Series loss

Thursday April 3 2008 Jays in New York.

Series finale and Jays let another get away. Jays lose 3-2.

The good: Jays outscore Yankees in series. Eckstein two hits. Rios steal, McGowan good six innings.
The bad: Jays lose two which were winnable. Go home with one win instead of potential sweep. Good teams find a way to win. The Jays just give them away. Downs error to lose game. Thomas' lack of discipline.

Lineups:
Jays: Eckstein, Stairs, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Overbay, Hill, Scutaro, Zaun and McGowan pitching.
NYY: Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Cano, Matsui, Molina, Cabrera and Hughes pitching.

The game:
Top of 1st. Eckstein grounds to 3, Stairs strikes out, Rios strikes out. Great start !
Bottom of 1st: Damon strikes out, Jeter grounds to SS, Abreu strikes out. McGowan good inning.

Top of 2nd. Wells flies to RF Cano over the shoulder catch, Thomas first pitch swinging pops up to Cabrera, Overbay grounds to 2B. Hughes seven pitch inning. Thanks Frank.
Bottom of 2nd. Rodriguez grounds to 3B, Giambi walks, Cano grounds to 3B, one out at 2B no time for double play, Matsui strikes out.

Top of 3rd. Hill flies to CF, Scutaro flies to RF, Zaun grounds to Giambi. Jays have just gone nine up nine down. Hughes looks like Cy Young.
Bottom of 3rd. Molina singles to CF, Cabrera walks, McGowan in some early trouble for first time in game, two on no outs. Damon lines out to Rios in RF, runners hold one down. Jeter grounds to SS, double play ball. McGowan escapes damage.

Top of 4th. Eckstein LF double, Stairs roller to 2B moves Eckstein to 3B, Rios singles to CF, Eckstein scores, 1-0 Jays.Wells at bat, Rios running and steals 2B, ball thrown into CF and Alex continues to 3B, Jays are really hustling this season, that must be at least four out of five steals in three games. Error Cano. Wells strikes out. Can Frank bring Alex in ? Strikes out and argues with home plate umpire and is thrown out of game. No loss. Another lost opportunity for run though.
Bottom of 4th. Abreu singles to RF, Rodriguez pops up behind 2B, Giambi grounds to 1B but Abreu gets to 3B with shift on for Giambi no one at 3B. Two down. Cano flies to LF. could have been much worse for McGowan.

Top of 5th. Overbay grounds to 2B, Hill flies to LF, Scutaro walks, Zaun doubles down RF line, Scutaro to 3B. Eckstein with one down and two on grounds to 3B, Rodriguez can only knock ball down , Scutaro scores 2-0 Jays and Eckstein is safe at 1B. Zaun to 3B on the play. Stairs grounds out to 1B. Eckstein two hits and rbi already in game.
Bottom of 5th. McGowan now with 2-0 lead. Matsui singles to LF, Molina shatters bat and pops up to Hll at 1B, Cabrera grounds to 2B, double play. McGowan through five with 70 pitches.

Top of 6th. Rios flies out to CF, Wells flies out to RF. Who will DH for Thomas ??? Stewart ! , as Stairs is already in LF and Coats will probably be in defensively for him in 7th. Thanks again Frank, these little things are magnified in Yankee Stadium, no need to give Yankees any advantage. Stewart breaks bat grounding to Jeter at SS.
Bottom of 6th. Damon doubles to RF, Jeter hit, Abreu walks, just like that... bases loaded for guess who?
Rodriguez, wild pitch ! Damon scores 2-1. Rodriguez strikes out, huge for McGowan. Giambi with no shift on this time flies to RF, on the throw Abreu out at 3B but Jeter has already scored 2-2. But McGowan could have had major damage with bases loaded, no one out and Rodriguez at bat.

Top of 7th. Treber pitching, lefty lefty match up Overbay strikes out. Bruney now pitching Hill grounds to 2B, Scutaro flies to RF.
Bottom of 7th. Wolfe pitching. Cano grounds to 1B, Matsui strikes out, Molina shatters bat grounding to 3B. Good inning by Wolfe.

Top of 8th. Chamberlain now pitching. Zaun strikes out. Eckstein bounces one to 2B and almost beats out throw, Stairs singles to RF, Coats pinch runner and will stay in game. Rios flies to RF.
Bottom of 8th. Wolfe still pitching. Cabrera single to RF. Downs now pitching. The Gibbons hook still working. Damon bunts down 1B line, Downs cannot make play, two on and error to Downs. Jeter also bunts, both runners move up t 2B and 3B. One down. Abreu singles to CF, Wells cannot get to it for catch, Damon scores 3-2 Yankees and guess who at bat? Rodriguez again, Downs strikes him out on 3 pitches. Very nice..... Two down. Giambi is hit, bases loaded. Cano pops up to CF. Downs limits damage could have been a lot worse but it was his own creation with error on Damon.

Top of 9th. Last chance for Jays, against Rivera ! Wells single up the middle, "DH Stewart " at bat, Frank I hope you are watching this, Stewart grounds to 3B Wells moves to 2B, Overbay grounds to SS, Hills looks at third strike, ouch bigtime. Tying run Wells left standing at 3B.

Yankees win 3-2. Jays outscore Yankees in the 3 games. Both losses 3-2... could have had them...