Parris wins his first and bats come alive.

Saturday June 28, 2008. Second game of series with Atlanta.

Pitching: Parrish 10-1 (AAA) pitching with Marcum injured v Tim Hudson 8-5 .245 ERA.
Lineups: Braves : Blanco, Gotay, Johnson, Teixeira, Norton, McCann, Francoeur, Lillibridge, Brandon Jones and Hudson pitching.
Jays: Eckstein, Inglett, Rios, Wells, Stairs, Rolen, Overbay, Barajas, Lind and Parrish pitching.

Result: Jays win 9-5

The very good: John Parrish six great innings holding Braves until Jays bat come alive. I think they should leave Parrish up here as long relief and also possible emergency fifth starter after Marcum gets back.
The good: The hitters. Vernon comes through with three hits. Is this his breakout game? We will see tomorrow. Barajas HR and double, Inglett, Rolen and Stairs all with two hits.
The bad: Runners in scoring position again… 3-11 for Jays. Still not good. Must be saving it for the Yankees or Boston. Tallet once again poor outing almost blew this one for Parrish giving up four in the eighth. May be superfluous when Marcum gets back.

Top 1st: Parrish pitching Blanco grounds back to Parrish one down. Gotay at bat strikes him out. Two down. Johnson at bat pops up to Lind in shallow LF. Nice inning by Parrish. 14 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Hudson pitching, Eckstein at bat, first start since Cito took over last week. You know Eckstein will want to prove something today. Grounds to Lillibridge SS throw to Teixeira. Inglett one down dribbler to Hudson throw to Teixeira two down. . Rios indecisive wave at second pitch strikes out looking, horrible at bat by Alex. Sometimes he appears to have no clue at all in his at bat. Cito has some work to do.

Top 2nd: Teixeira at bat, Parrish being careful here, there’s a strike, fly ball out to Wells in CF. Norton at bat another strike out for Parrish. McCann at bat two down, gets hold of this, fly ball into LF corner but Rios can handle it. Another good inning for Parrish. 24 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Wells at bat, guess what? First pitch swing and ground out to SS. I would guestimate he has done that in majority of his first at bats this season. Must be very frustrating coaching him. Stairs at bat 3-1 here takes this one and lines to CF for a single. Vernon are you watching ? Rolen at bat YES Scott, doubles into RF corner. Two in scoring position one out for Overbay and good news, he can’t ground into a double play, can he? He tries to do it, grounds to 2B but forgets only one himself and scores Stairs from 3B. 1-0 Jays. Barajas at bat two down. Rolen at 3B. Barajas grounds to 3B. One I guess is better than 0 and last night but they could have should have had more here. 21 pitches.

Top 3rd: Francoeur lines hard out to Lind. Lillibridge full count, strikes out, third for Parrish today. Brandon Jones strikes him out. I told you this guy was good. Four strikeouts and 37 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Lind at bat. Strikes out. Eckstein again. Grounds to Lillibridge SS. Throw to Teixeira same as first at bat for Eckstein. Inglett at bat one down. infield single to 2B Johnson cannot handle it. Inglett safe at 1B. Rios now, takes first pitch right down the middle. Grounds second to Johnson at 2B. Braves turn two but forget they only need one. 35 pitches.

Top 4th: Blanco bloops one into CF, first hit for Braves today off Parrish. Gotay at bat. Watch Parrish’s pickoff here. I warned you Blanco last night, just gets back. Full count now. Grounds to Rolen, on to Inglett on to Overbay call it double play. That’s more like it. Johnson at bat two down. Lind might have got to that foul ball not very fast hustle there Adam. Another full count grounds to Overbay flip to Parrish at 1B another good inning for Parrish. 56 pitches. He really only needs to go seven today with Downs and Ryan in bullpen.
Bottom 4th: Wells takes first pitch down middle for a strike. Lines this one straight at SS Lillibridge. Stairs doubles to CF. His second hit of game. Vernon are you watching this approach at bat? Rolen wild pitch Stairs to 3B. Strikes out. Hudson is pitching off the plate but Jays are going after that pitch. Overbay now. Lines it hard but right at Jones in LF. Jays still having trouble bringing in those bats from 3B. 47 pitches.

Top 5th: Teixeira, full count and now first walk. Parrish a little wild here, cannot find strike zone. Norton at bat lines out to Eckstein nice catch David. McCann at bat lines double over Wells head, playing shallow in CF, to the wall. Teixeira scores from first 1-1. Francoeur grounds to Eckstein run down with McCann. Francoeur at 1B two down. Lillibridge fly ball to Rios in RF. 76 pitches a tougher inning for Parrish. But with better run support he could be cruising.
Bottom 5th: Barajas at bat Hudson makes a mistake here leaves it up and Barajas does not miss this one. There she goes. Lines one over Jays bullpen LF wall. 2-1 Jays. Lind at bat grounds up the middle Teixeira, tags him out. Eckstein has not made his statement yet today. Full count here and typical at bat fouling off pitch after pitch and now walks. Eight pitch at bat. Inglett at bat Eckstein running Inglett grounds to Teixeira steps on 1B, no chance for double play. Rios now with Eckstein at 2B, passed ball, Eckstein moves down to 3B. Full count to Alex. Grounds hard to Lillibridge. Jays 0-5 with runners in scoring position today.

Top 6th: Jones first pitch high fly ball to Wells in CF. Blanco singles first pitch into shallow centre. Gotay at bat, 3-1 count. High pop up to Overbay. Two down. Johnson at bat lines one right back at Parrish ducks out the way. Teixeira, full count. This is the pitch John. Walks bases loaded. Norton at bat. 3-2 count. Pops it up to Eckstein. I told you Parrish was a good pitcher. He gave them the six innings and with better run support would be much happier. Now Downs and Ryan can finish off this one if all goes to plan.
Bottom 6th: Now Vernon show them what YOU can do. Hudson on 76 pitches. THANK YOU Vernon. That’s what I asked for… HR to LF over bullpen. Classic Vernon HR swing which we haven’t seen for a long, long time. 3-1 Jays. Stairs full count. Now he walks. Hudson struggling ??? It is a very humid day today must take it out of the pitchers. Rolen now with one on, can Scott break this open? Singles to CF. Second hit for Scott today. Overbay careful here NO double play Lyle. 3-0 count Lyle making Hudson work. Walks on four pitches bases loaded no outs. That’s it for Hudson 90 pitches here’s Bobby Cox. Jeff Bennett now pitching, Barajas at bat. Grounds to 2B. Throw to plate gets Stairs. One down bases still loaded. Lind at bat, there he goes sac fly Rolen scores 4-1 Jays. Overbay at 3B. Eckstein at bat, hits him. Bases loaded again. Inglett at bat yes Joe. Doubles up the middle two score, Overbay and Barajas, throw gets away behind plate and could have been three. 6-1 Jays. Rios now with two in scoring position Eckstein at 3B, Inglett at 2B and two down. Alex strikes out.

Top 7th: Downs in pitching. McCann grounds to Overbay, flip to Downs at 1B one down. Francoeur at bat fouling a couple off here, strikes out. Lillibridge strikes out.
Bottom 7th: Will Ohman pitching Wells at bat. Another hit for Vernon singles to CF. Good to see this Vernon, hope you enjoy being on base as much as the fans do. Stairs at bat. Grounds this one to 2B NO Matt, not a double play. Vernon out at 2B relay throw NOT in time. Stairs beats it out. Rolen at bat, strikes out. Swinging over strike three. Overbay at bat two down, swings over this one. Strikes out on three pitches.

Top 8th: Tallet pitching. Jones at bat, doubles down LF line Lind cannot catch it. Blanco triples to LF wall, Jones scores. 6-2 Jays. Gotay strikes out. One down one on at 3B. Johnson at bat singles in front of Lind. 6-3 Jays. Teixeira there it goes. You could see this coming, two run HR to RF centre 6-5 Jays. Cito will learn about Tallet quickly. When Marcum gets back I would keep Parrish up and send Tallet anywhere but Toronto. Norton at bat strikes out, two down. McCann grounds to Overbay. Takes it himself to 1B. Tallet gives up four runs here.
Bottom 8th: Manny Acosta pitching, Barajas at bat. Doubles to CF wall. Adds to his HR today. Lind now chance to make up for that dropped catch last inning grounds to 1B, Barajas at least moves to 3B. Eckstein at bat has to bring him in here. Jays 1-9 runners in scoring position today. Yes David. Singles to RF. Barajas scores. 7-5 Jays. Inglett at bat 2-4 today. Grounds to Teixeira no throw possible, steps on 1B Inglett out, two down for Rios 0-4 today. Eckstein at 2B. Be a hero here Alex bring him in. 3-0 count. Walks him on four pitches. Vernon at bat with two on and two down. Is he still in the groove? That was the pitch Vernon down the middle. Fouls one off. Here’s another down the middle Vernon doubles this one to RF, Eckstein and Rios score, Vernon trying for triple and thrown out at 3B. BUT 9-5 Jays. Third hit for Vernon today.

Top 9th: BJ Ryan pitching. Francouer fly ball out to Rios in shallow RF. Lillibridge at bat singles first pitch to right field corner. Jones at bat grounds to Rolen gets Lillibridge at 2B not in time for double play. Two down for Blanco bunts but foul. Singles to LF. Two on two down. Gotay at bat full count, come on BJ. Chipper Jones on deck grounds to Eckstein throw to 1B that’s the game.
Parrish wins his first. Some of the bats come alive including the big guy Wells. Barajas, Stairs and Inglett all have good games.