CF Gardner. One down doe Scutaro, doubles to CF and is trying for triple. CF Gardner great throw to cut off 2B Cano on to 3B Rodriguez, Scutaro is out.That was a very poor call Marco. That should be one out and you in scoring position for the two big bats, even if we all have less confidence in Rios and Wells brining you in from 2B. Wild pitch here that would have put Scutaro at 3B. These errors do not show in the scorecard but figure huge. Rios strikes out.
Top 2nd: A-Rod grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Big out for Litsch. Giambi singles to CF. Nady doubles to CF, Giambi moves to 3B. Two on and no outs. Cano grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay, Giambi scores and, Nady moves to 3B. 1-0 Yankees. Good execution but I think Inglett could have been in closer to save the run, and as it happens that hit was not hard. Citop playing the percentages and give up a run for the out this early in the game. Ransom walks. Two on two down. Molina strikes out. Yankees strike first.
Bottom 2nd: Wells strikes out. Lind singles to LF. Overbay strikes out. Rolen strikes out. Mussina strikes out the side, Jays hitters do not like some of the calls. BUT it is the same for both teams.
Top 3rd: Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Damon grounds out to 1B Overbay. Two down for Abreu, grounds to shortstop Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Amother good inning for Litsch.
Bottom 3rd: Zaun strikes out. Snider hits this one off Mussina’s elbow with the ball ricocheting into foul territory between home plate and 3B. Here come trainer Gene Monahan and manager Joe Girardi to check on him. Mussina says he is ok. He wants that number twenty win and if he doesn’t get win today he will not get chance for two more starts. One on for Inglett. Inglett grounds to 2B Cano throw to SS Ransom on to 1B Giambi. double play to end that one.
Top 4th: A-Rod grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. A-Rod out for second time. Giambi no question with this one, this is out of here HR to CF and Yankees are 2-0. Nady strikes out.Cano pops up to SS Scutaro for third out.
Bottom 4th: Mussina out there so elbow must be ok. Wait until tomorrow. Scutaro grounds back to Mussina throw to 1B Giambi. Rios singles to CF. Wells grounds to SS Ransom throw to 2B Cano to 1B Giambi, Rios moves up to 2B. Another in scoring position here. Lind grounds out to Mussina.
Top 5th: Ransom strikes out. Molina fly ball out to CF Wells. Gardner triples to CF. Damon strikes out. Jesse pitches himself out of trouble leaving runner at 3B.
Bottom 5th: Overbay grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi for one out. Rolen fly ball out to RF Abreu. Zaun strikes out again looking for second time.
Top 6th: Abreu strikes out. A-Rod strikes out. Giambi strikes out. Jesse strikes out the side and three very good hitters.
Bottom 6th: Coke now pitching. Mussina has done enough innings for a win so why not get that elbow into some ice. Snider singles to RF. Inglett strikes out. One down for Scutaro. Here comes the manager. Bruney now pitching. Scutaro strikes out. Rios strikes out.
Top 7th: Nady pops up to 1B Overbay. One down for Cano doubles to CF. Wild pitch Cano moves up to 3B. Zaun passed ball, and here comes Cano and looks as if Jesse gets him but umpire calls him safe and run scores, 3-0 Yankees. Jesse is furious here comes Cito. No luck changing the call. Guy two rows in front of me shows everyone his digital photograph, Litsch did get Cano, umpire made bad call. Interesting that the fans have this technology but umpires still rely on sight. One day perhaps. Ransom lines out to SS Scutaro. Molina strikes out. But damage is done and it is worse knowing that he was out at home plate and that it should still be 2-0 but Jays are getting nothing tonight.
Bottom 7th: Wells grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi. One down. Another pitching change ! Girardi is another Captain Hook. Marte now pitching. Lind singles to CF. One on one down for Overbay patient at bat !! full count and walks, Lind moves to 2B. That’s it for Marte, third pitcher of the inning. Chamberlain now pitching. Rolen singles to CF, Lind scores, Overbay moves to 2B. Zaun strikes out for third time tonight. Wild pitch, Overbay tmoves to 3B and Rolen to 2B. Two now in scoring position for Snider, strikes out. Yet again great opportunity lost.
Top 8th:
Tallet now pitching. Litsch had very good outing, too bad he cannot hit as well. He is getting nothing much from his hitters tonight, Gardner singles to 2B Inglett, Inglett tries to throw him out at 1B and overthrows, there was no way he could have got him, poor judgement Joe. Gardner going to 2B but Lyle great recovery and throw to Scutaro to get him. Joe is very lucky there.
Damon fly ball out to RF Rios. Abreu singles to CF. A-Rod strikes out. Crowd loves that.
Bottom 8th: Inglett grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Giambi. Scutaro grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi. Two down. Rios beats out infield single to SS. Wells infield single to 3B Rios moves to 2B. Some speed now from Jays hitters. On Ransom's error, both runners move up and into scoring position. Lind now intentional walk to load bases. Wilkerson pinch-running for Lind. Overbay strikes out. Looking !!!! no Lyle. Full count you have to protect the plate surely. Some very poor at bats by Jays hitters tonight.
Top 9th: Wilkerson in as left fielder. Giambi pops up to SS Scutaro. Nady lined softly out to SS Scutaro. Cano pop up to 3B Rolen. Good inning from Tallett.
Bottom 9th: Rivera now pitching. Cabrera in at LF. Jeter in at SS. Ransom moves to 1B for Giambi. Rolen grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Ransom. Zaun strikes out for the fourth time and he has been looking three of those times. Of all the players he knows what strike zone umpire has tonight, he has been out there behind the plate all game, and yet he is taking strike three that is not smart ball Gregg. Snider strikes out. And that’s the game. Another that Jays could have and should have won.
Not enough for Yankees to stay in contention for playoffs as Boston have just won their game so Yankees are out of the playoffs for the first time since 1993 !!! would the Jays had that problem.
Preview: Jays have chance for payback tonight to knock Yankees out of playoffs by winning. That would be sweet. Does not look like a big crowd tonight at the start, Mr Rogers would not like all those blue seats for a series with Yankees that normally sells 40,000 for each game, there must be under 30,000 tonight.
Pitchers: Litsch 12-8. v Mussina 18-9
Lineups: New York: Gardner, Damon, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Nady, Cano, Ransom, Molina and Mussina.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Litsch pitching.
Result: Jays lose 3-1. Same old story, good pitching, lousy hitting with runners in scoring position, poor baserunning by Scutaro, poor fielding judgement by Inglett. Terrible hitting by Zaun. Six of the lineup gets hits but not at the right time, do Jays hitters choke ? One run now in the last two games. I think Cito and coaching staff had better get working on this, I thought they were supposed to improve the hitting? Does not look like it from my seat. Perhaps JP should hold on that contract extension for Cito for a few months..
The good: Litsch goes seven innings and kept them in the game. Bullpen also keeps it close. Overbay covering Inglett’s poor throw in the 8th and Lyle getting runner at 2B
The bad: Goats Scutaro, Inglett and Zaun but other hitters as well. Just a poor game all round hitting.
The game: Top 1st: Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B 1B Overbay. One down. Damon hitting in Jeter’s position, grounds out to 1B Overbay two down. Abreu grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. Good first inning for Jesse.
Bottom 1st: Inglett fly ball out to CF Gardner. One down doe Scutaro, doubles to CF and is trying for triple. CF Gardner great throw to cut off 2B Cano on to 3B Rodriguez, Scutaro is out.That was a very poor call Marco. That should be one out and you in scoring position for the two big bats, even if we all have less confidence in Rios and Wells brining you in from 2B. Wild pitch here that would have put Scutaro at 3B. These errors do not show in the scorecard but figure huge. Rios strikes out.
Top 2nd: A-Rod grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Big out for Litsch. Giambi singles to CF. Nady doubles to CF, Giambi moves to 3B. Two on and no outs. Cano grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay, Giambi scores and, Nady moves to 3B. 1-0 Yankees. Good execution but I think Inglett could have been in closer to save the run, and as it happens that hit was not hard. Citop playing the percentages and give up a run for the out this early in the game. Ransom walks. Two on two down. Molina strikes out. Yankees strike first.
Bottom 2nd: Wells strikes out. Lind singles to LF. Overbay strikes out. Rolen strikes out. Mussina strikes out the side, Jays hitters do not like some of the calls. BUT it is the same for both teams.
Top 3rd: Gardner grounds to 2B Inglett throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Damon grounds out to 1B Overbay. Two down for Abreu, grounds to shortstop Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Amother good inning for Litsch.
Bottom 3rd: Zaun strikes out. Snider hits this one off Mussina’s elbow with the ball ricocheting into foul territory between home plate and 3B. Here come trainer Gene Monahan and manager Joe Girardi to check on him. Mussina says he is ok. He wants that number twenty win and if he doesn’t get win today he will not get chance for two more starts. One on for Inglett. Inglett grounds to 2B Cano throw to SS Ransom on to 1B Giambi. double play to end that one.
Top 4th: A-Rod grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. A-Rod out for second time. Giambi no question with this one, this is out of here HR to CF and Yankees are 2-0. Nady strikes out.Cano pops up to SS Scutaro for third out.
Bottom 4th: Mussina out there so elbow must be ok. Wait until tomorrow. Scutaro grounds back to Mussina throw to 1B Giambi. Rios singles to CF. Wells grounds to SS Ransom throw to 2B Cano to 1B Giambi, Rios moves up to 2B. Another in scoring position here. Lind grounds out to Mussina.
Top 5th: Ransom strikes out. Molina fly ball out to CF Wells. Gardner triples to CF. Damon strikes out. Jesse pitches himself out of trouble leaving runner at 3B.
Bottom 5th: Overbay grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi for one out. Rolen fly ball out to RF Abreu. Zaun strikes out again looking for second time.
Top 6th: Abreu strikes out. A-Rod strikes out. Giambi strikes out. Jesse strikes out the side and three very good hitters.
Bottom 6th: Coke now pitching. Mussina has done enough innings for a win so why not get that elbow into some ice. Snider singles to RF. Inglett strikes out. One down for Scutaro. Here comes the manager. Bruney now pitching. Scutaro strikes out. Rios strikes out.
Top 7th: Nady pops up to 1B Overbay. One down for Cano doubles to CF. Wild pitch Cano moves up to 3B. Zaun passed ball, and here comes Cano and looks as if Jesse gets him but umpire calls him safe and run scores, 3-0 Yankees. Jesse is furious here comes Cito. No luck changing the call. Guy two rows in front of me shows everyone his digital photograph, Litsch did get Cano, umpire made bad call. Interesting that the fans have this technology but umpires still rely on sight. One day perhaps. Ransom lines out to SS Scutaro. Molina strikes out. But damage is done and it is worse knowing that he was out at home plate and that it should still be 2-0 but Jays are getting nothing tonight.
Bottom 7th: Wells grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi. One down. Another pitching change ! Girardi is another Captain Hook. Marte now pitching. Lind singles to CF. One on one down for Overbay patient at bat !! full count and walks, Lind moves to 2B. That’s it for Marte, third pitcher of the inning. Chamberlain now pitching. Rolen singles to CF, Lind scores, Overbay moves to 2B. Zaun strikes out for third time tonight. Wild pitch, Overbay tmoves to 3B and Rolen to 2B. Two now in scoring position for Snider, strikes out. Yet again great opportunity lost.
Top 8th:
Tallet now pitching. Litsch had very good outing, too bad he cannot hit as well. He is getting nothing much from his hitters tonight, Gardner singles to 2B Inglett, Inglett tries to throw him out at 1B and overthrows, there was no way he could have got him, poor judgement Joe. Gardner going to 2B but Lyle great recovery and throw to Scutaro to get him. Joe is very lucky there.
Damon fly ball out to RF Rios. Abreu singles to CF. A-Rod strikes out. Crowd loves that.
Bottom 8th: Inglett grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Giambi. Scutaro grounds to SS Ransom throw to 1B Giambi. Two down. Rios beats out infield single to SS. Wells infield single to 3B Rios moves to 2B. Some speed now from Jays hitters. On Ransom's error, both runners move up and into scoring position. Lind now intentional walk to load bases. Wilkerson pinch-running for Lind. Overbay strikes out. Looking !!!! no Lyle. Full count you have to protect the plate surely. Some very poor at bats by Jays hitters tonight.
Top 9th: Wilkerson in as left fielder. Giambi pops up to SS Scutaro. Nady lined softly out to SS Scutaro. Cano pop up to 3B Rolen. Good inning from Tallett.
Bottom 9th: Rivera now pitching. Cabrera in at LF. Jeter in at SS. Ransom moves to 1B for Giambi. Rolen grounds to 2B Cano throw to 1B Ransom. Zaun strikes out for the fourth time and he has been looking three of those times. Of all the players he knows what strike zone umpire has tonight, he has been out there behind the plate all game, and yet he is taking strike three that is not smart ball Gregg. Snider strikes out. And that’s the game. Another that Jays could have and should have won.
Not enough for Yankees to stay in contention for playoffs as Boston have just won their game so Yankees are out of the playoffs for the first time since 1993 !!! would the Jays had that problem.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Jay 0-7 with runners in scoring position is all you need to know about this one as Jays are eliminated.
Toronto v Boston. Series finale. Sunday September 21, 2008.
Preview: A very important game for Jays. This is their season finale if they lose, they are mathematically out of the playoffs. How sad is that to get eliminated and by Boston at home. Lots of incentive for the Jays to win. The previous two games have not been good at all for the bats. One inning basically helped them win yesterday along with their great pitching and bullpen. BUT someday their hitting has to come through and today would be a good time to do it. The big bats of Rios, Wells and Overbay have not earned their money this series. But today we have David and Goliath pitching matchup. Scott Richmond the rookie who is not even mentioned as possible starter next season and that is without at least two of the current lineup available Marcum and Burnett. Pitching his third game and yet to win he is matched up against Dike-K who has just been perfect on the road this season8-0. As if that was not bad enough Richmond is supported by a very weak underachieving hitting lineup. Good luck Scott today, this could be a very bad day. Nice giveaway shirt designed by Johnny Mac for first 10,,000 fans BUT Jays management two questions, why not give Johnny Mac a cameo appearance at least for the fans to show they appreciate his hustle ? Cito show some class. But then again you probably though this lineup would win in he bottom of the ninth. Secondly why give them to Red Sox fans ? Jays management knows that the first 5,000 fans through the gate in a Boston series are the Red Sox nation fans who come to worship batting practice. Shirts would all be gone long before majority of real Jays fans turn up. This happened with the Halladay bobble head give away a couple of years ago, when most of them went to Boston fans who probably either threw them away or sold them on ebay.
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Casey, Cora, Varitek, and Matsuzake pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Rolen, Snider, Thigpen and Richmond pitching.
Pitching: Richmond 0-2 v Matsuzake 17-2.
The result: Boston wins this one easily 3-0 and eliminate a weak hitting Jays side. This game was lost in the first inning. Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position tells this story.
The good: Nothing much here today apart from my Johnny Mac shrt. Wells two of the total three hits, and the pitching which kept it close enough if the hitters had not mailed this one in. A good double play by Richmond strikeout and Thigpen’s throw to Scutaro 2B to end the fourth inning.
The bad: A couple of prima donnas out here today. There is Rios admiring his new hair style, looks like a star cut out of side of his head, or is it a Patriots logo? Surely not. Ortiz grandstanding on his at bats, walks everywhere. It is interesting to see him (hatless) in batting practice today hitting to left, I hope Jays staff were watching. They may change their mind about the shift right.
Where do we start up and down the lineup but not Vernon today he came through with two hits but spent most of the afternoon on base, waiting in vain for someone to get a hit.
How come this new hitting staff are supposed to have changed this team for the better, when today they finish season with 9-9 series split, and in the last ten days they have lost three in Boston last weekend and two in Toronto this weekend? By my math, the Gibbons crowd had Boston’s number with a record of 7-4 ? Friends it is all smoke and mirrors but don’t try to convince me that Cito and coaches are better than that 20-10 May this season. And much more important today Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position, plus ca change Cito.
The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off triples to CF. That’s a great start Scott. Pedroia sac fly to LF Snider, Ellsbury scores. 1-0 Boston. Just like that, this could be a long afternoon for Richmond and the Jays. Great execution by Red Sox. Ortiz at bat one down, pops up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis full count and walks. Bay at bat one on fly ball out to RF Rios. Richmond escapes further damage here.
Bottom 1st: Inglett fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Scutaro strikes out. Rios fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 2nd: Kotsay fly ball out to LF Snider. Lowrie strikes out. Casey fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 2nd: Wells doubles to the CF wall Jays have something going here. Lind grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Casey, Wells moves to third. Overbay full count and walks. Two on and only one out. Rolen strikes out. Snider strikes out. Oh boy, golden opportunity there to get ahead.
Top 3rd: Varitek strikes out. Ellsbury doubles to CF. Pedroia grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay, Ellsbury to 3B. Ortiz, full count, lines this one to LF and with his power this is out of here, HR. That really was a line drive. 3-0 Boston. Youkilis strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Thigpen pops up to RF Kotsay One down for Inglett grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Two down. Scutaro strikes out. Jays go very quietly.
Top 4th: Bay fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Kotsay, singles to CF. Lowrie strikes out. Kotsay was stealing, Thigpen throw to SS Scutaro, double play. Very nice play by Thigpen and Scutaro.
Bottom 4th: Big bats. Rios pops up to SS Lowrie. Wells at bat fouls out to 1B Casey. Lind with two down fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 5th: Casey popped out to 3B Rolen. Varitek pops up to catcher Thigpen. Ellsbury doubles to RF. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 5th: Overbay grounds out to 1B Casey. Rolen pops up to 1B Casey. Snider full count and walks. One on for Thigpen, strikes out. Jays cannot get anything going today.
Top 6th: Bautista in at 1B for Overbay. Not sure why here. He had a horrible game at 1B last time he played there. Parrish now pitching. Richmond was not bad, it is the hitters that are not performing. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Youkilis strikes out. Bay full count and walks. Kotsay grounds to Rolen throw to 1B Bautista to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Inglett doubles to CF. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Kotsay. Inglett does not move. Rios pops up to 3B Youkilis. Has he hit it out of the infield today ? Wells grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Big bats go quietly again and leave lead off double out there.
Top 7th: Bautista in as third baseman now with Wilkerson in as 1B. That makes better sense. Lowrie grounds to 3B Bautista throw to 1B Wilkerson. Casey pops up to 2B Inglett. Varitek singles to LF. Ellsbury pops up to 3B Bautista.
Bottom 7th: Youkilis in as 1B. Lowrie in as 3B. Cora in as SS. Lind strikes out. Bautista fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Wilkerson fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 8th: Wolfe pitching. Pedroia doubled to LF. That is his major league-leading 52nd double. One on for Ortiz, pops up to SS Scutaro. Two down. Pedroia stealing and safe at 3B that was not a good throw by Thigpen. Youkilis lined out to 3B Bautista. Bay grounded out, SS Scutaro throw to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 8th: Okajima pitching Snider grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Thigpen strikes out. Inglett lines out to 2B Pedroia.
Top 9th: Tallet pitching. Kotsay grounded out, 2B Inglett to 1B Wilkerson. Lowrie flied out to RF Rios. Cora grounded out, SS Scutaro to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 9th: Papelbon now pitching. Scutaro grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Rios grounds to 3B Lowrie, throw to 1B Youkilis. Alex hitless again today. Wells singles to CF. Vernon keeps it going with his second hit of the day. Defensive indifference, Wells takes 2B in scoring posiiton. Lind gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to LF wall for Bay.
Preview: A very important game for Jays. This is their season finale if they lose, they are mathematically out of the playoffs. How sad is that to get eliminated and by Boston at home. Lots of incentive for the Jays to win. The previous two games have not been good at all for the bats. One inning basically helped them win yesterday along with their great pitching and bullpen. BUT someday their hitting has to come through and today would be a good time to do it. The big bats of Rios, Wells and Overbay have not earned their money this series. But today we have David and Goliath pitching matchup. Scott Richmond the rookie who is not even mentioned as possible starter next season and that is without at least two of the current lineup available Marcum and Burnett. Pitching his third game and yet to win he is matched up against Dike-K who has just been perfect on the road this season8-0. As if that was not bad enough Richmond is supported by a very weak underachieving hitting lineup. Good luck Scott today, this could be a very bad day. Nice giveaway shirt designed by Johnny Mac for first 10,,000 fans BUT Jays management two questions, why not give Johnny Mac a cameo appearance at least for the fans to show they appreciate his hustle ? Cito show some class. But then again you probably though this lineup would win in he bottom of the ninth. Secondly why give them to Red Sox fans ? Jays management knows that the first 5,000 fans through the gate in a Boston series are the Red Sox nation fans who come to worship batting practice. Shirts would all be gone long before majority of real Jays fans turn up. This happened with the Halladay bobble head give away a couple of years ago, when most of them went to Boston fans who probably either threw them away or sold them on ebay.
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Casey, Cora, Varitek, and Matsuzake pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Rolen, Snider, Thigpen and Richmond pitching.
Pitching: Richmond 0-2 v Matsuzake 17-2.
The result: Boston wins this one easily 3-0 and eliminate a weak hitting Jays side. This game was lost in the first inning. Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position tells this story.
The good: Nothing much here today apart from my Johnny Mac shrt. Wells two of the total three hits, and the pitching which kept it close enough if the hitters had not mailed this one in. A good double play by Richmond strikeout and Thigpen’s throw to Scutaro 2B to end the fourth inning.
The bad: A couple of prima donnas out here today. There is Rios admiring his new hair style, looks like a star cut out of side of his head, or is it a Patriots logo? Surely not. Ortiz grandstanding on his at bats, walks everywhere. It is interesting to see him (hatless) in batting practice today hitting to left, I hope Jays staff were watching. They may change their mind about the shift right.
Where do we start up and down the lineup but not Vernon today he came through with two hits but spent most of the afternoon on base, waiting in vain for someone to get a hit.
How come this new hitting staff are supposed to have changed this team for the better, when today they finish season with 9-9 series split, and in the last ten days they have lost three in Boston last weekend and two in Toronto this weekend? By my math, the Gibbons crowd had Boston’s number with a record of 7-4 ? Friends it is all smoke and mirrors but don’t try to convince me that Cito and coaches are better than that 20-10 May this season. And much more important today Jays 0-7 with runners in scoring position, plus ca change Cito.
The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off triples to CF. That’s a great start Scott. Pedroia sac fly to LF Snider, Ellsbury scores. 1-0 Boston. Just like that, this could be a long afternoon for Richmond and the Jays. Great execution by Red Sox. Ortiz at bat one down, pops up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis full count and walks. Bay at bat one on fly ball out to RF Rios. Richmond escapes further damage here.
Bottom 1st: Inglett fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Scutaro strikes out. Rios fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 2nd: Kotsay fly ball out to LF Snider. Lowrie strikes out. Casey fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 2nd: Wells doubles to the CF wall Jays have something going here. Lind grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Casey, Wells moves to third. Overbay full count and walks. Two on and only one out. Rolen strikes out. Snider strikes out. Oh boy, golden opportunity there to get ahead.
Top 3rd: Varitek strikes out. Ellsbury doubles to CF. Pedroia grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay, Ellsbury to 3B. Ortiz, full count, lines this one to LF and with his power this is out of here, HR. That really was a line drive. 3-0 Boston. Youkilis strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Thigpen pops up to RF Kotsay One down for Inglett grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Two down. Scutaro strikes out. Jays go very quietly.
Top 4th: Bay fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Kotsay, singles to CF. Lowrie strikes out. Kotsay was stealing, Thigpen throw to SS Scutaro, double play. Very nice play by Thigpen and Scutaro.
Bottom 4th: Big bats. Rios pops up to SS Lowrie. Wells at bat fouls out to 1B Casey. Lind with two down fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 5th: Casey popped out to 3B Rolen. Varitek pops up to catcher Thigpen. Ellsbury doubles to RF. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 5th: Overbay grounds out to 1B Casey. Rolen pops up to 1B Casey. Snider full count and walks. One on for Thigpen, strikes out. Jays cannot get anything going today.
Top 6th: Bautista in at 1B for Overbay. Not sure why here. He had a horrible game at 1B last time he played there. Parrish now pitching. Richmond was not bad, it is the hitters that are not performing. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Youkilis strikes out. Bay full count and walks. Kotsay grounds to Rolen throw to 1B Bautista to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Inglett doubles to CF. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Kotsay. Inglett does not move. Rios pops up to 3B Youkilis. Has he hit it out of the infield today ? Wells grounds back to Matsuzaka throw to 1B Casey. Big bats go quietly again and leave lead off double out there.
Top 7th: Bautista in as third baseman now with Wilkerson in as 1B. That makes better sense. Lowrie grounds to 3B Bautista throw to 1B Wilkerson. Casey pops up to 2B Inglett. Varitek singles to LF. Ellsbury pops up to 3B Bautista.
Bottom 7th: Youkilis in as 1B. Lowrie in as 3B. Cora in as SS. Lind strikes out. Bautista fly ball out to CF Ellsbury. Wilkerson fly ball out to LF Bay.
Top 8th: Wolfe pitching. Pedroia doubled to LF. That is his major league-leading 52nd double. One on for Ortiz, pops up to SS Scutaro. Two down. Pedroia stealing and safe at 3B that was not a good throw by Thigpen. Youkilis lined out to 3B Bautista. Bay grounded out, SS Scutaro throw to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 8th: Okajima pitching Snider grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Thigpen strikes out. Inglett lines out to 2B Pedroia.
Top 9th: Tallet pitching. Kotsay grounded out, 2B Inglett to 1B Wilkerson. Lowrie flied out to RF Rios. Cora grounded out, SS Scutaro to 1B Wilkerson.
Bottom 9th: Papelbon now pitching. Scutaro grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Rios grounds to 3B Lowrie, throw to 1B Youkilis. Alex hitless again today. Wells singles to CF. Vernon keeps it going with his second hit of the day. Defensive indifference, Wells takes 2B in scoring posiiton. Lind gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to LF wall for Bay.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Halladay wins number 19 with help from the bullpen and a few bats
Toronto v Boston. Saturday September 20,2008.
Pitching: Halladay 18-11 v Lester 15-5
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Lowrie, Crisp, Cora, Varitek and Lester pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Rolen, Mench, Thigpen, McDonald, ad Halladay pitching.
The Result: Jays win 6-3. Halladay win number nineteen.
The good: Halladay, and the bullpen to shut down Boston after the third inning. Rolen HR.
The bad: Wells and Overbay the biggest goat today, double play with bases loaded and one down in a 5-0 game that could have driven Lester from the game in the second inning. Wells also hits into a double play. Then again the first pitch swinging. The six pitch inning 5th ??/6th yet again by Jays. Overbay and Mench. Wells and Overbay hitless again today 0-7. Last season Vernon had an excuse, not this year. Overbay has gone backwards since Gibbons left. Hitters 3/9 with runners in scoring position today. You can’t give a team like Boston giveaways.
The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off and singles to LF. One on for Pedroia, there goes Ellsbury and steals 2B. Boston serious today, Pedroia 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Not the start Halladay had in mind today. Ortiz at bat with two on and no outs, I don’t think he will be bunting here. Fly ball out to RF Rios, Ellsbury moves to 3B. One down, another sac fly here will get them ahead. Youkilis strikes out that is huge. Two down with two on. Bay at bat, birthday boy today. Pedroia is stealing, safe at 2B. Boston is running on young Thigpen today. Red Sox now have two in scoring position. Bay fly ball out to LF Mench. Halladay and the Jays escape but this might be a long afternoon.
Bottom 1st: Will Jays hitters emerge today ? Scutaro leading off singles to CF. It is not Scutaro’s bat I worry about, it is the big guys behind him who went 0-15 collectively last night. Bautista at bat grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis, moves Scutaro into scoring position but can the bats behind him bring in the run? Rios singles to LF and Scutaro scores. 1-0 Jays. Where was that last night Alex? Wells at bat another slumper, strikes out and continues his hitting woes. I don’t mind streaky hitters but it would be nice for Vernon to have a streak this season. Overbay at bat another goat from last night, Rios stealing and safe at 2B. Not enough of that in my opinion.Cito is not an aggressive manager but if hitters are not getting the job done then he has no choice. Overbay fly ball out to CF Crisp, leaving Rios in scoring position.
Top 2nd: Halladay has a lead to work with. Lowrie fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Crisp singles to CF. One on one down for Cora fly ball out to LF Mench. Two down for Varitek strikes out. Halladay a better inning.
Top 2nd: Rolen singles to RF. Mench walks and Rolen moves to 2B, two on and no outs. Thigpen bunting and gets a great one down to 3B Lowrie throw to Pedroia, to get Inglett, Rolen to 3B, Mench to 2B. Two in scoring position and only one down. McDonald is hit to load bases.Lester really in a mess here. Scutaro at bat, YES Marco, doubles to LF , Rolen scores, Mench scores, ad Johnny MC to 3B. Jays up 3-0. Still only one down for Bautista, singles to LF, McDonald scores,4-0 Jays. Scutaro to 3B. for Rios grounds to Cora at SS, Cora comig home with the throw and wild into the Boston dugout. Error to Cora and Rios safe at 2B. Scutaro scores, 5-0 Jays. Bautista at 3B. Still only one out for Wells, intentional walk. Sorry Vernon no hit here to break that slump. Bases loaded yet again. Overbay at bat, NO Lyle. Grounds a 2B Pedroia to SS Cora on to 1B Youkilis, double play, and the inning ends. That was NOT a good at bat Lyle. Boston has the bullpen up and working and could have been the end of Lester. Jays have given Halladay a lead to work with at least.
Top 3rd: Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Pedroia, doubles to RF. One on and one down for Ortiz, he singles to CF and Pedroia scores. 5-1 Jays. Youkilis at bat fly ball out to RF Rios. Two down for the birthday boy. Bay 3-1 and gets hold of this one this is out of here HR to LF, two runs score and this game is a little tighter for Halladay at 5-3 Jays. Two down for Lowrie grounds out to 1B Overbay for the third out. But this has saved Lester. Too bad. You don’t often see Halladay let a team get back in a game that quickly.
Bottom 3rd: Lester rejuvenated by that comeback Rolen strikes out. One down for Mench strikes out. Two down for Thigpen grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Jays go very quietly, momentum has shifted bigtime back to Lester.
Top 4th: Crisp grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Cora fly ball out to CF Wells. Two down for Varitek grounds to Halladay tags him for third out. Halladay also has quick three up and down.
Bottom 4th: McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One down for Scutaro grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down. Bautista infield single to SS Cora, one on one down for Rios walks, was that semi intentional with Wels on deck? Bautista moves to 2B.
Wells pops up to SS Cora. One of the good fallouts with Wells awful hitting is that he may not be selected for the World Cup in March 2009 and will have to send more time in Spring training getting his hitting stroke back. Downside is however the last time he played in that tournament he started the season very well and not his usual two months to get warmed up.
Top 5th: And now both pitchers have settled in but Lester should have been out of the game in the second inning if Overbay had found his missing stroke. Top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to Halladay throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.Ortiz with one on his usual patience full count and walks. Boston hitters work the count in their favour most of the time, how come Jays cannot do the same? Instead of that inane first pitch swinging? Perhaps Jays hitting coaches should observe Boston and for that matter Yankees with similar styles. But then was not Denbo a Yankees coach before he came to Toronto? Youkilis singles to LF. Ortiz moves to 2B.One down but two on Boston getting to Halladay again. Wild pitch, Ortiz to 3B and Youkilis to 2B. I wonder if Thigpen is tuned into Halladay yet? Must be an ordeal for the young catcher to be catching with Halladay. Bay now with two on, full count and walks bases loaded with two down for Lowrie. Strikes out, a huge strike out for Roy. That was big trouble brewing.
Bottom 5th: Can the Jays take advantage of that escape here? Overbay (first pitch of course) pops up 3B Lowrie. Lyle is really struggling at bat. He had such a great on base percentage before the current coaching regime. Rolen grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down.
Mench NO ! (first pitch of course) grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One of those great six pitch !!!! innings by the Jays hitters to get the opposition pitcher pumped up….That was rock bottom. No excuse at all especially for Mench but he is probably history next week anyway.
Top 6th: Jays hitters giving Lester every chance to get stay in the game. Crisp grounds out to 1B Overbay. Cora grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Varitek fly ball out to CF Wells. Halladay quick three up and down. Boston hitters are now being bewitched by the awful Jays. But Roy;s pitch count is way over 100 so that could be it for him today but at least he still has the lead.
Bottom 6th: Thigpen leading off singles to LF. Johnny MC bunting here ???? YES great bunt to Lester throw to 2B Pedroia, Thigpen moves to 2B. Runner in scoring position for the top of the order but I am beginning to think that it is better situation with the bottom of the order. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. Two down. Bautista strikes out. Not good friends. Jays hitters have certainly had their chances.
Top 7th: Bullpen now taking over, Carlson pitching. Ellsbury pops up to 2B Scutaro. One down. Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald throw to 1B Overbay. Two down. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Very nice inning from Carlson.
Bottom 7th: Lester still in there. Rios leading off singles to LF, second hit today, where was this yesterday ? Wells now woith one on, his last chance today probably to break his slump. NO Vernon… grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 2B Pedroia on to 1B Youkilis, double play and the hurt goes on for Vernon. Overbay grounds to 1B Youkilis to Lester and Lyle continues his own futlility.
Top 8th: League now pitching. Youkilis strikes out. Pone down for Bay, grounds to Rolen but beats out the throw Bay. Lowrie at bat safe on fielder's choice and Overbay's error, Por Lyle noting is going right for him in this series, perhaos tomorrow will be his day along with Vernon and Alex Bay moves to 2B. Crisp grounds to 1B Overbay to League, Bay to 3B Lowrie to 2B,. Red Sox nation fans here are getting excited. Cora grounds hard up the middle but League makes great save here and throw to 1B Overbay for third out. That could have scored two runs there. League helps himself with that play and Halladay will speak to him again..
Bottom 8th: Masterson now pitching. Rolen at bat, gets hold of this one and this one is out. Another HR for Scott into LF and Jays get an insurance run for BJ. 6-3 Jays. Snider now pinch-hitting for Mench, should have been in the lineup today. Snider grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis.Thigpen pops up to SS Cora. McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Now the game rests with BJ.
Top 9th: Snider in at LF for Mench who was a bust today. Cito should really let Snider play out the season if they are serious about him for next year. BJ Ryan now pitching. Varitek fly ball out to RF Rios.One down for top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Two down for Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald on to 1B Overbay for the third out and well deserved win for Halladay. He struggled earlier with control but hung in there and once again the Jaya bullpen shut the Red Sox down.
What they said: Ellsbury: "We're still trying to catch Tampa. It would have been nice to have won today but we know we've still got (eight) more."
Halladay: "I don't think I was around the zone as much as I normally am. I kind of compounded the problem myself. They're a good team. They're going to make you work either way."
Lester: "You can't spot a pitcher like Halladay five runs in the second inning and hope to have a chance to win,"
Boston manager Terry Francona: "He's (Halladay) always one pitch away from a double play. He sinks the ball so well, he cuts it. He threw a couple of changeups today. That's why he's got 19 wins. He's done it against everybody. He's got tremendous stuff."
Pitching: Halladay 18-11 v Lester 15-5
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Bay, Lowrie, Crisp, Cora, Varitek and Lester pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Rolen, Mench, Thigpen, McDonald, ad Halladay pitching.
The Result: Jays win 6-3. Halladay win number nineteen.
The good: Halladay, and the bullpen to shut down Boston after the third inning. Rolen HR.
The bad: Wells and Overbay the biggest goat today, double play with bases loaded and one down in a 5-0 game that could have driven Lester from the game in the second inning. Wells also hits into a double play. Then again the first pitch swinging. The six pitch inning 5th ??/6th yet again by Jays. Overbay and Mench. Wells and Overbay hitless again today 0-7. Last season Vernon had an excuse, not this year. Overbay has gone backwards since Gibbons left. Hitters 3/9 with runners in scoring position today. You can’t give a team like Boston giveaways.
The game: Top 1st: Ellsbury leading off and singles to LF. One on for Pedroia, there goes Ellsbury and steals 2B. Boston serious today, Pedroia 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Not the start Halladay had in mind today. Ortiz at bat with two on and no outs, I don’t think he will be bunting here. Fly ball out to RF Rios, Ellsbury moves to 3B. One down, another sac fly here will get them ahead. Youkilis strikes out that is huge. Two down with two on. Bay at bat, birthday boy today. Pedroia is stealing, safe at 2B. Boston is running on young Thigpen today. Red Sox now have two in scoring position. Bay fly ball out to LF Mench. Halladay and the Jays escape but this might be a long afternoon.
Bottom 1st: Will Jays hitters emerge today ? Scutaro leading off singles to CF. It is not Scutaro’s bat I worry about, it is the big guys behind him who went 0-15 collectively last night. Bautista at bat grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis, moves Scutaro into scoring position but can the bats behind him bring in the run? Rios singles to LF and Scutaro scores. 1-0 Jays. Where was that last night Alex? Wells at bat another slumper, strikes out and continues his hitting woes. I don’t mind streaky hitters but it would be nice for Vernon to have a streak this season. Overbay at bat another goat from last night, Rios stealing and safe at 2B. Not enough of that in my opinion.Cito is not an aggressive manager but if hitters are not getting the job done then he has no choice. Overbay fly ball out to CF Crisp, leaving Rios in scoring position.
Top 2nd: Halladay has a lead to work with. Lowrie fly ball out to CF Wells. One down for Crisp singles to CF. One on one down for Cora fly ball out to LF Mench. Two down for Varitek strikes out. Halladay a better inning.
Top 2nd: Rolen singles to RF. Mench walks and Rolen moves to 2B, two on and no outs. Thigpen bunting and gets a great one down to 3B Lowrie throw to Pedroia, to get Inglett, Rolen to 3B, Mench to 2B. Two in scoring position and only one down. McDonald is hit to load bases.Lester really in a mess here. Scutaro at bat, YES Marco, doubles to LF , Rolen scores, Mench scores, ad Johnny MC to 3B. Jays up 3-0. Still only one down for Bautista, singles to LF, McDonald scores,4-0 Jays. Scutaro to 3B. for Rios grounds to Cora at SS, Cora comig home with the throw and wild into the Boston dugout. Error to Cora and Rios safe at 2B. Scutaro scores, 5-0 Jays. Bautista at 3B. Still only one out for Wells, intentional walk. Sorry Vernon no hit here to break that slump. Bases loaded yet again. Overbay at bat, NO Lyle. Grounds a 2B Pedroia to SS Cora on to 1B Youkilis, double play, and the inning ends. That was NOT a good at bat Lyle. Boston has the bullpen up and working and could have been the end of Lester. Jays have given Halladay a lead to work with at least.
Top 3rd: Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Pedroia, doubles to RF. One on and one down for Ortiz, he singles to CF and Pedroia scores. 5-1 Jays. Youkilis at bat fly ball out to RF Rios. Two down for the birthday boy. Bay 3-1 and gets hold of this one this is out of here HR to LF, two runs score and this game is a little tighter for Halladay at 5-3 Jays. Two down for Lowrie grounds out to 1B Overbay for the third out. But this has saved Lester. Too bad. You don’t often see Halladay let a team get back in a game that quickly.
Bottom 3rd: Lester rejuvenated by that comeback Rolen strikes out. One down for Mench strikes out. Two down for Thigpen grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Jays go very quietly, momentum has shifted bigtime back to Lester.
Top 4th: Crisp grounds to 3B Rolen throw to 1B Overbay. One down for Cora fly ball out to CF Wells. Two down for Varitek grounds to Halladay tags him for third out. Halladay also has quick three up and down.
Bottom 4th: McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One down for Scutaro grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down. Bautista infield single to SS Cora, one on one down for Rios walks, was that semi intentional with Wels on deck? Bautista moves to 2B.
Wells pops up to SS Cora. One of the good fallouts with Wells awful hitting is that he may not be selected for the World Cup in March 2009 and will have to send more time in Spring training getting his hitting stroke back. Downside is however the last time he played in that tournament he started the season very well and not his usual two months to get warmed up.
Top 5th: And now both pitchers have settled in but Lester should have been out of the game in the second inning if Overbay had found his missing stroke. Top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to Halladay throw to 1B Overbay. One down. Pedroia fly ball out to RF Rios.Ortiz with one on his usual patience full count and walks. Boston hitters work the count in their favour most of the time, how come Jays cannot do the same? Instead of that inane first pitch swinging? Perhaps Jays hitting coaches should observe Boston and for that matter Yankees with similar styles. But then was not Denbo a Yankees coach before he came to Toronto? Youkilis singles to LF. Ortiz moves to 2B.One down but two on Boston getting to Halladay again. Wild pitch, Ortiz to 3B and Youkilis to 2B. I wonder if Thigpen is tuned into Halladay yet? Must be an ordeal for the young catcher to be catching with Halladay. Bay now with two on, full count and walks bases loaded with two down for Lowrie. Strikes out, a huge strike out for Roy. That was big trouble brewing.
Bottom 5th: Can the Jays take advantage of that escape here? Overbay (first pitch of course) pops up 3B Lowrie. Lyle is really struggling at bat. He had such a great on base percentage before the current coaching regime. Rolen grounds to SS Cora throw to 1B Youkilis. Two down.
Mench NO ! (first pitch of course) grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. One of those great six pitch !!!! innings by the Jays hitters to get the opposition pitcher pumped up….That was rock bottom. No excuse at all especially for Mench but he is probably history next week anyway.
Top 6th: Jays hitters giving Lester every chance to get stay in the game. Crisp grounds out to 1B Overbay. Cora grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Varitek fly ball out to CF Wells. Halladay quick three up and down. Boston hitters are now being bewitched by the awful Jays. But Roy;s pitch count is way over 100 so that could be it for him today but at least he still has the lead.
Bottom 6th: Thigpen leading off singles to LF. Johnny MC bunting here ???? YES great bunt to Lester throw to 2B Pedroia, Thigpen moves to 2B. Runner in scoring position for the top of the order but I am beginning to think that it is better situation with the bottom of the order. Scutaro fly ball out to RF Ellsbury. Two down. Bautista strikes out. Not good friends. Jays hitters have certainly had their chances.
Top 7th: Bullpen now taking over, Carlson pitching. Ellsbury pops up to 2B Scutaro. One down. Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald throw to 1B Overbay. Two down. Ortiz fly ball out to RF Rios. Very nice inning from Carlson.
Bottom 7th: Lester still in there. Rios leading off singles to LF, second hit today, where was this yesterday ? Wells now woith one on, his last chance today probably to break his slump. NO Vernon… grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 2B Pedroia on to 1B Youkilis, double play and the hurt goes on for Vernon. Overbay grounds to 1B Youkilis to Lester and Lyle continues his own futlility.
Top 8th: League now pitching. Youkilis strikes out. Pone down for Bay, grounds to Rolen but beats out the throw Bay. Lowrie at bat safe on fielder's choice and Overbay's error, Por Lyle noting is going right for him in this series, perhaos tomorrow will be his day along with Vernon and Alex Bay moves to 2B. Crisp grounds to 1B Overbay to League, Bay to 3B Lowrie to 2B,. Red Sox nation fans here are getting excited. Cora grounds hard up the middle but League makes great save here and throw to 1B Overbay for third out. That could have scored two runs there. League helps himself with that play and Halladay will speak to him again..
Bottom 8th: Masterson now pitching. Rolen at bat, gets hold of this one and this one is out. Another HR for Scott into LF and Jays get an insurance run for BJ. 6-3 Jays. Snider now pinch-hitting for Mench, should have been in the lineup today. Snider grounds to 3B Lowrie throw to 1B Youkilis.Thigpen pops up to SS Cora. McDonald grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to 1B Youkilis. Now the game rests with BJ.
Top 9th: Snider in at LF for Mench who was a bust today. Cito should really let Snider play out the season if they are serious about him for next year. BJ Ryan now pitching. Varitek fly ball out to RF Rios.One down for top of the order. Ellsbury grounds to 2B Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay. Two down for Pedroia grounds to SS McDonald on to 1B Overbay for the third out and well deserved win for Halladay. He struggled earlier with control but hung in there and once again the Jaya bullpen shut the Red Sox down.
What they said: Ellsbury: "We're still trying to catch Tampa. It would have been nice to have won today but we know we've still got (eight) more."
Halladay: "I don't think I was around the zone as much as I normally am. I kind of compounded the problem myself. They're a good team. They're going to make you work either way."
Lester: "You can't spot a pitcher like Halladay five runs in the second inning and hope to have a chance to win,"
Boston manager Terry Francona: "He's (Halladay) always one pitch away from a double play. He sinks the ball so well, he cuts it. He threw a couple of changeups today. That's why he's got 19 wins. He's done it against everybody. He's got tremendous stuff."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Jays big bats Rios and Wells just get worse as season goes on.
Tornto v Boston. Series opener. Friday September 19,2008.
Preview: The series Jays have been waiting for, for revenge. The city full of the Red Sox Nation. If Jays cannot get up for this one then they are as laid back as their Manager. The bad news re Marcum who has to have Tommy John surgery and will miss all next season. puts an interesting spin on the Burnett future..
Pitching: Burnett (18-10, 4.19 ERA). v Byrd. (11-12, 4.53 ERA) Burnett is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in two starts versus Boston t this season, and 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA all-time against them. Byrd is 2-2 with a 4.94 ERA in four starts versus Jays this season, and 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 10 career starts against them.
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Casey, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Varitek and Byrd pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Lind, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Burnett pitching.
Result: Jays lose this one 4-3 and probably any chances of keeping AJ Burnett next season and I for one would not blame him. He pitched well enough to win yet again but the Jays big bats were terrible tonight 0-15.
The good: Three consecutive doubles in the 2nd inning. Bottom of the batting order Rolen, Zaun and Snider. Inglett and Scutaro in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up. Burnett to keep it close.
The bad: Rios and Wells. 0-8 tonight not just the first pitch swinging stuff, just awful at bats. Rios really does look as if he doesn’t care.
Top 1st: Ellsbury strikes out. One down Pedroia walks. One on one down for Ortiz pops it up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounded out, second baseman Pedroia to first baseman Casey.
Scutaro doubles to left. Rios flied out to left fielder Bay. Wells fouled out to catcher Varitek. 7 pitches.
Top 2nd: One down Bay at bat, grounds to Burnett, tries to bare hand it and drops it. Rolen tries but not in time with throw to 1B. Error to Burnett. Kotsay lines out to CF tremendous catch by Wells, two down for Lowrie at bat, lines it past a diving Scutaro into LF, Varitek pops it up to Zaun for running cath in foul ground for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat, full count now equals number of pitches from first inning at least, in my book that is a plus sorry Cito. Grounds to Pedroia throw to Casey at 1B for first down, Lind at bat 0-7 high fly ball out to Ellsbury in CF, two down for Rolen, doubles into LF corner, this guy is hot right now. Zaun with two down and on in scoring position. Gregg doubles into LF, Rolen scores 1-0 Jays. Snider now YES Travis, he doubles into left centre, and scores Zaun. 2-0 Jays. I like Travis, he hits the way I wish Alex and Vernon would, stays back and goes with the pitch. Inglett now keep the line moving Joe. 3-1 count and walks him, two on for Scutaro. Here comes pitching coach. All this with two outs. Lines out hard to Ellsbury in CF for third out, but damage is done and Jays get out on top. 39 pitches.
Top 3rd: Ellsbury bunts to Burnett, does not miss this one and great throw down the line to Overbay to get Ellsbury, one down. Pedroia at bat one down, strikes out looking, two down. Ortiz at bat, full count, strikes him out bigtime. 46 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Rios (first pitch, of course) high fly ball out to CF, what a waste. Wells slaps it in to RF but at Casey 1B makes good play to knock it down. Two down for Overbay, first pitch grounds out to Casey. Six pitch inning, what is with these people? 45 pitches.
Top 4th: Six pitches ?? If I were Burnett I would really light into these hitters to give him a few minutes at least to sit down. Youkilis at bat, singles into RF. One on for Casey fly ball out to Wells in CF. one down for Bay, grounds to Rolen, on to Inglett to get Youkilis on to Overbay but not in time for two. Kotsay with two down and one on, singles into CF to Wells, two on for Lowrie, strikes him out, number five tonight. AJ is doing his job, how about the big bats? 54 pitches?
Bottom 4th: Lind grounds to Youkilis at 3B throw to Casey for first out. Rolen grounds to Lowrie SS throw to Casey for second out. Zaun at bat two down, full count. Fly ball out to Bay in LF. Jays go quietly again but a few more pitches at least.
Top 5th: Varitek at bat, doubles just inside the 3B bag into LF. Ellsbury bunt here? tries but not successful. Bunts past Burnett, he left it for Rolen as he goes back to 3B, Ellsbury safe at 1B, two on and no outs. Mental error there AJ. Pick off here and they get Ellsbury hung up, great play AJ. Redeems himself. One down. Pedroia lines hard wide of Scutaro, gets to it great play Marco and throws home to keep Varitek at 3B although Pedroia safe at 1B. Ortiz at bat, strikes him out for second time. Two down. Youkilis with two on and two down. Full count singles into CF and Varitek scores, 2-1 Jays. Casey at bat, two on and two down. Doubles over Rios to the RF wall. Two runs score. 3-2 Boston. Bay at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. 86 pitches though.
Bottom 5th: Jays bats have to get this one back for AJ, Snider at bat, strikes out. One down for Inglett, singles up the middle, one on for Scutaro. Keep it going Marco. YES Marco, doubles to the wall and Inglett scores 3-3. Nice hitting Marco and good running by Inglett. Now Rios, first pitch chin music… so Alex what are you going to do about it? Pops it up to Youkilis two down, sit this guy please Cito. Lopez up in Boston bullpen. Wells now, another underachiever with the bat, grounds to Youkilis tags Scutaro as he heads to 3B for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 75 pitches.
Top 6th: Kotsay at bat, full count, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first out. Lowrie at bat, loops it into shallow LF, Snider throw not in time. One down one on, Varitek grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out, Lowrie moves to 3B. Ellsbury grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for third out. 107 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Overbay at bat, full count, patience here Lyle. Pops up ball four to Bay in shallow LF. Lind, 0-9 mini slump, 3-0 count, good at bat here by Adam fouling off pitch after pitch on full count. This time fly ball out to Bay in LF. Two down for Rolen. Full count, another good patient at bat, strikes out. 98 pitches.
Top 7th: Burnett out again. He wants that win. It is too bad that you donlt see that intensity transfer to some of his overpaid teammates. Pitch count over 100 though. Tampa hammering Twins 9-0 and Yankees leading Baltimore 3-2. Pedroia fly ball out to Rios in RF. Ortiz full count, but walks him. Tallet and Camp working in Jays bullpen. Youkilis fly ball out to Snider throw back to Overbay gets Ortiz double play ball. Great play by Snider, terrible lapse by Ortiz venturing too far to 2B and then ambling back that was an Alex Rios moment, and costs the Red Sox. AJ doesn’t mind though. 121 pitches and six strikeouts.
Bottom 7th: Now the Jays bats have to get one here for Burnett. Lopez now pitching. Zaun grounds up the middle Pedroia great play to just get Zaun, a Johnny Mc play. Snider at bat, strikes out. Top of the order, Inglett full count, and walks. Scutaro at bat, that’s it for Lopez, here comes manager Francona. Delcarmen now pitching. First pitch grounds it up the middle to Pedroia steps on the 2B bag to get Inglett for third out.
Top 8th: Tallet, Casey at bat, strikes out swinging. One down for Bay singles past Tallet to Inglett, but Bay safe at 1B. Kotsay at bat, 3-0 count, and walks him on four pitches. Two on and that’s it for Tallet, here comes Cito and Camp now pitching. Lowrie at bat, 3-1 count and walks him to load the bases. One down for Varitek grounds slowly to Scutaro throw to Inglett but cannot turn two. Bay scores. 4-3 Boston. That’s it for Camp, Parrish now pitching two down and two on. Ellsbury at bat, lines it into shallow CF great diving catch by Vernon to get third out.
Bottom 8th: How bad are the Jays hitters tonight? Big bats Rios, Wells, Overbay and Lind are combined 0-12 tonight. They will not win many games with numbers 2-6 in the lineup hitless. One more chance for them now. Rios at bat, 0-4 as he pops it up to 1B Casey. Wells now at least he has had a good night with his glove. High fly ball out to CF Ellsbury for second out. Vernon is also 0-4. Here comes Manager Francona for new pitcher, Okajima to face Overbay. Setting up for Papelbon in the ninth. Lyle fly ball out to Bay in LF and this game is virtually over. 0-15 for those lineup hitters 2-6. Ouch, ouch. Cito I thought you had new hitting coaches.
Top 9th: Pedroia facing Parrish grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for first out. Ortiz at bat, pops it up to Rolen at 3B wall, long run for that as he was playing almost at 2B with right shift on. Youkilis at bat full count, and walks. Number five walk by Jays pitchers tonight. Fly ball first pitch to Wells in CF for third out. Pitchers and fielders have done their job tonight but yet again as all season long the hitters and I mean the professional hitters have been unable to get anything between them. It has been the two at the top and the guys at the bottom that have come through tonight but not enough against this Boston team, they want to win and there’s the difference from this seat at least. So why would Burnett want to come back next year with this hitless underachieving group?
Bottom 9th: Youkilis in as first baseman.Cora in as shortstop. Lowrie in as third baseman. Papelbon pitching. Will not make same mistakes he did in Boston last weekend against this team. Lind at bat, grounds to Papelbon cannot handle it, knocks it down, and his throw to 1B is wild, Lind safe and falls but now up and risks another base and is just safe at 2B on the throw. That was huge gamble but paid off. Error on Papelbon. Wilkerson now pinch running. Rolen at bat runner in scoring position. 3-1 count, Rolen not tempted but lines this one out to SS Cora, one down. Zaun with one down and one on. Grounds to 2B throw to Papelbon for second out. Wilkerson moves to 3B for Snider. A lot of pressure on Travis here. Strikes out.
Don’t blame yourself Travis, the game was lost by the guys who are paid in the millions batting higher in the lineup.
Preview: The series Jays have been waiting for, for revenge. The city full of the Red Sox Nation. If Jays cannot get up for this one then they are as laid back as their Manager. The bad news re Marcum who has to have Tommy John surgery and will miss all next season. puts an interesting spin on the Burnett future..
Pitching: Burnett (18-10, 4.19 ERA). v Byrd. (11-12, 4.53 ERA) Burnett is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in two starts versus Boston t this season, and 5-0 with a 2.37 ERA all-time against them. Byrd is 2-2 with a 4.94 ERA in four starts versus Jays this season, and 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 10 career starts against them.
Lineups: Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Casey, Bay, Kotsay, Lowrie, Varitek and Byrd pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Overbay, Lind, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Burnett pitching.
Result: Jays lose this one 4-3 and probably any chances of keeping AJ Burnett next season and I for one would not blame him. He pitched well enough to win yet again but the Jays big bats were terrible tonight 0-15.
The good: Three consecutive doubles in the 2nd inning. Bottom of the batting order Rolen, Zaun and Snider. Inglett and Scutaro in the bottom of the fifth to tie it up. Burnett to keep it close.
The bad: Rios and Wells. 0-8 tonight not just the first pitch swinging stuff, just awful at bats. Rios really does look as if he doesn’t care.
Top 1st: Ellsbury strikes out. One down Pedroia walks. One on one down for Ortiz pops it up to 3B Rolen. Youkilis fly ball out to RF Rios.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounded out, second baseman Pedroia to first baseman Casey.
Scutaro doubles to left. Rios flied out to left fielder Bay. Wells fouled out to catcher Varitek. 7 pitches.
Top 2nd: One down Bay at bat, grounds to Burnett, tries to bare hand it and drops it. Rolen tries but not in time with throw to 1B. Error to Burnett. Kotsay lines out to CF tremendous catch by Wells, two down for Lowrie at bat, lines it past a diving Scutaro into LF, Varitek pops it up to Zaun for running cath in foul ground for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat, full count now equals number of pitches from first inning at least, in my book that is a plus sorry Cito. Grounds to Pedroia throw to Casey at 1B for first down, Lind at bat 0-7 high fly ball out to Ellsbury in CF, two down for Rolen, doubles into LF corner, this guy is hot right now. Zaun with two down and on in scoring position. Gregg doubles into LF, Rolen scores 1-0 Jays. Snider now YES Travis, he doubles into left centre, and scores Zaun. 2-0 Jays. I like Travis, he hits the way I wish Alex and Vernon would, stays back and goes with the pitch. Inglett now keep the line moving Joe. 3-1 count and walks him, two on for Scutaro. Here comes pitching coach. All this with two outs. Lines out hard to Ellsbury in CF for third out, but damage is done and Jays get out on top. 39 pitches.
Top 3rd: Ellsbury bunts to Burnett, does not miss this one and great throw down the line to Overbay to get Ellsbury, one down. Pedroia at bat one down, strikes out looking, two down. Ortiz at bat, full count, strikes him out bigtime. 46 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Rios (first pitch, of course) high fly ball out to CF, what a waste. Wells slaps it in to RF but at Casey 1B makes good play to knock it down. Two down for Overbay, first pitch grounds out to Casey. Six pitch inning, what is with these people? 45 pitches.
Top 4th: Six pitches ?? If I were Burnett I would really light into these hitters to give him a few minutes at least to sit down. Youkilis at bat, singles into RF. One on for Casey fly ball out to Wells in CF. one down for Bay, grounds to Rolen, on to Inglett to get Youkilis on to Overbay but not in time for two. Kotsay with two down and one on, singles into CF to Wells, two on for Lowrie, strikes him out, number five tonight. AJ is doing his job, how about the big bats? 54 pitches?
Bottom 4th: Lind grounds to Youkilis at 3B throw to Casey for first out. Rolen grounds to Lowrie SS throw to Casey for second out. Zaun at bat two down, full count. Fly ball out to Bay in LF. Jays go quietly again but a few more pitches at least.
Top 5th: Varitek at bat, doubles just inside the 3B bag into LF. Ellsbury bunt here? tries but not successful. Bunts past Burnett, he left it for Rolen as he goes back to 3B, Ellsbury safe at 1B, two on and no outs. Mental error there AJ. Pick off here and they get Ellsbury hung up, great play AJ. Redeems himself. One down. Pedroia lines hard wide of Scutaro, gets to it great play Marco and throws home to keep Varitek at 3B although Pedroia safe at 1B. Ortiz at bat, strikes him out for second time. Two down. Youkilis with two on and two down. Full count singles into CF and Varitek scores, 2-1 Jays. Casey at bat, two on and two down. Doubles over Rios to the RF wall. Two runs score. 3-2 Boston. Bay at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. 86 pitches though.
Bottom 5th: Jays bats have to get this one back for AJ, Snider at bat, strikes out. One down for Inglett, singles up the middle, one on for Scutaro. Keep it going Marco. YES Marco, doubles to the wall and Inglett scores 3-3. Nice hitting Marco and good running by Inglett. Now Rios, first pitch chin music… so Alex what are you going to do about it? Pops it up to Youkilis two down, sit this guy please Cito. Lopez up in Boston bullpen. Wells now, another underachiever with the bat, grounds to Youkilis tags Scutaro as he heads to 3B for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 75 pitches.
Top 6th: Kotsay at bat, full count, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first out. Lowrie at bat, loops it into shallow LF, Snider throw not in time. One down one on, Varitek grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out, Lowrie moves to 3B. Ellsbury grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for third out. 107 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Overbay at bat, full count, patience here Lyle. Pops up ball four to Bay in shallow LF. Lind, 0-9 mini slump, 3-0 count, good at bat here by Adam fouling off pitch after pitch on full count. This time fly ball out to Bay in LF. Two down for Rolen. Full count, another good patient at bat, strikes out. 98 pitches.
Top 7th: Burnett out again. He wants that win. It is too bad that you donlt see that intensity transfer to some of his overpaid teammates. Pitch count over 100 though. Tampa hammering Twins 9-0 and Yankees leading Baltimore 3-2. Pedroia fly ball out to Rios in RF. Ortiz full count, but walks him. Tallet and Camp working in Jays bullpen. Youkilis fly ball out to Snider throw back to Overbay gets Ortiz double play ball. Great play by Snider, terrible lapse by Ortiz venturing too far to 2B and then ambling back that was an Alex Rios moment, and costs the Red Sox. AJ doesn’t mind though. 121 pitches and six strikeouts.
Bottom 7th: Now the Jays bats have to get one here for Burnett. Lopez now pitching. Zaun grounds up the middle Pedroia great play to just get Zaun, a Johnny Mc play. Snider at bat, strikes out. Top of the order, Inglett full count, and walks. Scutaro at bat, that’s it for Lopez, here comes manager Francona. Delcarmen now pitching. First pitch grounds it up the middle to Pedroia steps on the 2B bag to get Inglett for third out.
Top 8th: Tallet, Casey at bat, strikes out swinging. One down for Bay singles past Tallet to Inglett, but Bay safe at 1B. Kotsay at bat, 3-0 count, and walks him on four pitches. Two on and that’s it for Tallet, here comes Cito and Camp now pitching. Lowrie at bat, 3-1 count and walks him to load the bases. One down for Varitek grounds slowly to Scutaro throw to Inglett but cannot turn two. Bay scores. 4-3 Boston. That’s it for Camp, Parrish now pitching two down and two on. Ellsbury at bat, lines it into shallow CF great diving catch by Vernon to get third out.
Bottom 8th: How bad are the Jays hitters tonight? Big bats Rios, Wells, Overbay and Lind are combined 0-12 tonight. They will not win many games with numbers 2-6 in the lineup hitless. One more chance for them now. Rios at bat, 0-4 as he pops it up to 1B Casey. Wells now at least he has had a good night with his glove. High fly ball out to CF Ellsbury for second out. Vernon is also 0-4. Here comes Manager Francona for new pitcher, Okajima to face Overbay. Setting up for Papelbon in the ninth. Lyle fly ball out to Bay in LF and this game is virtually over. 0-15 for those lineup hitters 2-6. Ouch, ouch. Cito I thought you had new hitting coaches.
Top 9th: Pedroia facing Parrish grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for first out. Ortiz at bat, pops it up to Rolen at 3B wall, long run for that as he was playing almost at 2B with right shift on. Youkilis at bat full count, and walks. Number five walk by Jays pitchers tonight. Fly ball first pitch to Wells in CF for third out. Pitchers and fielders have done their job tonight but yet again as all season long the hitters and I mean the professional hitters have been unable to get anything between them. It has been the two at the top and the guys at the bottom that have come through tonight but not enough against this Boston team, they want to win and there’s the difference from this seat at least. So why would Burnett want to come back next year with this hitless underachieving group?
Bottom 9th: Youkilis in as first baseman.Cora in as shortstop. Lowrie in as third baseman. Papelbon pitching. Will not make same mistakes he did in Boston last weekend against this team. Lind at bat, grounds to Papelbon cannot handle it, knocks it down, and his throw to 1B is wild, Lind safe and falls but now up and risks another base and is just safe at 2B on the throw. That was huge gamble but paid off. Error on Papelbon. Wilkerson now pinch running. Rolen at bat runner in scoring position. 3-1 count, Rolen not tempted but lines this one out to SS Cora, one down. Zaun with one down and one on. Grounds to 2B throw to Papelbon for second out. Wilkerson moves to 3B for Snider. A lot of pressure on Travis here. Strikes out.
Don’t blame yourself Travis, the game was lost by the guys who are paid in the millions batting higher in the lineup.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Jays win a tight one. Litsch win number twelve. BJ save number thirty one
Toronto v Baltimore Game series finale. Thursday September 18, 2008.
Preview: Final game of home series with the Orioles but Jays will play the again in Baltimore to finish off the season. For the optimists they are hoping that those games will decide the playoffs and they may well do so. But two big series still to play at home Boston tomorrow for the weekend and then the Yankees series which probably will decide third place in the Division and you know the Yankees will not want to finish fourth. Jays have not played well this week but perhaps last night has given them a kick start to finish strongly.
What they said: Manager Cito: "I'm proud, but still think we could have done better," GM Ricciardi : "Cito will be here next year. We'll take care of that."
Mora: "Nobody wants to be in last place. Nobody wants to be a loser. It's one thing we need to turn around next year."
Pitching: Olson (9-8, 6.84 ERA) v Litsch (11-8, 3.75). Olson had his worst outing of the season against Minnesota on Saturday allowing six runs and five hits in the 12-6 loss. He is 1-3 with an 11.91 ERA in his last six outings. Against the Jays he is 0-1 with a 14.04 ERA in two starts this season.
Litsch in his last start pitched 5 1-3 innings against Boston, allowing three runs, five hits and five walks in the 7-5 loss. He is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in four career starts against Baltimore. In his start against them July 21, he gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-3 loss.
The good: Bautista first inning HR and excellent double play in 2nd. Zaun two run double in the sixth. The bullpen of Wolfe, Carlson and Ryan to shut Orioles out. Ryan to get out jam in the ninth. It was not his fault that Zaun interfered with Payton to walk him in the ninth.
The bad: Litsch walks bases loaded with three walks in the fourth. Rios unable to bring in runners from 2B and 3B in the 4th. Zaun trying for triple and out by a mile. Seventh inning neither Rios or Wells can bring the runner in. Familiar chorus?
Lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Cintron, Markakis, Huff, Millar, Scott, Salazar, Payton, Santos and Olson pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Overbay, Thigpen, Snider and Litsch pitching.
Top 1st: Roberts grounds out first pitch to Overbay, one down for Cintron, grounds up the middle first pitch again Bautista throw not in time. Why are they playing Bautista at 2B ??? Markakis full count and strikes him out two down for Huff, grounds to Rolen, throw not in time. Scott playing too deep. Two on two down for Millar, strikes out. Good first inning for Jesse. Now can the bats carry on from last night? 24 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Scutaro, 3-0 count, grounds to Cintron throw to Millar for first out. Bautista full count, this one is hammered, a rocket to LF bullpen, 1-0 Jays. Rios at bat, was last night a one off ? grounds to Huff, throw to Millar for second out. Wells, with two down, lines hard at 3B Huff off his glove diving for the ball, Vernon safe at 1B. That was catchable. Lind with one on and two down. Pops it up to Layton in CF t end the inning but Jays are ahead. 19 pitches.
Top 2nd: Scott at bat, both pitchers working fast tonight. Strikes him out, number three for Jesse. Salazar at bat one down, singles up the middle, one on one down, Payton grounds to Bautista steps on 2B and throw to Overbay, very nice Jose, highlight reel, double play and Jesse is out of this one with no damage. 34 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen such a great game last night. Walks, one on for Overbay, full count, pops up to SS Cintron, one down. not a great at bat by Lyle. Thigpen, 3-0 count, fly ball out to LF Scott, two down and Rolen still stuck at 1B this is not good Cito, something else to work on in Dunedin, moving the runner over. Snider at bat, another 3-0 count, at least Jays are more patient tonight, they must be reading the blog… and walks Snider on four pitches. Scutaro now with two on and two down. Do you think Jays will ever attempt a double steal under Cito ? fly ball out to RF Markakis. 47 pitches though.
Top 3rd: Santos grounds to Bautista throw to Overbay for first out. Roberts at bat, one down. fly ball out to Snider LF for second out. Cintron with two down, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. Quick inning for Jesse here. 43 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have had their chances tonight already, they need to capitalize. Top of the order and the big bats. Bautista at bat, strikes out swinging. Rios at bat one down. Grounds hard to SS Cintron drops the ball but still time to throw Rios out at 1B two down for Wells. Why does Vernon always try to pull the ball? Grounds this one to Huff throw to Millar for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 56 pitches.
Top 4th: Markakis at bat, strikes out, for the second time tonight. Huff grounds first pitch to Bautista throw to Overbay for second out. That is a big out for Jesse. Millar at bat, hard grounder to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out and another quick and short inning for Jesse. 54 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Lind at bat, fly ball out to CF Payton, Adam is not having a good September. Rolen at bat, one down. Loops it into shallow LF but great running catch by Castro behind 3B.Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to CF Payton, three up and down. 70 pitches.
Top 5th: Scott at bat, grounds to Overbay, flip to Litsch for first out. Salazar, full count, walks him, Payton at bat, one on one down. Walks, two walks for Jesse here, back to back. Santos strikes out, number five for Litsch tonight, two down for Roberts. Full count, not good Jesse. Walks bases loaded three consecutive walks, ouch, ouch. Wolfe up in bullpen. Cintron at bat bases loaded two down. Here comes Cito. Singles into RF two runs score. 2-1 Baltimore. Runners at 1B and 3B for Markakis. Grounds to Bautista at 2B throw to Scutaro for out at 2B. But Jesse has opened the door here and that might be his last pitch tonight.86 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Thigpen at bat, hit him on the foot, Snider now can he make him pay? One on no outs. Singles up the middle and this kid continues to produce. Two on and no outs, for Scutaro gotta move them over Marco, bunting. Perfect both runners move up. Two in scoring position now for the big guys. Can they bring them in? Bautista at bat, pops it up but too shallow Castro makes the catch at shallow LF. Rios at bat, two down, just a base hit Alex, don’t be a hero. Grounds it to Castro SS and Alex cannot do it but did anyone expect him to? In the clutch he chokes almost every time. 87 pitches.
Top 6th: Litsch still out there for Huff at bat, strikes out. Millar at bat, one down. Full count and walks another. Scott at bat, 3-0 count in danger of another walk, there’s a strike, full count, lines it out to Wells in CF, two down for Salazar, pops it up to Rios in shallow RF. 107 pitches though for Litsch. Yankees hammering White Sox and Tampa beating the Twins.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays hitters rediscover last night’s magic? This might be Olson’s last inning. Wells leadoff, walks, he did that last night, is he discovering some patience at the end of the season ? Lind lines hard to Millar throw to 2B gets Wells and almost gets Lind at 1B but Millar drops ball. Adam escapes here. Rolen at bat, fly ball out to Markakis in RF two down. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, two on two down. Too little too late. Orioles bullpen working. Thigpen at bat, here comes the Manager, that’s it for Olson 99 pitches. I think they are giving Thigpen a little too much respect here. Jim Miller pitching Zaun pinch hitting for Thigpen, and wild pitch first pitch moves both runners up, YES Gregg doubles into RF corner two runs score and now he is trying for three bases and is thrown out at 3B. Why would he do something stupid like that, he is hardly the swiftest runner, he was out by six feet at least, adrenalin fries his brain I guess. But Jays are ahead again 3-2 Jays. But Zaun could have been key at 2B with Snider at bat.
Top 7th: Wolfe now pitching Jesse in line for the win. Salazar leading off, fly ball out to Rios in RF. One down. Santos strikes out. Roberts full count, don’t lose him Brian, fly ball out to Snider in LF, three up and down for Wolfe, nice pitching.
Bottom 7th: Snider to leadoff, grounds to Roberts throw to Millar for first out. Scutaro at bat, doubles into LF corner, nice at bat Marco. Bautista now with runner in scoring position. But we have been here before. 1/4tonight with runners in scoring position. Grounds to Millar throw to Miller at 1B. Scutaro to 3B. Rios can he redeem himself ? Don’t place any bets. Rios 0-3 tonight. One night on next night off. Full count, and walks him. Wels now with two on and two down. Don’t expect Alex steal here, 2-2 now Alex stealing but Vernon fouls off. Full count, will Vernon swing ? yes he does but fouls it off. Pops it up to Payton in shallow CF. Both Alex and Vernon just cannot get it done tonight. 1/6 with runners in scoring position.
Top 8th: Carlson now pitching. McDonald in for Scutaro at SS Marco moves to 2B.Bautista sitting. Pinch hitter Jones for Cintron, fly ball out to Wells. One down. Markakis at bat, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, two down. Huff, grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for third out. Very nice inning once again for Carlson.
Bottom 8th: Jays hitters need to get something going here and out this game out of reach. Big bats cannot do it but little guys might. Walker pitching. Lind at bat, gets hold one here but just foul into RF, almost Adam. full count, pops it up to Roberts but a better at bat for Lind this time. Rolen with one down, full count, grounds to 3B Huff throw to 1B Millar for the out. Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to Markakis. Jays hitters are going very quietly tonight.
Top 9th: Here we go again BJ Ryan with a one run lead. Millar at bat. Strikes him out. One down for Scott, 2-2 count, singles into LF Snider. One on one down for Salazar, 3-1 count and walks him on a very high pitch. Payton with tying run at 2B. Walks him on first pitch, catcher’s interference, hits Zaun’s glove on swing. Bases loaded for Mora pinch hitting. Oh man, pops it up to Overbay in foul ground, Scott holds at 3B. Two down bases loaded for Roberts. Grounds it to Johnny Mc. Quick throw to Overbay for the out, great throw, good play by Overbay to get a very speedy runner and Jays win this one 3-2.
Jesse Litsch gets win number twelve. Ryan save number thirty one.
Preview: Final game of home series with the Orioles but Jays will play the again in Baltimore to finish off the season. For the optimists they are hoping that those games will decide the playoffs and they may well do so. But two big series still to play at home Boston tomorrow for the weekend and then the Yankees series which probably will decide third place in the Division and you know the Yankees will not want to finish fourth. Jays have not played well this week but perhaps last night has given them a kick start to finish strongly.
What they said: Manager Cito: "I'm proud, but still think we could have done better," GM Ricciardi : "Cito will be here next year. We'll take care of that."
Mora: "Nobody wants to be in last place. Nobody wants to be a loser. It's one thing we need to turn around next year."
Pitching: Olson (9-8, 6.84 ERA) v Litsch (11-8, 3.75). Olson had his worst outing of the season against Minnesota on Saturday allowing six runs and five hits in the 12-6 loss. He is 1-3 with an 11.91 ERA in his last six outings. Against the Jays he is 0-1 with a 14.04 ERA in two starts this season.
Litsch in his last start pitched 5 1-3 innings against Boston, allowing three runs, five hits and five walks in the 7-5 loss. He is 1-3 with a 5.24 ERA in four career starts against Baltimore. In his start against them July 21, he gave up six runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings of an 8-3 loss.
The good: Bautista first inning HR and excellent double play in 2nd. Zaun two run double in the sixth. The bullpen of Wolfe, Carlson and Ryan to shut Orioles out. Ryan to get out jam in the ninth. It was not his fault that Zaun interfered with Payton to walk him in the ninth.
The bad: Litsch walks bases loaded with three walks in the fourth. Rios unable to bring in runners from 2B and 3B in the 4th. Zaun trying for triple and out by a mile. Seventh inning neither Rios or Wells can bring the runner in. Familiar chorus?
Lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Cintron, Markakis, Huff, Millar, Scott, Salazar, Payton, Santos and Olson pitching.
Toronto: Scutaro, Bautista, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Overbay, Thigpen, Snider and Litsch pitching.
Top 1st: Roberts grounds out first pitch to Overbay, one down for Cintron, grounds up the middle first pitch again Bautista throw not in time. Why are they playing Bautista at 2B ??? Markakis full count and strikes him out two down for Huff, grounds to Rolen, throw not in time. Scott playing too deep. Two on two down for Millar, strikes out. Good first inning for Jesse. Now can the bats carry on from last night? 24 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Scutaro, 3-0 count, grounds to Cintron throw to Millar for first out. Bautista full count, this one is hammered, a rocket to LF bullpen, 1-0 Jays. Rios at bat, was last night a one off ? grounds to Huff, throw to Millar for second out. Wells, with two down, lines hard at 3B Huff off his glove diving for the ball, Vernon safe at 1B. That was catchable. Lind with one on and two down. Pops it up to Layton in CF t end the inning but Jays are ahead. 19 pitches.
Top 2nd: Scott at bat, both pitchers working fast tonight. Strikes him out, number three for Jesse. Salazar at bat one down, singles up the middle, one on one down, Payton grounds to Bautista steps on 2B and throw to Overbay, very nice Jose, highlight reel, double play and Jesse is out of this one with no damage. 34 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen such a great game last night. Walks, one on for Overbay, full count, pops up to SS Cintron, one down. not a great at bat by Lyle. Thigpen, 3-0 count, fly ball out to LF Scott, two down and Rolen still stuck at 1B this is not good Cito, something else to work on in Dunedin, moving the runner over. Snider at bat, another 3-0 count, at least Jays are more patient tonight, they must be reading the blog… and walks Snider on four pitches. Scutaro now with two on and two down. Do you think Jays will ever attempt a double steal under Cito ? fly ball out to RF Markakis. 47 pitches though.
Top 3rd: Santos grounds to Bautista throw to Overbay for first out. Roberts at bat, one down. fly ball out to Snider LF for second out. Cintron with two down, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out. Quick inning for Jesse here. 43 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have had their chances tonight already, they need to capitalize. Top of the order and the big bats. Bautista at bat, strikes out swinging. Rios at bat one down. Grounds hard to SS Cintron drops the ball but still time to throw Rios out at 1B two down for Wells. Why does Vernon always try to pull the ball? Grounds this one to Huff throw to Millar for third out. Rios and Wells what a pair. 56 pitches.
Top 4th: Markakis at bat, strikes out, for the second time tonight. Huff grounds first pitch to Bautista throw to Overbay for second out. That is a big out for Jesse. Millar at bat, hard grounder to Rolen throw to Overbay for third out and another quick and short inning for Jesse. 54 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Lind at bat, fly ball out to CF Payton, Adam is not having a good September. Rolen at bat, one down. Loops it into shallow LF but great running catch by Castro behind 3B.Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to CF Payton, three up and down. 70 pitches.
Top 5th: Scott at bat, grounds to Overbay, flip to Litsch for first out. Salazar, full count, walks him, Payton at bat, one on one down. Walks, two walks for Jesse here, back to back. Santos strikes out, number five for Litsch tonight, two down for Roberts. Full count, not good Jesse. Walks bases loaded three consecutive walks, ouch, ouch. Wolfe up in bullpen. Cintron at bat bases loaded two down. Here comes Cito. Singles into RF two runs score. 2-1 Baltimore. Runners at 1B and 3B for Markakis. Grounds to Bautista at 2B throw to Scutaro for out at 2B. But Jesse has opened the door here and that might be his last pitch tonight.86 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Thigpen at bat, hit him on the foot, Snider now can he make him pay? One on no outs. Singles up the middle and this kid continues to produce. Two on and no outs, for Scutaro gotta move them over Marco, bunting. Perfect both runners move up. Two in scoring position now for the big guys. Can they bring them in? Bautista at bat, pops it up but too shallow Castro makes the catch at shallow LF. Rios at bat, two down, just a base hit Alex, don’t be a hero. Grounds it to Castro SS and Alex cannot do it but did anyone expect him to? In the clutch he chokes almost every time. 87 pitches.
Top 6th: Litsch still out there for Huff at bat, strikes out. Millar at bat, one down. Full count and walks another. Scott at bat, 3-0 count in danger of another walk, there’s a strike, full count, lines it out to Wells in CF, two down for Salazar, pops it up to Rios in shallow RF. 107 pitches though for Litsch. Yankees hammering White Sox and Tampa beating the Twins.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays hitters rediscover last night’s magic? This might be Olson’s last inning. Wells leadoff, walks, he did that last night, is he discovering some patience at the end of the season ? Lind lines hard to Millar throw to 2B gets Wells and almost gets Lind at 1B but Millar drops ball. Adam escapes here. Rolen at bat, fly ball out to Markakis in RF two down. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, two on two down. Too little too late. Orioles bullpen working. Thigpen at bat, here comes the Manager, that’s it for Olson 99 pitches. I think they are giving Thigpen a little too much respect here. Jim Miller pitching Zaun pinch hitting for Thigpen, and wild pitch first pitch moves both runners up, YES Gregg doubles into RF corner two runs score and now he is trying for three bases and is thrown out at 3B. Why would he do something stupid like that, he is hardly the swiftest runner, he was out by six feet at least, adrenalin fries his brain I guess. But Jays are ahead again 3-2 Jays. But Zaun could have been key at 2B with Snider at bat.
Top 7th: Wolfe now pitching Jesse in line for the win. Salazar leading off, fly ball out to Rios in RF. One down. Santos strikes out. Roberts full count, don’t lose him Brian, fly ball out to Snider in LF, three up and down for Wolfe, nice pitching.
Bottom 7th: Snider to leadoff, grounds to Roberts throw to Millar for first out. Scutaro at bat, doubles into LF corner, nice at bat Marco. Bautista now with runner in scoring position. But we have been here before. 1/4tonight with runners in scoring position. Grounds to Millar throw to Miller at 1B. Scutaro to 3B. Rios can he redeem himself ? Don’t place any bets. Rios 0-3 tonight. One night on next night off. Full count, and walks him. Wels now with two on and two down. Don’t expect Alex steal here, 2-2 now Alex stealing but Vernon fouls off. Full count, will Vernon swing ? yes he does but fouls it off. Pops it up to Payton in shallow CF. Both Alex and Vernon just cannot get it done tonight. 1/6 with runners in scoring position.
Top 8th: Carlson now pitching. McDonald in for Scutaro at SS Marco moves to 2B.Bautista sitting. Pinch hitter Jones for Cintron, fly ball out to Wells. One down. Markakis at bat, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, two down. Huff, grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for third out. Very nice inning once again for Carlson.
Bottom 8th: Jays hitters need to get something going here and out this game out of reach. Big bats cannot do it but little guys might. Walker pitching. Lind at bat, gets hold one here but just foul into RF, almost Adam. full count, pops it up to Roberts but a better at bat for Lind this time. Rolen with one down, full count, grounds to 3B Huff throw to 1B Millar for the out. Two down for Overbay, fly ball out to Markakis. Jays hitters are going very quietly tonight.
Top 9th: Here we go again BJ Ryan with a one run lead. Millar at bat. Strikes him out. One down for Scott, 2-2 count, singles into LF Snider. One on one down for Salazar, 3-1 count and walks him on a very high pitch. Payton with tying run at 2B. Walks him on first pitch, catcher’s interference, hits Zaun’s glove on swing. Bases loaded for Mora pinch hitting. Oh man, pops it up to Overbay in foul ground, Scott holds at 3B. Two down bases loaded for Roberts. Grounds it to Johnny Mc. Quick throw to Overbay for the out, great throw, good play by Overbay to get a very speedy runner and Jays win this one 3-2.
Jesse Litsch gets win number twelve. Ryan save number thirty one.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Jays hitters show fighting spirit to win season high comebacker.
Toronto v Baltimore. Game two of series. Wednesday September 17, 2008.
Preview: Interesting situation, Jays about to announce that Cito will be Manager next season, not good. I am not a fan of Cito and do not believe that he has done any better than Gibbons was doing. Witness the last few games where this team hitting has been pathetic. If Cito takes credit for the 10 game win streak then he takes the fall for the current mess. He can’t have just the good.
Gibbons may be blamed for the hitting woes but I also give him credit for the best month of the season in May with the 20-10 record that Cito and staff have yet to match. I believe he has indeed restored some calm to the lineup but now this team is so calm and laid back they have no fire and no determination. When was the last time a Jays player was tossed from a game for showing emotion ? Where is the aggressive baseball that Tampa, Boston, Yankees show most of the time. Not Cito’s way…. Well what is Cito’s way? If the hitting last three games is the way then next season will be a bust.
This “first pitch swinging fever” now up and down the lineup is ruining the team and more to the point has resulted in zilch. One perfect example of what I am talking about was last night’s game with young Travis Snider. Playing against a lefty pitcher to get him accustomed to them he took an eight pitch count from Waters and doubled into CF. The only multibase hit of the night for the Jays. All around him and now including Lind which is real shame, the hitters are swinging at “their good pitch”, the first pitch and getting in a deep hole from pitch one.
Rios and Wells are the biggest culprits but now Overbay, Zaun, Rolen, and Scutaro are following their leaders. Opposing pitchers must love it, pitch them all away first pitch, strike one, a couple of more pitches and then down and away to Rios and Wells and bingo. Everybody on baseball knows that Rios and Wells cannot hold off that pitch. Sorry Cito until that is changed then you can keep your style of hitting coaching. As for Rios, he has to be one of the biggest busts of the season in the majors. A player with undoubted skills, with bat, speed and defence and yet still unwilling to run out a ground ball to 1B, run into the wall in RF, let alone shallow foul ground or change his awful hitting. A player yet to have a full season of good baseball and I am afraid that as long as he is not disciplined by his Manager and benched occasionally to bring him up short, he will continue in his own little world that has no link with the game at hand.
So tonight’s game. Can the Jays extend their losing streak to four ? Probably not they may score twenty runs or be shut out again and this is what drives the fans crazy, they never ever know which team is showing up to play from game to game. They do know that the pitchers for the most part will pitch their hearts out hoping that their brothers have brought their bats with them. If and a very big if, this Jays team thinks that they are playoff material then they need to finish the season on a 10-2 run or better. That will be the only signal to the fans that they are for real and not a mirage every night. More to the point for Mr. Rogers he will want to see some bodies in those seats and not the opposing “nations” of fans. Last night’s crowd or lack of was a almost as embarrassing as the way the team played but message to the top, the fans are not as stupid as you may think and they will not be back unless we can see some attractive and entertaining baseball. Cito are you listening. Someone wake him up in that dugout.
What are they saying? Waters: Anytime I'm out there I want to go all nine. Sometimes you don't have what you need to do it but tonight was special."
Marcum: "I threw a couple of changeups, my forearm tightened up and I got some numbness down in my pinkie finger, my hand was going numb. Hopefully I'm not shut down and can make my next two starts and try to end on a good note for next year."
The Manager: We'd like to stay there (third place), so it's important that we play hard the rest of the way no matter what happens. Like I said earlier in the week, we'd like to make a statement to everybody else that we will be around. If it doesn't happen this year, we'll see that it happens next year. So it's important for us to play hard the rest of the way." (or if it doesn’t happen next year Cito there is always 2010…..I hope the last few games is not what he means by playing hard.)
More Manager Cito: “You just hate to lose at this time of the year because you really feel like you've taken a step backward."
Pitching tonight: Purcey (3-6, 5.10) v Bass (3-4, 4.84 ERA)
Purcey makes his first start against Baltimore . After a great outing and pitching eight innings in a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay he was not good in last start in Boston in a 7-0 loss at Boston. He allowed four runs - three earned - and six hits with two walks in 6 2-3 innings. Purcey is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in six home starts. He should be in line for rotation in 2009 but is he good enough or does he need another season in AAA ? One of the spring training questions.
Bass makes his second career start. Acquired from Minnesota on Sept. 5, the right-hander was in the rotation Thursday against Cleveland and pitched well enough to earn another start, allowing three runs - one earned - and four hits over 4 1-3 innings 6-3 victory. Bass pitched two scoreless innings on May 13 in his only career appearance against Toronto.
The lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Markakis, Mora, Huff, Hernandez, Jones, Salazar, Montanez, Castro and Bass pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Purcey pitching.
The result: Jays win great comeback game 8-7 after spotting Orioles a six run lead. Their biggest comeback of the season.
The good: Comeback win from 0-6. Hitters all down lineup everyone of starting lineup gets a hit, but Rolen 3-4 with triple and two doubles. Rios with double and HR, and Snider one again showing that he does belong in the majors, two key hits and two RBIs including sac fly for the winning run. Bullpen especially Tallet and Carlson who gets the win tonight and of course BJ Ryan closing the door for save number thirty.
The bad: Purcey in the fifth letting game get away from him. Jays bats for four innings and the previous nine last night.
The game: Top 1st: Roberts doubled to left. Here we go friends. Markakis singles to LF, Roberts moves to 3B. Two on not outs. Mora grounds to shortstop Scutaro on to 2B Inglett on to first baseman Overbay double play, but Roberts scores 1-0 Baltimore. Huff singles to CF. Hernandez grounds to 2B Inglett for the third out Huff at 2B.
Bottom 1st: Inglett strikes out. Scutaro grounds to SS Castro to first baseman Huff. Rios strikes out.
Top 2nd: Jones fly ball out to CF Wells. Salazar grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay.Montanez strikes out. 19 pitches
Bottom 2nd: Wells what has he brought tonight? Takes first pitch, well that’s a change. Full count, Vernon patient ? High fly ball out to LF one down for Lind, drives this one up the middle for first Jays hit. Overbay that’s it, grounds to 2B Roberts flip to SS Castro on to 1B Huff inning ending double play. Thanks Lyle. 17 ! pitches for Bass. Looking like last night again.
Top 3rd: Castro pops up to Rios one down. Roberts strikes out. Two down for Markakis full count. Walks him, Mora at bat with two down and one on, on a two strike pitch again, rolls one down to 3B, Both runners safe. Huff with two on now, pops it up to Rolen behind 3B but Purcey had loads of extra pitches there as he could not put the hitters away with two strikes. 40 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have not scored in thirteen innings. There’s a problem here hitting coaches. And this is so embarrassing, fortunately not many fans again tonight to see it. Rolen now leadoff double to LF off the glove of Montanez. Zaun now with runner in scoring position for only the second time in two games… Zaun grounds to Castro, throw to Huff, Rolen stays there. Snider now grounds first pitch oh no not Travis to 2B Roberts but at least he moves Rolen to 3B first for a Jays hitter this week. Things are definitely looking up here. How does it feel Scott ? Inglett with two down and Rolen at 3B. fly ball out to LF Montanez, leaving the lead off double at 3B. Hmmm ah well at least Jays managed to get to 3B. 30 pitches.
Top 4th: Hernandez pops up to Inglett for first out. Jones at bat, doubles down the 3B line to Lind in LF. hit number five for Orioles. One on, one down for Salazar, full count. Fouling a lot of pitches here, how come Jays hitters can’t do this? Fly ball out to Wells and Jones tags and moves to 3B. Two down one at 3B. Montanez fly ball out to Lind for third out gets Purcey off the hook.56 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro lines out to LF Montanez, one down for Rios. Grounds to Mora at 3B and throw to Huff, two down. Wells, singles up the middle. Lind with two down one of the problems Jays have is that as they do not play small ball they have to rely on hits to move the players along, here is wild pitch that will help, two more and Jays will score, Wells moves to 2B. Lind lines out to Huff at 1B. The futility continues. Thirteen innings since the last Jays run and this is Baltimore they are playing, go figure. 39 pitches for Bass.
Top 5th: Castro singles to Lind in LF, One on, great shot of Burnett on the bench you can se what he is thinking, only two more weeks with this group, and who can blame him. Roberts at bat, 3-0 count, loops it to Wells in CF. Two on and no outs and you know Roberts will be stealing immediately. Purcey in big trouble here. Markakis this is it, ground rule double into LF corner, Lind nowhere near, slidng but not at the wall. Reed Johnston would have had that one. Jays really need a good fielding left fielder. Castro scores 2-0 Baltimore and Roberts in at 3B still no outs and two more in scoring position for Mora, two more runs as he singles into right centre, 4-0 Baltimore. Huff with no outs, this one is out of here, second row right field seats, 6-0 Baltimore. Camp up in bullpen. Hernandez singles to LF. Six straight hits. Jones strikes out, Bronx cheer to get first out. Salazar strikes out. Umpire gave him a break on second strike. Montanez number nine batter this inning. Strikes out the side but far too late. Purcey has a lot of work to yet to rival Halladay. Tampa beating up on Boston Wakefield is already out of the game. There is irony for you after what he did to the Jays last weekend.
Bottom 5th: Now this will be interesting, how do the Jays hitters respond? Overbay singles into LF. Rolen at bat, now triples off CF wall, Overbay scores, 6-1 Jays and they have their first run since Sunday, nothing to get too excited about yet friends. Zaun gets hit and two on for Snider, two on and no outs. Singles into RF, scores Rolen 6-2 Baltimore and two on and no outs for Inglett. Grounds to Huff throw to Roberts to get Snider for first out, Zaun moves to 3B one down two on. Scutaro singles into LF Zaun scores 6-3 Baltimore and that’s it for Bass. Scutaro at1B and Inglettt at 2B one down. Cormier pitching Rios at bat, big hit Alex now. Yes, finally, Alex comes through, doubles hard to left centre wall and both Inglett and Scutaro score 6-5 Baltimore now Vernon with Alex at 2B. Strikes out turning away from the pitch, come on Vernon hit the thing, two down for Lind grounds to Huff throw to Cormier for third out. Jays comeback with five after not scoring any in previous fourteen innings. Go figure this team.
Top 6th: Whole new ball game here. Tallet now pitching has to hold them here. Castro fly ball out to Lind in LF. Roberts grounds to Scutaro great throw deep in the hole to Overbay to get him at 1B. Two down. Markakis fly ball out to Wells, three up and down on seven pitches. Good inning by Tallet, or maybe Orioles are in shock after that last inning watching their 6-0 lead evaporate in twenty minutes.
Bottom 6th: Overbay grounds first pitch to Roberts throw to Huff for first out. Rolen grounds to 2B Roberts throw to Huff two quick outs. Zaun loops it into right center. One on for Snider. Johnny Mc. pinch running for Zaun. Full count to Snider I do like this kid so cool and so far does not swing at wild pitches (or first pitches). Grounds to SS Castro full length dive to knock ball down throw not in time to get Snider, great play by Castro but not enough, two one for Inglett. Singles into CF. McDonald scores 6-6 and throw by Jones gets away from catcher Hernandez and both runners move up into scoring position. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Castro throw to Huff to get third out.
Top 7th: Thigpen catching. Mora at bat, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first down. Huff with one down. Full count. another ground ball out to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out. Here comes Cito, that’s it for Tallet. League now I never understand that with Cito when Tallet is going so smoothly, one more pitch and he is out of the inning and in comes another pitcher to get settled in and for one out. Hernandez at bat, full count, strikes him out for third out. Boston and Yankees both losing. Jays missed a chance last night to pull one back on those two so don’t let this one get away.
Bottom 7th: The big bats for Jays, we need to see them hitting here friends and put this game away. Rios at bat, Rocky Cherry now pitching. Not a good ball strike ratio, take a few Alex. YES Alex, gets hold of this one, HR to left centre. Second deck. 7-6 Jays. Vernon now high fly ball out to Jones in CF, one down for Lind. That’s it for Cherry. Jamie Walker now pitching, fly ball out to Jones for second out. Overbay at bat, two down, grounds to Huff throw to Walker for third out.
Top 8th: Wilkerson in LF for Lind. League still pitching. Jones grounds to Scutaro bare hand throw to Overbay to get first out. Salazar, this is trouble, doubles to the CF wall. One on one down for Scott pinch hitting for Montanez. Carlson up in Jays bullpen. Singles up the middle and Salazar scores. 7-7 game. Cintron another pinch hitter, this time for Castro and strikes out. Two down for Roberts, 0-2 count, singles into LF, two on two down, here comes Cito, that is it for League. Jesse Carlson to pitch to Markakis. Full count after 0-2. Grounds to Overbay, throw to Carlson for the third out.
Bottom 8th: Jays need to get that lead back. Yankees now winning Boston still losing. Kam Mickolio now pitching to Rolen, Doubles into LF corner. Third hit tonight for Scott. Thigpen now at bat, shows bunt. Gets it down to move Rolen to 3B. One down for Snider. 2-3 tonight. This will do it, Travis fly ball to LF Scott, Rolen scores 8-7 Jays. Good execution by the Jays with runner in scoring position bunt and sac fly. That is a change from earlier in the season but then neither Thigpen nor Snider were laying wit this team. Two down for Inglett. Singles up the middle, Scutaro fly ball out to Markakis in right centre.
Top 9th: Here we go, BJ Ryan pitching with one run lead. Hang on friends. Mora grounds to Scutaro long throw gets to Overbay in time for the out. Huff at bat fly ball out to Wells in shallow CF. Two down for Hernandez strikes hi out, Save number thirty for Ryan.
Jays win their biggest comeback of the season and none too soon. The spark must have been that six run fifth inning by Baltimore finally giving the Jays offence a kick start. Whatever the reason that is fine with Jays fans and may it continue.
Yankees win so Jays stay still but will gain important one on Boston if they continue to lose.
Preview: Interesting situation, Jays about to announce that Cito will be Manager next season, not good. I am not a fan of Cito and do not believe that he has done any better than Gibbons was doing. Witness the last few games where this team hitting has been pathetic. If Cito takes credit for the 10 game win streak then he takes the fall for the current mess. He can’t have just the good.
Gibbons may be blamed for the hitting woes but I also give him credit for the best month of the season in May with the 20-10 record that Cito and staff have yet to match. I believe he has indeed restored some calm to the lineup but now this team is so calm and laid back they have no fire and no determination. When was the last time a Jays player was tossed from a game for showing emotion ? Where is the aggressive baseball that Tampa, Boston, Yankees show most of the time. Not Cito’s way…. Well what is Cito’s way? If the hitting last three games is the way then next season will be a bust.
This “first pitch swinging fever” now up and down the lineup is ruining the team and more to the point has resulted in zilch. One perfect example of what I am talking about was last night’s game with young Travis Snider. Playing against a lefty pitcher to get him accustomed to them he took an eight pitch count from Waters and doubled into CF. The only multibase hit of the night for the Jays. All around him and now including Lind which is real shame, the hitters are swinging at “their good pitch”, the first pitch and getting in a deep hole from pitch one.
Rios and Wells are the biggest culprits but now Overbay, Zaun, Rolen, and Scutaro are following their leaders. Opposing pitchers must love it, pitch them all away first pitch, strike one, a couple of more pitches and then down and away to Rios and Wells and bingo. Everybody on baseball knows that Rios and Wells cannot hold off that pitch. Sorry Cito until that is changed then you can keep your style of hitting coaching. As for Rios, he has to be one of the biggest busts of the season in the majors. A player with undoubted skills, with bat, speed and defence and yet still unwilling to run out a ground ball to 1B, run into the wall in RF, let alone shallow foul ground or change his awful hitting. A player yet to have a full season of good baseball and I am afraid that as long as he is not disciplined by his Manager and benched occasionally to bring him up short, he will continue in his own little world that has no link with the game at hand.
So tonight’s game. Can the Jays extend their losing streak to four ? Probably not they may score twenty runs or be shut out again and this is what drives the fans crazy, they never ever know which team is showing up to play from game to game. They do know that the pitchers for the most part will pitch their hearts out hoping that their brothers have brought their bats with them. If and a very big if, this Jays team thinks that they are playoff material then they need to finish the season on a 10-2 run or better. That will be the only signal to the fans that they are for real and not a mirage every night. More to the point for Mr. Rogers he will want to see some bodies in those seats and not the opposing “nations” of fans. Last night’s crowd or lack of was a almost as embarrassing as the way the team played but message to the top, the fans are not as stupid as you may think and they will not be back unless we can see some attractive and entertaining baseball. Cito are you listening. Someone wake him up in that dugout.
What are they saying? Waters: Anytime I'm out there I want to go all nine. Sometimes you don't have what you need to do it but tonight was special."
Marcum: "I threw a couple of changeups, my forearm tightened up and I got some numbness down in my pinkie finger, my hand was going numb. Hopefully I'm not shut down and can make my next two starts and try to end on a good note for next year."
The Manager: We'd like to stay there (third place), so it's important that we play hard the rest of the way no matter what happens. Like I said earlier in the week, we'd like to make a statement to everybody else that we will be around. If it doesn't happen this year, we'll see that it happens next year. So it's important for us to play hard the rest of the way." (or if it doesn’t happen next year Cito there is always 2010…..I hope the last few games is not what he means by playing hard.)
More Manager Cito: “You just hate to lose at this time of the year because you really feel like you've taken a step backward."
Pitching tonight: Purcey (3-6, 5.10) v Bass (3-4, 4.84 ERA)
Purcey makes his first start against Baltimore . After a great outing and pitching eight innings in a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay he was not good in last start in Boston in a 7-0 loss at Boston. He allowed four runs - three earned - and six hits with two walks in 6 2-3 innings. Purcey is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in six home starts. He should be in line for rotation in 2009 but is he good enough or does he need another season in AAA ? One of the spring training questions.
Bass makes his second career start. Acquired from Minnesota on Sept. 5, the right-hander was in the rotation Thursday against Cleveland and pitched well enough to earn another start, allowing three runs - one earned - and four hits over 4 1-3 innings 6-3 victory. Bass pitched two scoreless innings on May 13 in his only career appearance against Toronto.
The lineups: Baltimore: Roberts, Markakis, Mora, Huff, Hernandez, Jones, Salazar, Montanez, Castro and Bass pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Overbay, Rolen, Zaun, Snider and Purcey pitching.
The result: Jays win great comeback game 8-7 after spotting Orioles a six run lead. Their biggest comeback of the season.
The good: Comeback win from 0-6. Hitters all down lineup everyone of starting lineup gets a hit, but Rolen 3-4 with triple and two doubles. Rios with double and HR, and Snider one again showing that he does belong in the majors, two key hits and two RBIs including sac fly for the winning run. Bullpen especially Tallet and Carlson who gets the win tonight and of course BJ Ryan closing the door for save number thirty.
The bad: Purcey in the fifth letting game get away from him. Jays bats for four innings and the previous nine last night.
The game: Top 1st: Roberts doubled to left. Here we go friends. Markakis singles to LF, Roberts moves to 3B. Two on not outs. Mora grounds to shortstop Scutaro on to 2B Inglett on to first baseman Overbay double play, but Roberts scores 1-0 Baltimore. Huff singles to CF. Hernandez grounds to 2B Inglett for the third out Huff at 2B.
Bottom 1st: Inglett strikes out. Scutaro grounds to SS Castro to first baseman Huff. Rios strikes out.
Top 2nd: Jones fly ball out to CF Wells. Salazar grounds to SS Scutaro throw to 1B Overbay.Montanez strikes out. 19 pitches
Bottom 2nd: Wells what has he brought tonight? Takes first pitch, well that’s a change. Full count, Vernon patient ? High fly ball out to LF one down for Lind, drives this one up the middle for first Jays hit. Overbay that’s it, grounds to 2B Roberts flip to SS Castro on to 1B Huff inning ending double play. Thanks Lyle. 17 ! pitches for Bass. Looking like last night again.
Top 3rd: Castro pops up to Rios one down. Roberts strikes out. Two down for Markakis full count. Walks him, Mora at bat with two down and one on, on a two strike pitch again, rolls one down to 3B, Both runners safe. Huff with two on now, pops it up to Rolen behind 3B but Purcey had loads of extra pitches there as he could not put the hitters away with two strikes. 40 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Jays have not scored in thirteen innings. There’s a problem here hitting coaches. And this is so embarrassing, fortunately not many fans again tonight to see it. Rolen now leadoff double to LF off the glove of Montanez. Zaun now with runner in scoring position for only the second time in two games… Zaun grounds to Castro, throw to Huff, Rolen stays there. Snider now grounds first pitch oh no not Travis to 2B Roberts but at least he moves Rolen to 3B first for a Jays hitter this week. Things are definitely looking up here. How does it feel Scott ? Inglett with two down and Rolen at 3B. fly ball out to LF Montanez, leaving the lead off double at 3B. Hmmm ah well at least Jays managed to get to 3B. 30 pitches.
Top 4th: Hernandez pops up to Inglett for first out. Jones at bat, doubles down the 3B line to Lind in LF. hit number five for Orioles. One on, one down for Salazar, full count. Fouling a lot of pitches here, how come Jays hitters can’t do this? Fly ball out to Wells and Jones tags and moves to 3B. Two down one at 3B. Montanez fly ball out to Lind for third out gets Purcey off the hook.56 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro lines out to LF Montanez, one down for Rios. Grounds to Mora at 3B and throw to Huff, two down. Wells, singles up the middle. Lind with two down one of the problems Jays have is that as they do not play small ball they have to rely on hits to move the players along, here is wild pitch that will help, two more and Jays will score, Wells moves to 2B. Lind lines out to Huff at 1B. The futility continues. Thirteen innings since the last Jays run and this is Baltimore they are playing, go figure. 39 pitches for Bass.
Top 5th: Castro singles to Lind in LF, One on, great shot of Burnett on the bench you can se what he is thinking, only two more weeks with this group, and who can blame him. Roberts at bat, 3-0 count, loops it to Wells in CF. Two on and no outs and you know Roberts will be stealing immediately. Purcey in big trouble here. Markakis this is it, ground rule double into LF corner, Lind nowhere near, slidng but not at the wall. Reed Johnston would have had that one. Jays really need a good fielding left fielder. Castro scores 2-0 Baltimore and Roberts in at 3B still no outs and two more in scoring position for Mora, two more runs as he singles into right centre, 4-0 Baltimore. Huff with no outs, this one is out of here, second row right field seats, 6-0 Baltimore. Camp up in bullpen. Hernandez singles to LF. Six straight hits. Jones strikes out, Bronx cheer to get first out. Salazar strikes out. Umpire gave him a break on second strike. Montanez number nine batter this inning. Strikes out the side but far too late. Purcey has a lot of work to yet to rival Halladay. Tampa beating up on Boston Wakefield is already out of the game. There is irony for you after what he did to the Jays last weekend.
Bottom 5th: Now this will be interesting, how do the Jays hitters respond? Overbay singles into LF. Rolen at bat, now triples off CF wall, Overbay scores, 6-1 Jays and they have their first run since Sunday, nothing to get too excited about yet friends. Zaun gets hit and two on for Snider, two on and no outs. Singles into RF, scores Rolen 6-2 Baltimore and two on and no outs for Inglett. Grounds to Huff throw to Roberts to get Snider for first out, Zaun moves to 3B one down two on. Scutaro singles into LF Zaun scores 6-3 Baltimore and that’s it for Bass. Scutaro at1B and Inglettt at 2B one down. Cormier pitching Rios at bat, big hit Alex now. Yes, finally, Alex comes through, doubles hard to left centre wall and both Inglett and Scutaro score 6-5 Baltimore now Vernon with Alex at 2B. Strikes out turning away from the pitch, come on Vernon hit the thing, two down for Lind grounds to Huff throw to Cormier for third out. Jays comeback with five after not scoring any in previous fourteen innings. Go figure this team.
Top 6th: Whole new ball game here. Tallet now pitching has to hold them here. Castro fly ball out to Lind in LF. Roberts grounds to Scutaro great throw deep in the hole to Overbay to get him at 1B. Two down. Markakis fly ball out to Wells, three up and down on seven pitches. Good inning by Tallet, or maybe Orioles are in shock after that last inning watching their 6-0 lead evaporate in twenty minutes.
Bottom 6th: Overbay grounds first pitch to Roberts throw to Huff for first out. Rolen grounds to 2B Roberts throw to Huff two quick outs. Zaun loops it into right center. One on for Snider. Johnny Mc. pinch running for Zaun. Full count to Snider I do like this kid so cool and so far does not swing at wild pitches (or first pitches). Grounds to SS Castro full length dive to knock ball down throw not in time to get Snider, great play by Castro but not enough, two one for Inglett. Singles into CF. McDonald scores 6-6 and throw by Jones gets away from catcher Hernandez and both runners move up into scoring position. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Castro throw to Huff to get third out.
Top 7th: Thigpen catching. Mora at bat, grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay for first down. Huff with one down. Full count. another ground ball out to Inglett throw to Overbay for second out. Here comes Cito, that’s it for Tallet. League now I never understand that with Cito when Tallet is going so smoothly, one more pitch and he is out of the inning and in comes another pitcher to get settled in and for one out. Hernandez at bat, full count, strikes him out for third out. Boston and Yankees both losing. Jays missed a chance last night to pull one back on those two so don’t let this one get away.
Bottom 7th: The big bats for Jays, we need to see them hitting here friends and put this game away. Rios at bat, Rocky Cherry now pitching. Not a good ball strike ratio, take a few Alex. YES Alex, gets hold of this one, HR to left centre. Second deck. 7-6 Jays. Vernon now high fly ball out to Jones in CF, one down for Lind. That’s it for Cherry. Jamie Walker now pitching, fly ball out to Jones for second out. Overbay at bat, two down, grounds to Huff throw to Walker for third out.
Top 8th: Wilkerson in LF for Lind. League still pitching. Jones grounds to Scutaro bare hand throw to Overbay to get first out. Salazar, this is trouble, doubles to the CF wall. One on one down for Scott pinch hitting for Montanez. Carlson up in Jays bullpen. Singles up the middle and Salazar scores. 7-7 game. Cintron another pinch hitter, this time for Castro and strikes out. Two down for Roberts, 0-2 count, singles into LF, two on two down, here comes Cito, that is it for League. Jesse Carlson to pitch to Markakis. Full count after 0-2. Grounds to Overbay, throw to Carlson for the third out.
Bottom 8th: Jays need to get that lead back. Yankees now winning Boston still losing. Kam Mickolio now pitching to Rolen, Doubles into LF corner. Third hit tonight for Scott. Thigpen now at bat, shows bunt. Gets it down to move Rolen to 3B. One down for Snider. 2-3 tonight. This will do it, Travis fly ball to LF Scott, Rolen scores 8-7 Jays. Good execution by the Jays with runner in scoring position bunt and sac fly. That is a change from earlier in the season but then neither Thigpen nor Snider were laying wit this team. Two down for Inglett. Singles up the middle, Scutaro fly ball out to Markakis in right centre.
Top 9th: Here we go, BJ Ryan pitching with one run lead. Hang on friends. Mora grounds to Scutaro long throw gets to Overbay in time for the out. Huff at bat fly ball out to Wells in shallow CF. Two down for Hernandez strikes hi out, Save number thirty for Ryan.
Jays win their biggest comeback of the season and none too soon. The spark must have been that six run fifth inning by Baltimore finally giving the Jays offence a kick start. Whatever the reason that is fine with Jays fans and may it continue.
Yankees win so Jays stay still but will gain important one on Boston if they continue to lose.
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