Jays bats lose this one bigtime.

Monday June 9,2008

Litsch v Washburn

Royals have already beaten the Yankees today and Jays need to move above them into third spot tonight. Kansas' Guillen had four home runs and was 9-16 in the four game series against Yankees. Oh for a Jay to do that.
Lineups: Mariners: Suzuki, Vidro, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, Reed, Sexson, Johjima, Betancourt and Washburn pitching.
Jays: Rios, Stairs, Rolen, Wells, Barajas , Mench, Overbay, Scutaro, Eckstein and Litsch pitching.

Result: Seattle wins 3-2.

The good: Not much in this one but Rios deserves some credit for his 3-4 night at bat. Ryan, Camp, Downs and Wolfe to hold it for the hitters.

The bad: Pick off of Eckstein arguably cost them the win in the ninth. Jays base running this season has been terrible. Frasor, has to be the worst under pressure, gives up this game in tenth. BUT Jays hitters in the tenth leaving bases loaded once with no outs and then to end game. Overbay's double play inhe tenth. Gibbons also gets a black mark for not putting on small ball in the ninth and tenth with bases loaded. Surely someone could drop a bunt to tie it up.

Top 1st: Suzuki at bat singles to LF. Vidro huge HR to RF 2-0 Seattle. Ibanez at bat grounds out to Scutaro. One down. Beltre fly ball out to Wells. Two down. Jose Lopez at bat fly ball to Wells. 16 pitches for Litsch.
Bottom 1st: Rios singles to CF. Good start Alex. Don’t blow this now on base. Stairs at bat strikes out. Rolen at bat grounds to 2B double play ball. 12 pitch inning.

Top 2nd: Reed at bat, strikes out, nice curve Jesse. Sexson at bat, swings wildly at ball three, full count now. Jesse working very fast. Singles up the middle. Johjima at bat, need a ground ball here Jesse. Full count. Singles to LF. Two on for Betancourt fly ball to Wels in CF, two down. Ichiro now for second time tonight. Full count. Litsch will not be around at the end at this rate. Ball four. Bases loaded for Vidro who had the HR in first inning. First pitch swinging to LF Mench catch at the wall. Litsch escapes this time but is definitely not on tonight and will need loads of run support from his own hitters. 44 pitches already here.
Bottom 2nd: Vernon first pitch grounds back to Washburn. Barajas now needs to take a few. Check swing dribbles down the 1B line. Two down. Four pitches for Washburn. Mench at bat doubles this one just inside 3B bag. Nice at bat Kevin. Overbay at bat, need something here Lyle grounds out to Betancourt at SS. 26 pitches.

Top 3rd: Jesse, you need a quick inning here. Ibanez at bat grounds this one to Jesse flips to Lyle one down. Beltre at bat 3-0 here. Jesse definitely not sharp. Now full count. Strikes him out, that’s more like it Jesse. Two down. Lopez at bat. Singles up the middle. Reed first pitch singles in the gap to RF. Two on. Sexson lines this one to CF wall, great running catch by Vernon to save Litsch again. 60 pitches. Wells was limping off the field on that play. Hope that is not serious just as he is back from breaking his wrist.
Bottom 3rd: Scutaro at bat grounds this one hard but straight to Lopez at 2B. Singles down the RF line. Rios singles to LF. Two on here. Stairs at bat strikes out on terrible swing. Rolen now at bat, Scott in mini slump. Two on two down. Fly ball to shallow centre. 40 pitches for Washburn. Jays had him on ropes there.

Top 4th: Johjima at bat singles to CF. Betancourt lines first pitch to Rios in RF. One down for Ichiro, third time in four innings, that says it about Jesse tonight. He cannot keep going like this. Grounds to 2B gets Johjima but Ichiro much too fast for Ichiro. Two down for Vidro . Strikes out on three pitches. May be too late for Jesse now at 71 pitches. May be seeing Wolfe in relief soon.
Bottom 4th: Wells at bat grounds to Beltre nice play to get Wells. Barajas swings at ball four. On two strkes. Two down. Mench at bat 3-0 here. Walks on four pitches. Overbay at bat two down. Full count to Lyle. There she goes Lyle doubles to RF wall, Here comes Mench and he scores on the throw. 2-1 Mariners. Scutaro now at bat full count, Lyle running on play. Walks. Two on for Eckstein pops this one up to 2B. Not a good at bat David. But Jays get one back and leave two on. 70 pitches now for Washburn his first rough inning.

Top 5th: Ibanez at bat singles to CF. Beltre at bat, pops up to Scutaro, one down. Lopez at bat 3-0 here. Frasor up in bullpen, full count now. Ibanez running. Lopez strikes out . Barajas throw, gets him double play. Jesse has used up another life. 86 pitches. Four strikeouts May get one more inning.
Bottom 5th: Rios gets hold of this one, high fly ball to Ichiro not enough. Stairs at bat two strikeouts tonight fly ball to LF Ibanez drops this one. Stairs at 2B, error on Ibanez. One on for Rolen. 3-0 count. Walks Rolen now for Vernon with two on. Pops straight up for 2B. Vernon not happy with himself. Two down Barajas at bat. High pop up to Sexson head high in the air. Keep it down Rod. Jays now 0-6 with runners in scoring position. Washburn has been on the edge in last few innings. 87 pitches but will be out in the sixth. This game will be battle of the bullpens tonight.

Top 6th: Litsch on 87 pitches Jesse Carlson up in bullpen. Reed at bat. Singles this one to shallow right. Sexson at bat. Singles to CF. Two on not outs. Johjima at bat, strike on but Barajas throw to Eckstein Reed is caught in run down here and out. Sexson moves up to 2B on the play. Grounds out to Rolen. 101 pitches for Jesse. Betancourt now at bat. Grounds out to Rolen. Nice pitching Jesse with two on and no outs but maybe too late for another inning.
Bottom 6th: Can the bats help out Jesse here? Last two innings they have got to Washburn. No Jays leadoff hitter has reached 1B since Rios first inning. Mench at bat. Washburn 90 pitches. Jays want to see the end of him now. Full count. Grounds out to Beltre at 3B. Mench continues the trend of leadoff hitters tonight. 100 pitches for Washburn. Overbay at bat. Strikes out. Scutaro first pitch pop up to Beltre. Horrible at bat by Scutaro.

Top 7th: Downs pitching. Suzuki at bat. Grounds to Rolen gets him at 1B. Vidro at bat must be great hitting behind Ichiro with his on base percentage. Pops up to Scutaro shallow RF. Two down. Ibanez grounds out to Scutaro. Good pitching by Downs. Now the bats have to get something going here.
Bottom 7th: Eckstein and the top of the order. Washburn has gone Mark Lowe pitching. Balentien in LF from Reed. 3-0 here. Walks on four pitches. Lowe has high percentage of walks. Alex now something to prove here 2-3 so far. Sexson must be well over a foot taller than Eckstein standing there at 1B. Alex now singles to RF. 3-4 tonight. Perhaps there is something to the return of Wells and his influence on Alex. Stairs at bat. No more for Lowe. Stairs back to dugout. McDonald for Stairs, I think everyone in stadium knows this is a bunt situation. Arthur Rhodes pitching. Almost hits him inside with first pitch. First two attempts roll foul. Third attempt perfect for Johnny Mc. Both runners move up Eckstein at 3B and Rios at 2B. That’s it for Rhodes now pitching ex-Jay Miguel Batista 44 walks to 40 strikeouts ouch. Rolen now at bat just get it in the air Scott. Strikes out on four pitches. Rolen hitless tonight. Vernon now also hitless tonight. Swings at ball one. Grounds to SS Betancourt throw to 1B pulls Sexson off the bag and misses tag on Vernon. Eckstein scores 2-2. Barajas now with Alex at 3B. Vernon at 1B. Grounds to 3B. Jays score one but leave Alex at 3B after two on and no outs.

Top 8th: Camp now pitching Beltre lines first pitch softly to Scutaro. Lopez drives one to Wells makes over shoulder catch in CF. Two downs. Balentien at bat check swing to Overbay. Three up and down seven pitch inning for Camp.
Bottom 8th: Ex Texas Ranger knuckleballer R. A. Dickey pitching. Wilkerson at bat pinch hitting for Mench. Strikes out. Overbay grounds out to Sexson at 1B. Two down. Scutaro at bat grounds to Betancourt. Three up and down for Jays hitters. They really are making Seattle look like winners tonight. Roof is closing for imminent rain.

Top 9th: Look who is pitching. BJ Ryan in here non-save situation just to hold them here. Sexson at bat. Full count walks him. Cairo pinch running for Sexson. Johjima looking at bunt. In front of plate Rolen throw to 1B gets Johjima but Cairo at 2B. Betancourt one down one on. Grounds to Eckstein throw to 1B gets Betancourt. Two down for Ichiro, intentional walk here. Two on for Vidro. Yes, grounds first pitch to Eckstein gets Ichiro at 2B. Very nice BJ.
Bottom 9th: Eckstein to lead off and then top of order to try to win this one. Cairo stays at 1B. Dickey still in there. Singles this to RF. Alex now big moment for glory. 3-4 tonight. 3-1 count. Full count. Eckstein picked off at 1B. Now Alex walks. Inglett pinch hitting for McDonald. Alex stealing. Full count and now Inglett called out on strikes. Rolen now 0-3 tonight, overdue Scott. Alex moves up to 3B on pitch away from catcher. Rolen grounds this one to 2B. This game is extra innings. Jays have had their chances many times over tonight and that pick off of Eckstein has cost them the win in regular innings.

Top 10th: Frasor pitching Ibanez at bat. Walks him. Frasor’s nightmare (and for Jays fans. Frasor pitching with runners on base). Beltre at bat. Full count after being 0-2. Ibanez out for Bloomquist pinch running. Bloomquist going on full count Beltre strikes out throw down but Bloomquist safe at 2B. Lopez at bat intentional walk to keep double play. Balentien at bat, one down two on. 3-1 here. Walks base loaded. That’s it for Frasor, Once again a bust. He cannot pitch with runners on base and Gibbons should realize that by now. Frasor seizes up and also grinds game to a slow, slow pace. Brian Wolfe now in game but bases loaded with only one out. Cairo at bat. Bunts and Bloomquist scores 3-2 Seattle. Two down two on for Johjima. Grounds to Rolen throw to 1B gets Johjima
Bottom 10th: Seattle closer J.J. Putz. Wells at bat drives this hard to RF Balentein drops the ball error on the play. Vernon safe at 1B. Barajas, wild pitch and Vernon moves up to 2B. Singles to RF. Vernon to 3B. No outs, two on. Wilkerson with no outs, full count, walks bases loaded. Overbay at bat grounds to Cairo at 1B throws home to get Wells back to Cairo to get Overbay. Double play the very worst. Scutaro at bat Barajas at 3B Wilkerson at 1B. 3-1 count to Scutaro. Walks bases loaded. Eckstein at bat. Chance to redeem himself for his base running mistake in the ninth. Fly ball to Ichiro. This game is over and every Jay hitter needs to look in the mirror tonight.
Jays lose another they should have had. Several times.