Halladay complete game shutout gem wins this one.

Monday June 30, 2008. Mariners v Jays.

Pitching: Halladay v Dickey.

Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios Wells, Stairs, Rolen, Overbay, Barajas, Wilkerson and Halladay pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Lopez, Ibanez, Beltre, Reed, Sexson, Clement, Johjima, Bloomquist and Dickey pitching.

Result: Jays win 2-0 on complete game shutout by Halladay.

The very good: The excellent. Halladay of course. Complete game his sixth this season. Was sharp from the first hitter, very different from his last start. I still maintain he was suffering post concussion last week.

The good: The Jays fans from north of the border. We could hear them here throughout the game. Defense. Rolen in particular but also Scutaro and Johnny Mc of course. Rolen also three hits in the game. Eckstein and Scutaro with two hits each.
The bad: Same issue, runners in scoring position. Did not harm the Jays tonight but they are living on the edge. Jays had chance after chance to break this open. Ten hits? and only two runs. New coaching staff? I don’t see the difference. Rios hitless 0-4, but more importantly he was totally at sea with his at bats. Waving weakly at balls outside. He needs help.

The game:
Top 1st: Eckstein pops up to Ichiro second pitch. Scutaro at bat singles to right centre. Can hear the great Canadian crowd cheers on that. field, Rios at bat with one on one down. Grounds chopper to Bloomquist get Scutaro at2B but Alex safe. Wells at bat, Balk called on Dickey as he throws over to 1B. Alex goes to 2B. Vernon lines hard back to Dickey, throw to 1B gets Vernon. 12 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Halladay pitching, Suzuki at bat, Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay one down. Lopez at bat, fly ball out to Rios in RF. Ibanez at bat, grounds to Scutaro underhand throw to Overbay. Three up and down, efficient inning for Halladay. Halladay looking much better than last week already sharp tonight. 13 pitches.

Top 2nd: Stairs at bat full count. Strikes out on knuckle ball. Rolen at bat one down. singles up the middle. Canadian cheers getting louder here. Overbay at bat high fly ball out to Ibanez at the wall. Barajas at bat grounds to 3B, throw to Sexson at 1B. leaves Rolen on. 32 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Beltre at bat grounds to Rolen in front of Scutaro nice play to get throw to Overbay, to get Beltre. Reed at bat grounds to Rolen, throws him out at 1B. Sexson at bat, singles first pitch up the middle. First hit for Mariners off Halladay tonight. Clement at bat strikes out. 28 pitches.

Top 3rd: Yankees have already lost to Texas. Boston loses first one to Rays. Orioles tied up 5-5 in ninth with Kansas. Wilkerson at bat grounds this to Beltre at 3B. One down, Eckstein again, this one just foul in left corner. Eckstein grounds to Beltre at 3B. Two down for Scutaro hits this one hard but right at Lopez at 2B. Three up and down for Dickey this time. 50 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Johjima bounces one to Overbay at 1B, one down. Bloomquist singles up the middle. One on one down for Ichiro now bounces one to Scutaro at 2B get Bloomquist at 2B but Ichiro beats out throw at 1B. That guy can run. Lopez strikes out. 39 pitches for Halladay.

Top 4th: Rios at bat. First pitch swing long fly ball out to Reed at CF wall. Wells at bat one down. Full count here. Strikes out. Stairs at bat, two down. Singles hard one to corner right field. No way he can beat Ichiro throw does not try for two. Rolen another single up the middle. Scott is 2-2. Overbay at bat grounds first pitch to Sexson. Leaves two on. Come on Lyle, think man, take a couple, especially with this knuckleball that can go anywhere.Mental game. 65 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Ibanez at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay at 1B, one down. Beltre, first pitch swing gets under this one fly ball to LF Wilkerson. Two down. Reed at bat grounds to Scutaro. That was QUICK inning six pitches. 46 now for Roy.

Top 5th: Barajas at bat fly ball to right centre but Ichiro almost collide as Reed gets the catch, that was Reed’s ball. Wilkerson fly ball to Ibanez in shallow left. Eckstein Dickey has thrown three wild pitches in this inning that’s what I mean re Overbay at bat last inning. Eckstein now doubles to LF corner. Scutaro now can he bring him in? Watch those wild pitches also David. Singles to right centre scores Eckstein here and on the throw to home Scutaro goes to 2B throw should have gone to 2B. 1-0 Jays. Rios at bat grounds back to Dickey underhand throw to make the out at 1B. 84 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Halladay now with the lead. Sexson dangerous hitter here 3-0 count now, pops it up to 1B Overbay great catch falling into the crowd over the tarp. Clement at bat strikes him out. Third one for Halladay tonight. Johjima at bat grounds to Rolen, throw to 1B. Three up and down for Halladay. 57 pitches.

Top 6th: Wells at bat, hitless tonight. There he goes, singles this one to LF. Stairs at bat strikes out without a swing. Rolen at bat two hits tonight would love one here. Yes he does to LF, third single tonight for Rolen, two on one down. Overbay at bat can he deliver here? 3-0 count. Full count. Inside pitch ball four. Bases loaded. Barajas at bat. 99 pitches for Dickey. Barajas grounds it to SS. Wells scores. Barajas out at 1B. 2-0 Jays. Wilkerson at bat with two down and two in scoring position. Full count. Grounds to Lopez at 2B. Could have, should have, same old with runners in scoring position. Bases loaded one out and only one run. 108 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Bloomquist at bat, Halladay has 50 ! fewer pitches than Dickey. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay one down. Ichiro at bat, trying to bunt, strike. Grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay gets away. Where is Johnny Mc.? Error to Eckstein on throw. Lopez at bat one down one on. Strikes out. Great curve. Ibanez at bat two down. Phone call from Vancouver Jay sitting in CF. She says great atmosphere from the Jays fans at the game and that Vernon is down below them. Ibanez strikes out. 71 pitches.

Top 7th: Eckstein at bat singles up the middle. Scutaro at bat 2-3 tonight. Wild pitch Eckstein moves to 2B. Grounds it to 2B, Eckstein moves up to 3B. That’s it for Dickey. Lowe now pitching. Rios at bat. Swings at three balls. Horrible at bat. Nothing is changing re runners in scoring position now 1-8 tonight. Wels at bat, three pitch strikeout. 1-9 RISP. UGH! Don’t tell me that the new hitting coaches are making a difference. Add on yesterday’s game and Jays are now 1-23 with runners in scoring position in two days.
Bottom 7th: Beltre at bat full count shatters bat which goes to 3B, ball pops up to Eckstein one down. There goes the train. Reed at bat singles to LF. Sexson at bat singles to LF. Reed goes to 3B. Sexson at 1B. Clement at bat, Halladay strikes him out on three pitches. Third strikeout tonight for the rookie. Johjima at bat grounds to Eckstein throw to 1B and Roy escapes damage here. Great pitching. 92 pitches.

Top 8th: Can Jays get some hits and runs here to make up for dismal hitting with runners in scoring position? Stairs at bat lofts it to Bloomquist at SS. One down. Rolen at bat fly ball out to Ichiro. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, first hit for Lyle tonight. Barajas at bat strikes out. Not a good at bat by Barajas.
Bottom 8th: Vancouver Jay phones to say Vernon has thrown ball to them in CF seats. Johnny Mc at SS. Bloomquist at bat chops it to McDonald nice play to get Bloomquist at 1B. Ichiro at bat, grounds to Scutaro flips quick throw to Overbay gets Ichiro. Great play by Marco he had split second to get Ichiro. Listen to that chant “Let’s go Blue Jays”. Could be in Toronto. Lopez at bat full count. Grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay. Great cheering by Toronto supporters. 109 pitches.

Top 9th: Wilkerson at bat. Ten hits tonight for Jays, full count to Wilkerson. Walks him on high ball four. Johnny Mc bunting? Yes. First one foul. Fakes it and fly ball to shallow LF, throw to 1B gets Wilkerson who cannot get back in time, double play. What a horrible play by both Jays. Scutaro now grounds to Beltre.
Bottom 9th: Here comes Halladay he wants to finish this one off tonight. Ibanez at bat grounds first pitch to Overbay, flip to Halladay at 1B one down. Beltre at bat, whoa hammers this one to 3B, short hops Rolen, great play Scott, throw to Overbay, that is a gold glove play. Reed at bat lines one very hard to Overbay, great catch and that is the game. Can you HEAR that crowd ? that is louder than in Toronto. Halladay sixth complete game this season.

Plus Baltimore lose to Kansas in eleven, Yankees lose to Texas, Boston lose to the Rays. Jays have picked up games on all three. Still a long way to go but one game closer.