Game number two against Angels.
Jays have to keep up the pressure on the rest of the East.
Tampa has already won tonight 2-0.
Marcum 5-3 2.64 ERA v Lackey 1-1 2.05 ERA
Lineups: Jays: Stewart, Scutaro,Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Barajas, Wilkerson, Eckstein and Marcum pitching.
Angels: Willits, Kendrick, Anderson, Guerrero, Hunter, Kotchman, Izturis, Mathis, Quinlan and Lackey pitching.
Result: Angels win 3-2 in ten innings.
The very good: Not much tonight.
The good: Marcum pitching to keep Jays in the game. Rolen’s defence, Barajas Home Run.Eckstein 2-3.
The bad: Base running by Rios and Wilkerson. Bat first pitch swinging. Rios at bat in 8th. Swinging wildly at balls and taking third strike, totally at sea right now. Rolen, Stairs and Overbay tonight 0-10. And I have to add the Manager to this mix tonight. The percentages did not work out in the tenth and he paid the price.
Top 1st: Stewart good at bat here fouling several off, full count. Walks him Nice at bat Shannon, nine pitches. Scutaro at bat will Shannon be running ? grounds out to 2B double play. Rios now at bat grounds out to SS. Stewart’s lead off base for naught. 17 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Willits strikes out. Good start. Kendrick at bat fly ball to shallow center for Rios. Anderson at bat, 3-0 here. There’s a strike. Walks Anderson for Guerrero…. Not good Shawn. Grounds out to Scutaro first pitch. That IS ok Shawn. 12 pitches.
Top 2nd: Rolen at bat strikes out. Stairs strikes out. Overbay at bat, good patience, full count call third strike. Lyle didn’t offer at all. Hard to figure Lyle out. He has great on base percentage but seems to score more when he is aggressive as last night. 28 pitches for Lackey. Boston and Yankees are winning their games. Yankees 6-3 bottom of the sixth. And Boston 4-3 top of the seventh.
Bottom 2nd: Hunter fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Kotchman single to RF. One on one out. Izturis, singles to RF just through Scutaro and Overbay. Two on. Mathis fly ball into LF Stewart nice running catch. Runners hold. Two down. , Quinlan at bat roller to 3B runner safe. Bases loaded. Willits at bat, whoa first pitch swinging pops up to Stewart. Agressive there Willits. Marcum escapes trouble 25 pitches.
Top 3rd: Bottom of the order now, Barajas, Wilkerson and Eckstein. Barajas grounds out to SS. Wilkerson full count, strikes out. Eckstein another great reception from crowd. He last played here in 2004 but is still a crowd favourite. Pops up to 2B but not before Eckstein has fouled off several and pushed Lackey’s pitch count now to 50.
Bottom 3rd: Kendrick first pitch fly ball to Wilkerson. Anderson grounds out weakly to Scutaro. Guerrero at bat grounds to Scutaro. Three up and down very quickly for Marcum. Only seven pitches that inning now at 32.
Top 4th: Jays bats have fallen very silent. Don’t go in a funk now team. We are just getting used to the hitting. Top of the order for second time through. Stewart at bat, pulls it to 3B thrown out at 1B. Scutaro singles to CF. First hit for Jays tonight. Rios now, let’s do the same here Alex. That’s ok Alex, singles to RF Scutaro going to 3B but Alex caught off 1B in rundown. Kotchman throws to 2B and into LF, error to Kendrick. Scutaro scores. Alex safe at 2B. 1-0 Jays. Rolen now let them pay Scott. Fly ball to Willits sliding catch in LF. Two down. Alex back to 2B. Stairs now hits him on shoulder. Overbay now with two on. First pitch grounds to 2B. Not a good at bat Lyle. 67 pitches for Lackey.
Bottom 4th: Hunter HR to CF. 1-1. Just as Jays get the lead. Is it not ever so. Kotchman grounds out to Eckstein at SS. Izturis at bat, singles to RF under the diving Scutaro. Mathis at bat pops up to Overbay. Two down. Quinlan grounds up the middle but ball hits off the bag at 2B bounces out into the outfield. That was crazy. Runners safe at 1B and 3B. Willits full count here grounds out to Eckstein at SS. No further damage for Marcum. 51 pitches.
Top 5th: Bottom of the order bats. Barajas lines to Qunilan at 3B. One down. Wilkerson gets hold of this one, doubles to centre right. Eckstein now, overdue for a hit here David. There you go David, singles to RF. Wilkerson held at 3B. Stewart lines softly to Kendrick leaping high gets it and then doubles up Eckstein at 1B. Maybe Wilkerson should have gone earlier it would have to be perfect throw by Guerrero to get him. 20-20 ball. 74 pitches for Lackey luck is on Angels side tonight.
Bottom 5th: Kendrick strikes out. Anderson singles to LF. Guerrero going for downtown LA with that swing. Strike one. Bounces one to Eckstein, steps on 2B and throws Guerrero out at 1B. Double play friends. 63 pitches for Marcum.
Top 6th: Jays have to start something here. Scutaro pops this one up to Izturis at SS. Rios now, first pitch swinging hard liner to 3B, two down. Right now Alex cannot do anything right consistently at least. Rolen fly ball to RF Guerrero gets it easily. Three up and down not a good inning by Jays bats here especially Rios. 82 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Hunter first pitch grounds out to Rolen. Kotchman singles to RF. Izturis at bat, Kotchman running and Izturis singles into LF. Two on. Mathis at bat 3-0 count. Full count. Fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Runners hold. Two down. Quinlan lines it to Wilkerson in RF. Marcum escapes damage again. 76 pitches but he needs help from the bats….. They can’t be empty tonight.
Top 7th: Stairs first pitch lines hard down the line but great play by 1B Kotchman. Overbay now has to take a few, second pitch fly ball to Willits. Three pitches two outs. Not hard to see what is wrong with them tonight. Barajas that’s more like it bounces this one off the top of the wall in LF. HOME RUN 2-1 Jays. Willits great jump but just over his head. Wilkerson now strikes out but ball gets away and gets down to 1B. Eckstein at bat, Wilkerson running and is caught at 2B. Man that is so ….. unprintable. With Eckstein at bat. Hiribke base running tonight by the Jays. 94 pitches. Eckstein would have taken him over that 100 mark.
Bottom 7th: Willits chops it over head of Overbay and gets a double. Kendrick trying to bunt here. Doubles now off the wall in right centre and just like that 2-2. Anderson with Kendrick at 2B. First pitch pops up to Stewart in shallow LF. Not a great at bat. Guerrero, not putting him on. Not intentional at least but now 3-1. Fly ball out to RF Wilkerson. Kendrick moves to 3B. Hunter at bat two down. Full count grounds to 3B, Rolen on his knees throws him out at 1B. GREAT play Scott, saves further damage.
Top 8th: Eckstein first pitch doubles into LF corner. Can they bring Eck in? Stewart at bat strikes out, not even a bunt to get him over. Scutaro at bat. 100 pitches now for Lackey. Grounds to SS Eckstein has to hold. Two down. Rios now with horrible night at bat and on base. Swings at ball one. Swings at ball two in the dirt. Watches strike three. Rios has to move down the order he is becoming a liability in front of Rolen. Lead off double by Eckstein and three good chances wasted.
Bottom 8th: Downs now pitching. Kotchman grounds to Scutaro. Izturis 3-3 tonight. Full count after 0-2 count. Grounds out to Eckstein. Two down. Mathis at bat grounds out to Eckstein. Now the big Jays bats in the ninth but can they do anything ? tonight so far has been a bust for the bats.
Top 9th: Frankie Rodriguez the closer pitching. Rolen at bat pops it up in shallow LF Willits has to run in hard to get it. Stairs, now this should be interesting, big swing first pitch. Full count. Grounds this one to Kendrick. Two down. Overbay now what can he do? Full count. Walks him very good at bat by Lyle. Barajas lines to CF Hunter makes great catch.
Bottom 9th: Quinlan at bat Downs still pitching. Singles into LF. Pinch runner Mathews. Willits bunts Barajas hits the runner but called out as runner is on grass inside line. Mathews has to return to 1B. Kendrick at bat strikes him out, great curve ball by Downs. Anderson now at bat, wicked curve ball here right across Anderson’s body, singles to RF. Mathews to 2B. Guerrero at bat. That’s it for Downs. Benitez in to pitch to Guerrero. Pops it up to Rolen. Not this time Vladdy.
Top 10th: Wilkerson at bat. Wood for Quinlan at 3B. Scot Shields now pitching grounds it to Kendrick. One down. Eckstein 2-3 tonight. Fly ball to Guerrero. Stewart grounds to 2B.
Bottom 10th: Inglett in for Stewart in LF. Benitez still pitching, he only had one pitch in the ninth against Guerrero . Hunter at bat grounds to Overbay just beats out dive by Hunter. Captain Hook brings in Brian Tallet for percentages. Kotchman singles to CF that pitching change worked well. Izturis bunts Tallet throws it away. Runners at 2B and 3B. Mathis intentional walk to load bases. Man here comes Gibbons again. Frasor now ? Frasor is the last one to have in there with runners on base. I don’t understand why Gibbons didn’t leave Benitez in… he struck out the side last night and had two quick outs tonight. Juan Rivera pinch hitting for Wood. Singles to RF. Angels win this one 3-2.
Some poor managing tonight along with the players. This one was slipping away all night. Marcum kept them in it but two runs is not enough against this team. Rubber game tomorrow.
Footnote: Boston has beaten Baltimore 6-3. Rays win. Yankees win in twelve.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Jays bats continue their eruption. McGowan wins another.
Friday May 30th 2008. Toronto v Angels.
Jays want to start this series well. To keep momentum going. McGowan has to keep that pitch count down.
Jays: Stewart, Scutaro, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Barajas, Willkerson, Eckstein and McGowan pitching.
Angels: Izturis, Mathews. Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Kendrick, Wood, Napoli and Weaver pitching.
Result: Jays win 10-4.
The good: 5th inning with four runs scoring great situational hitting four times. Overbay two Home Runs. The bats up and down lineup. Bullpen pitching. Jays now 31-26 and also 16-15 on the road the only team in the East with winning record on the road.
The bad: Wild throw to 1B by McGowan in 4th resulting in Angels run.
Top 1st: Stewart at bat singles in front of Guerrero in RF. Scutaro at bat flies out to Guerreo in the RF corner. Rios now, fouling pitch after pitch here, ten pitch at bat for Alex. Strikes out, Two down. Rolen grounds hard at Wood at 3B. Cannot handle it and both runners safe. Two on two out for Stairs, rolls this one to Kotchman at 1B. Two left on bases but Weaver’s pitch count already 23.
Bottom 1st: McGowan pitching tonight. Izturis full count, fly ball to Rios in CF. Mathews at bat, strikes out, great curve there for Dustin. Now Guerrero, be careful here Dustin shatters his bat as he grounds out to Rolen at 3B. Nice pitching Dustin. 14 pitches.
Top 2nd: Overbay, 0-11 right now. Full count. He gets hold of this one. THERE she goes, Lyle has HR deep into RF corner. 1-0 Jays and Lyle break his slump. Barajas at bat, lines one into shallow CF. Wilkerson at bat with one on. Grounds to Kotchman gets Barajas at 2B but cannot get Wilkerson. Eckstein getting a standing ovation here from fans. Pops up to Kotchman. Two down. Stewart at bat wild pitch here Wilkerson breaks for 2B. Fly ball to Guerrero. Weaver almost at 50 pitches already. Jays four hits.
Bottom 2nd: Anderson at bat lines one to LF. Hunter lines it past Overbay for double. Two on in scoring position with Kotchman at bat. Fly ball to Rios in shallow CF. Anderson not running on Alex. One down. Kendrick fly ball to Wilkerson this one scores Anderson. 1-1. Two down. Wood with Hunter now at 3B. Full count. Strikes him out and escapes with minimal damage one run. 34 pitches. Rays have already won tonight. Yankees winning and Boston tied up in extra innings.
Top 3rd: Bats need a few more to give Dustin some room. Scutaro at bat fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Rios at bat singles one here to CF Hunter traps it. Alex at 1B. Will he be going? Rolen at bat now, hits this high to LF just misses HR ball hits wall Rios was running and scores easily, Rolen into 3B. 2-1 Jays. Stairs at bat with one down and Rolen at 3B. Singles into shallow centre, Rolen scores 3-1 Jays. Stairs at 1B Overbay now at bat strikes him out swinging at pitch outside. Barajas grounds it to Kotchman at 1B. Weaver now at 78 pitches. Jays seven hits.
Bottom 3rd: Napoli at bat strikes him out. Third of the night for McGowan. Izturis at bat 3-0 now. Walks him. This is Dustin’s Achilles heel. Leadoff hitter on for Mathews. Bunts to 1B. McGowan wild throw up base line and Izturis scores but Wilkerson’s throw gets Mathews at 3B poor base running there. Error to McGowan. 3-2 Jays Guerrero at bat with two down. Strikes him out. Could have been worse again. 46 pitches for McGowan. Yankees have won. Boston still fighting Baltimore bottom of 12th.
Top 4th: Wilkerson grounds to Kendrick, throw to Kotchman gets Wilkerson. Eckstein with one down. Fly ball to Mathews in LF. Stewart at bat. Grounds this one to Wood at 3B. Three up and down for Weaver. 90 pitches. Baltimore had bases loaded in bottom of 12th but could not score. Game in 13th.
Bottom 4th: Anderson high fly ball to Rios in front of 400’ sign. One down. Hunter at bat. Drives this one to CF. Kotchman at bat, Hunter running on this pitch gets to 3B Singles to RF. Hunter scores. 3-3. Kendrick fly ball to Wilkerson in RF, nice running catch. Two down. Wood at bat fly ball to Rios in CF. McGowan 61 pitches.
Top 5th: Scutaro at bat. Singles up the middle. Rios at bat singles to RF. Alex 2-3 tonight. Two on now for Rolen singles to LF Scutaro scores. 4-3 Jays. Stairs now with two one. That’s it for Weaver 95 pitches. Darren Oliver now pitching to Stairs. Rios at 2B and Rolen at 1B. Strikes him out on three pitches. One down. Overbay singles to LF. Alex scores. 5-3 Jays. Nice at bat by Lyle. Barajas now with two on and one out. Wild pitch and both runners move up into scoring position. Grounds to 2B. Rolen scores. 6-3 Jays. Two down now with Overbay at 3B. Wilkerson singles to LF. Overbay scores. 7-3 Jays. Eckstein with two on now. Grounds out to SS. I think the main message in this inning was the Jays bats scoring with runners in scoring position three times. Compare that to earlier in the season.
Bottom 5th: Now McGowan has a great lead, shut the door Dustin. Napoli grounds to Eckstein. One down. Izturis full count after 0-2 here, lines out to Eckstein leaping catch two down. Mathews grounds to Scutaro. Three up and down for McGowan. 76 pitches. Baltimore loses to Boston in 13 innings.
Top 6th: Stewart at bat grounds back to Oliver. Scutaro good hit to right centre but Guerrero runs it down at the wall and robs him of a double. Two down for Rios who is 2-3 tonight. Jays have twelve hits tonight. Alex grounds out to SS. Three up and down for Oliver.
Bottom 6th: Now the ever dangerous Guerrero McGowan has to pitch with care here. Strikes him out swinging. Anderson at bat fly ball to shallow RF Wilkerson. Two outs. Hunter at bat with two down. Singles past Eckstein 3-3 tonight. Kotchman 3-0 come on Dustin don’t walk him. Hunter stealing. Kotchman now singles up the middle Hunter scores. 7-4. Kendrick strikes out. 98 pitches, that is probably it for him tonight. Frasor is warming up. Neither Downs nor BJ Ryan pitched last night.
Top 7th: Ex-Jay Justin Speier pitching now. Rolen at bat. 3-3 tonight. First pitch swinging fly ball to Guerrero. Stairs now at bat grounds out to 2B. Overbay 2-3 tonight. Lyle gets hold of this one. OUT OF HERE…. Over the wall in RF corner. 8-4 Jays. Two HRs tonight for Lyle. 13 hits for Jays. Barajas strikes out.
Bottom 7th: McGowan finished Jason Frasor now pitching. Reggie Willis pinch hitting for Wood, walks him. Get Frasor out of here please. Napoli now at bat. Willis steals 2B. No throw. Napoli strikes out. One down. Here comes Captain Hook he can’t stand this suspense either. Brian Tallet now pitching. Izturis grounds to Eckstein great throw to get Izturis. Two down. Willis holds at 2B. Mathews strikes out. Big out for Tallet he didn’t want to lose Mathews and bring Guerrero out there with two on.
Top 8th: Wilkerson at bat. Quinlan at 3B for Wood. Chris Bootcheck pitching. Great bunt single by Wilkerson. Eckstein now only one without a hit. Wilkerson running and Eckstein bounces it to 2B thrown out at 1B. Stewart now at bat with runner in scoring position. Stewart fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Wilkerson holds. Scutaro now at bat, 3-0 count, doubles down RF line. Wilkerson scores. 9-4 Jays. Rios now at bat with Scutaro in scoring position, full count grounds out to Kendrick at 2B.
Bottom 8th: Benitez now pitching. Inglett in LF for Stewart. Guerrero at bat strikes out third time tonight. Anderson at bat strikes out. Hunter at bat strikes him out. Benitez strikes out the heart of the Angels big bats. Great pitching. What an acquisition to have coming out of bullpen. Good hire JP.
Top 9th: Rivera in RF for Guerrero. Valddy hit one off his left knee earlier and may be stiff tonight. Rolen at bat 3-4 tonight. Strikes out this time. Stairs at bat, huge swing, going for the fence there Matt? Walks this time. Overbay now, can he get three ? Not tonight strikes out looking. Barajas full count here. Walks, Two on two down for Wilkerson. Singles to CF, good throw by Hunter, Napoli doesn’t have ball and Stairs scores 10-4 Jays. Sixteen hits tonight for Jays. Eckstein now the only one without a hit, come on David. Full count. Walks him to load bases. Joe Inglett now for Stewart, chance for Joe to get something here. Not this time. Grounds out to 2B. Jays scored in six of the nine innings tonight.
Bottom 9th: Shawn Camp now pitching. Kotchman grounds out to Eckstein. One down. Kendrick at bat. Fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Quinlan at bat strikes out. Jays win this one.
Jays continue winning on the road. McGowan not the sharpest tonight but gets the job done. Story of tonight is the bats though with runners in scoring position, hit after hit. Overbay of course gets the ring with his two home runs.
Jays want to start this series well. To keep momentum going. McGowan has to keep that pitch count down.
Jays: Stewart, Scutaro, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Barajas, Willkerson, Eckstein and McGowan pitching.
Angels: Izturis, Mathews. Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Kendrick, Wood, Napoli and Weaver pitching.
Result: Jays win 10-4.
The good: 5th inning with four runs scoring great situational hitting four times. Overbay two Home Runs. The bats up and down lineup. Bullpen pitching. Jays now 31-26 and also 16-15 on the road the only team in the East with winning record on the road.
The bad: Wild throw to 1B by McGowan in 4th resulting in Angels run.
Top 1st: Stewart at bat singles in front of Guerrero in RF. Scutaro at bat flies out to Guerreo in the RF corner. Rios now, fouling pitch after pitch here, ten pitch at bat for Alex. Strikes out, Two down. Rolen grounds hard at Wood at 3B. Cannot handle it and both runners safe. Two on two out for Stairs, rolls this one to Kotchman at 1B. Two left on bases but Weaver’s pitch count already 23.
Bottom 1st: McGowan pitching tonight. Izturis full count, fly ball to Rios in CF. Mathews at bat, strikes out, great curve there for Dustin. Now Guerrero, be careful here Dustin shatters his bat as he grounds out to Rolen at 3B. Nice pitching Dustin. 14 pitches.
Top 2nd: Overbay, 0-11 right now. Full count. He gets hold of this one. THERE she goes, Lyle has HR deep into RF corner. 1-0 Jays and Lyle break his slump. Barajas at bat, lines one into shallow CF. Wilkerson at bat with one on. Grounds to Kotchman gets Barajas at 2B but cannot get Wilkerson. Eckstein getting a standing ovation here from fans. Pops up to Kotchman. Two down. Stewart at bat wild pitch here Wilkerson breaks for 2B. Fly ball to Guerrero. Weaver almost at 50 pitches already. Jays four hits.
Bottom 2nd: Anderson at bat lines one to LF. Hunter lines it past Overbay for double. Two on in scoring position with Kotchman at bat. Fly ball to Rios in shallow CF. Anderson not running on Alex. One down. Kendrick fly ball to Wilkerson this one scores Anderson. 1-1. Two down. Wood with Hunter now at 3B. Full count. Strikes him out and escapes with minimal damage one run. 34 pitches. Rays have already won tonight. Yankees winning and Boston tied up in extra innings.
Top 3rd: Bats need a few more to give Dustin some room. Scutaro at bat fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Rios at bat singles one here to CF Hunter traps it. Alex at 1B. Will he be going? Rolen at bat now, hits this high to LF just misses HR ball hits wall Rios was running and scores easily, Rolen into 3B. 2-1 Jays. Stairs at bat with one down and Rolen at 3B. Singles into shallow centre, Rolen scores 3-1 Jays. Stairs at 1B Overbay now at bat strikes him out swinging at pitch outside. Barajas grounds it to Kotchman at 1B. Weaver now at 78 pitches. Jays seven hits.
Bottom 3rd: Napoli at bat strikes him out. Third of the night for McGowan. Izturis at bat 3-0 now. Walks him. This is Dustin’s Achilles heel. Leadoff hitter on for Mathews. Bunts to 1B. McGowan wild throw up base line and Izturis scores but Wilkerson’s throw gets Mathews at 3B poor base running there. Error to McGowan. 3-2 Jays Guerrero at bat with two down. Strikes him out. Could have been worse again. 46 pitches for McGowan. Yankees have won. Boston still fighting Baltimore bottom of 12th.
Top 4th: Wilkerson grounds to Kendrick, throw to Kotchman gets Wilkerson. Eckstein with one down. Fly ball to Mathews in LF. Stewart at bat. Grounds this one to Wood at 3B. Three up and down for Weaver. 90 pitches. Baltimore had bases loaded in bottom of 12th but could not score. Game in 13th.
Bottom 4th: Anderson high fly ball to Rios in front of 400’ sign. One down. Hunter at bat. Drives this one to CF. Kotchman at bat, Hunter running on this pitch gets to 3B Singles to RF. Hunter scores. 3-3. Kendrick fly ball to Wilkerson in RF, nice running catch. Two down. Wood at bat fly ball to Rios in CF. McGowan 61 pitches.
Top 5th: Scutaro at bat. Singles up the middle. Rios at bat singles to RF. Alex 2-3 tonight. Two on now for Rolen singles to LF Scutaro scores. 4-3 Jays. Stairs now with two one. That’s it for Weaver 95 pitches. Darren Oliver now pitching to Stairs. Rios at 2B and Rolen at 1B. Strikes him out on three pitches. One down. Overbay singles to LF. Alex scores. 5-3 Jays. Nice at bat by Lyle. Barajas now with two on and one out. Wild pitch and both runners move up into scoring position. Grounds to 2B. Rolen scores. 6-3 Jays. Two down now with Overbay at 3B. Wilkerson singles to LF. Overbay scores. 7-3 Jays. Eckstein with two on now. Grounds out to SS. I think the main message in this inning was the Jays bats scoring with runners in scoring position three times. Compare that to earlier in the season.
Bottom 5th: Now McGowan has a great lead, shut the door Dustin. Napoli grounds to Eckstein. One down. Izturis full count after 0-2 here, lines out to Eckstein leaping catch two down. Mathews grounds to Scutaro. Three up and down for McGowan. 76 pitches. Baltimore loses to Boston in 13 innings.
Top 6th: Stewart at bat grounds back to Oliver. Scutaro good hit to right centre but Guerrero runs it down at the wall and robs him of a double. Two down for Rios who is 2-3 tonight. Jays have twelve hits tonight. Alex grounds out to SS. Three up and down for Oliver.
Bottom 6th: Now the ever dangerous Guerrero McGowan has to pitch with care here. Strikes him out swinging. Anderson at bat fly ball to shallow RF Wilkerson. Two outs. Hunter at bat with two down. Singles past Eckstein 3-3 tonight. Kotchman 3-0 come on Dustin don’t walk him. Hunter stealing. Kotchman now singles up the middle Hunter scores. 7-4. Kendrick strikes out. 98 pitches, that is probably it for him tonight. Frasor is warming up. Neither Downs nor BJ Ryan pitched last night.
Top 7th: Ex-Jay Justin Speier pitching now. Rolen at bat. 3-3 tonight. First pitch swinging fly ball to Guerrero. Stairs now at bat grounds out to 2B. Overbay 2-3 tonight. Lyle gets hold of this one. OUT OF HERE…. Over the wall in RF corner. 8-4 Jays. Two HRs tonight for Lyle. 13 hits for Jays. Barajas strikes out.
Bottom 7th: McGowan finished Jason Frasor now pitching. Reggie Willis pinch hitting for Wood, walks him. Get Frasor out of here please. Napoli now at bat. Willis steals 2B. No throw. Napoli strikes out. One down. Here comes Captain Hook he can’t stand this suspense either. Brian Tallet now pitching. Izturis grounds to Eckstein great throw to get Izturis. Two down. Willis holds at 2B. Mathews strikes out. Big out for Tallet he didn’t want to lose Mathews and bring Guerrero out there with two on.
Top 8th: Wilkerson at bat. Quinlan at 3B for Wood. Chris Bootcheck pitching. Great bunt single by Wilkerson. Eckstein now only one without a hit. Wilkerson running and Eckstein bounces it to 2B thrown out at 1B. Stewart now at bat with runner in scoring position. Stewart fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Wilkerson holds. Scutaro now at bat, 3-0 count, doubles down RF line. Wilkerson scores. 9-4 Jays. Rios now at bat with Scutaro in scoring position, full count grounds out to Kendrick at 2B.
Bottom 8th: Benitez now pitching. Inglett in LF for Stewart. Guerrero at bat strikes out third time tonight. Anderson at bat strikes out. Hunter at bat strikes him out. Benitez strikes out the heart of the Angels big bats. Great pitching. What an acquisition to have coming out of bullpen. Good hire JP.
Top 9th: Rivera in RF for Guerrero. Valddy hit one off his left knee earlier and may be stiff tonight. Rolen at bat 3-4 tonight. Strikes out this time. Stairs at bat, huge swing, going for the fence there Matt? Walks this time. Overbay now, can he get three ? Not tonight strikes out looking. Barajas full count here. Walks, Two on two down for Wilkerson. Singles to CF, good throw by Hunter, Napoli doesn’t have ball and Stairs scores 10-4 Jays. Sixteen hits tonight for Jays. Eckstein now the only one without a hit, come on David. Full count. Walks him to load bases. Joe Inglett now for Stewart, chance for Joe to get something here. Not this time. Grounds out to 2B. Jays scored in six of the nine innings tonight.
Bottom 9th: Shawn Camp now pitching. Kotchman grounds out to Eckstein. One down. Kendrick at bat. Fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Quinlan at bat strikes out. Jays win this one.
Jays continue winning on the road. McGowan not the sharpest tonight but gets the job done. Story of tonight is the bats though with runners in scoring position, hit after hit. Overbay of course gets the ring with his two home runs.
Jays v Angels. Series Preview
Friday May 30, 2008. Jays v Angels Series Preview.
Jays fly into Angels territory high on confidence and justifiably after great display of bat power. The endless doubles last night was great to watch and showed arguably for the first time this season what this team is capable of. However this team was without Wells and Rios’s bats. And therein lies the conundrum that must be driving JP crazy.
The team has been built around both of these players and yet neither is producing. One through injury and the other in his slump. Rolen and Overbay are two of the other pieces and whereas Overbay has a sparkling on base percentage much of this has been through his patience at bats and not his doubles production that we came to appreciate last season. Presumably one day this will return or is his patient approach denying him the aggressiveness that produced all those doubles ???
Rolen has defiinitely been a positive factor in the lineup and Toronto has not missed Glaus at 3B.
Jays have to guard against over confidence in this series and also resist looking ahead to important series in New York next week before the inter-league continues. The Angels are no pushover and Jays will need everything working pitching, defence and the bats to win.
Tonight Dustin McGowan (3-4, 3.90 ERA) against Jered Weaver (4-5, 4.16 ERA). Weaver has 2-0 record and 0.89 ERA in his last three starts.
Big question is which McGowan will turn up ? He has been madly inconsistent and pushes that pitch count so high so quickly with all the walks. He is 0-3 lifetime against the Angels, including a loss in last week's series in Toronto, five hits, two unearned runs in 6-1/3 innings.
What they are saying:
Barajas: "It's nice to go out there and score some runs. It doesn't matter who's pitching; there aren't very many times we go out there and put a team away early."
Hill: On the Eckstein hit "He got me pretty good. I haven't been hit that hard in a long time."
Litsch: "I just went out there and threw strikes again today"
Sciosca on his Angels bats: "These guys know they are better offensive players, so there's frustration there. As long as there is confidence there, it's gonna play itself out. A couple of hits here and there. These guys will do just fine."
Weaver on his pitching: “I made a slight adjustment. I felt I wasn't going through the target. I was falling backward which was disrupting my command a little bit. I have been concentrating on driving straight through the mitt."
Last word: John Gibbons on win No. 300 since he became manager in August 2004. "I wasn't even aware of that. It's not something I've ever thought about. You start out in this job and you don't really know how long it's going to last."
Jays fly into Angels territory high on confidence and justifiably after great display of bat power. The endless doubles last night was great to watch and showed arguably for the first time this season what this team is capable of. However this team was without Wells and Rios’s bats. And therein lies the conundrum that must be driving JP crazy.
The team has been built around both of these players and yet neither is producing. One through injury and the other in his slump. Rolen and Overbay are two of the other pieces and whereas Overbay has a sparkling on base percentage much of this has been through his patience at bats and not his doubles production that we came to appreciate last season. Presumably one day this will return or is his patient approach denying him the aggressiveness that produced all those doubles ???
Rolen has defiinitely been a positive factor in the lineup and Toronto has not missed Glaus at 3B.
Jays have to guard against over confidence in this series and also resist looking ahead to important series in New York next week before the inter-league continues. The Angels are no pushover and Jays will need everything working pitching, defence and the bats to win.
Tonight Dustin McGowan (3-4, 3.90 ERA) against Jered Weaver (4-5, 4.16 ERA). Weaver has 2-0 record and 0.89 ERA in his last three starts.
Big question is which McGowan will turn up ? He has been madly inconsistent and pushes that pitch count so high so quickly with all the walks. He is 0-3 lifetime against the Angels, including a loss in last week's series in Toronto, five hits, two unearned runs in 6-1/3 innings.
What they are saying:
Barajas: "It's nice to go out there and score some runs. It doesn't matter who's pitching; there aren't very many times we go out there and put a team away early."
Hill: On the Eckstein hit "He got me pretty good. I haven't been hit that hard in a long time."
Litsch: "I just went out there and threw strikes again today"
Sciosca on his Angels bats: "These guys know they are better offensive players, so there's frustration there. As long as there is confidence there, it's gonna play itself out. A couple of hits here and there. These guys will do just fine."
Weaver on his pitching: “I made a slight adjustment. I felt I wasn't going through the target. I was falling backward which was disrupting my command a little bit. I have been concentrating on driving straight through the mitt."
Last word: John Gibbons on win No. 300 since he became manager in August 2004. "I wasn't even aware of that. It's not something I've ever thought about. You start out in this job and you don't really know how long it's going to last."
Litsch and Jays bats win this one big.
Series finale Toronto v Oakland. Getaway afternoon game.
Lineups: Toronto. Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Mench, Scutaro, Barajas, Wilkerson, Eckstein and Litsch pitching.
Oakland: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Chavez, Brown, Ellis Barton, Bowen, Davis. and Eveland pitching. Eveland 3-0 here at Coliseum this season and .094 ERA.
Result: 12-0 on 17 hits. Jays run wild in this one.
The very good: Jesse Litsch. Seven shutout innings and wins his fifth straight decision. Scoreless streak now at sixteen innings. The bats bringing in runners in scoring position in the 3rd. Barajas making most of his replacing Zaun with his three doubles.The bats six doubles in the game. Season high hits (17) and runs (12) for Jays. Five players with multi-hit game.
The good: Double steal by Rios and Rolen in third inning. Rios defence in fourth inning throwing assist. Bullpen finishes off Litsch’s shutout. Jays now have six shutouts this season.
The bad: Rolen and Rios both with bases loaded in 4th and both strike out. (a little picky given the twelve run shutout but I think I have to mention it.)
The game: Top 1st: Stewart infield single off the arm of Eveland to second. Hill popped up to Ellis at 2B. Rios grounded into a double play, third baseman Hannahan to Ellis at 2B to first baseman Barton, Stewart out.
Bottom 1st: Litsch pitching. Hannahan singles to CF. Crosby fly ball to Wilkerson in RF.Cust fly ball to Mench in LF. Chavez now at bat returning after disabled list, DH today with Thomas injured. Litsch strikes him out. Hannahan left at 1B after leadoff single.
Top 2nd: Rolen grounds out to 2B. Mench at bat doubles off the bottom of the wall, Scutaro grounds this one off Eveland’s leg and Marco safe at 1B. Mench to 3B. Eveland getting hit today. Two on one down. Barajas 3-0 now, ball four bases loaded. Wilkerson at bat sac fly ball to wall at LF. 1-0 Jays and Scutaro moves to 2B. Eckstein now at bat with two on two down. Lines double over 1B into bullpen in RF. Scutaro scores. 2-0 Jays. Stewart now with runners at 2B and 3B. Can blow this open with a single. Shannon drives this one deep into RF. Brown catches and saves two runs. 29 pitches. Jays already have two doubles makes a change from all the singles they had in first game.
Bottom 2nd: Brown fly ball to Rios over shoulder catch, one down. Ellis fly ball out to LF Mench. Barton grounds to Litsch throw to Overbay at 1B. Nice inning Jesse. 24 pitches.
Top 3rd: Hill single up the middle. Just past Ellis at 2B. Rios grounds to Ellis gets Hill at 2B but no double play ball. Rolen now hit by pitch. Two on. Mench at bat both runners stealing. Double steal twelve now for Rios and four for Rolen. Sac fly ball to LF, Alex scores 3-0 Jays. Rolen holds at 2B. Scutaro now, chance to get another here. Grounds out to 2B. 46 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Bowen at bat grounds out to Hill at 2B. Davis now at bat, tries to bunt, now swinging pops up to Hill in shallow RF. Hannahan fly ball to shallow LF ball drops in front of Mench. Crosby bunts and Litsch throw gets lead runner at 2B. 37 pitches.
Top 4th: Barajas doubles off the LF wall. Third double for Jays today. Wilkerson at bat fly ball out Davis at CF wall, Barajas holds at 2B. Eckstein at bat. 3-0 now. Eckstein walks. Two on now for Stewart. Lines into LF. Barajas stops at 3B a little slower than some of the other Jays who might have scored. Eckstein at 2B and Stewart at1B. Bases loaded now for Hill with one out. Lines into LF, Barajas scores. 4-0 Jays and bases still loaded for Rios. Big one here Alex. Not good, strikes out. Rolen now strikes out. Leaves bases loaded. More importantly a base hit there would have broken game open and probably seen the last of Eveland and Jays would be into the bullpen early. Now 4/9 with runners in scoring position. 66 pitches for Eveland now.
Bottom 4th: Cust drives one off the wall in CF. Great throw by Alex gets Cust. Cust thought it was going out, and didn’t hustle until it was too late. Chavez grounds to Scutaro at 1B. Two down. Brown doubles off the RF wall. They are hitting Jesse hard today. Ellis at bat. Full count now walks him. Barton strikes him out. Jesse escapes this one thanks to Alex. 60 pitches.
Top 5th: Mench singles to RF. Scutaro strikes out. Barajas doubles to RF corner Mench scores here. 5-0 Jays. Second double today for Barajas and fourth for Jays today. Wilkerson doubles Barajas scores. 6-0 Jays. It’s doubles day in Oakland. Five now and eleven hits for Jays already. That’s it for Eveland. He has been playing with fire all afternoon. 81 pitches. Braden now pitching. Eckstein at bat with Wilkerson at 2B and one out. Singles to CF. Wilkerson held at 3B. Stewart now at bat, walks. Bases loaded now for Hill. 3-0 count. Ball four walks in a run as Wilkerson scores. 7-0 Jays. Good patient at bat by Hill. Bases still loaded now for Rios. Alex you are on stage here. Grounds to 2B, double play ball and that about sums up Rios’s hitting these days.
Bottom 5th: Bowen flies out to Mench. Davis at bat. Grounds out to Hill, two down. Hannahan lifts one to left centre. Crosby at bat with one on, full count, grounds to 3B Rolen nice play throws Crosby out at 1B.
Top 6th: Rolen doubles ! to left centre number six double for Jays. Mench with this single to RF now 3-3 and sac fly. Two on here for Scutaro. Rolen holds at 3B. Singles to RF, Rolen scores, 8-0 Jays. Long time since Jays scored eight. Barajas doubles again for third time today two runs Mench and Scutaro score. 10-0 Jays. Number seven double. Wilkerson at bat strikes out sarcastic applause from crowd first out. Eckstein fly ball out. Two down. Stewart at bat grounds out to SS.
Bottom 6th: Cust grounds out to Scutaro at 1B. Chavez grounds back to Litsch. Brown now triples to CF. Careful Jesse bear down here. Ellis at bat grounds to Rolen throw to 1B. Jesse escapes and preserves his shutout.
Top 7th: Hill at bat, patience here full count. Hill walks. Good at bat. Alex now not having a good game at bat. Grounds this one to Hannnahan at 3B on to Ellis and on to Barton, yes Alex a double play. Thigpen now pinch-hitting for Rolen. I guess Gibbons thinks this one is over, he better be right but this Oakland not Kansas and can score big runs. Thigpen first major league at bat although we saw him in Spring training. (Also saw his father pitching in the Legends game at Bright House Field.) Thigpen very patient here no first pitch swinging and walks. Braden is still in there despite his wildness his job now is to eat up those innings today. Mench at bat with two on again. Pops it up to Hannahan at 3B.
Bottom 7th: Thigpen in at 1B. Scutaro moves to 3B. Jesse still pitching and why not he still has shutout although I hope Gibbons doesn’t pitch his arm off with 130 pitches like Francona did with Lester. This is only a shutout not a no-hitter or perfect game. Barton strikes out. Litsch is so precise with his pitches. Bowen now pops this one up to shallow right centre Hill going for it. NO. Eckstein also running for this one and inevitable collision. Hill is down injured. Looks as if Eckstein’s elbow hits Hill in the face. OK standing up now. Bruise appearing under the eye as he walks off. Joe Inglett replaces Hill. Eckstein was way over on Hill’s side for that, Hill didn’t see him coming and probably didn’t even expect him. Plus Hill had that covered. Eckstein has done that before and is going to have to realize that Hill is a very good fielder. Bowen on now with one out. I hope this doesn’t mess up the shutout for Jesse. Infield now Thigpen, Inglett, Eckstein and Scutaro. Who would have thought this lineup? Davis at bat grounds this one to DScutaro at 3B gets lead runner Bowen at 2B. Two down Jesse. Hannahan at bat pops up to Eckstein. A long inning but another for Litsch. No word on Hill yet but he did walk off on his own and is a tough guy so he may be ok.
Top 8th: DiNardo now pitching. Scutaro fly ball to Brown in RF. Barajas who has had great game and making most of his replacing Zaun. Three doubles so far, grounds this one to Barton. Wilkerson grounds out to Ellis. Three up and down for a change for the Jays but this one should be over now.
Bottom 8th: That’s it for Jesse Litsch and in comes Jesse Carlson. Good decision Litsch has done so well no need to stretch him any further. Get ready for New York Jesse. Crosby at bat pops up to Inglett. Cust walks. Don’t see many of those on Carlson. Chavez fly ball out to RF Wilkerson. Brown at bat now full count, Carlson not as sharp as usual, walks him. Come on Jesse backpack.Two on. Ellis at bat, YES, that’s what you need Jesse ground ball to Scutaro Cust out at 3B.
Top 9th: Pelit in at SS. Eckstein at bat, patient also full count and now walks. One on for Stewart. There she goes Shannon gets hold of this one. HR to LF. Two more runs. 12-0 Jays. That is Shannon’s first of the season. This is Toronto hit number seventeen today. Inglett strikes out. Rios not a good game with his bat but has had good defence. Flies to Cust in LF messes up this one and Alex gets two bases on Cust’s error. I guess you deserve it Alex. Thigpen now at bat chance to get an RBI himself. Grounds to Barton at 1B. Ros moves to 3B. Mench now with three hits on the day. Can he make it 13 runs here? Fly ball to CF but Davis gets it. Thus ends great afternoon for the Jays bats. Season high runs.
Bottom 9th: Camp now pitching, Carlson preserves Litsch’s shutout and also helps his own ERA. Barton doubles this one to LF. I spoke too soon. Camp needs to bear down here. Bowen at bat strikes him out. That’s better. Davis grounds out to Eckstein Barton moves to 3B. Top of the order now Hannahan at bat. Has had three of the Oakland eight hits today. Strikes him out. Very nice. Camp has also been a find this season in that bullpen.
This one is over. Jays have a blowout for once. Season high twelve runs and great shutout for Litsch and the bullpen. Gives the team confidence as they head to the Angels.
Lineups: Toronto. Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Mench, Scutaro, Barajas, Wilkerson, Eckstein and Litsch pitching.
Oakland: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Chavez, Brown, Ellis Barton, Bowen, Davis. and Eveland pitching. Eveland 3-0 here at Coliseum this season and .094 ERA.
Result: 12-0 on 17 hits. Jays run wild in this one.
The very good: Jesse Litsch. Seven shutout innings and wins his fifth straight decision. Scoreless streak now at sixteen innings. The bats bringing in runners in scoring position in the 3rd. Barajas making most of his replacing Zaun with his three doubles.The bats six doubles in the game. Season high hits (17) and runs (12) for Jays. Five players with multi-hit game.
The good: Double steal by Rios and Rolen in third inning. Rios defence in fourth inning throwing assist. Bullpen finishes off Litsch’s shutout. Jays now have six shutouts this season.
The bad: Rolen and Rios both with bases loaded in 4th and both strike out. (a little picky given the twelve run shutout but I think I have to mention it.)
The game: Top 1st: Stewart infield single off the arm of Eveland to second. Hill popped up to Ellis at 2B. Rios grounded into a double play, third baseman Hannahan to Ellis at 2B to first baseman Barton, Stewart out.
Bottom 1st: Litsch pitching. Hannahan singles to CF. Crosby fly ball to Wilkerson in RF.Cust fly ball to Mench in LF. Chavez now at bat returning after disabled list, DH today with Thomas injured. Litsch strikes him out. Hannahan left at 1B after leadoff single.
Top 2nd: Rolen grounds out to 2B. Mench at bat doubles off the bottom of the wall, Scutaro grounds this one off Eveland’s leg and Marco safe at 1B. Mench to 3B. Eveland getting hit today. Two on one down. Barajas 3-0 now, ball four bases loaded. Wilkerson at bat sac fly ball to wall at LF. 1-0 Jays and Scutaro moves to 2B. Eckstein now at bat with two on two down. Lines double over 1B into bullpen in RF. Scutaro scores. 2-0 Jays. Stewart now with runners at 2B and 3B. Can blow this open with a single. Shannon drives this one deep into RF. Brown catches and saves two runs. 29 pitches. Jays already have two doubles makes a change from all the singles they had in first game.
Bottom 2nd: Brown fly ball to Rios over shoulder catch, one down. Ellis fly ball out to LF Mench. Barton grounds to Litsch throw to Overbay at 1B. Nice inning Jesse. 24 pitches.
Top 3rd: Hill single up the middle. Just past Ellis at 2B. Rios grounds to Ellis gets Hill at 2B but no double play ball. Rolen now hit by pitch. Two on. Mench at bat both runners stealing. Double steal twelve now for Rios and four for Rolen. Sac fly ball to LF, Alex scores 3-0 Jays. Rolen holds at 2B. Scutaro now, chance to get another here. Grounds out to 2B. 46 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Bowen at bat grounds out to Hill at 2B. Davis now at bat, tries to bunt, now swinging pops up to Hill in shallow RF. Hannahan fly ball to shallow LF ball drops in front of Mench. Crosby bunts and Litsch throw gets lead runner at 2B. 37 pitches.
Top 4th: Barajas doubles off the LF wall. Third double for Jays today. Wilkerson at bat fly ball out Davis at CF wall, Barajas holds at 2B. Eckstein at bat. 3-0 now. Eckstein walks. Two on now for Stewart. Lines into LF. Barajas stops at 3B a little slower than some of the other Jays who might have scored. Eckstein at 2B and Stewart at1B. Bases loaded now for Hill with one out. Lines into LF, Barajas scores. 4-0 Jays and bases still loaded for Rios. Big one here Alex. Not good, strikes out. Rolen now strikes out. Leaves bases loaded. More importantly a base hit there would have broken game open and probably seen the last of Eveland and Jays would be into the bullpen early. Now 4/9 with runners in scoring position. 66 pitches for Eveland now.
Bottom 4th: Cust drives one off the wall in CF. Great throw by Alex gets Cust. Cust thought it was going out, and didn’t hustle until it was too late. Chavez grounds to Scutaro at 1B. Two down. Brown doubles off the RF wall. They are hitting Jesse hard today. Ellis at bat. Full count now walks him. Barton strikes him out. Jesse escapes this one thanks to Alex. 60 pitches.
Top 5th: Mench singles to RF. Scutaro strikes out. Barajas doubles to RF corner Mench scores here. 5-0 Jays. Second double today for Barajas and fourth for Jays today. Wilkerson doubles Barajas scores. 6-0 Jays. It’s doubles day in Oakland. Five now and eleven hits for Jays already. That’s it for Eveland. He has been playing with fire all afternoon. 81 pitches. Braden now pitching. Eckstein at bat with Wilkerson at 2B and one out. Singles to CF. Wilkerson held at 3B. Stewart now at bat, walks. Bases loaded now for Hill. 3-0 count. Ball four walks in a run as Wilkerson scores. 7-0 Jays. Good patient at bat by Hill. Bases still loaded now for Rios. Alex you are on stage here. Grounds to 2B, double play ball and that about sums up Rios’s hitting these days.
Bottom 5th: Bowen flies out to Mench. Davis at bat. Grounds out to Hill, two down. Hannahan lifts one to left centre. Crosby at bat with one on, full count, grounds to 3B Rolen nice play throws Crosby out at 1B.
Top 6th: Rolen doubles ! to left centre number six double for Jays. Mench with this single to RF now 3-3 and sac fly. Two on here for Scutaro. Rolen holds at 3B. Singles to RF, Rolen scores, 8-0 Jays. Long time since Jays scored eight. Barajas doubles again for third time today two runs Mench and Scutaro score. 10-0 Jays. Number seven double. Wilkerson at bat strikes out sarcastic applause from crowd first out. Eckstein fly ball out. Two down. Stewart at bat grounds out to SS.
Bottom 6th: Cust grounds out to Scutaro at 1B. Chavez grounds back to Litsch. Brown now triples to CF. Careful Jesse bear down here. Ellis at bat grounds to Rolen throw to 1B. Jesse escapes and preserves his shutout.
Top 7th: Hill at bat, patience here full count. Hill walks. Good at bat. Alex now not having a good game at bat. Grounds this one to Hannnahan at 3B on to Ellis and on to Barton, yes Alex a double play. Thigpen now pinch-hitting for Rolen. I guess Gibbons thinks this one is over, he better be right but this Oakland not Kansas and can score big runs. Thigpen first major league at bat although we saw him in Spring training. (Also saw his father pitching in the Legends game at Bright House Field.) Thigpen very patient here no first pitch swinging and walks. Braden is still in there despite his wildness his job now is to eat up those innings today. Mench at bat with two on again. Pops it up to Hannahan at 3B.
Bottom 7th: Thigpen in at 1B. Scutaro moves to 3B. Jesse still pitching and why not he still has shutout although I hope Gibbons doesn’t pitch his arm off with 130 pitches like Francona did with Lester. This is only a shutout not a no-hitter or perfect game. Barton strikes out. Litsch is so precise with his pitches. Bowen now pops this one up to shallow right centre Hill going for it. NO. Eckstein also running for this one and inevitable collision. Hill is down injured. Looks as if Eckstein’s elbow hits Hill in the face. OK standing up now. Bruise appearing under the eye as he walks off. Joe Inglett replaces Hill. Eckstein was way over on Hill’s side for that, Hill didn’t see him coming and probably didn’t even expect him. Plus Hill had that covered. Eckstein has done that before and is going to have to realize that Hill is a very good fielder. Bowen on now with one out. I hope this doesn’t mess up the shutout for Jesse. Infield now Thigpen, Inglett, Eckstein and Scutaro. Who would have thought this lineup? Davis at bat grounds this one to DScutaro at 3B gets lead runner Bowen at 2B. Two down Jesse. Hannahan at bat pops up to Eckstein. A long inning but another for Litsch. No word on Hill yet but he did walk off on his own and is a tough guy so he may be ok.
Top 8th: DiNardo now pitching. Scutaro fly ball to Brown in RF. Barajas who has had great game and making most of his replacing Zaun. Three doubles so far, grounds this one to Barton. Wilkerson grounds out to Ellis. Three up and down for a change for the Jays but this one should be over now.
Bottom 8th: That’s it for Jesse Litsch and in comes Jesse Carlson. Good decision Litsch has done so well no need to stretch him any further. Get ready for New York Jesse. Crosby at bat pops up to Inglett. Cust walks. Don’t see many of those on Carlson. Chavez fly ball out to RF Wilkerson. Brown at bat now full count, Carlson not as sharp as usual, walks him. Come on Jesse backpack.Two on. Ellis at bat, YES, that’s what you need Jesse ground ball to Scutaro Cust out at 3B.
Top 9th: Pelit in at SS. Eckstein at bat, patient also full count and now walks. One on for Stewart. There she goes Shannon gets hold of this one. HR to LF. Two more runs. 12-0 Jays. That is Shannon’s first of the season. This is Toronto hit number seventeen today. Inglett strikes out. Rios not a good game with his bat but has had good defence. Flies to Cust in LF messes up this one and Alex gets two bases on Cust’s error. I guess you deserve it Alex. Thigpen now at bat chance to get an RBI himself. Grounds to Barton at 1B. Ros moves to 3B. Mench now with three hits on the day. Can he make it 13 runs here? Fly ball to CF but Davis gets it. Thus ends great afternoon for the Jays bats. Season high runs.
Bottom 9th: Camp now pitching, Carlson preserves Litsch’s shutout and also helps his own ERA. Barton doubles this one to LF. I spoke too soon. Camp needs to bear down here. Bowen at bat strikes him out. That’s better. Davis grounds out to Eckstein Barton moves to 3B. Top of the order now Hannahan at bat. Has had three of the Oakland eight hits today. Strikes him out. Very nice. Camp has also been a find this season in that bullpen.
This one is over. Jays have a blowout for once. Season high twelve runs and great shutout for Litsch and the bullpen. Gives the team confidence as they head to the Angels.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Jays win one for Halladay-finally.
Wednesday May 28th 2008. Toronto v Oakland.
Halladay (5-5) v Harden (3-0).
Jays have lost four in a row to Oakland this season, need to get one here with Halladay pitching, problem is Harden is also one of the best. They outhit Oakland last night but could not get those runners in 1/9. Tonight Zaun on disabled list inflamed right elbow. Thomas also out with a strained quad from that double last night.
Result: Jays win 2-1.
The very good: Halladay once more. Eight innings again.
The good: BJ Ryan number twelve save. Alex clutch double for go ahead run in the ninth.
The bad: Jays bats again let Halladay down early on.
Lineups:
Toronto: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Barajas and Halladay pitching.
Oakland: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Sweeney, Brown, Ellis, Barton, Suzuki and Harden pitching.
The game: Top 1st: Stewart at bat, full count now. Well hit here to centre right wall to Brown. Hill at bat. Another full count and strikes out. Rios now grounds out to Hannahan at 3B. Three up and down. 17 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Hannahan strikes him out on three pitches. Great curve to end. Crosby full count, strikes him out. Cust at bat grounds this one to Hill, great play and throw to get him. 12 pitches.
Top 2nd: Rolen on eight game hit streak, fly ball to Brown in RF. Stairs grounds through hole in LF off Hannahan’s glove. Overbay at bat, Stairs running, hit and run on, Overbay missed it. Matt is out a mile. Grounds to 2B Ellis. 35 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Mike Sweeney first pitch swinging fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Ryan Sweeney grounds to Scutaro. Brown singles to RF. Ellis with two down one on. Now walks on four pitches. Two quick outs and now two on. Barton full count now, strikes out. Halladay gets out of trouble. Three strikeouts now and 27 pitches.
Top 3rd: Scutaro first pitch swing grounds down to 3B.Wilkerson full count singles to RF. Barajas lines one to LF. Two on now. Stewart lines it up the middle. Wilkerson scores 1-0 Jays. Barajas at 2B. Hill grounds to 2B, double play ball. 50 pitches. Jays four hits.
Bottom 3rd: Halladay now with lead. Suzuki broken bat and falls down Rolen throws him out. Hannahan first pitch grounds to Hill, two down. Crosby doubles this one to left centre wall. Cust singles up the middle. This game is tied up 1-1. as Crosby scores from 2B. Mike Sweeney fly ball to Wilkerson. 38 pitches.
Top 4th: Rios is leading Jays in hits 56 but just not in his power groove yet. Wells has started his rehab in Florida it will be good to get him back. High fly ball here to RF Brown at the track. Rolen strikes out. Stairs fly ball to CF. Three up and down. 61 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 4th: Ryan Sweeney bounces high to Scutaro. Brown single to CF. Ellis grounds to Rolen, double play, to Scutaro and Overbay. That’s what we like. 47 pitches.
Top 5th: Overbay grounds back to Harden after leaving two strikes, not a good at bat Lyle. Indecisive on first two pitches. Scutaro now This one is singled into RF, Brown knocks it down and Marco stretches this one into two beats the throw. In scoring position now for Wilkerson with one down. Full count. Grounds this one to 2B out at 1B but Scutaro moves to 3B. Two down for Barajas, foul tips this one into Suzuki’s glove tryng to get bat out of the way. 80 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 5th: Barton at bat strikes out on three pitches backing away from the third. Suzuki strikes out on three pitches, tried to check it but went around. Hannahan now at bat two down, hits him on the foot. Just can’t finish these guys off after two quick outs. Crosby at bat, strikes out. Six strikeouts. 64 pitches
Top 6th: Stewart pops up to shallow left, one down. Hill now strikes out. Alex now to extend this inning just trickles off bat but Alex beats throw error to 1B. Rolen now Alex stealing but great throw by Suzuki to get him to end inning. Rolen will lead off next inning. 94 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 6th: Cust singles to RF. Mike Sweeney full count fly ball out to CF. Ryan Sweeney doubles to RF corner. Cust holds at 3B. Brown grounds to Overbay throws home and gets Cust. Two down. Sweeney moves to 3B. Ellis at bat long fly ball to the wall and GREAT catch by Alex. That was a Vernon catch. Halladay escapes this one. 81 pitches.
Top 7th: Harden now at 94 piches. Rolen now first pitch come on Scott, you gotta take a couple here and give Riy some breathing room….. fly ball out to RF. Stairs also fly ball to LF. Overbay IS taking a few. 102 pitches now for Harden. Full count. Takes strike three. Not the best but good news might be the end of Harden. Gaudin is warming up in bullpen.
Bottom 7th: Roy does have some pitches and could go two more IF all goes well now. Bottom of the order starting with Barton. Single to shallow RF. Suzuki bunt ? yes but foul, two strikes, and goes again third attempt and strikes out. Hannahan chopper to Hill Barton out at 2B. Hannahan at 1B. Two down. Crosby pops it up to Barajas. Nice pitching Roy 95 pitches. Now can the bats do something?
Top 8th: Harden out and ex-Jay Chad Gaudin now pitching. Davis in CF for Ryan Sweeney. Scutaro at bat. Oh no. Scutaro gets hold of this one, high to the wall in LF. Just missed going out. Wilkerson grounds out to 1B. Barajas full count. That was the ball to hit. Now goes after ball four and pops it up. Not a good at bat.
Bottom 8th: Halladay still in there. Cust full count singles to RF. 3-4 today. Mike Sweeney strikes him out. Davis grounds up the middle Scutaro to Hill but just the one out. Two down. Davis steals on second strike to Brown. Roy strikes him OUT!..... That was beautiful.
Top 9th: Top of Jays order. Keth Foulke now pitching. Stewart at bat. Full count now. Walks him. Does Hill bunt him over? 0-3 tonight. Yes sir… gets Stewart to 2B. Rios now. FINALLY…… doubles down the 3B line. 2-1 Jays. Good at bat Alex, nice hit. Rolen at bat grounds to 3B Alex has to hold at 2B. Stairs now. Intentional walk to get to Overbay. OK Lyle, are you second best ? Takes first two pitches for strikes. Now full count, Lyle has been very patient all season. Runners going. Fly ball here to CF.
Bottom 9th: BJ Ryan now in to save this one for Halladay. Inglett in defensively LF for Stewart. Ellis walks not a good start BJ. Barton bunting down 1B, Ellis to 2B one down. Suzuki fly ball to Inglett in LF, Ellis has to hold at 2B. Two down. Hannahan now full count. Walks him. Crosby grounds to Scutaro at SS.
Jays win this one 2-1. BJ number twelve save and number six win for Halladay
Tampa and Yankees won today. Baltimore loses and now Boston just lost 1-0 to Seattle. Jays make up some ground above them.
Halladay (5-5) v Harden (3-0).
Jays have lost four in a row to Oakland this season, need to get one here with Halladay pitching, problem is Harden is also one of the best. They outhit Oakland last night but could not get those runners in 1/9. Tonight Zaun on disabled list inflamed right elbow. Thomas also out with a strained quad from that double last night.
Result: Jays win 2-1.
The very good: Halladay once more. Eight innings again.
The good: BJ Ryan number twelve save. Alex clutch double for go ahead run in the ninth.
The bad: Jays bats again let Halladay down early on.
Lineups:
Toronto: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Barajas and Halladay pitching.
Oakland: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Mike Sweeney, Ryan Sweeney, Brown, Ellis, Barton, Suzuki and Harden pitching.
The game: Top 1st: Stewart at bat, full count now. Well hit here to centre right wall to Brown. Hill at bat. Another full count and strikes out. Rios now grounds out to Hannahan at 3B. Three up and down. 17 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Hannahan strikes him out on three pitches. Great curve to end. Crosby full count, strikes him out. Cust at bat grounds this one to Hill, great play and throw to get him. 12 pitches.
Top 2nd: Rolen on eight game hit streak, fly ball to Brown in RF. Stairs grounds through hole in LF off Hannahan’s glove. Overbay at bat, Stairs running, hit and run on, Overbay missed it. Matt is out a mile. Grounds to 2B Ellis. 35 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Mike Sweeney first pitch swinging fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Ryan Sweeney grounds to Scutaro. Brown singles to RF. Ellis with two down one on. Now walks on four pitches. Two quick outs and now two on. Barton full count now, strikes out. Halladay gets out of trouble. Three strikeouts now and 27 pitches.
Top 3rd: Scutaro first pitch swing grounds down to 3B.Wilkerson full count singles to RF. Barajas lines one to LF. Two on now. Stewart lines it up the middle. Wilkerson scores 1-0 Jays. Barajas at 2B. Hill grounds to 2B, double play ball. 50 pitches. Jays four hits.
Bottom 3rd: Halladay now with lead. Suzuki broken bat and falls down Rolen throws him out. Hannahan first pitch grounds to Hill, two down. Crosby doubles this one to left centre wall. Cust singles up the middle. This game is tied up 1-1. as Crosby scores from 2B. Mike Sweeney fly ball to Wilkerson. 38 pitches.
Top 4th: Rios is leading Jays in hits 56 but just not in his power groove yet. Wells has started his rehab in Florida it will be good to get him back. High fly ball here to RF Brown at the track. Rolen strikes out. Stairs fly ball to CF. Three up and down. 61 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 4th: Ryan Sweeney bounces high to Scutaro. Brown single to CF. Ellis grounds to Rolen, double play, to Scutaro and Overbay. That’s what we like. 47 pitches.
Top 5th: Overbay grounds back to Harden after leaving two strikes, not a good at bat Lyle. Indecisive on first two pitches. Scutaro now This one is singled into RF, Brown knocks it down and Marco stretches this one into two beats the throw. In scoring position now for Wilkerson with one down. Full count. Grounds this one to 2B out at 1B but Scutaro moves to 3B. Two down for Barajas, foul tips this one into Suzuki’s glove tryng to get bat out of the way. 80 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 5th: Barton at bat strikes out on three pitches backing away from the third. Suzuki strikes out on three pitches, tried to check it but went around. Hannahan now at bat two down, hits him on the foot. Just can’t finish these guys off after two quick outs. Crosby at bat, strikes out. Six strikeouts. 64 pitches
Top 6th: Stewart pops up to shallow left, one down. Hill now strikes out. Alex now to extend this inning just trickles off bat but Alex beats throw error to 1B. Rolen now Alex stealing but great throw by Suzuki to get him to end inning. Rolen will lead off next inning. 94 pitches for Harden.
Bottom 6th: Cust singles to RF. Mike Sweeney full count fly ball out to CF. Ryan Sweeney doubles to RF corner. Cust holds at 3B. Brown grounds to Overbay throws home and gets Cust. Two down. Sweeney moves to 3B. Ellis at bat long fly ball to the wall and GREAT catch by Alex. That was a Vernon catch. Halladay escapes this one. 81 pitches.
Top 7th: Harden now at 94 piches. Rolen now first pitch come on Scott, you gotta take a couple here and give Riy some breathing room….. fly ball out to RF. Stairs also fly ball to LF. Overbay IS taking a few. 102 pitches now for Harden. Full count. Takes strike three. Not the best but good news might be the end of Harden. Gaudin is warming up in bullpen.
Bottom 7th: Roy does have some pitches and could go two more IF all goes well now. Bottom of the order starting with Barton. Single to shallow RF. Suzuki bunt ? yes but foul, two strikes, and goes again third attempt and strikes out. Hannahan chopper to Hill Barton out at 2B. Hannahan at 1B. Two down. Crosby pops it up to Barajas. Nice pitching Roy 95 pitches. Now can the bats do something?
Top 8th: Harden out and ex-Jay Chad Gaudin now pitching. Davis in CF for Ryan Sweeney. Scutaro at bat. Oh no. Scutaro gets hold of this one, high to the wall in LF. Just missed going out. Wilkerson grounds out to 1B. Barajas full count. That was the ball to hit. Now goes after ball four and pops it up. Not a good at bat.
Bottom 8th: Halladay still in there. Cust full count singles to RF. 3-4 today. Mike Sweeney strikes him out. Davis grounds up the middle Scutaro to Hill but just the one out. Two down. Davis steals on second strike to Brown. Roy strikes him OUT!..... That was beautiful.
Top 9th: Top of Jays order. Keth Foulke now pitching. Stewart at bat. Full count now. Walks him. Does Hill bunt him over? 0-3 tonight. Yes sir… gets Stewart to 2B. Rios now. FINALLY…… doubles down the 3B line. 2-1 Jays. Good at bat Alex, nice hit. Rolen at bat grounds to 3B Alex has to hold at 2B. Stairs now. Intentional walk to get to Overbay. OK Lyle, are you second best ? Takes first two pitches for strikes. Now full count, Lyle has been very patient all season. Runners going. Fly ball here to CF.
Bottom 9th: BJ Ryan now in to save this one for Halladay. Inglett in defensively LF for Stewart. Ellis walks not a good start BJ. Barton bunting down 1B, Ellis to 2B one down. Suzuki fly ball to Inglett in LF, Ellis has to hold at 2B. Two down. Hannahan now full count. Walks him. Crosby grounds to Scutaro at SS.
Jays win this one 2-1. BJ number twelve save and number six win for Halladay
Tampa and Yankees won today. Baltimore loses and now Boston just lost 1-0 to Seattle. Jays make up some ground above them.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Burnettt ten strikeouts in 3-1 loss and Jays revert to April form.
Toronto v Oakland. Tuesday May 27th 2008. Start of nine game road trip.
Jays have a tough road trip to face but are playing well right now so have the confidence. Let’s see what happens.
Tonight, Hinske (Rays) has already homered and did yesterday ten home runs already this season ? What is going on this season? Rays at least are happy he is with them. Yankees are having tough time with the Orioles and Texas is giving the Rays a hard time also. But Jays have to look after themselves and win this one.
Lineups: Jays: Stewart Hill, Rios, Rolen, Barajas, Mench, Overbay ,Scutaro , Eckstein,and Burnett pitching.
A’s: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Thomas, Sweeney, Brown, Ellis, Barton, Suzuki and Smith pitching.
Result: Oakland 3 - Toronto 1.
The good: Nothing much here by Jays at least. Burnett ten strikeouts. Eckstein a good return two singles.
The bad: Hitting throughout the game. Leaving men on base when they did get hits. Free swinging and generally reverting back to the old way again.
The (very) bad: Third inning with two on and no outs and three fly ball outs to RF. Jays left ten on base and were a horrible 1/9 with runners in scoring position. You can’t do that with a team as good as Oakland.
The game: Top 1st: Smith pitching. Stewart lead off fly ball to Sweeney at CF. Hill walks four pitches. Rios now fouls out to Ellis. Rolen at bat fly ball to Cust. 20 pitches for Smith
Bottom 1st: Hannahan, grounds out to Eckstein. Crosby grounds to Eckstein again but throw dropped by Overbay. Error on Lyle. One on. Cust at bat runner Crosby going but Cust strikes out. Thomas at bat full count strikes him out. Not this time Frank. That felt good Lyle didn’t it?
Top 2nd: Barajas at bat high pop up to Hannahan at 3B. Mench grounds to SS Crosby. Two down. Overbay grounds to 1B Barton. Three up and down.
Bottom 2nd: Ryan Sweeney at bat, strikes him out, wicked pitch from AJ. dropped vertically over the plate. Brown singles to RF Mench. Mark Ellis at bat, Brown is stealing, throw hits Brown’s foot and bounces into shallow LF Eckstein scrambles to get ball but throw just too late. Run scores 1-0 A’s. Error on Barajas. Ellis now walks. Barton singles to RF. Two on. Suzuki at bat, watch the double steal friends. Not this at bat. Strikes him out, Suzuki doesn’t like that. Hannahan strikes him out, another wicked pitch. But pitch count high now for Burnett 46 pitches. I don’t think this game will be a complete game for AJ.
Top 3rd: Scutaro lines one into LF off Crosby’s glove. Eckstein singles to LF. Nice to see Eckstein back and contributing. Stewart at bat, two on, no outs. Fly ball to Brown in RF Scutaro cannot move up. Hill the same play to RF and still Scutaro cannot advance. Rios now exactly the same play, that is awful. Two on no outs and they could not bring one in. Bottom 3rd: Crosby strikes out. Six strikeouts now for Burnett. Cust at bat. Strikes out. Thomas again a double for Frank to left centre. Sweeney singles to RF. Frank to 3B. Two on, two down. You can’t let Frank score here. Brown at bat, fly ball to Mench. Frank you had all that exercise for nothing. 60 pitches for Burnett. Much better even with the hits. Seven strike outs for AJ.
Top 4th: Rolen at bat. High fly ball to CF. One down. Barajas at bat strikes out. Mench at bat lines it into CF. Overbay now. Come on Lyle we need a double here. First pitch swinging no Lyle. Pops up to SS. Not his best at bat. 66 pitches for Smith.
Bottom 4th: Ellis pops up to Overbay in foul ground. Barton grounds first pitch to Hill. Two down. Suzuki walks on four pitches. Hannahan doubles into right centre Suzuki scores. 2-0 A’s. Crosby singles up the middle, Hannahan scores 3-0 A’s. Cust at bat. Crosby stealing. Late throw no chance. Strikes him out. Number eight but Burnett would prefer no runs. 80 pitches. He had first two out in seven pitches.
Top 5th: Jays need to get back in this one before it is out of sight. Scutaro at bat pops up to Barton in foul ground. So much space here in foul ground. Eckstein at bat now. Fly ball to Brown in RF. Stewart grounds out to Hannahan at 3B. No contest here tonight by Jays, at least not yet.
Bottom 5th: No Frank here. Mike Sweeney pinch hitting here. All that running for Frank in the 3rd did him in. Sweeney strikes out. Number nine strikeouts tonight for AJ. Ryan Sweeney now ground ball to Overbay at 1B for a change here. Two quick outs again. Brown at bat. Finish him off here AJ. Grounds to Eckstein. Three up and down here. 89 pitches though. May have two innings max left in him.
Top 6th: Hill now at bat, need to get something going here Aaron. Full count here. Grounds out to Crosby at SS. Alex now 0-2 needs something here. Single here to shallow RF. Will he be stealing here? Rolen now singles nicely to LF. Two on one out. Barajas strikes out. Mench now fly ball to CF.
Bottom 6th: Burnett still in there but this could be his last inning. Mark Ellis at bat pops it up to Hill shallow right. Barton now strikes him out, very nice curve ball. Just like that vertical pitch earlier. Suzuki full count here. Singles into RF. That’s it for AJ. Captain Hook out there. AJ had ten strikeouts but that one bad 4th inning “did him in” tonight. 108 pitches. Tallet now pitching. Hannahan at bat. Suzuki going but Barajas gets him easily at 2B. Great throw. Tallet still hasn’t thrown a pitch. See ya next inning.
Top 7th: Overbay strikes out. Scutaro lines it back at Smith, drops it and throws Scutaro out. Eckstein singles to RF. 2-3 tonight. That’s it for Smith 107 pitches. Embree facing Stewart pops up to Ellis. Not a great at bat by Shannon.
Bottom 7th: Tallet pitching Hannahan completing his at bat from last inning. Strikes him out looking. Crosby at bat, pops up to Mench in very shallow RF. Nice job there Kevin. Two down. Cust walks. That’s it for Tallet. Now Shawn Camp. Rajm Davis pinch running for Cust. Mike Sweeney at bat grounds out to Rolen.
Top 8th: Big bats now for Jays need something. Hill first pitch swinging, high fly ball to RF good catch by Mike Sweeney now in RF. Rios now, nice single up the middle Alex. Rolen now with one on, will Alex run now ? Smith has gone with that great pickoff although Embree is still left hander. Scott patient here giving Alex time here to go. Full count, and now walks. Two on. Barajas at bat. Lines one into RF. Sweeney good catch. How many outs now in RF tonight by Jays???? Now Mench, come on Kevin justify your contract here. Yes he does. Single into LF Alex scores here. 3-1 now. Overbay at bat. Rolen at 2B. Need a double here Lyle. Horrible at bat. Swings weakly at last two strikes.
Bottom 8th: Benitez now pitching, we haven’t seen him for a long time. Ryan Sweeney fly ball excellent sliding catch in LF by Scutaro. Brown at bat strikes out. Ellis now at bat first pitch high fly ball to RF.
Top 9th: Last chance for Jays but they will have to get through Huston Street to do it. Eleven saves so far. Jays have outhit A’s tonight. Scutaro nice hit to left centre but Davis runs it down saves a double there. Jays have hit it hard tonight but A’s have played some good defence. Eckstein at bat, great at bat by Eckstein. Fouling pitch after pitch now walks. Stairs now at bat. Pinch hitting for Stewart. Golfs this one to RF. Two down now. Hill at bat Eckstein takes 2B defensive indifference. Aaron free swinging tonight and strikes out here. A’s win this one 3-1but Jays were flat and never looked like winning this one.
Footnotes: Only 10,000 attendance tonight, Jays are not a great draw and have not convinced many to drive out to see them tomorrow either.
Yankees lose in eleven innings to Baltimore and Texas wallop the Rays 12-6.
Jays have a tough road trip to face but are playing well right now so have the confidence. Let’s see what happens.
Tonight, Hinske (Rays) has already homered and did yesterday ten home runs already this season ? What is going on this season? Rays at least are happy he is with them. Yankees are having tough time with the Orioles and Texas is giving the Rays a hard time also. But Jays have to look after themselves and win this one.
Lineups: Jays: Stewart Hill, Rios, Rolen, Barajas, Mench, Overbay ,Scutaro , Eckstein,and Burnett pitching.
A’s: Hannahan, Crosby, Cust, Thomas, Sweeney, Brown, Ellis, Barton, Suzuki and Smith pitching.
Result: Oakland 3 - Toronto 1.
The good: Nothing much here by Jays at least. Burnett ten strikeouts. Eckstein a good return two singles.
The bad: Hitting throughout the game. Leaving men on base when they did get hits. Free swinging and generally reverting back to the old way again.
The (very) bad: Third inning with two on and no outs and three fly ball outs to RF. Jays left ten on base and were a horrible 1/9 with runners in scoring position. You can’t do that with a team as good as Oakland.
The game: Top 1st: Smith pitching. Stewart lead off fly ball to Sweeney at CF. Hill walks four pitches. Rios now fouls out to Ellis. Rolen at bat fly ball to Cust. 20 pitches for Smith
Bottom 1st: Hannahan, grounds out to Eckstein. Crosby grounds to Eckstein again but throw dropped by Overbay. Error on Lyle. One on. Cust at bat runner Crosby going but Cust strikes out. Thomas at bat full count strikes him out. Not this time Frank. That felt good Lyle didn’t it?
Top 2nd: Barajas at bat high pop up to Hannahan at 3B. Mench grounds to SS Crosby. Two down. Overbay grounds to 1B Barton. Three up and down.
Bottom 2nd: Ryan Sweeney at bat, strikes him out, wicked pitch from AJ. dropped vertically over the plate. Brown singles to RF Mench. Mark Ellis at bat, Brown is stealing, throw hits Brown’s foot and bounces into shallow LF Eckstein scrambles to get ball but throw just too late. Run scores 1-0 A’s. Error on Barajas. Ellis now walks. Barton singles to RF. Two on. Suzuki at bat, watch the double steal friends. Not this at bat. Strikes him out, Suzuki doesn’t like that. Hannahan strikes him out, another wicked pitch. But pitch count high now for Burnett 46 pitches. I don’t think this game will be a complete game for AJ.
Top 3rd: Scutaro lines one into LF off Crosby’s glove. Eckstein singles to LF. Nice to see Eckstein back and contributing. Stewart at bat, two on, no outs. Fly ball to Brown in RF Scutaro cannot move up. Hill the same play to RF and still Scutaro cannot advance. Rios now exactly the same play, that is awful. Two on no outs and they could not bring one in. Bottom 3rd: Crosby strikes out. Six strikeouts now for Burnett. Cust at bat. Strikes out. Thomas again a double for Frank to left centre. Sweeney singles to RF. Frank to 3B. Two on, two down. You can’t let Frank score here. Brown at bat, fly ball to Mench. Frank you had all that exercise for nothing. 60 pitches for Burnett. Much better even with the hits. Seven strike outs for AJ.
Top 4th: Rolen at bat. High fly ball to CF. One down. Barajas at bat strikes out. Mench at bat lines it into CF. Overbay now. Come on Lyle we need a double here. First pitch swinging no Lyle. Pops up to SS. Not his best at bat. 66 pitches for Smith.
Bottom 4th: Ellis pops up to Overbay in foul ground. Barton grounds first pitch to Hill. Two down. Suzuki walks on four pitches. Hannahan doubles into right centre Suzuki scores. 2-0 A’s. Crosby singles up the middle, Hannahan scores 3-0 A’s. Cust at bat. Crosby stealing. Late throw no chance. Strikes him out. Number eight but Burnett would prefer no runs. 80 pitches. He had first two out in seven pitches.
Top 5th: Jays need to get back in this one before it is out of sight. Scutaro at bat pops up to Barton in foul ground. So much space here in foul ground. Eckstein at bat now. Fly ball to Brown in RF. Stewart grounds out to Hannahan at 3B. No contest here tonight by Jays, at least not yet.
Bottom 5th: No Frank here. Mike Sweeney pinch hitting here. All that running for Frank in the 3rd did him in. Sweeney strikes out. Number nine strikeouts tonight for AJ. Ryan Sweeney now ground ball to Overbay at 1B for a change here. Two quick outs again. Brown at bat. Finish him off here AJ. Grounds to Eckstein. Three up and down here. 89 pitches though. May have two innings max left in him.
Top 6th: Hill now at bat, need to get something going here Aaron. Full count here. Grounds out to Crosby at SS. Alex now 0-2 needs something here. Single here to shallow RF. Will he be stealing here? Rolen now singles nicely to LF. Two on one out. Barajas strikes out. Mench now fly ball to CF.
Bottom 6th: Burnett still in there but this could be his last inning. Mark Ellis at bat pops it up to Hill shallow right. Barton now strikes him out, very nice curve ball. Just like that vertical pitch earlier. Suzuki full count here. Singles into RF. That’s it for AJ. Captain Hook out there. AJ had ten strikeouts but that one bad 4th inning “did him in” tonight. 108 pitches. Tallet now pitching. Hannahan at bat. Suzuki going but Barajas gets him easily at 2B. Great throw. Tallet still hasn’t thrown a pitch. See ya next inning.
Top 7th: Overbay strikes out. Scutaro lines it back at Smith, drops it and throws Scutaro out. Eckstein singles to RF. 2-3 tonight. That’s it for Smith 107 pitches. Embree facing Stewart pops up to Ellis. Not a great at bat by Shannon.
Bottom 7th: Tallet pitching Hannahan completing his at bat from last inning. Strikes him out looking. Crosby at bat, pops up to Mench in very shallow RF. Nice job there Kevin. Two down. Cust walks. That’s it for Tallet. Now Shawn Camp. Rajm Davis pinch running for Cust. Mike Sweeney at bat grounds out to Rolen.
Top 8th: Big bats now for Jays need something. Hill first pitch swinging, high fly ball to RF good catch by Mike Sweeney now in RF. Rios now, nice single up the middle Alex. Rolen now with one on, will Alex run now ? Smith has gone with that great pickoff although Embree is still left hander. Scott patient here giving Alex time here to go. Full count, and now walks. Two on. Barajas at bat. Lines one into RF. Sweeney good catch. How many outs now in RF tonight by Jays???? Now Mench, come on Kevin justify your contract here. Yes he does. Single into LF Alex scores here. 3-1 now. Overbay at bat. Rolen at 2B. Need a double here Lyle. Horrible at bat. Swings weakly at last two strikes.
Bottom 8th: Benitez now pitching, we haven’t seen him for a long time. Ryan Sweeney fly ball excellent sliding catch in LF by Scutaro. Brown at bat strikes out. Ellis now at bat first pitch high fly ball to RF.
Top 9th: Last chance for Jays but they will have to get through Huston Street to do it. Eleven saves so far. Jays have outhit A’s tonight. Scutaro nice hit to left centre but Davis runs it down saves a double there. Jays have hit it hard tonight but A’s have played some good defence. Eckstein at bat, great at bat by Eckstein. Fouling pitch after pitch now walks. Stairs now at bat. Pinch hitting for Stewart. Golfs this one to RF. Two down now. Hill at bat Eckstein takes 2B defensive indifference. Aaron free swinging tonight and strikes out here. A’s win this one 3-1but Jays were flat and never looked like winning this one.
Footnotes: Only 10,000 attendance tonight, Jays are not a great draw and have not convinced many to drive out to see them tomorrow either.
Yankees lose in eleven innings to Baltimore and Texas wallop the Rays 12-6.
Oakland-Toronto series preview
Tuesday May 27, 2008. Oakland v Toronto series preview.
Jays head west for very important road trip. Oakland, Angels and the back east to end trip in New York. Nine tough games that the Jays will be happy with 5-4 split but this could go south in a hurry. Jays are three games over .500 for first time this season.
The Oakland series is a revenge matchup. Toronto were swept in Toronto, Accardo and League, (remember them ?) taking the losses. This time around though Jays are on a roll and with much better pitching.
Oakland remains a tough team, young and inconsistent but have just swept Boston. Their pitching is leading the majors with a 3.27 ERA just ahead of the Jays.
Jays will miss Justin Duscherer who had a one hitter against Boston on Sunday.
However will still face Gregg Smith 2-4 with an ERA of 3.18.Rich Harden 3-0 ERA 2.93 and Dana Eveland 4-3 with an ERA of 2.90 in the closer.Jays will send Burnett, Halladay and Litsch.
Devine and Street are tough out of the bullpen. The lineup of course has the big Hurt as cleanup and it will be interesting to see how he does against his former team who gave up on him. Thomas has hit four home runs in five games. I think there might be some incentive here for big Frank to show the Jays that they made a mistake letting him go. However Jays could always walk him every at bat and clog up the basepaths !!
Oakland has homered in their last eight games.
Although the Royals were lesser competition than teams on this road trip it should be remembered that the Jays had never swept Kansas four games in their franchise history not even the great teams of the World Series years and they did it without Wells.
Eckstein will be activated after missing nineteen games on disabled list today in Oakland although Scutaro has been huge in replacing him including his home run yesterday. I think it would have been better to play Scutaro against his old club especially as he went 2-3 yesterday with that home run. Then activate Eckstein against the Angels. Gibbons said that because of the nature of his injury, though, Eckstein will come back gradually and Scutaro will relieve him on the other days.
Other good news: Rios is picking it up with his bat and glove throwing out runner at home plate for second time in three games and also picked up his 11th stolen base yesterday. It is the most stolen bases by a Jay since Mondesi stole in 2001.
Stewart is hitting .359 (14-39) in an eleven game hit streak. It will be interesting to see if he continues with Eckstein taking his leadoff spot.
Bottom line the Jays want to show all three of these teams that they are for real and if they do well, then they will certainly get some believers. Joe Maddon had it right when he said in Spring training he wanted the Rays to get off to a good start and carry that confidence into the season. He was dead right with the Rays now leading the majors and with a confidence and swagger that only Boston and Yankees can match. The Jays have to show on this road trip that their streak is not a mirage.
What they are saying: Marcum on the road trip: “It’s huge. It seems like we never play good when we go to Oakland, so we’ve got to take it one game at a time and hopefully A.J. (Burnett) can keep the ball rolling for us (Tuesday).
"Anaheim is one of the better teams in baseball, and they just came in here and took two of three from us. We have to take one game at a time and not try to look ahead to the Yankees. We know this is a big road trip for us. We need to come back with a winning record."
Manager John Gibbons on Scutaro: "We'll play him somehow. He's been playing great, that's why we got him. He's better than that (a utility player). He's an everyday guy."
Halladay on Scutaro: "Coming in and having three shortstops (counting the disabled Eckstein and McDonald you wondered how it was going to work. But Marco (Scutaro) has been a savior for us."
Jays head west for very important road trip. Oakland, Angels and the back east to end trip in New York. Nine tough games that the Jays will be happy with 5-4 split but this could go south in a hurry. Jays are three games over .500 for first time this season.
The Oakland series is a revenge matchup. Toronto were swept in Toronto, Accardo and League, (remember them ?) taking the losses. This time around though Jays are on a roll and with much better pitching.
Oakland remains a tough team, young and inconsistent but have just swept Boston. Their pitching is leading the majors with a 3.27 ERA just ahead of the Jays.
Jays will miss Justin Duscherer who had a one hitter against Boston on Sunday.
However will still face Gregg Smith 2-4 with an ERA of 3.18.Rich Harden 3-0 ERA 2.93 and Dana Eveland 4-3 with an ERA of 2.90 in the closer.Jays will send Burnett, Halladay and Litsch.
Devine and Street are tough out of the bullpen. The lineup of course has the big Hurt as cleanup and it will be interesting to see how he does against his former team who gave up on him. Thomas has hit four home runs in five games. I think there might be some incentive here for big Frank to show the Jays that they made a mistake letting him go. However Jays could always walk him every at bat and clog up the basepaths !!
Oakland has homered in their last eight games.
Although the Royals were lesser competition than teams on this road trip it should be remembered that the Jays had never swept Kansas four games in their franchise history not even the great teams of the World Series years and they did it without Wells.
Eckstein will be activated after missing nineteen games on disabled list today in Oakland although Scutaro has been huge in replacing him including his home run yesterday. I think it would have been better to play Scutaro against his old club especially as he went 2-3 yesterday with that home run. Then activate Eckstein against the Angels. Gibbons said that because of the nature of his injury, though, Eckstein will come back gradually and Scutaro will relieve him on the other days.
Other good news: Rios is picking it up with his bat and glove throwing out runner at home plate for second time in three games and also picked up his 11th stolen base yesterday. It is the most stolen bases by a Jay since Mondesi stole in 2001.
Stewart is hitting .359 (14-39) in an eleven game hit streak. It will be interesting to see if he continues with Eckstein taking his leadoff spot.
Bottom line the Jays want to show all three of these teams that they are for real and if they do well, then they will certainly get some believers. Joe Maddon had it right when he said in Spring training he wanted the Rays to get off to a good start and carry that confidence into the season. He was dead right with the Rays now leading the majors and with a confidence and swagger that only Boston and Yankees can match. The Jays have to show on this road trip that their streak is not a mirage.
What they are saying: Marcum on the road trip: “It’s huge. It seems like we never play good when we go to Oakland, so we’ve got to take it one game at a time and hopefully A.J. (Burnett) can keep the ball rolling for us (Tuesday).
"Anaheim is one of the better teams in baseball, and they just came in here and took two of three from us. We have to take one game at a time and not try to look ahead to the Yankees. We know this is a big road trip for us. We need to come back with a winning record."
Manager John Gibbons on Scutaro: "We'll play him somehow. He's been playing great, that's why we got him. He's better than that (a utility player). He's an everyday guy."
Halladay on Scutaro: "Coming in and having three shortstops (counting the disabled Eckstein and McDonald you wondered how it was going to work. But Marco (Scutaro) has been a savior for us."
Monday, May 26, 2008
Note Monday's blog is posted before Sunday's !
Dear Friends,
Sorry about that.... Game three is posted on Sunday. Game four on Monday but on the blog they are reversed.
Content remains the same and the Jays are still on the five game streak en route to California.
Sorry about that.... Game three is posted on Sunday. Game four on Monday but on the blog they are reversed.
Content remains the same and the Jays are still on the five game streak en route to California.
Sunday May 25. 2008.
Sunday May 25th 2008. Toronto v Kansas Game 3 of 4.
McGowan v Meche should be interesting today. Gil Meche was the pitcher the Jays were bidding on in off-season. McGowan has a tough job this afternoon not just following Litsch and Halladay complete games but also keeping his pitch count down and reducing the number of walks which of course go together. McGowan is due for a good win today.
Result: Jays win 3-1.
The very good: Fielding and bullpen this afternoon
The good: McGowan. I won’t say very good as I think he was rescued by his defence today specifically Stewart and Rios. Alex’s throw in 4th saves a run. But seven strike outs and NO walks today. BJ Ryan save number 11. Stewart and Barajas now have ten game hit streaks.
The not so good: Offence.
Lineups: Kansas: DeJesus, German, Gordon, Guillen, Butler, Buck, Gload, Pena, Gathright and Meche pitching.
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Barajas, and McGowan pitching. I was right yesterday about Barajas replacing Zaun. I think it should be for several games just to give him an extended shot as I don’t think Zaun is playing well at all.
The game: Top 1st: DeJesus fly ball to Stewart in LF. German singles to CF. One on and there goes the no-hitter. Gordon follows with single to CF. McGowan not fooling anyone. Could be result of his only pitch so far has been fastball. Two on, one out. Guillen strikes out. Butler grounds out to Hill. McGowan off the hook but high pitch count already.
Bottom 1st: Stewart infield single to SS. perfectly place between pitcher, 3B and SS. Hill grounds out to Gordon at 3B. Hill out at 1B but Stewart in scoring position at 2B for Rios and Rolen. Alex strikes out, head in sky again. Rolen now with two down, doubles to CF that’s more like it. Stewart scores easily 1-0 Jays. Rolen on 2B. Stairs now back from three days off with stiff neck. Fly ball to DeJesus in LF gut Jays are leading this one.
Top 2nd: Buck singles to LF. McGowan still throwing fast balls. It seems as if the first 25 pitches have all been 93-95mph fast balls. Royals are just sitting back waiting. Dustin has to mix this up. Gload grounds to Overbay get lead runner Buck but he has prevents double play by hard slide into 2B. Pena at bat, there goes Gload but great throw by Barajas to catch Gload at 2B. Pena strikes out. McGowan still with high pitch count, he will not be throwing complete game tonight.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay walks on full count and there is a new team record of 13 consecutive on bases by Lyle, beating Tony Fernandez record of 12 set in 1999. Lyle has an on base percentage of 400 plus. 13 in a row helps. Scutaro now at bat, fly ball to Gathright in CF. Wilkerson strikes out. Barajas grounds to Pena, throw gets Overbay at 2B.
Top 3rd: Gathright strikes out. DeJesus fouls out to Barajas. German strikes out. McGowan now using offspeed pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Stewart fly ball to Gload in RF. Hill grounds to Gordon. Rios walks to get on base. You still get the feeling Alex is not happy at bat. Rolen at bat, long fly ball to Gathright in CF. Nice catch.
Top 4th: Gordon strikes out. Guillen double to RF. Butler singles to CF, Guillen to 3B but coming home. Rios charging ball and perfect throw as Barajas blocks plate and Guillen is out. Buck fly ball to Stewart in LF. That would have been Royals run if Alex had now thrown Guillen out previous play. But then again time the Jays had some luck.
Bottom 4th: Stairs grounds to Pena. Overbay at bat, can he make it 14 in a row? No, fly ball to DeJesus in foul territory. Scutaro strikes out.
Top 5th: Gload singles to RF. Pena bunts to 1B and beats out play, Hill was at 1B but Overbay doesn't lift his head as he fields ball. Gload to 2B. Gathright at bat now also bunting. Third attempt gets it right, perfect bunt to Scutaro. Bases loaded and no outs, McGowan in deep trouble here. DeJesus sac fly to Stewart, Gload scores but Shannon perfect throw to 3B to get Pena. Great double play. 1-1. Gathright in scoring position at 2B. German at bat. His average is back over .100. Strikes out though. McGowan escapes this one bigtime, bases loaded an no outs he only gives up one run. Thank you Shannon.
Bottom 5th: Wilkerson great leadoff double into LF corner. That’s the way to respond to the Royals run. Barajas now singles to LF, Wilkerson to 3B. Stewart now at bat grounds to Pena at SS but cannot get runner Wilkerson at plate but get Barajas at 2B. 2-1 Jays. Hill at bat, strikes out. Alex now at bat, Stewart running and steals easily. Alex strikes out. What can one say? My forecast is that Alex will burst out in second half of season this year. Coinciding with Wells return. Right now Jays are managing to win games without the big three of Rios, Wells and Thomas. How things change so quickly in baseball.
Top 6th: Gordon strikes out. Guillen grounds out to Rolen. Butler fly ball to CF. McGowan much better and appears to be settling down and reducing that pitch count. Meantime Meche is almost done with pitch count near 100.
Bottom 6th: Rolen fly ball to Gload in RF. Scott has hit ball hard tonight with not much success though. Strange how he can hit like this and yet Alex is all at sea. It will come. Stairs now grounds to 2B and beats out throw. Nice hustle by Matt. Overbay fly ball to Gathright, his record is now forgotten with two successive outs by Lyle. Scutaro fly ball to Gload. Meche is way over hundred pitches now but must be gutting it out as Kansas bullpen has been abused in both earlier games. Jays on the other hand have had luxury of two complete games by Halladay and Litsch and McGowan still pitching into the 7th here. This is the time when lights go out with Carlson, Downs and BJ Ryan.
Top 7th: Still McGowan. Buck singles to CF. Gload grounds to Scutaro double play ball here. Gload and Buck are out. Pena at bat grounds out to Overbay. MCgowan still only 90 pitches. Will he come out in 8th? What a remarkable groups of starters for the last three games.
Bottom 7th: Meche has gone, he pitches well but had no run support. Does that not sound familiar at Rogers Centre? Ramirez now pitching. Wilkerson strikes out. Barajas singles to LF. His second hit of afternoon. Plus throwing out runner Goad in 2nd. Sorry Gregg. Stewart now singles to LF, two on with Barajas at 2B. Hill grounds out to Gordin at 3B gets Stewart at 2B but Barajas moves to 3B. Alex now, YES indeed, great timing Alex, a single to CF, Barajas scores and Hill moves to 2B. 3-1 Jays. Alex is VERY happy. Nunez now pitching. Rolen at bat. Grounds to SS Rios out at 2B. But valuable run has scored.
Top 8th: Well we didn’t see Captain Hook but McGowan is finished and Downs now pitching. Too bad Gibbons didn’t leave McGowan out there for one batter and then give him well deserved ovation from fans here. By the way it looks as if the walk up-crowd today is huge, judging from where the stands are sold out. The gaps are in the season ticket holders seats. Inglett now in defensively for Stewart in LF. Gathright bunting again…. This time Overbay gets him without any help. DeJesus grounds to Overbay. Two down. German singles to CF. Come on Scott, this guy has an average just over .100. Gordon at bat, the tying run. Fly ball to Inglett in LF. Table is set for you know who in the 9th.
Bottom 8th: Jimmy Gobble pitching. Mench pinch-hitting for Stairs hits a bullet to Gordon who cannot handle it and now throws it away into the TD seats. Extra base for Mench. Error to Gordon but that ball was scorched by Mench. When Wells returns Gibbons will have two great bats in Mench and Wilkerson off the bench. Mench at 2B for Overbay, strikes out. His on-base streak is a receding memory. Scutaro lines out to Gordon, Marco hitless today. Wilkerson strikes out. Leadoff Mench is left at 2B. Let’s hope Jays don’t regret this inning.
Top 9th: Here he is BJ Ryan. The flames are a burning around the scoreboards. The crowd loves it. Some already on their feet behind me. Guillen strikes out. The crowd really does not need the scoreboard to tell them to make noise. Butler grounds out to Scutaro. Most are on their feet now. Buck one strike, everyone is on their feet, Buck strikes out. Jays win 3-1.
Four in a row and two games over .500 and going after Tampa for second spot.
What they said:
Gibbons on McGowan and his walks in last games. "Walks generally come back to haunt you, they put you in a tough position, they use up pitches. He's going to walk some guys. When you get those kind of arms, sometimes that happens. (But) he looked much better. He has been in a little bit of a rut. Today was a boost for him."
McGowan on Jays defence "They played great behind me," Rios throwing a runner out at home was big, and (Stewart) throwing a runner out at third was also big. That was really nice. That's the play of the game".
Overbay on his team record reaching base on twelve successive at bats."That's just I think a lot of luck more than anything. We got the win, that's all that matters... I'll look back, but I'll probably forget about it." (Sure Lyle if you say so, but an base percentage of .400 is not luck.)
Meche on giving up second run after Royals had tied up game. "We tied it up and I turned around and gave it right back to them. Those are situations where you've just got to take control and make sure you get us back in the dugout, keep the momentum in our hands."
Royals Manager Hellman on seven game losing streak. "These are tough, hard times. These guys are frustrated - we're all frustrated. I'm trying everything I know to try." Hellman on Rios throw to plate "Rios did what he has the athleticism to do. He came and got it, quick release and it was a perfect throw."
Hellman on Stewart’s throw to 3B. "That's the best throw I've ever seen Shannon Stewart make," "If I was coaching third base or running at second base, I would have done exactly the same things we did today.
Hellman on aggressive play. "You can't get out of the funk we're in right now being careful. It just doesn't happen that way. You've got to be aggressive and you've got to try to make some things happen."
Butler on losing streak. "We're going through a rough part as a team. We're just not getting the luck, you know? We're getting hits, we're just not getting the big one, something to get us going. That's what happens when you struggle. You can't find something to get you going."
Rios on win streak. "We've managed to put everything together and we're playing good baseball right now."
Good news: Wolfe has started rehab at Dunedin.
McGowan v Meche should be interesting today. Gil Meche was the pitcher the Jays were bidding on in off-season. McGowan has a tough job this afternoon not just following Litsch and Halladay complete games but also keeping his pitch count down and reducing the number of walks which of course go together. McGowan is due for a good win today.
Result: Jays win 3-1.
The very good: Fielding and bullpen this afternoon
The good: McGowan. I won’t say very good as I think he was rescued by his defence today specifically Stewart and Rios. Alex’s throw in 4th saves a run. But seven strike outs and NO walks today. BJ Ryan save number 11. Stewart and Barajas now have ten game hit streaks.
The not so good: Offence.
Lineups: Kansas: DeJesus, German, Gordon, Guillen, Butler, Buck, Gload, Pena, Gathright and Meche pitching.
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Barajas, and McGowan pitching. I was right yesterday about Barajas replacing Zaun. I think it should be for several games just to give him an extended shot as I don’t think Zaun is playing well at all.
The game: Top 1st: DeJesus fly ball to Stewart in LF. German singles to CF. One on and there goes the no-hitter. Gordon follows with single to CF. McGowan not fooling anyone. Could be result of his only pitch so far has been fastball. Two on, one out. Guillen strikes out. Butler grounds out to Hill. McGowan off the hook but high pitch count already.
Bottom 1st: Stewart infield single to SS. perfectly place between pitcher, 3B and SS. Hill grounds out to Gordon at 3B. Hill out at 1B but Stewart in scoring position at 2B for Rios and Rolen. Alex strikes out, head in sky again. Rolen now with two down, doubles to CF that’s more like it. Stewart scores easily 1-0 Jays. Rolen on 2B. Stairs now back from three days off with stiff neck. Fly ball to DeJesus in LF gut Jays are leading this one.
Top 2nd: Buck singles to LF. McGowan still throwing fast balls. It seems as if the first 25 pitches have all been 93-95mph fast balls. Royals are just sitting back waiting. Dustin has to mix this up. Gload grounds to Overbay get lead runner Buck but he has prevents double play by hard slide into 2B. Pena at bat, there goes Gload but great throw by Barajas to catch Gload at 2B. Pena strikes out. McGowan still with high pitch count, he will not be throwing complete game tonight.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay walks on full count and there is a new team record of 13 consecutive on bases by Lyle, beating Tony Fernandez record of 12 set in 1999. Lyle has an on base percentage of 400 plus. 13 in a row helps. Scutaro now at bat, fly ball to Gathright in CF. Wilkerson strikes out. Barajas grounds to Pena, throw gets Overbay at 2B.
Top 3rd: Gathright strikes out. DeJesus fouls out to Barajas. German strikes out. McGowan now using offspeed pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Stewart fly ball to Gload in RF. Hill grounds to Gordon. Rios walks to get on base. You still get the feeling Alex is not happy at bat. Rolen at bat, long fly ball to Gathright in CF. Nice catch.
Top 4th: Gordon strikes out. Guillen double to RF. Butler singles to CF, Guillen to 3B but coming home. Rios charging ball and perfect throw as Barajas blocks plate and Guillen is out. Buck fly ball to Stewart in LF. That would have been Royals run if Alex had now thrown Guillen out previous play. But then again time the Jays had some luck.
Bottom 4th: Stairs grounds to Pena. Overbay at bat, can he make it 14 in a row? No, fly ball to DeJesus in foul territory. Scutaro strikes out.
Top 5th: Gload singles to RF. Pena bunts to 1B and beats out play, Hill was at 1B but Overbay doesn't lift his head as he fields ball. Gload to 2B. Gathright at bat now also bunting. Third attempt gets it right, perfect bunt to Scutaro. Bases loaded and no outs, McGowan in deep trouble here. DeJesus sac fly to Stewart, Gload scores but Shannon perfect throw to 3B to get Pena. Great double play. 1-1. Gathright in scoring position at 2B. German at bat. His average is back over .100. Strikes out though. McGowan escapes this one bigtime, bases loaded an no outs he only gives up one run. Thank you Shannon.
Bottom 5th: Wilkerson great leadoff double into LF corner. That’s the way to respond to the Royals run. Barajas now singles to LF, Wilkerson to 3B. Stewart now at bat grounds to Pena at SS but cannot get runner Wilkerson at plate but get Barajas at 2B. 2-1 Jays. Hill at bat, strikes out. Alex now at bat, Stewart running and steals easily. Alex strikes out. What can one say? My forecast is that Alex will burst out in second half of season this year. Coinciding with Wells return. Right now Jays are managing to win games without the big three of Rios, Wells and Thomas. How things change so quickly in baseball.
Top 6th: Gordon strikes out. Guillen grounds out to Rolen. Butler fly ball to CF. McGowan much better and appears to be settling down and reducing that pitch count. Meantime Meche is almost done with pitch count near 100.
Bottom 6th: Rolen fly ball to Gload in RF. Scott has hit ball hard tonight with not much success though. Strange how he can hit like this and yet Alex is all at sea. It will come. Stairs now grounds to 2B and beats out throw. Nice hustle by Matt. Overbay fly ball to Gathright, his record is now forgotten with two successive outs by Lyle. Scutaro fly ball to Gload. Meche is way over hundred pitches now but must be gutting it out as Kansas bullpen has been abused in both earlier games. Jays on the other hand have had luxury of two complete games by Halladay and Litsch and McGowan still pitching into the 7th here. This is the time when lights go out with Carlson, Downs and BJ Ryan.
Top 7th: Still McGowan. Buck singles to CF. Gload grounds to Scutaro double play ball here. Gload and Buck are out. Pena at bat grounds out to Overbay. MCgowan still only 90 pitches. Will he come out in 8th? What a remarkable groups of starters for the last three games.
Bottom 7th: Meche has gone, he pitches well but had no run support. Does that not sound familiar at Rogers Centre? Ramirez now pitching. Wilkerson strikes out. Barajas singles to LF. His second hit of afternoon. Plus throwing out runner Goad in 2nd. Sorry Gregg. Stewart now singles to LF, two on with Barajas at 2B. Hill grounds out to Gordin at 3B gets Stewart at 2B but Barajas moves to 3B. Alex now, YES indeed, great timing Alex, a single to CF, Barajas scores and Hill moves to 2B. 3-1 Jays. Alex is VERY happy. Nunez now pitching. Rolen at bat. Grounds to SS Rios out at 2B. But valuable run has scored.
Top 8th: Well we didn’t see Captain Hook but McGowan is finished and Downs now pitching. Too bad Gibbons didn’t leave McGowan out there for one batter and then give him well deserved ovation from fans here. By the way it looks as if the walk up-crowd today is huge, judging from where the stands are sold out. The gaps are in the season ticket holders seats. Inglett now in defensively for Stewart in LF. Gathright bunting again…. This time Overbay gets him without any help. DeJesus grounds to Overbay. Two down. German singles to CF. Come on Scott, this guy has an average just over .100. Gordon at bat, the tying run. Fly ball to Inglett in LF. Table is set for you know who in the 9th.
Bottom 8th: Jimmy Gobble pitching. Mench pinch-hitting for Stairs hits a bullet to Gordon who cannot handle it and now throws it away into the TD seats. Extra base for Mench. Error to Gordon but that ball was scorched by Mench. When Wells returns Gibbons will have two great bats in Mench and Wilkerson off the bench. Mench at 2B for Overbay, strikes out. His on-base streak is a receding memory. Scutaro lines out to Gordon, Marco hitless today. Wilkerson strikes out. Leadoff Mench is left at 2B. Let’s hope Jays don’t regret this inning.
Top 9th: Here he is BJ Ryan. The flames are a burning around the scoreboards. The crowd loves it. Some already on their feet behind me. Guillen strikes out. The crowd really does not need the scoreboard to tell them to make noise. Butler grounds out to Scutaro. Most are on their feet now. Buck one strike, everyone is on their feet, Buck strikes out. Jays win 3-1.
Four in a row and two games over .500 and going after Tampa for second spot.
What they said:
Gibbons on McGowan and his walks in last games. "Walks generally come back to haunt you, they put you in a tough position, they use up pitches. He's going to walk some guys. When you get those kind of arms, sometimes that happens. (But) he looked much better. He has been in a little bit of a rut. Today was a boost for him."
McGowan on Jays defence "They played great behind me," Rios throwing a runner out at home was big, and (Stewart) throwing a runner out at third was also big. That was really nice. That's the play of the game".
Overbay on his team record reaching base on twelve successive at bats."That's just I think a lot of luck more than anything. We got the win, that's all that matters... I'll look back, but I'll probably forget about it." (Sure Lyle if you say so, but an base percentage of .400 is not luck.)
Meche on giving up second run after Royals had tied up game. "We tied it up and I turned around and gave it right back to them. Those are situations where you've just got to take control and make sure you get us back in the dugout, keep the momentum in our hands."
Royals Manager Hellman on seven game losing streak. "These are tough, hard times. These guys are frustrated - we're all frustrated. I'm trying everything I know to try." Hellman on Rios throw to plate "Rios did what he has the athleticism to do. He came and got it, quick release and it was a perfect throw."
Hellman on Stewart’s throw to 3B. "That's the best throw I've ever seen Shannon Stewart make," "If I was coaching third base or running at second base, I would have done exactly the same things we did today.
Hellman on aggressive play. "You can't get out of the funk we're in right now being careful. It just doesn't happen that way. You've got to be aggressive and you've got to try to make some things happen."
Butler on losing streak. "We're going through a rough part as a team. We're just not getting the luck, you know? We're getting hits, we're just not getting the big one, something to get us going. That's what happens when you struggle. You can't find something to get you going."
Rios on win streak. "We've managed to put everything together and we're playing good baseball right now."
Good news: Wolfe has started rehab at Dunedin.
Jays sweep Royals, head west with five game win streak.
Monday May 26th Series finale Royals v Jays.
Marcum v Tomko
Series finale before Jays fly west for tough road trip. Would be good to go with a five win streak. School day today at Rogers Centre let’s hope Jays use the 10th man and get crowd into the game with some runs. There is nothing louder than school day when Jays give them something to cheer about. Last school day v Tigers however was like a morgue.
Royals lineup: DeJesus, Grudzielanek , Gordon, Guillen, Butler, Teahen, Olivo, Pena, Gathright ,Tomko pitching.
Jays lineup: Stewart, Inglett, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Zaun,and Marcum pitching.
Result: Jays win this one 7-2 and sweep four game visit by the Royals.
Good: Rolen’s leadoff double in 2nd. Zaun’s HR. Alex’s two run triple. But also here speed of Inglett to score in the 5th from 1B.
Top 1st: DeJesus grounds out to Inglett playing 2B today. Grudzielanek strikes out, Gordon strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Stewart strikes out, Inglett grounds it to 2B. Rios at bat. Full count, fouling off pitches. Making Tomko work here. Grounds to 3B.
Top 2nd: Guillen, grounds to Rolen at 3B. One down. Butler fouls out to Overbay. Teahen strikes out. Three now for Marcum.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen doubles just over the head of leaping Gordon at 3B down the line. Eleventh double this season !!! and that is with his missing April. Stairs at bat. I still prefer Overbay following Rolen. Stairs strikes out, waving at a ball there Matt. Overbay singles into RF between 1B and 2B. Rolen scores. 1-0 Jays. Scutaro hit and run on perfect single into RF by Scutaro. Overbay gets to 3B. Two on one down. Wilkerson now can blow this one open. Crowd getting noisy. Lines hard one into RF but Teahen catches full stretch but run Overbay scores 2-0 Jays. Zaun at bat there goes Scutaro great delayed steal Marco. Runner at 2B come on Gregg WOWEEE HR deep RF into Royals bullpen net. Two runs score. 4-0 Jays. Stewart now 40 pitches for Tomko. Stewart high pop up behind 2B.
Top 3rd: Marcum now with a great lead. Olivo at bat. Singles to CF. Come on Shawn don’t let them get back in this thing. Pena strikes out. Gathright. Olivio stealing throw is wide off bag. Fly ball to Stewart in shallow LF. Two down. DeJesus walks. Come on Shawn. Two on two down. Grudzielanek winging at first pitch grounds out to Rolen. Not a good at bat with two on and DeJesus walking previous batter.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett at bat grounds out to 2B. Rios infield single to SS. Alex will take that. Rolen at bat. 50 pitches now for Tomko. High fly ball to LF too bad he really got hold of that one. Just underneath it. That would have been 5th deck. Stairs at bat Rios now stealing, great jump Alex. Full count now for Matt. Strikes out.
Top 4th: Gordon lines over Scutaro’s head into LF. Guillen lines first pitch into RF Wilkerson’s glove. One down. Butler bounces chopper to 2B but can only get Gordon throw too late for two. Two down. Teahen singles to RF. Gordon at 3B. Olivo at bat. Full count. Strikes him out. Fifth for Marcum today.
Bottom 4th: Tomko at 59 pitches already. Overbay at bat drives it to Gathright in CF. Scutaro high fly ball to Teahen in RF. Jays are connecting but just missing. Wilkerson now at bat, hard liner up the middle but nice stop and throw by Grudzielanek just gets Wilkerson at 1B.
Top 5th: Pena grounds out to Rolen, one down. Gathright, first pitch bunt but straight back to Marcum two down. DeJesus hit by pitch. Grudzielanek grounds to Scutaro gets lead runner Pena at 2B. 62 pitches for Marcum in five innings.
Bottom 5th: Tomko already 70 pitches in four. Interesting trivia, Jays five hits have been spread between five players so far. Zaun now with the big one so far. There he goes doubles to RF corner. Stewart fly ball out to RF. Zaun holds at 2B. Inglett lines hard at Butler 1B cannot hold it and Inglett beats it out. Zaun to 3B. Error on Butler his first of the season that’s a tough error. Inglett hit a bullet. One down now for Alex need a fly ball here Alex. Will Inglett steal here also? Alex showing patience lays off first two. Great hit triples to RF corner. Two runs score, Inglett just beats throw and Alex goes to 3B on throw to plate. 6-0 Jays. Alex loves that. Now has single and triple today. Now Rolen at bat with Alex at 3B.and one down. Rare strike out for Rolen here. Stairs now would love to connect with one. High fly ball to LF leaves Alex at 3B. Tomko now at 90 pitches. Jays should get into that overworked Royals bullpen very soon.
Top 6th: Gordon at bat hit again one on.. Guillen hit now on the ribs. Two on no outs. Butler grounds it to Inglett gets Guillen at 2B but return throw by Scutaro pulls Marcum off bag, safe. Runners at 1B and 3B. One down. Butler grounds it again to Inglett throw to Scutaro wide and runner scores,6-1 Jays. error Inglett and still two on and one out. Marcum should have been out of this. Weird inning, two hit players and two missed easy chances. Wild pitch now and both runners move up. Sac Fly ball to CF runner scores 6-2 Jays. Teahen moves to 3B. Pena at bat fly ball to Rios in CF. But very strange inning. Marcum now at 80 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays get those runs back for Marcum? they owe him. Tomko still in there . Overbay at bat. High fly ball to Gathright in shallow CF. Scutaro now, he definitely owes Marcum one after that missed play. AND believe it or NOT he gets one, he heard me. High HR to LF over Jays bullpen. 7-2 Jays and when was the last time Jays had seven ? Much too long. Wilkerson now first pitch swing, why oh why do they do this ? bounces straight to Tomko. Dumb at bat. Zaun now pops out to Butler in front of photographers bay. 106 pitches for Tomko.
Top 7th: Gathright at bat. Marcum still pitching but we might see Frasor or Tallet today with this score. Fly ball to Rios in CF. DeJesus grounds to Inglett, makes no error here with throw to Overbay. Two down. Grudzielanek strikes out, Marcum number six today. Much better inning than his last. 90 pitches for Marcum.
Bottom 7th: Tomko gone. Peralta now pitching, Stewart at bat. Singles up the middle. One on. Inglett at bat, watch the bunt ? No, not with this score. Inglett is swinging, fly ball pout to LF, Stewart holds at 1B. Rios now, two hit afternoon two RBIs. Ouch on this swing, grounds to SS, double play ball here Alex.
Top 8th: Marcum still pitching, Hill also in defensively for Inglett. Gordon singles to RF. Guillen first pitch swinging high fly ball to Rios right at the wall at the Nikon sign. Just missed going out there Shawn. Butler singles to RF. Two on one out, here is Captain Hook, Marcum at the 99 pitches. Jesse Carlson now pitching.Teahen at bat singles to CF, Gordon coming home but YES, Alex GETS him at home plate. What a great one hop throw by Alex, Zaun had plate blocked but Gordon could not slide past. That’s it also for Jesse, just in for Teahen. Teahen at 1B and Butler at 2B. Two outs. Frasor now pitching. Olivo at bat grounds to Hill gets Olivo at 1B. Three Jays pitchers there for the three outs but they need the work after Halladay, Litsch and McGowan pitched 25 innings out of the last 27.
Bottom 8th: Big bats. Rolen, Stairs and Overbay. Joakim Soria now pitching. Rolen at bat strikes out. Stairs long overdue here 0-3 today. Walks. Overbay at bat. Bounces one to Soria throw to 2B anfd basck to get Overbay at 1B double play ball.
Top 9th: Tallet maybe ? or stay with Frasor ? No BJ today. Frasor it is. German pinch hitting for Pena. Strikes out. Gathright at bat, I don’t think he will be bunting this time. Slices one down third base line for a single. One on one down. DeJesus at bat, Frasor labouring here as always. Full count. Jason you have a five run lead don’t try to be so fine, just throw it and let them make contact. Takes my advice, DeJesus grounds out to Overbay. Two down. Grudzielanek at bat, Gathright at 2B. Crowd are NOISY. Strikes him out. This game is over. Jays win 7-2.
Now for the West coast with a five game win streak. It will not be an easy road trip as Boston found out in Oakland at the weekend and Jays have a score to settle with the Angels.
Marcum v Tomko
Series finale before Jays fly west for tough road trip. Would be good to go with a five win streak. School day today at Rogers Centre let’s hope Jays use the 10th man and get crowd into the game with some runs. There is nothing louder than school day when Jays give them something to cheer about. Last school day v Tigers however was like a morgue.
Royals lineup: DeJesus, Grudzielanek , Gordon, Guillen, Butler, Teahen, Olivo, Pena, Gathright ,Tomko pitching.
Jays lineup: Stewart, Inglett, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Scutaro, Wilkerson, Zaun,and Marcum pitching.
Result: Jays win this one 7-2 and sweep four game visit by the Royals.
Good: Rolen’s leadoff double in 2nd. Zaun’s HR. Alex’s two run triple. But also here speed of Inglett to score in the 5th from 1B.
Top 1st: DeJesus grounds out to Inglett playing 2B today. Grudzielanek strikes out, Gordon strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Stewart strikes out, Inglett grounds it to 2B. Rios at bat. Full count, fouling off pitches. Making Tomko work here. Grounds to 3B.
Top 2nd: Guillen, grounds to Rolen at 3B. One down. Butler fouls out to Overbay. Teahen strikes out. Three now for Marcum.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen doubles just over the head of leaping Gordon at 3B down the line. Eleventh double this season !!! and that is with his missing April. Stairs at bat. I still prefer Overbay following Rolen. Stairs strikes out, waving at a ball there Matt. Overbay singles into RF between 1B and 2B. Rolen scores. 1-0 Jays. Scutaro hit and run on perfect single into RF by Scutaro. Overbay gets to 3B. Two on one down. Wilkerson now can blow this one open. Crowd getting noisy. Lines hard one into RF but Teahen catches full stretch but run Overbay scores 2-0 Jays. Zaun at bat there goes Scutaro great delayed steal Marco. Runner at 2B come on Gregg WOWEEE HR deep RF into Royals bullpen net. Two runs score. 4-0 Jays. Stewart now 40 pitches for Tomko. Stewart high pop up behind 2B.
Top 3rd: Marcum now with a great lead. Olivo at bat. Singles to CF. Come on Shawn don’t let them get back in this thing. Pena strikes out. Gathright. Olivio stealing throw is wide off bag. Fly ball to Stewart in shallow LF. Two down. DeJesus walks. Come on Shawn. Two on two down. Grudzielanek winging at first pitch grounds out to Rolen. Not a good at bat with two on and DeJesus walking previous batter.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett at bat grounds out to 2B. Rios infield single to SS. Alex will take that. Rolen at bat. 50 pitches now for Tomko. High fly ball to LF too bad he really got hold of that one. Just underneath it. That would have been 5th deck. Stairs at bat Rios now stealing, great jump Alex. Full count now for Matt. Strikes out.
Top 4th: Gordon lines over Scutaro’s head into LF. Guillen lines first pitch into RF Wilkerson’s glove. One down. Butler bounces chopper to 2B but can only get Gordon throw too late for two. Two down. Teahen singles to RF. Gordon at 3B. Olivo at bat. Full count. Strikes him out. Fifth for Marcum today.
Bottom 4th: Tomko at 59 pitches already. Overbay at bat drives it to Gathright in CF. Scutaro high fly ball to Teahen in RF. Jays are connecting but just missing. Wilkerson now at bat, hard liner up the middle but nice stop and throw by Grudzielanek just gets Wilkerson at 1B.
Top 5th: Pena grounds out to Rolen, one down. Gathright, first pitch bunt but straight back to Marcum two down. DeJesus hit by pitch. Grudzielanek grounds to Scutaro gets lead runner Pena at 2B. 62 pitches for Marcum in five innings.
Bottom 5th: Tomko already 70 pitches in four. Interesting trivia, Jays five hits have been spread between five players so far. Zaun now with the big one so far. There he goes doubles to RF corner. Stewart fly ball out to RF. Zaun holds at 2B. Inglett lines hard at Butler 1B cannot hold it and Inglett beats it out. Zaun to 3B. Error on Butler his first of the season that’s a tough error. Inglett hit a bullet. One down now for Alex need a fly ball here Alex. Will Inglett steal here also? Alex showing patience lays off first two. Great hit triples to RF corner. Two runs score, Inglett just beats throw and Alex goes to 3B on throw to plate. 6-0 Jays. Alex loves that. Now has single and triple today. Now Rolen at bat with Alex at 3B.and one down. Rare strike out for Rolen here. Stairs now would love to connect with one. High fly ball to LF leaves Alex at 3B. Tomko now at 90 pitches. Jays should get into that overworked Royals bullpen very soon.
Top 6th: Gordon at bat hit again one on.. Guillen hit now on the ribs. Two on no outs. Butler grounds it to Inglett gets Guillen at 2B but return throw by Scutaro pulls Marcum off bag, safe. Runners at 1B and 3B. One down. Butler grounds it again to Inglett throw to Scutaro wide and runner scores,6-1 Jays. error Inglett and still two on and one out. Marcum should have been out of this. Weird inning, two hit players and two missed easy chances. Wild pitch now and both runners move up. Sac Fly ball to CF runner scores 6-2 Jays. Teahen moves to 3B. Pena at bat fly ball to Rios in CF. But very strange inning. Marcum now at 80 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays get those runs back for Marcum? they owe him. Tomko still in there . Overbay at bat. High fly ball to Gathright in shallow CF. Scutaro now, he definitely owes Marcum one after that missed play. AND believe it or NOT he gets one, he heard me. High HR to LF over Jays bullpen. 7-2 Jays and when was the last time Jays had seven ? Much too long. Wilkerson now first pitch swing, why oh why do they do this ? bounces straight to Tomko. Dumb at bat. Zaun now pops out to Butler in front of photographers bay. 106 pitches for Tomko.
Top 7th: Gathright at bat. Marcum still pitching but we might see Frasor or Tallet today with this score. Fly ball to Rios in CF. DeJesus grounds to Inglett, makes no error here with throw to Overbay. Two down. Grudzielanek strikes out, Marcum number six today. Much better inning than his last. 90 pitches for Marcum.
Bottom 7th: Tomko gone. Peralta now pitching, Stewart at bat. Singles up the middle. One on. Inglett at bat, watch the bunt ? No, not with this score. Inglett is swinging, fly ball pout to LF, Stewart holds at 1B. Rios now, two hit afternoon two RBIs. Ouch on this swing, grounds to SS, double play ball here Alex.
Top 8th: Marcum still pitching, Hill also in defensively for Inglett. Gordon singles to RF. Guillen first pitch swinging high fly ball to Rios right at the wall at the Nikon sign. Just missed going out there Shawn. Butler singles to RF. Two on one out, here is Captain Hook, Marcum at the 99 pitches. Jesse Carlson now pitching.Teahen at bat singles to CF, Gordon coming home but YES, Alex GETS him at home plate. What a great one hop throw by Alex, Zaun had plate blocked but Gordon could not slide past. That’s it also for Jesse, just in for Teahen. Teahen at 1B and Butler at 2B. Two outs. Frasor now pitching. Olivo at bat grounds to Hill gets Olivo at 1B. Three Jays pitchers there for the three outs but they need the work after Halladay, Litsch and McGowan pitched 25 innings out of the last 27.
Bottom 8th: Big bats. Rolen, Stairs and Overbay. Joakim Soria now pitching. Rolen at bat strikes out. Stairs long overdue here 0-3 today. Walks. Overbay at bat. Bounces one to Soria throw to 2B anfd basck to get Overbay at 1B double play ball.
Top 9th: Tallet maybe ? or stay with Frasor ? No BJ today. Frasor it is. German pinch hitting for Pena. Strikes out. Gathright at bat, I don’t think he will be bunting this time. Slices one down third base line for a single. One on one down. DeJesus at bat, Frasor labouring here as always. Full count. Jason you have a five run lead don’t try to be so fine, just throw it and let them make contact. Takes my advice, DeJesus grounds out to Overbay. Two down. Grudzielanek at bat, Gathright at 2B. Crowd are NOISY. Strikes him out. This game is over. Jays win 7-2.
Now for the West coast with a five game win streak. It will not be an easy road trip as Boston found out in Oakland at the weekend and Jays have a score to settle with the Angels.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Saturday May 24, 2008. Toronto v Kansas.
Jays on a roll, can Jesse Litsch continue. Jesse 5-1 so far on season and has far surpassed expectations from the number five in rotation.
Kansas rookie Hochevar is 3-3.
Result: Jays shutout Kansas and win this one 6-0.
Lineups: Kansas: DeJesus, Grudzielanek, Gordon, Guillen, Teahen, Butler, Buck, Pena, Gathright and pitching Hochevar
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Wilkerson, Scutaro, Zaun, Inglett and pitching Litsch.
The excellent: Jesse Litsch pitching complete game shutout. His first of major league career.
The very good: Wilkerson’s grand slam in first inning (his career fifth) which almost finishes this one. Eight hits for Jays and six runs.
The good: Jays first back to back complete games *(Halladay and Litsch) since 2000 and Carpenter and Escobar in New York. Hill double. Rolen’s stolen base. Overbay’s tying Tony Fernandez's team record by reaching base in 11 consecutive plate appearances. Overbay has six hits, five walks and three RBIs in the streak. Joe Inglett’s second triple this week. It seemed to me that Jays hitters were far more patient tonight than usual. The first pitch swinging has gone for the most part and it appears to be paying off in this series at least. Toronto now has only one loss in 12 day games to date.
The not so good: Runners left in scoring position again tonight. Nine left on base and Jays only 3/13 with runners in scoring position. (Kansas was even worse 0-8)
Scutaro was the only Jay without getting on base but at least he was the hero last night . Rios was also hitless but had one walk and came round to score.
The game:
Top 1st: DeJesus single to Hill. Grudzielanek fly ball to Inglett, Mr. Utility man playing LF today. Gordon strikes out and with Zaun catching DeJesus trying to steal this is a good quick inning for Jesse.
Bottom 1st: Stewart singles to LF. Hill now at bat, doubles to LF. Good to see Hill getting his hits again. Two on no outs. Stewart trying to come home on that hit is thrown out at home plate. great throw by DeJesus and relay by Pena. One down. Alex now at bat, strikes out leaving Hill in scoring position at 2B.Rolen now very patient works count to full count ,now walks. Two on one down for the hot Overbay. Lyle now infield single to SS. Bases loaded for Brad Wilkerson. Rockets away, this one is out in CF. GRAND SLAM Wilkerson and Jays take a 4-0 lead in this one. Great start. Scutaro now, last night’s hero. Not this time, grounds to Gordon. Third out but Jays have the 4-0 lead.
Top 2nd: Jesse has nice lead to work with. Guillen singles to LF. Teahen strikes out. Butler singles to LF, Guillen to 2B. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson. Pena grounds out to Overbay. Guillen is left out there.
Bottom 2nd: Zaun fly ball to Gathright. I don’t think Gregg will be playing on Sunday. Inglett fly ball to Teahen in RF. Stewart now hit by pitch. Hill grounds to SS. Pena gets the lead runner Stewart.
Top 3rd: Gathright grounds out to Scutaro at SS, one down. DeJesus grounds out to Hill. Grudzielanek grounds out to Scutaro. Good quick three up and down for Jesse. Hard to believe that Jesse was not in starting lineup a year ago.
Bottom 3rd: Alex leading off. No luck here, strikes out. Rolen now at bat, not swinging and walks on four pitches. Overbay walks on four pitches. Hochevar having trouble finding the strike zone here. Wilkerson now the first inning. grand slam hero grounds to Grudzielanek double play ball .
Top 4th: Gordon grounds to Hill. Guillen pops up to Overbay. Teahen grounds to Overbay.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro grounds out to Butler. Zaun strikes out. Inglett grounds to Grudzielanek.
Top 5th: Butler fly ball to Wilkerson. Buck doubles to RF. Pena grounds back to Jesse throw to Overbay. Buck moves to 3B. Gathright grounds out to Rolen.
Bottom 5th: Stewart pops up to Butler. Hill grounds out to Butler. Alex grounds to Pena at SS. Jays are sitting on that 4-0 lead.
Top 6th: DeJesus fouls out to Inglett in LF. Grudzielanek singles to CF. Gordon fly ball to Inglett, Joe is busy tonight. Wild pitch by Jesse. Grudzielanek moves up to 2B. Guillen grounds out to Hill. Jesse escapes another.
Bottom 6th: Rolen singles to RF. Overbay at bat. There goes Scott and steals 2B. Full count now for Lyle, walks. Two on no outs. Wilkerson strikes out. Scutaro lines to Gathright in CF. Two down are the Jays going to leave Rolen at 2B yet again. Zaun now infield single Grudzielanek’s throw to 1B into foul territory Rolen scores. 5-0 Jays. Overbay to 3B. Wild pitch moves Zaun to 2B. Overbay does not move up. Inglett at bat fly ball to Teahen. Two more left on byut Jays score one more.
Top 7th: Litsch still pitching. Teahen grounds to Hill. Butler grounds to Scutaro. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson. Jesse still pitching well.
Bottom 7th: Yabuta now pitching for Hochevar. Stewart full count and walks. Hill infield single. Stewart moves up to 2B. Alex now walks, first time on base today. Bases are loaded. No outs, another great opportunity here for Jays to blow this one open. Ramirez in to replace Yabuta. Rolen fly ball to DeJesus too shallow for run to score, runners hold. Overbay now patient at bat, full count, and walks run in. Stewart scores. 6-0 Jays. Bases still loaded. Hill moves to 3B. Rios to 2B. Look who is at bat ? First inning hero Wilkerson again with bases loaded. This time pops up to Pena. No chance to score on that. Scutaro now, grounds out to Pena, hets lead runner Overbay at2B. Not a great inning by Jays hitters at all. Run scores from a walk. But six is a big target for the Royals in last six outs and BJ Ryan sitting out there in LF bullpen.
Top 8th: Pena fly ball to Inglett in LF. Gathright bunting here to 2B. Tryiong something different against Litsch and this works. DeJesus at bat one down. Grounds to Hill, this could be trouble, double play ball. Good to see it turned by the Jays this time for a change.
Bottom 8th: Nunez pitching Zaun grounds out to Butler at 1B. I really do think Barajas will be playing tomorrow Zaun is struggling bigtime. Inglett now also not having a good afternoon. This time different at bat triple to CF. His second triple this homestand. He is proving to be a versatile player. Now can the others bring him in with only one down. Will Gibbons try something aggressive with Stewart now at bat ? Suicide squeeze ? Shannon is probably the best player to try this. Full count here, walks. Hill now fouls out to Buck. Rios lines out to Teahen. No runs here. Disappointing yet again even with the six run lead.
Top 9th: Jesse still in there to finish this one. Would be a first for him both a shutout and complete game. Grudzielanek doubles to CF. Careful Jesse. Gordon strikes out. Guillen grounds out to Scutaro. Grudzielanek moves to 3B. Two down two on. Teahen to 2B, defensive indifference. Butker fly ball to Wilkerson. This one is over and great win for Lirtsch, Complete game and shutout. His first of both in major leagues.
Jays win 6-0. And are back above .500 for first time since April 20. They will make up another game on Orioles or Rays. Boston game is later tonight on west coast. Yankees are winning but will remain below Jays.
They said: Wilkerson on his grand slam in first inning: "I got in a good hitter's count by being patient. He gave me a good pitch, got it up over the middle of the plate. I tried not to do too much and drove the ball out."
Overbay on his hitting streak: "I feel like I'm seeing the ball well. I'm not expanding the zone too much."
Hochevar on Wilkerson’s grand slam in first inning: "That was the game. When the wind gets taken out of our sails early on like that, that puts us in a hole and it's tough to come back out of it. I made a mistake and I paid for it."
Litsch: "I try to pound the zone every time I go out there. The key to my game is pounding the zone, making contact and using my defense. It's good to be able to go out and finish one and get that first complete game under my belt,"
John Buck- Kansas on Litsch: "He has good, late effective movement. We're not the only team that's been having trouble with him."
Trey Hillman, Kansas Manager: "We did a very poor job of working the count. Litsch is good. His numbers bear that out. He's been a solid pitcher."
Other news: Wells is hitting balls pre-game and will be on his way to Florida rehab on Monday when Jays head to the west coast. Stairs has missed three straight games with stiff neck.
Jays on a roll, can Jesse Litsch continue. Jesse 5-1 so far on season and has far surpassed expectations from the number five in rotation.
Kansas rookie Hochevar is 3-3.
Result: Jays shutout Kansas and win this one 6-0.
Lineups: Kansas: DeJesus, Grudzielanek, Gordon, Guillen, Teahen, Butler, Buck, Pena, Gathright and pitching Hochevar
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Wilkerson, Scutaro, Zaun, Inglett and pitching Litsch.
The excellent: Jesse Litsch pitching complete game shutout. His first of major league career.
The very good: Wilkerson’s grand slam in first inning (his career fifth) which almost finishes this one. Eight hits for Jays and six runs.
The good: Jays first back to back complete games *(Halladay and Litsch) since 2000 and Carpenter and Escobar in New York. Hill double. Rolen’s stolen base. Overbay’s tying Tony Fernandez's team record by reaching base in 11 consecutive plate appearances. Overbay has six hits, five walks and three RBIs in the streak. Joe Inglett’s second triple this week. It seemed to me that Jays hitters were far more patient tonight than usual. The first pitch swinging has gone for the most part and it appears to be paying off in this series at least. Toronto now has only one loss in 12 day games to date.
The not so good: Runners left in scoring position again tonight. Nine left on base and Jays only 3/13 with runners in scoring position. (Kansas was even worse 0-8)
Scutaro was the only Jay without getting on base but at least he was the hero last night . Rios was also hitless but had one walk and came round to score.
The game:
Top 1st: DeJesus single to Hill. Grudzielanek fly ball to Inglett, Mr. Utility man playing LF today. Gordon strikes out and with Zaun catching DeJesus trying to steal this is a good quick inning for Jesse.
Bottom 1st: Stewart singles to LF. Hill now at bat, doubles to LF. Good to see Hill getting his hits again. Two on no outs. Stewart trying to come home on that hit is thrown out at home plate. great throw by DeJesus and relay by Pena. One down. Alex now at bat, strikes out leaving Hill in scoring position at 2B.Rolen now very patient works count to full count ,now walks. Two on one down for the hot Overbay. Lyle now infield single to SS. Bases loaded for Brad Wilkerson. Rockets away, this one is out in CF. GRAND SLAM Wilkerson and Jays take a 4-0 lead in this one. Great start. Scutaro now, last night’s hero. Not this time, grounds to Gordon. Third out but Jays have the 4-0 lead.
Top 2nd: Jesse has nice lead to work with. Guillen singles to LF. Teahen strikes out. Butler singles to LF, Guillen to 2B. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson. Pena grounds out to Overbay. Guillen is left out there.
Bottom 2nd: Zaun fly ball to Gathright. I don’t think Gregg will be playing on Sunday. Inglett fly ball to Teahen in RF. Stewart now hit by pitch. Hill grounds to SS. Pena gets the lead runner Stewart.
Top 3rd: Gathright grounds out to Scutaro at SS, one down. DeJesus grounds out to Hill. Grudzielanek grounds out to Scutaro. Good quick three up and down for Jesse. Hard to believe that Jesse was not in starting lineup a year ago.
Bottom 3rd: Alex leading off. No luck here, strikes out. Rolen now at bat, not swinging and walks on four pitches. Overbay walks on four pitches. Hochevar having trouble finding the strike zone here. Wilkerson now the first inning. grand slam hero grounds to Grudzielanek double play ball .
Top 4th: Gordon grounds to Hill. Guillen pops up to Overbay. Teahen grounds to Overbay.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro grounds out to Butler. Zaun strikes out. Inglett grounds to Grudzielanek.
Top 5th: Butler fly ball to Wilkerson. Buck doubles to RF. Pena grounds back to Jesse throw to Overbay. Buck moves to 3B. Gathright grounds out to Rolen.
Bottom 5th: Stewart pops up to Butler. Hill grounds out to Butler. Alex grounds to Pena at SS. Jays are sitting on that 4-0 lead.
Top 6th: DeJesus fouls out to Inglett in LF. Grudzielanek singles to CF. Gordon fly ball to Inglett, Joe is busy tonight. Wild pitch by Jesse. Grudzielanek moves up to 2B. Guillen grounds out to Hill. Jesse escapes another.
Bottom 6th: Rolen singles to RF. Overbay at bat. There goes Scott and steals 2B. Full count now for Lyle, walks. Two on no outs. Wilkerson strikes out. Scutaro lines to Gathright in CF. Two down are the Jays going to leave Rolen at 2B yet again. Zaun now infield single Grudzielanek’s throw to 1B into foul territory Rolen scores. 5-0 Jays. Overbay to 3B. Wild pitch moves Zaun to 2B. Overbay does not move up. Inglett at bat fly ball to Teahen. Two more left on byut Jays score one more.
Top 7th: Litsch still pitching. Teahen grounds to Hill. Butler grounds to Scutaro. Buck fly ball to Wilkerson. Jesse still pitching well.
Bottom 7th: Yabuta now pitching for Hochevar. Stewart full count and walks. Hill infield single. Stewart moves up to 2B. Alex now walks, first time on base today. Bases are loaded. No outs, another great opportunity here for Jays to blow this one open. Ramirez in to replace Yabuta. Rolen fly ball to DeJesus too shallow for run to score, runners hold. Overbay now patient at bat, full count, and walks run in. Stewart scores. 6-0 Jays. Bases still loaded. Hill moves to 3B. Rios to 2B. Look who is at bat ? First inning hero Wilkerson again with bases loaded. This time pops up to Pena. No chance to score on that. Scutaro now, grounds out to Pena, hets lead runner Overbay at2B. Not a great inning by Jays hitters at all. Run scores from a walk. But six is a big target for the Royals in last six outs and BJ Ryan sitting out there in LF bullpen.
Top 8th: Pena fly ball to Inglett in LF. Gathright bunting here to 2B. Tryiong something different against Litsch and this works. DeJesus at bat one down. Grounds to Hill, this could be trouble, double play ball. Good to see it turned by the Jays this time for a change.
Bottom 8th: Nunez pitching Zaun grounds out to Butler at 1B. I really do think Barajas will be playing tomorrow Zaun is struggling bigtime. Inglett now also not having a good afternoon. This time different at bat triple to CF. His second triple this homestand. He is proving to be a versatile player. Now can the others bring him in with only one down. Will Gibbons try something aggressive with Stewart now at bat ? Suicide squeeze ? Shannon is probably the best player to try this. Full count here, walks. Hill now fouls out to Buck. Rios lines out to Teahen. No runs here. Disappointing yet again even with the six run lead.
Top 9th: Jesse still in there to finish this one. Would be a first for him both a shutout and complete game. Grudzielanek doubles to CF. Careful Jesse. Gordon strikes out. Guillen grounds out to Scutaro. Grudzielanek moves to 3B. Two down two on. Teahen to 2B, defensive indifference. Butker fly ball to Wilkerson. This one is over and great win for Lirtsch, Complete game and shutout. His first of both in major leagues.
Jays win 6-0. And are back above .500 for first time since April 20. They will make up another game on Orioles or Rays. Boston game is later tonight on west coast. Yankees are winning but will remain below Jays.
They said: Wilkerson on his grand slam in first inning: "I got in a good hitter's count by being patient. He gave me a good pitch, got it up over the middle of the plate. I tried not to do too much and drove the ball out."
Overbay on his hitting streak: "I feel like I'm seeing the ball well. I'm not expanding the zone too much."
Hochevar on Wilkerson’s grand slam in first inning: "That was the game. When the wind gets taken out of our sails early on like that, that puts us in a hole and it's tough to come back out of it. I made a mistake and I paid for it."
Litsch: "I try to pound the zone every time I go out there. The key to my game is pounding the zone, making contact and using my defense. It's good to be able to go out and finish one and get that first complete game under my belt,"
John Buck- Kansas on Litsch: "He has good, late effective movement. We're not the only team that's been having trouble with him."
Trey Hillman, Kansas Manager: "We did a very poor job of working the count. Litsch is good. His numbers bear that out. He's been a solid pitcher."
Other news: Wells is hitting balls pre-game and will be on his way to Florida rehab on Monday when Jays head to the west coast. Stairs has missed three straight games with stiff neck.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Halladay complete game supported by defence and Scutaro's bat
Friday May 23,2008. Jays v Royals.
Lineups: Royals: De Jesus. Grudzielanek Gordon, Jose Guillen,Teahen, Butler, Olivo, Pena, Gathright and Greinke pitching.
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Mench, Zaun, Scutaro, Inglett and Halladay pitching.
Result: Jays win 7-1.
The very good: Halladay another complete game his 5th this season. Scutaro 4 RBIs but all scored with two outs and two in scoring position. Stewart’s catch in 5th. Hill’s highlight reel catch in 7th. One of THE best of the season.
Good: The all round hitting by Jays finally a game when the runners were brought in.
Top 1st: Halladay pitching DeJesus singles to CF. Grudzielanek pops up to Hill at 2B. one down. DeJesus singles to CF. Grudzielanek, Gordon at bat, De Jesus Steals 2B. Gordon grounds to 1B. De Jesus to 3B. Jose Guillen at bat singles to CF and run scores. 1-0 Kansas. Teahen grounds to Rolen gets Guillen in force at 2B.
Bottom 1st: Stewart at bat. Lines softly to 2B Grudzielanek. Hill gets hold of this one but loud fly ball to Guillen in LF. Now Rios at bat with two down. grounds to Gordon at 3B. Quick three up and down for Greinke.
Top 2nd: Billy Butler grounds to Scutaro one down. Olive same play but nice play by Scutaro. Pena singles to CF. Gathright at bat another ground ball up the middle and again Scutaro very nice play right side of 2B to get this one and throw him out at 1B. That’s a Johnny Mac play. 29 pitches for Halladay already.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen first pitch lines one to LF. Overbay singles to RF. Rolen at 3B. Two on. No one out. Here we go can they get runner in. Mench at bat should be swinging here. Trying to pull Greinke. Now a feeble foul out to 1B. Deja vu Jays for the thousandth time this season. Now Zaun just fouling these off.I don’t believe it Zaun taps it in front of plate, easy out at 1B Rolen can’t move. Overbay to 2B on the play. Scutaro third try to get Rolen in. Good at bat here by Scutaro fouling off pitches and patient. FINALLY single to RF. Rolen and Overbay both score. 2-1 Jays. Inglett now with Scutaro at 1B. Pitch count in the 30’s for Greinke now. Jays bats very patient tonight. There he goes Inglett swinging through this one strikes out. But Jays are ahead and 35 pitches for Greinke after only two innings.
Top 3rd: Halladay has the lead for top of Kansas lineup. De Jesus,Nice curve ball from Halladay fools now liner to Scutaro. Last four outs !! Grudzielanek grounds again to Scutaro five consecutive outs. Gordon strikes out on three consecutive curve balls. That inning helps Halladay’s pitch count, 36. But more importantly his curve and breaking balls are on tonight and fooling this Kansas side so far and with the ground balls keeping his pitch count way down.
Bottom 3rd: Stewart lines one to CF just wide of Pena’s glove at SS. Hill now dribbles one to 2B but moves Stewart to 2B. Now Alex with one in scoring position. YES indeed doubles to RF wall over head of DeJesus scores Stewart easily. 3-1 Jays. Rolen now with Alex at 2B. One down. Gets hold of this one, high fly ball just misses foul pole, great swing. Walks him. Greinke wants to stay away from Rolen’s bat. Now Overbay lines to LF. Rios scores. 4-1.Jays and bringing them in scoring position tonight, Keep it going bats. Mench now with two on. Walks bases loaded on four pitches. Zaun at bat, this is where we need a grand slam Gregg. 51 pitches for Greinke. Well, it goes 400 feet but straight up… Pop up to Teahen. Scutaro now with 2RBIs tonight already. YES indeed singles up the middle, Mench and Overbay score, 2 more RBIs for Scutaro with two strikes against him AND with two outs. 6-1 Jays. Inglett now. Grounds to Grudzielanek at 2B. When did Jays last score six ??
Top 4th: Halladay when did he last get six run support ? Guillen at bat. Fly ball to Rios. One down. Teahen lines hard out to Rolen. Butler grounds hard to Overbay. Three up and down. 52 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Top of the order again Stewart Greinke 59 pitches. This time strikes out. Hill still hitless tonight. Gets under this one high fly ball to RF. Rios grounds. 72 pitches
Top 5th:Olivo single to LF Pena strikes out Gathright grounds to Rolen gets the runner Olivo at 2B but cannot turn double play. two down. Gathright steals 2B. DeJesus lines one to LF GREAT diving catch by Stewart saves a run. Hallady 63 pitches
Bottom 5th: Rolen at bat. Walk and single so far. Another single to CF. Great to see Scott back in the hitting groove. 80 pitches. Overbay singles two on no outs for Mench. Fly ball to shallow RF DeJesus. One down. Zaun horrible at bat first pitch swing fly ball shallow LF. Two down for Scutaro tonight’s hero so far. Two on two down. Déjà vu for last two at bats. Not this time, grounds back to Greinke. 93 pitches.
Top 6th: Grudzielanek grounds to Rolen. 64 pitches for Halladay. Gordon strikes him out on a great curve. Guillen grounds first pitch to Rolen, Seven pitch inning just what the doctor ordered. 70 pitches now.
Bottom 6th: Inglett at bat. Greinke gone. Joel Peralta now pitching. High fly ball to CF. One down. Top of order. Stewart soft liner to 2B. Two down for Hill still hitless in three at bats tonight, Fly ball to CF. Still hitless.
Top 7th: Teahen at bat. Grounds to Overbay, Halladay makes the out at 1B. Butler at bat, WOWEEE what an incredible catch by Hill. Runs and dives full length shallow RF to get Butler. Olivo pops up to Overbay. Good inning by Halladay. Great defence tonight.
Bottom 7th: Ron Mahay now pitching. Rios singles to CF. Alex now in the groove. Rolen on base three times. Walk and two singles. Walks again. Two on no outs again. Overbay 3-3 tonight three singles. Walks. Bases loaded now no outs. Mench at bat. Hitless tonight. Has big chance now. Grounds to 3B double play but Rios and run scores.7-1 Jays. Overbay to 3B. Two down. Zaun also hitless, first pitch horrible swing fly ball to LF. I think it may be time to get Barajas in as regular catcher. Zaun is not throwing well tonight and his at bats are awful. When did Jays last score 7 ??
Top 8th: Halladay 79 pitches. Pena at bat. Lines out to Inglett. Olivo first pitch ground out to Scutaro. Two down. DeJesus fly ball to Stewart. Three up and down for Halladay.
Bottom 8th: Jimmy Gobble pitching. Scutaro first pitch high fly to the wall at CF. One down. Inglett same play but much shallower out in CF for Gathright. Two down for Stewart fly ball to DeJesus sliding catch. Maybe ??? replay is interesting, will they show it again?
Top 9th: Halladay wants to finish this one 89 pitches. German first at bat, in earlier for Grudzielanek.strikes him out curve ball again. One down. Gordon Strikes out with great curve. Callaspo in earlier for Guillen. Fly ball to Rios. Fifth complete game for Halladay 104 pitches.
Jays now back to .500 25-25. Second win in a row. Ten hits for Jays.
Lineups: Royals: De Jesus. Grudzielanek Gordon, Jose Guillen,Teahen, Butler, Olivo, Pena, Gathright and Greinke pitching.
Jays: Stewart, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Mench, Zaun, Scutaro, Inglett and Halladay pitching.
Result: Jays win 7-1.
The very good: Halladay another complete game his 5th this season. Scutaro 4 RBIs but all scored with two outs and two in scoring position. Stewart’s catch in 5th. Hill’s highlight reel catch in 7th. One of THE best of the season.
Good: The all round hitting by Jays finally a game when the runners were brought in.
Top 1st: Halladay pitching DeJesus singles to CF. Grudzielanek pops up to Hill at 2B. one down. DeJesus singles to CF. Grudzielanek, Gordon at bat, De Jesus Steals 2B. Gordon grounds to 1B. De Jesus to 3B. Jose Guillen at bat singles to CF and run scores. 1-0 Kansas. Teahen grounds to Rolen gets Guillen in force at 2B.
Bottom 1st: Stewart at bat. Lines softly to 2B Grudzielanek. Hill gets hold of this one but loud fly ball to Guillen in LF. Now Rios at bat with two down. grounds to Gordon at 3B. Quick three up and down for Greinke.
Top 2nd: Billy Butler grounds to Scutaro one down. Olive same play but nice play by Scutaro. Pena singles to CF. Gathright at bat another ground ball up the middle and again Scutaro very nice play right side of 2B to get this one and throw him out at 1B. That’s a Johnny Mac play. 29 pitches for Halladay already.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen first pitch lines one to LF. Overbay singles to RF. Rolen at 3B. Two on. No one out. Here we go can they get runner in. Mench at bat should be swinging here. Trying to pull Greinke. Now a feeble foul out to 1B. Deja vu Jays for the thousandth time this season. Now Zaun just fouling these off.I don’t believe it Zaun taps it in front of plate, easy out at 1B Rolen can’t move. Overbay to 2B on the play. Scutaro third try to get Rolen in. Good at bat here by Scutaro fouling off pitches and patient. FINALLY single to RF. Rolen and Overbay both score. 2-1 Jays. Inglett now with Scutaro at 1B. Pitch count in the 30’s for Greinke now. Jays bats very patient tonight. There he goes Inglett swinging through this one strikes out. But Jays are ahead and 35 pitches for Greinke after only two innings.
Top 3rd: Halladay has the lead for top of Kansas lineup. De Jesus,Nice curve ball from Halladay fools now liner to Scutaro. Last four outs !! Grudzielanek grounds again to Scutaro five consecutive outs. Gordon strikes out on three consecutive curve balls. That inning helps Halladay’s pitch count, 36. But more importantly his curve and breaking balls are on tonight and fooling this Kansas side so far and with the ground balls keeping his pitch count way down.
Bottom 3rd: Stewart lines one to CF just wide of Pena’s glove at SS. Hill now dribbles one to 2B but moves Stewart to 2B. Now Alex with one in scoring position. YES indeed doubles to RF wall over head of DeJesus scores Stewart easily. 3-1 Jays. Rolen now with Alex at 2B. One down. Gets hold of this one, high fly ball just misses foul pole, great swing. Walks him. Greinke wants to stay away from Rolen’s bat. Now Overbay lines to LF. Rios scores. 4-1.Jays and bringing them in scoring position tonight, Keep it going bats. Mench now with two on. Walks bases loaded on four pitches. Zaun at bat, this is where we need a grand slam Gregg. 51 pitches for Greinke. Well, it goes 400 feet but straight up… Pop up to Teahen. Scutaro now with 2RBIs tonight already. YES indeed singles up the middle, Mench and Overbay score, 2 more RBIs for Scutaro with two strikes against him AND with two outs. 6-1 Jays. Inglett now. Grounds to Grudzielanek at 2B. When did Jays last score six ??
Top 4th: Halladay when did he last get six run support ? Guillen at bat. Fly ball to Rios. One down. Teahen lines hard out to Rolen. Butler grounds hard to Overbay. Three up and down. 52 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Top of the order again Stewart Greinke 59 pitches. This time strikes out. Hill still hitless tonight. Gets under this one high fly ball to RF. Rios grounds. 72 pitches
Top 5th:Olivo single to LF Pena strikes out Gathright grounds to Rolen gets the runner Olivo at 2B but cannot turn double play. two down. Gathright steals 2B. DeJesus lines one to LF GREAT diving catch by Stewart saves a run. Hallady 63 pitches
Bottom 5th: Rolen at bat. Walk and single so far. Another single to CF. Great to see Scott back in the hitting groove. 80 pitches. Overbay singles two on no outs for Mench. Fly ball to shallow RF DeJesus. One down. Zaun horrible at bat first pitch swing fly ball shallow LF. Two down for Scutaro tonight’s hero so far. Two on two down. Déjà vu for last two at bats. Not this time, grounds back to Greinke. 93 pitches.
Top 6th: Grudzielanek grounds to Rolen. 64 pitches for Halladay. Gordon strikes him out on a great curve. Guillen grounds first pitch to Rolen, Seven pitch inning just what the doctor ordered. 70 pitches now.
Bottom 6th: Inglett at bat. Greinke gone. Joel Peralta now pitching. High fly ball to CF. One down. Top of order. Stewart soft liner to 2B. Two down for Hill still hitless in three at bats tonight, Fly ball to CF. Still hitless.
Top 7th: Teahen at bat. Grounds to Overbay, Halladay makes the out at 1B. Butler at bat, WOWEEE what an incredible catch by Hill. Runs and dives full length shallow RF to get Butler. Olivo pops up to Overbay. Good inning by Halladay. Great defence tonight.
Bottom 7th: Ron Mahay now pitching. Rios singles to CF. Alex now in the groove. Rolen on base three times. Walk and two singles. Walks again. Two on no outs again. Overbay 3-3 tonight three singles. Walks. Bases loaded now no outs. Mench at bat. Hitless tonight. Has big chance now. Grounds to 3B double play but Rios and run scores.7-1 Jays. Overbay to 3B. Two down. Zaun also hitless, first pitch horrible swing fly ball to LF. I think it may be time to get Barajas in as regular catcher. Zaun is not throwing well tonight and his at bats are awful. When did Jays last score 7 ??
Top 8th: Halladay 79 pitches. Pena at bat. Lines out to Inglett. Olivo first pitch ground out to Scutaro. Two down. DeJesus fly ball to Stewart. Three up and down for Halladay.
Bottom 8th: Jimmy Gobble pitching. Scutaro first pitch high fly to the wall at CF. One down. Inglett same play but much shallower out in CF for Gathright. Two down for Stewart fly ball to DeJesus sliding catch. Maybe ??? replay is interesting, will they show it again?
Top 9th: Halladay wants to finish this one 89 pitches. German first at bat, in earlier for Grudzielanek.strikes him out curve ball again. One down. Gordon Strikes out with great curve. Callaspo in earlier for Guillen. Fly ball to Rios. Fifth complete game for Halladay 104 pitches.
Jays now back to .500 25-25. Second win in a row. Ten hits for Jays.
Toronto - Kansas Series Preview
Friday May 23,2008. Jays v Royals.
The very worst thing that the Jays can do with this series is take the Royals for granted. They are definitely not a pushover team. Have just played a couple of hard games against Boston that they could have won and in the last game showed fight by coming back with five unanswered runs.
Both these team are struggling offensively and Jays will need good starts from their pitchers to win this series unless the bats suddenly show some life.
Jays are still in fourth place in the AL East despite having won seven of their last 10 games. They are averaging 3.78 runs per game, only just barely ahead of Kansas 3.77 for fewest in the American League.
Greinke 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA is an excellent pitcher and could cause Toronto trouble tonight. In his last start against Toronto he allowed only one run and five hits in seven innings.
Halladay is going tonight but is not his overpowering self at all in his last few starts. Lack of runs has not helped him but he has not been the Cy Young of previous seasons.
The very worst thing that the Jays can do with this series is take the Royals for granted. They are definitely not a pushover team. Have just played a couple of hard games against Boston that they could have won and in the last game showed fight by coming back with five unanswered runs.
Both these team are struggling offensively and Jays will need good starts from their pitchers to win this series unless the bats suddenly show some life.
Jays are still in fourth place in the AL East despite having won seven of their last 10 games. They are averaging 3.78 runs per game, only just barely ahead of Kansas 3.77 for fewest in the American League.
Greinke 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA is an excellent pitcher and could cause Toronto trouble tonight. In his last start against Toronto he allowed only one run and five hits in seven innings.
Halladay is going tonight but is not his overpowering self at all in his last few starts. Lack of runs has not helped him but he has not been the Cy Young of previous seasons.
Jays win one with great pitching plus Overbay bat
Thursday May 22nd 2008. Angels v Jays series closer.
Jays need a win here and some runs… Last two games of the series they have had the hits but not scored the runs when they need them. Santana is very good pitcher tonight.
Tonight: Burnett v Santana (6-1).
Jays win this one 4-3.
Lineups: Angels.Izturis, Mathews, Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Mathis, Wood, Napoli and
Jays: Wilkerson, Hill Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Stewart, Barajas, Scutaro, Inglett, and Burnett pitching.
The good: Burnett pitching and the supporting bullpen Carlson, Downs and Ryan the perfect three inning bullpen. Hits tonight again 10 but this time in winning cause. Hits for everyone except Hill. Lyle’s HR and Joe Inglett coming through with triple this time but I think making a case for pinch hitter in the late innings with bases loaded… Holding Geurrero hitless tonight.
The bad: Base running wild tonight obviously people trying to push too hard and stretch those singles.
The game: Top 1st: Burnett pitching. Izturis grounds to Hill. Mathews grounds to Scutaro. Guerrero same play. Nice neat inning for Burnett.
Bottom 1st: Santana pitching. Wilkerson strikes out. Hill fly ball to Anderson in LF. Rios strikes out.
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op 2nd: Anderson infield single to Overbay. Hunter strikes out. Wild pitch moves Anderson to 2B. Kotchman strikes out. Mathis pop up to Rolen.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen singles to LF. Nice start for Scott. But now caught stretching it into a double. Anderson nice throw. Scott is pushing too hard. That’s the problem when not scoring runs.Overbay now grounds out to 2B. Stewart grounds out to SS Izturis.
Top 3rd: Wood grounds out to Hill. Rodriguez strikes out. Third strike out for Burnett. Izturis grounds to Rolen.
Bottom 3rd: Barajas in for Zaun tonight. Scutaro doubles to RF. Inglett in for Stairs tonight. Yes sir… triples to CF. and scores Scutaro. 1-0 Jays. This is the situational hitting that has been missing. Inglett is sending message to Gibbons here. Wilkerson now at bat singles to CF and scores Inglett 2-0 but again as with Rolen not satisfied with RBI single tries to stretch it and Hunter nails him. Hill now with nobody on and two outs instead of one on and one out. Grounds back to pitcher. But bottom of the order showing how it is done. Jays lead this one 2-0.
Top 4th: Mathews walks four pitches, come on AJ, look who is up next. Guerrero at bat grounds out to Overbay cannot turn double play. Mathews at 2B. Anderson fly ball to Stewart in LF. Hunter strikes out, number four for Burnett starting of nicely tonight.
Bottom 4th: Alex at bat, here we go nice single to CF. Rolen now at bat and there goes Alex and steals 2B. Aggressive running tonight by the Jays. Rolen strikes out. Overbay walks, two on but can the bats bring them in ? Stewart at bat, singles to RF. Bases loaded. Only one out. Been here before, many times. Barajas loops one into RF. Alex scores. 3-0 Jays. Still only one out and bases loaded. Scutaro pops up to Kotchman at 1B. Can Inglett repeat here ? Not this time, grounds to Rodriguez at 2B, out at 1B. Not the nest of innings for Jays but another run scores at least.
Top 5th: Kotchman lead off single to RF. Mathis now hit by Burnett, two on, come on AJ you were going so well. Wood grounds to Rolen double play ball but Kotchman to 3B. Rodriguez at bat doubles to LF. Kotchman scores 3-1 Jays. Izturis doubles to LF Rodriguez scores 3-2 Jays. Mathews grounds back to Burnett. Not a good inning for Burnett.
Bottom 5th: Wilkerson strikes out. Hill fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Rios pops up to Rodriguez at 2B.
Top 6th: Guerrero strikes out. You needed that one AJ . Anderson strikes out. Hunter walks four pitches. Kotchman singles to RF. Hunter at 3B. Mathis singles to CF. Hunter scores. This game is all tied up 3-3. Wood pops up to Overbay.
Bottom 6th: Rolen strikes out Overbay now at bat, goes down for one and there she goes… HR to RF. 4-3 Jays. They needed to get one back straight away. Stewart now singles to CF. Barajas at bat there goes Shannon caught at 2B. Not as fast as you used to be Shannon but more aggression by the Jays runners. Barajas strikes out. Jays have lead again but have to hold it.
Top 7th: Burnett is finished and here comes Jesse Carlson. Rodriguez strikes out. Izturis strikes out. Mathews strikes out. What a guy this Carlson. Perfect inning yet again. The Jays hitters love this guy.
Bottom 7th: Can the bats do something now ? Scutaro walks, good start. Santana now finished and Oliver pitching. Mench, good to see him back, pinch hitting for Inglett. Fly ball to Anderson in LF. Wilkerson strikes out. Hill strikes out.
Top 8th: Downs now pitching. Guerrero fly ball to Stewart. Not a good night for Vladdy. But Jays fans will take it. Anderson infield single to Rolen. One on for Hunter. That’s the pitch Scott, ground ball to Scutaro double play ball. Bullpen doing their job for Burnett but it would be good to see another run to help BJ Ryan.
Bottom 8th: Speir pitching to Alex, fly ballot Hunter in CF. Rolen strikes out, not a good series for Scott.Overbay hero last at bat. Doubles this time to CF. Great to see his bat working again. Stewart now chance to add to this run total. Strikes out. It is up to BJ Ryan again.
Top 9th: Ryan pitching Kotchman pops up to Rolen in foul territory. Mathis fly ball to Rios in CF. Two down. Napoli now pinch hitting for Wood. Strikes him out. Jays win 4-3.
Is there a better 7,8,9 combination than Carlson, Downs and Ryan ???
This was a much needed win for Jays with Kansas coming in for four and great chance to get a good win streak going and get way over .500. BUT we all know what Jays can do against weaker teams so no one is getting too excited about a five game win streak here.
More good news Baltimore loses second in a row so Jays gain one. Yankees keep pace but still below Jays.
Jays need a win here and some runs… Last two games of the series they have had the hits but not scored the runs when they need them. Santana is very good pitcher tonight.
Tonight: Burnett v Santana (6-1).
Jays win this one 4-3.
Lineups: Angels.Izturis, Mathews, Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Mathis, Wood, Napoli and
Jays: Wilkerson, Hill Rios, Rolen, Overbay, Stewart, Barajas, Scutaro, Inglett, and Burnett pitching.
The good: Burnett pitching and the supporting bullpen Carlson, Downs and Ryan the perfect three inning bullpen. Hits tonight again 10 but this time in winning cause. Hits for everyone except Hill. Lyle’s HR and Joe Inglett coming through with triple this time but I think making a case for pinch hitter in the late innings with bases loaded… Holding Geurrero hitless tonight.
The bad: Base running wild tonight obviously people trying to push too hard and stretch those singles.
The game: Top 1st: Burnett pitching. Izturis grounds to Hill. Mathews grounds to Scutaro. Guerrero same play. Nice neat inning for Burnett.
Bottom 1st: Santana pitching. Wilkerson strikes out. Hill fly ball to Anderson in LF. Rios strikes out.
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op 2nd: Anderson infield single to Overbay. Hunter strikes out. Wild pitch moves Anderson to 2B. Kotchman strikes out. Mathis pop up to Rolen.
Bottom 2nd: Rolen singles to LF. Nice start for Scott. But now caught stretching it into a double. Anderson nice throw. Scott is pushing too hard. That’s the problem when not scoring runs.Overbay now grounds out to 2B. Stewart grounds out to SS Izturis.
Top 3rd: Wood grounds out to Hill. Rodriguez strikes out. Third strike out for Burnett. Izturis grounds to Rolen.
Bottom 3rd: Barajas in for Zaun tonight. Scutaro doubles to RF. Inglett in for Stairs tonight. Yes sir… triples to CF. and scores Scutaro. 1-0 Jays. This is the situational hitting that has been missing. Inglett is sending message to Gibbons here. Wilkerson now at bat singles to CF and scores Inglett 2-0 but again as with Rolen not satisfied with RBI single tries to stretch it and Hunter nails him. Hill now with nobody on and two outs instead of one on and one out. Grounds back to pitcher. But bottom of the order showing how it is done. Jays lead this one 2-0.
Top 4th: Mathews walks four pitches, come on AJ, look who is up next. Guerrero at bat grounds out to Overbay cannot turn double play. Mathews at 2B. Anderson fly ball to Stewart in LF. Hunter strikes out, number four for Burnett starting of nicely tonight.
Bottom 4th: Alex at bat, here we go nice single to CF. Rolen now at bat and there goes Alex and steals 2B. Aggressive running tonight by the Jays. Rolen strikes out. Overbay walks, two on but can the bats bring them in ? Stewart at bat, singles to RF. Bases loaded. Only one out. Been here before, many times. Barajas loops one into RF. Alex scores. 3-0 Jays. Still only one out and bases loaded. Scutaro pops up to Kotchman at 1B. Can Inglett repeat here ? Not this time, grounds to Rodriguez at 2B, out at 1B. Not the nest of innings for Jays but another run scores at least.
Top 5th: Kotchman lead off single to RF. Mathis now hit by Burnett, two on, come on AJ you were going so well. Wood grounds to Rolen double play ball but Kotchman to 3B. Rodriguez at bat doubles to LF. Kotchman scores 3-1 Jays. Izturis doubles to LF Rodriguez scores 3-2 Jays. Mathews grounds back to Burnett. Not a good inning for Burnett.
Bottom 5th: Wilkerson strikes out. Hill fly ball to Guerrero in RF. Rios pops up to Rodriguez at 2B.
Top 6th: Guerrero strikes out. You needed that one AJ . Anderson strikes out. Hunter walks four pitches. Kotchman singles to RF. Hunter at 3B. Mathis singles to CF. Hunter scores. This game is all tied up 3-3. Wood pops up to Overbay.
Bottom 6th: Rolen strikes out Overbay now at bat, goes down for one and there she goes… HR to RF. 4-3 Jays. They needed to get one back straight away. Stewart now singles to CF. Barajas at bat there goes Shannon caught at 2B. Not as fast as you used to be Shannon but more aggression by the Jays runners. Barajas strikes out. Jays have lead again but have to hold it.
Top 7th: Burnett is finished and here comes Jesse Carlson. Rodriguez strikes out. Izturis strikes out. Mathews strikes out. What a guy this Carlson. Perfect inning yet again. The Jays hitters love this guy.
Bottom 7th: Can the bats do something now ? Scutaro walks, good start. Santana now finished and Oliver pitching. Mench, good to see him back, pinch hitting for Inglett. Fly ball to Anderson in LF. Wilkerson strikes out. Hill strikes out.
Top 8th: Downs now pitching. Guerrero fly ball to Stewart. Not a good night for Vladdy. But Jays fans will take it. Anderson infield single to Rolen. One on for Hunter. That’s the pitch Scott, ground ball to Scutaro double play ball. Bullpen doing their job for Burnett but it would be good to see another run to help BJ Ryan.
Bottom 8th: Speir pitching to Alex, fly ballot Hunter in CF. Rolen strikes out, not a good series for Scott.Overbay hero last at bat. Doubles this time to CF. Great to see his bat working again. Stewart now chance to add to this run total. Strikes out. It is up to BJ Ryan again.
Top 9th: Ryan pitching Kotchman pops up to Rolen in foul territory. Mathis fly ball to Rios in CF. Two down. Napoli now pinch hitting for Wood. Strikes him out. Jays win 4-3.
Is there a better 7,8,9 combination than Carlson, Downs and Ryan ???
This was a much needed win for Jays with Kansas coming in for four and great chance to get a good win streak going and get way over .500. BUT we all know what Jays can do against weaker teams so no one is getting too excited about a five game win streak here.
More good news Baltimore loses second in a row so Jays gain one. Yankees keep pace but still below Jays.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The hits come but no runs. Guerrero beats Jays on his own.
Wednesday May 21st, 2008. LA Angels v Toronto
Second game of series Marcum v Garland. Jays need to get something going at home. Terrible record and if they can’t win at home forget playoff hopes. Tonight Marcum should at least given them some hope. But they still have to score runs to win a game. Garland loves pitching against the Jays.
Result: Angels win their second and the series 4-3.
Lineups: Angels: Figgins back from injury, Mathews, Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Napoli, Rodriguez, Izturis and Garland pitching.
Toronto: Wilkerson, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Stewart, Zaun, Scutaro and Marcum pitching.
The good: Rios, who had a pair of singles, rbi and a two-out walk. Hill and Zaun two hits. Eleven hits outhit Angels with four BUT one of those was a three run blast.
The bad: Rolen now in a slump. Marcum not good tonight.
The very bad: Three more double plays given up by Jays Hill, Stairs and Scutaro. That makes seven for the first two games of this series.
The game:
Top 1st: Marcum pitching. Figgins back off disabled list grounds to Scutaro at SS. Mathews strikes out. Guerrero still in his own slump but ever free swinging. There she goes HR to CF. 1-0 Angels. Anderson single but error by Overbay and gets to 2B. Hunter lines to Rolen. Not the start Marcum had hoped for.
Bottom 1st: Wilkerson fly ball to Hunter in CF. Hill grounds out to Rodriguez at 2B. Now Alex, admits yesterday that this game is mainly mental, his head right now is a real mess. Walks this time. Rolen now single to RF. Alex at 3B. Two down. Stairs now can he bring him in. Yes indeed back to back hits for Jays nice to see perhaps tonight is the night. Alex scores 1-1. Overbay now with Rolen and Stairs on, make up for that error Lyle. Strikes out. Two left on. Must have felt good for Alex to actually get around all those bases including home plate.
Top 2nd: Kotchman grounds to Hill. Napoli fly ball to Stewart in LF.Rodriguez strikes out. Much better for Marcum.
Bottom 2nd: Stewart grounds to Figgins at 3B. Zaun pops up to Garland, Scutaro grounds to Kotchman.
Top 3rd: Izturis grounds to Hill. Figgins full count, walks. Mathews walks. Marcum playing with fire here guess who is up? Guerrero now there he goes first pitch HR to LF. Three runs score. 4-1 Angels. Marcum was burned by those walks, he knew Guerrero would be looking for a strike first pitch. Marcum should have used his head there. Anderson now with bases empty singles to CF. Hunter strikes out. Kotchman fly ball to Rios. Escapes further trouble but his pitch count is now 58 pitches. At this rate he will be out by the 5th. This game may already be over. Jays bats have to score five to win. Tough the way they are hitting right now and all season.
Bottom 3rd: Wilkerson now full count, walks. Good start.Hill at bat NO. grounds to Rodriguez double play. Fifth double play by Jays this series already.Rios now, grounds o Rodriguez error on play and Alex at 1st. The luck changes. Rolen at bat, passed ball enables Alex to 2B and in scoring position. Rolen grounds to Figgins at 3B. Three left on this game.
Top 4th: Marcum not only 4-1 down but in trouble with his pitch count, Napoli at bat, grounds to Scutaro. Rodriguez fly ball to Rios at CF. Izturis the same. Three up and down for Marcum.
Bottom 4th: Stairs in his own mini slump fly ball to Hunter in CF. Overbay lines out hard at Figgins. Stewart grounds to Izturis. The problem is the poor hitting becomes contagious.
Top 5th: Top of the order and trouble for Marcum. Figgins now at bat, strikes out. Mathews strikes out. Two down. Guerrero at bat already with all the runs and two home runs. Swinging away, feast or famine for Vlad. Strikes out this time. Marcum strikes out the side. A little late but better than the other.
Bottom 5th: Zaun leads off with single to RF. Another lead off guy on base. Second time this game. Scutaro grounds to Figgins gets lead runner Zaun. Wilkerson now pops up to Izturis. Two down for Hill. Singles to LF. At least no double play this time. You have to wonder about Hill and his ability to go the other way and stay out of double play. Why doesn’t he do it more often ? Ditto with Stairs the major double play culprits. Alex now with two down and Scutaro on 2B. Been here before Alex, just relax. Yes indeed singles to CF that will score Scutaro and bring Hill to 3B. Nice hitting Alex. That must feel good. 4-2 Angels. Rolen now with two on and Aaron at 3B. Grounds out to Izturis. Scott’s early hitting has deserted him. Five now left on base by Jays this game.
Top 6th: Anderson grounds to Hill. Hunter grounds to Rolen. Kotchman fly ball to Wilkerson. Another three up and won for Marcum, pitching much better now they are losing.
Bottom 6th: Stairs lines back to Garland continuing his slump. Overbay now doubles !!!! to CF, we have not seen many of those from Lyle this season. Stewart now with Lyle in scoring position, lines to Izturis. Two down. This is so repetitive. Zaun singles off Garland to Izturis shallow left, Lyle running and scores this time 4-3 Jays. Surprise surprise…. Scutaro now singles t CF. Zaun to 2B. Two more for Wilkerson, keep the line moving Brad. Lines out to Kotchman very nice play on hard hit. Seven left on base by Jays this game. But good news is the gap is only one now.
Top 7th: Napoli strikes out. Rodriguez walks on full count. Izturis grounds to Hill gets Rodriuez at 2B. Cannot turn double play. Top of order up, danger time for Marcum. Figgins singles to LF. Izturis at 2B. That’s it for Marcum his early innings pitch count has pushed him to 112 now. Tallet now pitching. Mathews grounds to Rolen gets Figgins at 2B.
Bottom 7th: Garland is finished stand to keep his undefeated record here. Arredondo pitching. Hill singles to 2B. One on for Alex, RBI hit in last at bat. Singles to CF for second time. Wow, when did he have two consecutive hits in a game? Here’s hoping his slump is over. Jays have something going here. Rolen at bat. Two on. Passed ball Hill to 3B. Rolen strikes out. NO. Not even a fly ball Scott ? Stairs now as savior…Fouling a few off here Matt. Nice at bat. NO I don’t believe it. Grounds to Kotchman DOUBLE PLAY… Alex out at 2B. That hurts big time. Neither Rolen nor Stairs could get a fly ball ????? That is bottom of the barrel friends. Nine left on base by Jays this game. When oh when….?
Top 8th: Guerrero leading off be careful Tallet. Fly ball to Rios in CF. Anderson fly ball to Rios in CF. Hunter strikes out. Very nice pitching Tallet. But when was the Jays pitching any trouble ? It’s the bats friends. Bats, bats and where are they?
Bottom 8th: Shields now pitching again on consecutive nights and Jays got to him last night, sort of at least. Overbay strikes out. Stewart infield single to SS. Hustle Shannon. He knows. Has to make something happen. Zaun at bat, there he goes Shannon steals 2B. Gibbons has no choice now he has to play small ball. Hit and run, steals, sac bunts and even suicide bunts, nothing else is working. Jays are getting the guys into 3B but cannot bring them in. Zaun now full count, walks. Two on déjà vu last night with Shields. Luna now in pinch running for Zaun. Scutaro at bat. NO I DON’T BELIEVE THIS. Scutaro grounds to Rodriguez at 2B. Double play again and again and again. Third double play of this game and seven, YES SEVEN in two games. Must be close to Guiness Book of Records. Jays really don’t deserve to win these games. They are bush league in the hitting. Ten left on base.
Top 9th: Barajas now in for Zaun. Tallet still pitching. Kotchman grounds out to Hill. Napoli at bat, pops up WHOA ! great catch by Barajas going into Angels dugout but ball to his chest.That’s leaving it all out there. Leading by example. Two down. Rodriguez now full count, walks. Izturis get this guy you don’t want the top of order back in there. Grounds to Scutaro gets Rodriguez at 2B.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Jays but Frankie Rodriguez with 18 saves is back out there. You know he will not repeat last night’s bases loaded. Jays have to really work to tie this one and you know Vegas odds will not be in their favour. Top of the order. I am surprised that Gibbons is not using his bench here for Wilkerson anything to shake the bats. Bring in Joe Inglett. Wilkerson grounds out to Rodriguez. Hill now in walks. One on one down. Alex having a good night, we need one here Alex. Too much pressure for this kid right now. Fly ball to Anderson. Two down for Rolen. Not much better here Scott is awful also right niow. Pops it up to Izturis. This game is over although it was over by the third tonight.
Angels go for the sweep tomorrow and right now the odds look very good for them. Jays had eleven hits but only three runs. Angels have only four hits but they made them count or at least Guerrero did. Eleven Jays left on base tonight and so the list of woes continues. Jays now have losing record at home. 10-11.
Guerrero two home runs tonight came into this game with only one home run in last 22 games. Alex it can happen to you to.Just relax.
Second game of series Marcum v Garland. Jays need to get something going at home. Terrible record and if they can’t win at home forget playoff hopes. Tonight Marcum should at least given them some hope. But they still have to score runs to win a game. Garland loves pitching against the Jays.
Result: Angels win their second and the series 4-3.
Lineups: Angels: Figgins back from injury, Mathews, Guerrero, Anderson, Hunter, Kotchman, Napoli, Rodriguez, Izturis and Garland pitching.
Toronto: Wilkerson, Hill, Rios, Rolen, Stairs, Overbay, Stewart, Zaun, Scutaro and Marcum pitching.
The good: Rios, who had a pair of singles, rbi and a two-out walk. Hill and Zaun two hits. Eleven hits outhit Angels with four BUT one of those was a three run blast.
The bad: Rolen now in a slump. Marcum not good tonight.
The very bad: Three more double plays given up by Jays Hill, Stairs and Scutaro. That makes seven for the first two games of this series.
The game:
Top 1st: Marcum pitching. Figgins back off disabled list grounds to Scutaro at SS. Mathews strikes out. Guerrero still in his own slump but ever free swinging. There she goes HR to CF. 1-0 Angels. Anderson single but error by Overbay and gets to 2B. Hunter lines to Rolen. Not the start Marcum had hoped for.
Bottom 1st: Wilkerson fly ball to Hunter in CF. Hill grounds out to Rodriguez at 2B. Now Alex, admits yesterday that this game is mainly mental, his head right now is a real mess. Walks this time. Rolen now single to RF. Alex at 3B. Two down. Stairs now can he bring him in. Yes indeed back to back hits for Jays nice to see perhaps tonight is the night. Alex scores 1-1. Overbay now with Rolen and Stairs on, make up for that error Lyle. Strikes out. Two left on. Must have felt good for Alex to actually get around all those bases including home plate.
Top 2nd: Kotchman grounds to Hill. Napoli fly ball to Stewart in LF.Rodriguez strikes out. Much better for Marcum.
Bottom 2nd: Stewart grounds to Figgins at 3B. Zaun pops up to Garland, Scutaro grounds to Kotchman.
Top 3rd: Izturis grounds to Hill. Figgins full count, walks. Mathews walks. Marcum playing with fire here guess who is up? Guerrero now there he goes first pitch HR to LF. Three runs score. 4-1 Angels. Marcum was burned by those walks, he knew Guerrero would be looking for a strike first pitch. Marcum should have used his head there. Anderson now with bases empty singles to CF. Hunter strikes out. Kotchman fly ball to Rios. Escapes further trouble but his pitch count is now 58 pitches. At this rate he will be out by the 5th. This game may already be over. Jays bats have to score five to win. Tough the way they are hitting right now and all season.
Bottom 3rd: Wilkerson now full count, walks. Good start.Hill at bat NO. grounds to Rodriguez double play. Fifth double play by Jays this series already.Rios now, grounds o Rodriguez error on play and Alex at 1st. The luck changes. Rolen at bat, passed ball enables Alex to 2B and in scoring position. Rolen grounds to Figgins at 3B. Three left on this game.
Top 4th: Marcum not only 4-1 down but in trouble with his pitch count, Napoli at bat, grounds to Scutaro. Rodriguez fly ball to Rios at CF. Izturis the same. Three up and down for Marcum.
Bottom 4th: Stairs in his own mini slump fly ball to Hunter in CF. Overbay lines out hard at Figgins. Stewart grounds to Izturis. The problem is the poor hitting becomes contagious.
Top 5th: Top of the order and trouble for Marcum. Figgins now at bat, strikes out. Mathews strikes out. Two down. Guerrero at bat already with all the runs and two home runs. Swinging away, feast or famine for Vlad. Strikes out this time. Marcum strikes out the side. A little late but better than the other.
Bottom 5th: Zaun leads off with single to RF. Another lead off guy on base. Second time this game. Scutaro grounds to Figgins gets lead runner Zaun. Wilkerson now pops up to Izturis. Two down for Hill. Singles to LF. At least no double play this time. You have to wonder about Hill and his ability to go the other way and stay out of double play. Why doesn’t he do it more often ? Ditto with Stairs the major double play culprits. Alex now with two down and Scutaro on 2B. Been here before Alex, just relax. Yes indeed singles to CF that will score Scutaro and bring Hill to 3B. Nice hitting Alex. That must feel good. 4-2 Angels. Rolen now with two on and Aaron at 3B. Grounds out to Izturis. Scott’s early hitting has deserted him. Five now left on base by Jays this game.
Top 6th: Anderson grounds to Hill. Hunter grounds to Rolen. Kotchman fly ball to Wilkerson. Another three up and won for Marcum, pitching much better now they are losing.
Bottom 6th: Stairs lines back to Garland continuing his slump. Overbay now doubles !!!! to CF, we have not seen many of those from Lyle this season. Stewart now with Lyle in scoring position, lines to Izturis. Two down. This is so repetitive. Zaun singles off Garland to Izturis shallow left, Lyle running and scores this time 4-3 Jays. Surprise surprise…. Scutaro now singles t CF. Zaun to 2B. Two more for Wilkerson, keep the line moving Brad. Lines out to Kotchman very nice play on hard hit. Seven left on base by Jays this game. But good news is the gap is only one now.
Top 7th: Napoli strikes out. Rodriguez walks on full count. Izturis grounds to Hill gets Rodriuez at 2B. Cannot turn double play. Top of order up, danger time for Marcum. Figgins singles to LF. Izturis at 2B. That’s it for Marcum his early innings pitch count has pushed him to 112 now. Tallet now pitching. Mathews grounds to Rolen gets Figgins at 2B.
Bottom 7th: Garland is finished stand to keep his undefeated record here. Arredondo pitching. Hill singles to 2B. One on for Alex, RBI hit in last at bat. Singles to CF for second time. Wow, when did he have two consecutive hits in a game? Here’s hoping his slump is over. Jays have something going here. Rolen at bat. Two on. Passed ball Hill to 3B. Rolen strikes out. NO. Not even a fly ball Scott ? Stairs now as savior…Fouling a few off here Matt. Nice at bat. NO I don’t believe it. Grounds to Kotchman DOUBLE PLAY… Alex out at 2B. That hurts big time. Neither Rolen nor Stairs could get a fly ball ????? That is bottom of the barrel friends. Nine left on base by Jays this game. When oh when….?
Top 8th: Guerrero leading off be careful Tallet. Fly ball to Rios in CF. Anderson fly ball to Rios in CF. Hunter strikes out. Very nice pitching Tallet. But when was the Jays pitching any trouble ? It’s the bats friends. Bats, bats and where are they?
Bottom 8th: Shields now pitching again on consecutive nights and Jays got to him last night, sort of at least. Overbay strikes out. Stewart infield single to SS. Hustle Shannon. He knows. Has to make something happen. Zaun at bat, there he goes Shannon steals 2B. Gibbons has no choice now he has to play small ball. Hit and run, steals, sac bunts and even suicide bunts, nothing else is working. Jays are getting the guys into 3B but cannot bring them in. Zaun now full count, walks. Two on déjà vu last night with Shields. Luna now in pinch running for Zaun. Scutaro at bat. NO I DON’T BELIEVE THIS. Scutaro grounds to Rodriguez at 2B. Double play again and again and again. Third double play of this game and seven, YES SEVEN in two games. Must be close to Guiness Book of Records. Jays really don’t deserve to win these games. They are bush league in the hitting. Ten left on base.
Top 9th: Barajas now in for Zaun. Tallet still pitching. Kotchman grounds out to Hill. Napoli at bat, pops up WHOA ! great catch by Barajas going into Angels dugout but ball to his chest.That’s leaving it all out there. Leading by example. Two down. Rodriguez now full count, walks. Izturis get this guy you don’t want the top of order back in there. Grounds to Scutaro gets Rodriguez at 2B.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Jays but Frankie Rodriguez with 18 saves is back out there. You know he will not repeat last night’s bases loaded. Jays have to really work to tie this one and you know Vegas odds will not be in their favour. Top of the order. I am surprised that Gibbons is not using his bench here for Wilkerson anything to shake the bats. Bring in Joe Inglett. Wilkerson grounds out to Rodriguez. Hill now in walks. One on one down. Alex having a good night, we need one here Alex. Too much pressure for this kid right now. Fly ball to Anderson. Two down for Rolen. Not much better here Scott is awful also right niow. Pops it up to Izturis. This game is over although it was over by the third tonight.
Angels go for the sweep tomorrow and right now the odds look very good for them. Jays had eleven hits but only three runs. Angels have only four hits but they made them count or at least Guerrero did. Eleven Jays left on base tonight and so the list of woes continues. Jays now have losing record at home. 10-11.
Guerrero two home runs tonight came into this game with only one home run in last 22 games. Alex it can happen to you to.Just relax.
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