Series finale. Toronto v Tampa. Wednesday July 30,2008
What a tough baptism for rookie Scott Richmond facing division leading Tampa. Anything can happen and as always with this team probably will. But Jays hitters have to be much more productive for Richmond than they were for Halladay last night. You know that Tampa will show no mercy to Richmond, this team is after one thing only, winning the division. Would that some of their intensity would rub off on the Toronto team.
Pitching: Edwin Jackson (6-7, 4.22 ERA) Scott Richmond 0-0
Lineups: Tampa: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Hinske, Navarro, Gross, Bartlett and Jackson pitching.
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Stairs, Lind, Wilkerson, Zaun, McDonald, and pitching Richmond. No Rolen today, Scutaro playing at 3B.
The good: Overbay HR. Lind and Rios triples. Bullpen shutout from the fourth onward.
The bad: Scutaro first two at bats. Double play number 110, it hurts to even write that. Bottom of 4th with no outs and Lind at 3B and could not bring him in. Bottom second, Bottom third, Bottom 5th, Bottom 6th. And like a broken record the sad tale continues.
The VERY bad: Runners in scoring position. This team has not improved one iota in this category. fourth and fifth innings golden opportunities with runners at 3B and NO outs.
The game: Top 1st: Iwamura full count, singles to CF. Upton at bat, grounds to McDonald throw to 2B to get Iwamura, only one. Crawford with Upton on 1B. Base hit to the wall, Upton scores, 1-0 Rays, another triple for Crawford, one down for Longoria. Strikes him out, that is one tough out for Richmond. Now for Pena two down but Crawford on 3B. Pena flied out to left fielder Lind. Nice inning for Richmond, now he can relax a bit. 24 pitches.
Bottom 1st: It will be interesting to see how Jays hitters help Richmond out today, do they do their usual or do they make every effort. Inglett singles to left, one on, good start, Scutaro shows bunt, now grounds to Longoria, throw to 2B Iwamura on to Pena at 1B and the usual Jays double play ball. Pathetic. Number 110 !!! for the season and as with last night n the first inning. Rios at bat, at least he cannot give up a double play, singles to LF, one on two down for Overbay. YES Lyle, gets hold of this one and this one is out of here, a rocket off Windows restaurant in CF.HR Lyle with Alex two runs score, 2-1 Rays. That’s much better. Stairs at bat strikes out. 14 pitches.
Top 2nd: Hinske at bat, Richmond now with a lead to work with. Strikes him out. Number two today. Navarro at bat grounds to Rolen, throw not in time, Navarro safe at 1B. Ex-Jay Gabe Gross at bat, fly ball out to Lind. Navarro cannot advance. Two down for Bartlett, strikes out. 41 pitches but much better inning and if they can get six out of Richmond today Cito should be happy.
Bottom 2nd: Lind at bat, grounds to Bartlett SS to Pena at 1B out at 1B one down. Wilkerson at bat, grounds to Iwamura throw to Pena, two down. Zaun at bat, lines this one to RF, doubles here, two in scoring position for McDonald. First pitch swinging fly ball out to Gross in RF. 27 pitches.
Top 3rd: Iwamura at bat, pops it up to Inglett. One down. Upton at bat, lines out hard to Inglett, two down. Crawford full count, doubles to left field, Longoria, grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay gets Longoria. 62 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett at bat strikes out. Scutaro better have his head with him this at bat. Not good, first pitch swing to shallow CF, Upton gets it, two down. What is wrong with this guy? Must be because he is playing at 3B for Rolen. Rios at bat now long drive off the wall in CF, Alex going to 3B and gets in safe, another triple for Alex. Alex also 2-2 today. Overbay at bat with Alex at 3B but two down. 3-1 count, pitch high and Lyle walks. Two on for Stairs, come on Matt get hold of one here. Grounds it up the middle, great save by Iwamura, and throw to Bartlett just gets Overbay. That saved a run. 47 pitches.
Top 4th: Pena at bat, gets hold of this one, HR to RF this game is tied 2-2. Hinske at bat doubles off the wall in LF. Hinske at 2B no outs for Navarro. Singles to Wilkerson in RF. Hinske at 3B. Gross with no outs. Parrish warming up in bullpen. Grounds to McDonald, back flip to Inglett throw to 1B double play. Hinske scores but damage limited by that play.3-2 Rays. Bartlett at bat pops up to Scutaro at 3B. 78 pitches for Richmond. One more inning or will that be it for the rookie today? Parrish can take over here and hold Rays.
Bottom 4th: Time for the Jays hitters to get a big inning. Lind at bat, lines hard and high off the CF wall here and going for third base, another triple for Jays. No outs. Wilkerson now has to bring him in. Pops up to Longoria at 3B and Lind holds. Zaun at bat, grounds to 1B. Two down. McDonald at bat, last chance to bring Lind in. lines one hard here to Gross in RF. Hit it hard and Gross had to run to get to it. BUT bottom line, Jays hitters failed here bigtime after the Lind triple.
Top 5th: Richmond still pitching. Iwamura at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Upton grounds to Overbay, throw to Richmond to get the out. Upton was flying down the line here. Crawford with two outs. Grounds to Overbay, throw to Richmond to get the out. Three up and down, that feels good for Richmond.
Bottom 5th: Inglett singles to RF, where was this hit when it was needed last inning? Scutaro at bat, 0-2 today. Grounds it up the middle off the glove of Iwamura, Scutaro safe at first. That should have been another double play, error on Iwamura. Inglett to second, two on for Rios. Alex 2-2 today, wild pitch and both runners move up, two in scoring position this time with no outs. Alex grounds back to Jackson throw to Pena one down. Runners hold. Overbay at bat strikes out. Stairs at bat, will this team ever bring in a guy in scoring position? 0-7 so far, this game should be blown open by now in the last two innings. Ball four now for Stairs to walk and to load bases, but Matt we need your bat not the walk here. Lind at bat, fly ball out to Upton in CF and Jays go 0-8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! with runners in scoring position. I don’t see any improvement with the new coaching staff in this area.
Top 6th: Longoria at bat Richmond strikes him out. Here comes Cito. Richmond has done very well it is not his fault that his hitters are the worst in the league and have been unable to hit with runners in scoring position. He should definitely be leading with the lead here. 92 pitches and no walks. Carlson pitching. Pena at bat, strikes out, two down for Hinske. Strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters today have been worse than worse, they have been awful. The last two innings in particular, they will be very lucky to get any more golden opportunities from the Rays bullpen. Howell now pitching. Mench pinch hitting for Wilkerson grounds to Longoria throw to Pena. First pitch, one down. Zaun at bat, grounds to 3B great play by Longoria to get Zaun at 1B. McDonald at bat singles to CF. One on for Inglett at bat, singles to CF, McDonald moves to 2B. We have been here several times before today 0-8 to no effect. Scutaro at bat strikes out. 0-9 today with runners in scoring position. No team will win many games with paper bats like this.
Top 7th: Navarro first pitch swinging (must be contagious) fly ball out to Mench in RF for Wilkerson. One down for Gross grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay two down. Bartlett fly ball out to Lind, three up and down for Carlson.
Bottom 7th: Jays hitters have outhit Tampa 9-7 !!! Balfour now pitching .129 ERA, virtually perfect all season so far. Jays will be very lucky to get one off this guy. Rios at bat, fly ball out to Gross in RF. Overbay at bat, strikes out. Two down for Stairs 0-2 today. Strikes out. Jays have had their chances with runners in scoring position in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. That is more than enough for one game, but they couldn’t produce. Rays bullpen is much too strong now.
Top 8th: Downs now pitching. Top of Rays order. Iwamura doubles off the LF wall one on. Upton sac bunt here by Upton, Iwamura safe at 3B. Upton out at 1B. I wonder if Jays coaching staff were watching, perhaps this might be an answer to guy on 3B and no outs? Crawford with one down. Strikes out two down. Longoria, intentional walk. Two on two down. Pena at bat, strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Dan Wheeler .218 ERA now pitching to Lind, grounds to Bartlett at SS, throw high to 1B pulls Pena off bag but Lind is tagged out. A good nine pitch at bat for Lind. One down for Mench. Strikes out. Two down. Zaun at bat, walks. Johnny Mac at bat.
Top 9th: BJ Ryan pitching. Off day tomorrow although you could say Jay hitters have had today of as well. Nothing meaningful since the first inning. They have out-hit Rays and have had nine hits but nothing when it really counts. I think that says something. Unable to hit under pressure? Aybar pinch hitting for Hinske. Singles to LF. Navarro at bat. Grounds back to Ryan throw to 1B gets him Aybar to 2B. One down. Gross at bat, grounds to McDonald throw to 1B gets Gross, Aybar to 3B. Bartlett grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay to get Bartlett and end the inning.
Bottom 9th: Troy Percival against the top of Jays order. 22 saves this season and that is with being on the disabled list this season. Inglett at bat. 3-0 count. One right now the middle. Do you swing or no? Joe didn’t. Full count now. Grounds out to Pena at 1B. Scutaro at bat fly ball out to Upton in CF ends a horrible day for Scutaro. Two down for Rios. 3-0 count. Does he swing? No. Strike inside 3-1. Full count. Pops up to Pena at 1B. Rays win 3-2. Jays hitters give this one away.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Jays and Halladay lose big one, hitters absent again.
Toronto v Tampa Tuesday July 29, 2008. Game two of three.
On paper this should be an excellent pitching matchup as last night. Shields was unlucky to lose, he pitched well enough to win BUT Jays pitchers have had games like that this season, including AJ thus its was his turn last night to get some help. Runs should be few tonight, so watch for small ball from both teams, and that definitely favours this speedy aggressive Rays team. No changes by the Managers in the lineups tonight.
Pitching matchup: Halladay (12-7, 2.82 ERA) v Garza (8-6, 3.83 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Halladay pitching.
Tampa: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Floyd, Navarro, Hinske, Bartlett, and Garza pitching.
The result: Rays win this one 3-0.
The good: Certanly not the hitters. Maybe Carlson for his three up and down inning in the ninth. Not much else tonight. Garza had too easy a night and Jays poor hitting helped him. Halladay goes eight but paid bigtime for his mistakes and without run support again he has no room for errors.
The bad: The three double plays started by Rios, Rolen and Barajas two in the first two innings. These are huge plays in a close game. All of the hitters tonight.
The game: Top 1st: Iwamura pops up to Rolen at 3B. One down. Upton at bat, strikes out. Crawford lines this one to CF this is three base trouble, Crawford can really run. Longoria at bat grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay to end this inning.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounds to Pena 1B flip to pitcher Garza for the out. Scutaro at bat singles to center. Rios, oh no…. grounds to Iwamura 2B throw to Bartlett on to Pena at 1B double play ball.
Top 2nd: Pena grounds to Overbay throw to Halladay covering 1B, one down. Floyd at bat lines out to Rios, two down. Navarro strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay fly ball out to Crawford LF. Barajas singles to LF. Stairs walks, Barajas at 2B. Two on for Rolen one down. Time for a big hit here Scott, not again !!! grounds to Bartlett throw to Iwamura on to.Pena, another double play, two in two innings !!!! Jays hitters back to their old tricks.
Top 3rd: Hinske at bat gets hold of this off the CF wall but Rios thinks it is a Home Run and has stopped, Halladaty shouting at him to throw ball back in as Hinske goes all the way round. Replay shows that is HR and that both Rios and Wilkerson had stopped, they had the best view. Ray go ahead 1-0. Now those two double play balls against the Jays are big here already. Bartlett at bat doubles to LF, come on Roy settle down here. Iwamura grounds out to Overbay, Bartlett to 3B. One down for Upton strikes out. Crawford at bat grounds out to Overbay.
Bottom 3rd: Lind grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, one down. Wilkerson at bat grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, two down. Inglett grounds to Iwamura throw to Pena. Garza doesn’t look as if is giving up much tonight.
Top 4th: Longoria fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Pena fly ball out to Wilkerson. Floyd fly ball out to Rios this time in CF. Three up and down for Halladay. Has settled after that HR last inning.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro grounds to Bartlett at SS throw to Pena for the out. Rios first pitch lines out to Upton, Overbay singles to LF. Barajas with one on.pops up to Iwamura at 2B.
Top 5th: Navarro at bat, singles to RF under diving Inglett. Hinske at bat with one on and no outs, full count, Navarro stealing, Hinske strikes out and Barajas’ throw perfect on first base side, to get him double play. Bartlett at bat two down and no one on, strikes out. But Halladay needs runs here to win a game. 43 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Boston and Yankees losing again but Jays still have to win their own game. Stairs at bat, full count, strikes out this time. Rolen another full count for Garza, at least he has to earn the outs this inning. Lind is watching this at bat, ten pitches so far. Misses this one and strikes out but long at bat. Lind at bat, strikes out swinging and number three for Garza. 57 pitches.
Top 6th: Iwamura grounds to Scutaro on first pitch throw to Overbay one down. Upton at bat, full count. Walks. Crawford at bat, one down one on. Bounces high to Rolen and throw to Overbay gets Crawford and two down. Upton to 2B. Longoria at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay gets Longoria. 74 pitches for Halladay.
Bottom 6th: Wilkerson at bat, strikes out on great curve ball. Inglett at bat, high pop up to Bartlett at SS. Two down. Scutaro at bat, full count and fouling a few off here, long at bats by Jays hitters but nothing coming from them. Scutaro strikes out looking. 74 pitches.
Top 7th: Pena at bat, lines out to Inglett nice catch Joe. Floyd at bat one down high bouncer to Halladay but gets him at 1B. , Navarro at bat, two down. 3-0 count, walks him. Hinske at bat with one on and two down. Strikes out looking at one right down the middle. 91 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Ex-Jay Gabe Gross in for Hinske. Rios at bat, grounds to Longoria at 3B throws him out at 1B. Overbay at bat, there it goes, singles to RF. Finally a hit. Barajas now at bat, Can he do something? One down. Grounds to Longoria throw to Iwamura. throw to Pena, double play ball. (another and we have stopped counting, it is too embarrassing now.)
Top 8th: Halladay must be screaming inside through lack of any run support. Bartlett at bat, strikes out on four pitches. One down. Iwamura at bat, fly ball out to Lind in LF, two down. Upton at bat, full count. Walks him. Crawford at bat. Singles to LF Upton was not running and stays at 2B. Two on for Longoria. Carlson up in the bullpen but you know Halladay wants to go further. This pitch is big trouble, lines it to the wall in RF two runs score 3-0 Rays and Longoria at 3B Pena at bat. Strikes him out but this game is finished unless those underachieving bats can get something going here. A no hitter going for Angels Lackey at Fenway. Yankees also losing again to Baltimore.
Bottom 8th: Stairs grounds to Longoria at 3B great throw to get Stairs at 1B. Rolen at bat, 0-16 ouch bigtime. High fly ball out to Gross in RF. Two down for Lind. Hitless tonight. No longer, hits a high fly ball to Gross in RF up against the wall and off his glove as he jumps. Lind at 2B. Wilkerson at bat. Grounds it hard up the middle but Garza great reflex and gets it and throw to Pena for the out.
Top 9th: That’s it for Halladay 118 pitches with six hits and eight strike outs. Carlson facing Gomes pinch hitting for Floyd strikes him out. Navarro at bat, strikes out, two down. Grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay.
Bottom 9th: Garza 95 pitches still pitching and why not, Jays hitters are missing in action tonight. Lackey in the ninth with one out at Fenway on his no-hitter. Top of order for the Jays but will it be enough tonight? Inglett fly ball to Crawford in LF. One down. Scutaro at bat, pops it up to SS Bartlett. Two down for Rios grounds it up the middle to Bartlett throw to Pena and this one is over.
Rays win 3-0
Hard to win a game when the bats don’t score. Lackey also loses his Fenway no-hitter in the ninth with one down. Both Boston and Yankees losing so Jays will stay pat but that is not what they want, they need to gain games on night’s like this and with Halladay pitching.
On paper this should be an excellent pitching matchup as last night. Shields was unlucky to lose, he pitched well enough to win BUT Jays pitchers have had games like that this season, including AJ thus its was his turn last night to get some help. Runs should be few tonight, so watch for small ball from both teams, and that definitely favours this speedy aggressive Rays team. No changes by the Managers in the lineups tonight.
Pitching matchup: Halladay (12-7, 2.82 ERA) v Garza (8-6, 3.83 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Halladay pitching.
Tampa: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Floyd, Navarro, Hinske, Bartlett, and Garza pitching.
The result: Rays win this one 3-0.
The good: Certanly not the hitters. Maybe Carlson for his three up and down inning in the ninth. Not much else tonight. Garza had too easy a night and Jays poor hitting helped him. Halladay goes eight but paid bigtime for his mistakes and without run support again he has no room for errors.
The bad: The three double plays started by Rios, Rolen and Barajas two in the first two innings. These are huge plays in a close game. All of the hitters tonight.
The game: Top 1st: Iwamura pops up to Rolen at 3B. One down. Upton at bat, strikes out. Crawford lines this one to CF this is three base trouble, Crawford can really run. Longoria at bat grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay to end this inning.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounds to Pena 1B flip to pitcher Garza for the out. Scutaro at bat singles to center. Rios, oh no…. grounds to Iwamura 2B throw to Bartlett on to Pena at 1B double play ball.
Top 2nd: Pena grounds to Overbay throw to Halladay covering 1B, one down. Floyd at bat lines out to Rios, two down. Navarro strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay fly ball out to Crawford LF. Barajas singles to LF. Stairs walks, Barajas at 2B. Two on for Rolen one down. Time for a big hit here Scott, not again !!! grounds to Bartlett throw to Iwamura on to.Pena, another double play, two in two innings !!!! Jays hitters back to their old tricks.
Top 3rd: Hinske at bat gets hold of this off the CF wall but Rios thinks it is a Home Run and has stopped, Halladaty shouting at him to throw ball back in as Hinske goes all the way round. Replay shows that is HR and that both Rios and Wilkerson had stopped, they had the best view. Ray go ahead 1-0. Now those two double play balls against the Jays are big here already. Bartlett at bat doubles to LF, come on Roy settle down here. Iwamura grounds out to Overbay, Bartlett to 3B. One down for Upton strikes out. Crawford at bat grounds out to Overbay.
Bottom 3rd: Lind grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, one down. Wilkerson at bat grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, two down. Inglett grounds to Iwamura throw to Pena. Garza doesn’t look as if is giving up much tonight.
Top 4th: Longoria fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Pena fly ball out to Wilkerson. Floyd fly ball out to Rios this time in CF. Three up and down for Halladay. Has settled after that HR last inning.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro grounds to Bartlett at SS throw to Pena for the out. Rios first pitch lines out to Upton, Overbay singles to LF. Barajas with one on.pops up to Iwamura at 2B.
Top 5th: Navarro at bat, singles to RF under diving Inglett. Hinske at bat with one on and no outs, full count, Navarro stealing, Hinske strikes out and Barajas’ throw perfect on first base side, to get him double play. Bartlett at bat two down and no one on, strikes out. But Halladay needs runs here to win a game. 43 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Boston and Yankees losing again but Jays still have to win their own game. Stairs at bat, full count, strikes out this time. Rolen another full count for Garza, at least he has to earn the outs this inning. Lind is watching this at bat, ten pitches so far. Misses this one and strikes out but long at bat. Lind at bat, strikes out swinging and number three for Garza. 57 pitches.
Top 6th: Iwamura grounds to Scutaro on first pitch throw to Overbay one down. Upton at bat, full count. Walks. Crawford at bat, one down one on. Bounces high to Rolen and throw to Overbay gets Crawford and two down. Upton to 2B. Longoria at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay gets Longoria. 74 pitches for Halladay.
Bottom 6th: Wilkerson at bat, strikes out on great curve ball. Inglett at bat, high pop up to Bartlett at SS. Two down. Scutaro at bat, full count and fouling a few off here, long at bats by Jays hitters but nothing coming from them. Scutaro strikes out looking. 74 pitches.
Top 7th: Pena at bat, lines out to Inglett nice catch Joe. Floyd at bat one down high bouncer to Halladay but gets him at 1B. , Navarro at bat, two down. 3-0 count, walks him. Hinske at bat with one on and two down. Strikes out looking at one right down the middle. 91 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Ex-Jay Gabe Gross in for Hinske. Rios at bat, grounds to Longoria at 3B throws him out at 1B. Overbay at bat, there it goes, singles to RF. Finally a hit. Barajas now at bat, Can he do something? One down. Grounds to Longoria throw to Iwamura. throw to Pena, double play ball. (another and we have stopped counting, it is too embarrassing now.)
Top 8th: Halladay must be screaming inside through lack of any run support. Bartlett at bat, strikes out on four pitches. One down. Iwamura at bat, fly ball out to Lind in LF, two down. Upton at bat, full count. Walks him. Crawford at bat. Singles to LF Upton was not running and stays at 2B. Two on for Longoria. Carlson up in the bullpen but you know Halladay wants to go further. This pitch is big trouble, lines it to the wall in RF two runs score 3-0 Rays and Longoria at 3B Pena at bat. Strikes him out but this game is finished unless those underachieving bats can get something going here. A no hitter going for Angels Lackey at Fenway. Yankees also losing again to Baltimore.
Bottom 8th: Stairs grounds to Longoria at 3B great throw to get Stairs at 1B. Rolen at bat, 0-16 ouch bigtime. High fly ball out to Gross in RF. Two down for Lind. Hitless tonight. No longer, hits a high fly ball to Gross in RF up against the wall and off his glove as he jumps. Lind at 2B. Wilkerson at bat. Grounds it hard up the middle but Garza great reflex and gets it and throw to Pena for the out.
Top 9th: That’s it for Halladay 118 pitches with six hits and eight strike outs. Carlson facing Gomes pinch hitting for Floyd strikes him out. Navarro at bat, strikes out, two down. Grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay.
Bottom 9th: Garza 95 pitches still pitching and why not, Jays hitters are missing in action tonight. Lackey in the ninth with one out at Fenway on his no-hitter. Top of order for the Jays but will it be enough tonight? Inglett fly ball to Crawford in LF. One down. Scutaro at bat, pops it up to SS Bartlett. Two down for Rios grounds it up the middle to Bartlett throw to Pena and this one is over.
Rays win 3-0
Hard to win a game when the bats don’t score. Lackey also loses his Fenway no-hitter in the ninth with one down. Both Boston and Yankees losing so Jays will stay pat but that is not what they want, they need to gain games on night’s like this and with Halladay pitching.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Jays win this one and pick up one on Rays.
Series Preview: Toronto v Tampa. Monday July 28,2008
Jays would love to start this home series with a win.
Pitching tonight: Burnett (11-9, 4.73 ERA) v Shields (9-6, 3.66 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Burnett pitching.
Tampa: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Floyd, Navarro, Hinske, Bartlett, and Shields pitching.
Result: Jays win this 3-1.
The good: Burnett wins number twelve with ten strikeouts and lasts seven innings. Matt Stairs to get the lead with two run HR. Ryan gets save number 20. Wilkerson and Inglett with back to back triples to make the score 3-1.
The bad: Jays wild hitters. First pitch swingers club Scutaro and Rios the worst offenders back to back in the sixth on two pitches. Rios hitless tonight. Two innings took only eleven pitches.
Top 1st: Iwamura at bat strikes out. One down, Upton at bat, full count, strikes out, Crawford at bat, strikes out.17 pitches. Great start for AJ….. Now for the bats.
Bottom 1st: Inglett at bat, grounds to Iwamura, throw to 1B just gets Inglett. Scutaro at bat fly ball out to Hinske in RF, two down. Rios, which Alex has turned up tonight? Who knows. Grounds to Bartlett at SS, throw gets him at 1B. Three up and won on 7 yes 7 pitches. Cito probably wishes Eckstein was leading off, he would take eight pitches just to get on base.
Top 2nd: Longoria at bat, singles to 3B Rolen throw not in time. Scott was playing back for Longoria. Pena,bunting? No, swinging away, now strikes him out, number four for AJ. Floyd singles hard to Wilkerson in RF. Two on, one down for Navarro, strikes out number five. Hinske at bat, 3-0 count, now full count, walks bases loaded. Bartlett at bat, grounds out to Overbay at 1B. AJ off the hook. 38 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay grounds out to 2B Iwamura, Barajas at bat grounds one very hard to 3B great diving stop by Longoria and throw to 1B gets Barajas, Stairs with two down strikes out on three pitches. Shields is just mowing the hitters down, 17 pitches.
Top 3rd: Iwamura singles to CF. Upton singles to RF Wilkerson, two on and no outs for Crawford. Grounds back to Burnett throw to Rolen at 3B ruled safe. Replay shows Rolen tagged him before he touched bag.Bases loaded no outs for Longoria and strikes him out bigtime. Pena at bat, grounds to Overbay drops the ball and gets Pena at 1B. Iwamura scores 1-0 Rays. Floyd at bat, Upton and Crawford in scoring position. Strikes him out…… number seven for Burnett tonight, this could have been much, much worse with bases loaded and no outs, but pitch count high at 52.
Bottom 3rd: Jays hitters have to get to Shields here. Rolen at bat 0-11 ouch, full count here at least gets hold of this one but caught at the LF wall by Crawford. Lind now the hottest Jay right now and there he goes again doubles into LF. This kid what can we say about him that has not been said before? Wilkerson at bat, with one in scoring position and one down. Lofts this one to LF centre, Crawford gets to it, two down. Inglett at bat, first pitch grounds to Butler at SS, throw to 1B and Inglett is out. Not a very smart at bat by Joe. 30 pitches by Shields 22 less than Burnett and I don’t wonder why with these free swinging Jays.
Top 4th: Navarro first pitch swing and high fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. One down. Hinske at bat, 3-0 count. Walks and this is another major difference between Rays and Jays. Patience at the plate. Bartlett at bat, pick off at 1B and Hinske is gone. Two down. Great pick off. Bartlett singles into CF. Iwamura at bat, lines out to Wilkerson in RF. Much better inning for AJ. 64 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Top of the order. Scutaro at bat, strikes out looking. Rios at bat, full count, grounds hard to Bartlett, knocks it down and still throws out Rios at 1B. Two down for Overbay. Strikes out on four pitches. Overbay in yet another slump, looks totally at sea at the plate. 45 pitches.
Top 5th: Upton at bat, strikes him out. Number eight. Crawford doubles to Lind in LF. Longoria at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay two down, Crawford no chance to move. Pena at bat fly ball out to Lind. 77 pitches but AJ is holding Rays for the hitters to break out but once again they appear to have gone south
Bottom 5th: Barajas at bat, singles into RF. Hit number two. Stairs OH BOY… gets hold of this one and just like that Jays are ahead. 2-1 Jays. Rolen loops this one to Iwamura, one down. Lind at bat strikes out this time. Wilkerson at bat, hits him on the hand. One on and two down for Inglett at bat strikes out. 64 pitches.
Top 6th: Floyd at bat, grounds to Overbay, diving play and throw to Burnett for the out at 1B. Navarro at bat, grounds to Scutaro and throws out Floyd at 1B. Hinske at bat, full count, walks for third time tonight. Bartlett at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to 2B gets Hinske at 2B. 90 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays continue the hits from last inning? Yankees getting beaten up by Baltimore and Boston beating Angels. Scutaro first pitch swinging, fly ball out to LF. Crawford. Rios at bat and guess what first pitch swinging fly ball out to RF Hinske. Two pitches two outs. Cito you have major job with this crew. Overbay at bat, second pitch grounds out to 2B, four pitch inning, pathetic. 68 pitches.
Top 7th: The other problem with this wild swinging is that it puts more pressure on Jays pitcher, Burnett would have loved a little longer on the bench there. Apart from the fact that Shields will still be pitching tomorrow at this rate. Iwamura at bat, already takes more pitches than the last three Jays hitters. Full count here.strikes out. Number nine. Upton at bat with one down. Full count again. Walks him. Crawford at bat. Downs up in the bullpen. Upton stealing, throw off the wrong side of bag. Strike out and wild pitch , Upton to 3B and Crawford to 1B. 105 pitches. Longoria at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to Inglett, ythrow to Overbay, YES sir, double play ball and Burnett is out of this. Poetic justice after that wild pitch strikeout. 110 pitches and ten strikeouts. Will that be AJ’s last inning for Jays? I don’t think so.
Bottom 7th: Now can Jays hitters take a few and score a few? I wouldn’t bet the house on either. Barajas at bat, full count here more pitches than the whole of the last inning by Jays, lines this one hard to Crawford in LF. One down for Stairs. Grounds back to Shields, throw to 1B and two down. Rolen at bat, you definitely need one here Scott. Almost but not quite, long fly ball out to Crawford in LF. Shields 84 pitches. Boston now losing to the Angels, Baltimore thrashing Yankees 11-0, in New York ouch. Jones grand slam.
Top 8th: Downs pitching. Pena at bat. Full count. Pops up to Inglett. Gomes now pinch hitting for Floyd. Downs a little wild here, Gomes lifts one to Wilkerson in RF. Two down. Navarro at bat, grounds to SS Scutaro throw gets Navarro at 1B. Good inning by Downs.
Bottom 8th: Shields still in here only 84 pitches. Lind gets hold it but lines out to RF Hinske. One down. Wilkerson, and Inglett to try to add to this total here for Ryan. Wilkerson at bat, lines it to CF under Upton’s dive ball to the wall and Wilkerson has a triple. His first of the season. Inglett at bat, must bring him in here Jays. Not showing bunt, 3-1 count. Full count. Inglett lines this one over the head of Upton in CF, ball goes to the wall again, Wilkerson scores and Inglett is in with another triple. 3-1 Jays and that is it for Shields. Too bad he pitched too well to gets this type of result. Balfour pitching, Scutaro at bat, one down, now can he bring in Inglett from 3B? 3-1 count. Pops it up to Iwamura at 2B, two down. Rios on centre stage here. Hitless tonight. Chance to break this open, takes second pitch right down the middle. Lines it hard to RF Hinske.
Top 9th: BJ Ryan now pitching for the save, Aybar pinch hitter for Hinske, Johnny Mc. at SS, Scutaro at 2B, Inglett in RF. Aybar lofts this one to shallow CF, Rios gets the catch. One down, Bartlett at bat, grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay, two down. Iwamura at bat, grounds it to Johnny Mc and throw to Overbay gets third out. Jays win this one despite being outhit by Rays.Three up and down for BJ.
AJ gets the win. Jays pick up game on Rays and maybe also Boston and Yankees both losing right now. Jays now win 12 of last 17.
Jays would love to start this home series with a win.
Pitching tonight: Burnett (11-9, 4.73 ERA) v Shields (9-6, 3.66 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Burnett pitching.
Tampa: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Floyd, Navarro, Hinske, Bartlett, and Shields pitching.
Result: Jays win this 3-1.
The good: Burnett wins number twelve with ten strikeouts and lasts seven innings. Matt Stairs to get the lead with two run HR. Ryan gets save number 20. Wilkerson and Inglett with back to back triples to make the score 3-1.
The bad: Jays wild hitters. First pitch swingers club Scutaro and Rios the worst offenders back to back in the sixth on two pitches. Rios hitless tonight. Two innings took only eleven pitches.
Top 1st: Iwamura at bat strikes out. One down, Upton at bat, full count, strikes out, Crawford at bat, strikes out.17 pitches. Great start for AJ….. Now for the bats.
Bottom 1st: Inglett at bat, grounds to Iwamura, throw to 1B just gets Inglett. Scutaro at bat fly ball out to Hinske in RF, two down. Rios, which Alex has turned up tonight? Who knows. Grounds to Bartlett at SS, throw gets him at 1B. Three up and won on 7 yes 7 pitches. Cito probably wishes Eckstein was leading off, he would take eight pitches just to get on base.
Top 2nd: Longoria at bat, singles to 3B Rolen throw not in time. Scott was playing back for Longoria. Pena,bunting? No, swinging away, now strikes him out, number four for AJ. Floyd singles hard to Wilkerson in RF. Two on, one down for Navarro, strikes out number five. Hinske at bat, 3-0 count, now full count, walks bases loaded. Bartlett at bat, grounds out to Overbay at 1B. AJ off the hook. 38 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay grounds out to 2B Iwamura, Barajas at bat grounds one very hard to 3B great diving stop by Longoria and throw to 1B gets Barajas, Stairs with two down strikes out on three pitches. Shields is just mowing the hitters down, 17 pitches.
Top 3rd: Iwamura singles to CF. Upton singles to RF Wilkerson, two on and no outs for Crawford. Grounds back to Burnett throw to Rolen at 3B ruled safe. Replay shows Rolen tagged him before he touched bag.Bases loaded no outs for Longoria and strikes him out bigtime. Pena at bat, grounds to Overbay drops the ball and gets Pena at 1B. Iwamura scores 1-0 Rays. Floyd at bat, Upton and Crawford in scoring position. Strikes him out…… number seven for Burnett tonight, this could have been much, much worse with bases loaded and no outs, but pitch count high at 52.
Bottom 3rd: Jays hitters have to get to Shields here. Rolen at bat 0-11 ouch, full count here at least gets hold of this one but caught at the LF wall by Crawford. Lind now the hottest Jay right now and there he goes again doubles into LF. This kid what can we say about him that has not been said before? Wilkerson at bat, with one in scoring position and one down. Lofts this one to LF centre, Crawford gets to it, two down. Inglett at bat, first pitch grounds to Butler at SS, throw to 1B and Inglett is out. Not a very smart at bat by Joe. 30 pitches by Shields 22 less than Burnett and I don’t wonder why with these free swinging Jays.
Top 4th: Navarro first pitch swing and high fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. One down. Hinske at bat, 3-0 count. Walks and this is another major difference between Rays and Jays. Patience at the plate. Bartlett at bat, pick off at 1B and Hinske is gone. Two down. Great pick off. Bartlett singles into CF. Iwamura at bat, lines out to Wilkerson in RF. Much better inning for AJ. 64 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Top of the order. Scutaro at bat, strikes out looking. Rios at bat, full count, grounds hard to Bartlett, knocks it down and still throws out Rios at 1B. Two down for Overbay. Strikes out on four pitches. Overbay in yet another slump, looks totally at sea at the plate. 45 pitches.
Top 5th: Upton at bat, strikes him out. Number eight. Crawford doubles to Lind in LF. Longoria at bat, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay two down, Crawford no chance to move. Pena at bat fly ball out to Lind. 77 pitches but AJ is holding Rays for the hitters to break out but once again they appear to have gone south
Bottom 5th: Barajas at bat, singles into RF. Hit number two. Stairs OH BOY… gets hold of this one and just like that Jays are ahead. 2-1 Jays. Rolen loops this one to Iwamura, one down. Lind at bat strikes out this time. Wilkerson at bat, hits him on the hand. One on and two down for Inglett at bat strikes out. 64 pitches.
Top 6th: Floyd at bat, grounds to Overbay, diving play and throw to Burnett for the out at 1B. Navarro at bat, grounds to Scutaro and throws out Floyd at 1B. Hinske at bat, full count, walks for third time tonight. Bartlett at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to 2B gets Hinske at 2B. 90 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Can Jays continue the hits from last inning? Yankees getting beaten up by Baltimore and Boston beating Angels. Scutaro first pitch swinging, fly ball out to LF. Crawford. Rios at bat and guess what first pitch swinging fly ball out to RF Hinske. Two pitches two outs. Cito you have major job with this crew. Overbay at bat, second pitch grounds out to 2B, four pitch inning, pathetic. 68 pitches.
Top 7th: The other problem with this wild swinging is that it puts more pressure on Jays pitcher, Burnett would have loved a little longer on the bench there. Apart from the fact that Shields will still be pitching tomorrow at this rate. Iwamura at bat, already takes more pitches than the last three Jays hitters. Full count here.strikes out. Number nine. Upton at bat with one down. Full count again. Walks him. Crawford at bat. Downs up in the bullpen. Upton stealing, throw off the wrong side of bag. Strike out and wild pitch , Upton to 3B and Crawford to 1B. 105 pitches. Longoria at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to Inglett, ythrow to Overbay, YES sir, double play ball and Burnett is out of this. Poetic justice after that wild pitch strikeout. 110 pitches and ten strikeouts. Will that be AJ’s last inning for Jays? I don’t think so.
Bottom 7th: Now can Jays hitters take a few and score a few? I wouldn’t bet the house on either. Barajas at bat, full count here more pitches than the whole of the last inning by Jays, lines this one hard to Crawford in LF. One down for Stairs. Grounds back to Shields, throw to 1B and two down. Rolen at bat, you definitely need one here Scott. Almost but not quite, long fly ball out to Crawford in LF. Shields 84 pitches. Boston now losing to the Angels, Baltimore thrashing Yankees 11-0, in New York ouch. Jones grand slam.
Top 8th: Downs pitching. Pena at bat. Full count. Pops up to Inglett. Gomes now pinch hitting for Floyd. Downs a little wild here, Gomes lifts one to Wilkerson in RF. Two down. Navarro at bat, grounds to SS Scutaro throw gets Navarro at 1B. Good inning by Downs.
Bottom 8th: Shields still in here only 84 pitches. Lind gets hold it but lines out to RF Hinske. One down. Wilkerson, and Inglett to try to add to this total here for Ryan. Wilkerson at bat, lines it to CF under Upton’s dive ball to the wall and Wilkerson has a triple. His first of the season. Inglett at bat, must bring him in here Jays. Not showing bunt, 3-1 count. Full count. Inglett lines this one over the head of Upton in CF, ball goes to the wall again, Wilkerson scores and Inglett is in with another triple. 3-1 Jays and that is it for Shields. Too bad he pitched too well to gets this type of result. Balfour pitching, Scutaro at bat, one down, now can he bring in Inglett from 3B? 3-1 count. Pops it up to Iwamura at 2B, two down. Rios on centre stage here. Hitless tonight. Chance to break this open, takes second pitch right down the middle. Lines it hard to RF Hinske.
Top 9th: BJ Ryan now pitching for the save, Aybar pinch hitter for Hinske, Johnny Mc. at SS, Scutaro at 2B, Inglett in RF. Aybar lofts this one to shallow CF, Rios gets the catch. One down, Bartlett at bat, grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay, two down. Iwamura at bat, grounds it to Johnny Mc and throw to Overbay gets third out. Jays win this one despite being outhit by Rays.Three up and down for BJ.
AJ gets the win. Jays pick up game on Rays and maybe also Boston and Yankees both losing right now. Jays now win 12 of last 17.
Series Preview Toronto v Tampa
Series Preview: Toronto v Tampa. Monday July 28,2008
Jays do not need reminding that this yet another big series. They all seem to be these days. BUT this one v Tampa is huge. Sweep Tampa in Toronto could really vault this team back in the fight.
Burnett (11-9, 4.73 ERA) v Shields (9-6, 3.66 ERA) followed by Halladay tomorrow and Parrish for series closer on Wednesday.
Burnett has been pitching very well recently despite or perhaps as a result of the trade hype. The deadline is Thursday and some media are suggesting that this might be his last game as a Jay. Others are suggesting that Jays will offer him more millions to stay in 2009. If the team can make a spring here in the last two months who knows what Burnett will do.
Shields is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA in his last six starts.
Hitters need to be much more consistent. They followed Saturday’s breakout with a total disappearance yesterday. For McDonald to be the only run scorer and with a home run to boot, does not speak highly of the rest of the team.
Rios showed signs of appearing this season on Saturday but then disappeared yesterday. Ditto for the rest of the team apart from the bullpen solid as ever.
Jays have been hot whereas Rays have been cold especially on the road, BUT as we know with this team they usually confound the form.
Jays do not need reminding that this yet another big series. They all seem to be these days. BUT this one v Tampa is huge. Sweep Tampa in Toronto could really vault this team back in the fight.
Burnett (11-9, 4.73 ERA) v Shields (9-6, 3.66 ERA) followed by Halladay tomorrow and Parrish for series closer on Wednesday.
Burnett has been pitching very well recently despite or perhaps as a result of the trade hype. The deadline is Thursday and some media are suggesting that this might be his last game as a Jay. Others are suggesting that Jays will offer him more millions to stay in 2009. If the team can make a spring here in the last two months who knows what Burnett will do.
Shields is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA in his last six starts.
Hitters need to be much more consistent. They followed Saturday’s breakout with a total disappearance yesterday. For McDonald to be the only run scorer and with a home run to boot, does not speak highly of the rest of the team.
Rios showed signs of appearing this season on Saturday but then disappeared yesterday. Ditto for the rest of the team apart from the bullpen solid as ever.
Jays have been hot whereas Rays have been cold especially on the road, BUT as we know with this team they usually confound the form.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday July 26,2008. Toronto v Seattle.
Toronto going for the sweep today and a season high six game win streak. Jays need this one to go into the Tampa series tomorrow on a real high. However it is Washburn pitching and Mariners are not as bad as their record and have already won four against the Jays. You know that Ichiro is due to break out of his mini-slump.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Lind, Rolen, Mench, McDonald and Marcum pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Vidro, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, Reed, LaHair, Cairo, Betancourt and Washburn pitching.
The result: Jays lose 5-1. Nothing like yesterday’s effort.
The good: Johnny Mc. HR his first since May 2007. Mench throw to get Lopez in the fourth. Bullpen to hold Mariners again.
The bad: Rolen, Rios, Barajas hitless today. Not much help to the pitchers at all.
The game:
Top 1st: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Vidro grounds out to Overbay two down. Ibanez doubles to RF. One on two down. Beltre at bat grounds to Rolen, Ibanez out at 3B.
Bottom 1st: No Inglett today, Eckstein grounds back to Washburn throw to LaHair. Scutaro grounds to Beltre to LaHair at 1B. Rios after his big day yesterday is he finally breaking out? pops out to Lopez. Jays go quietly.
Top 2nd: Lopez fly ball out to Lind in LF. Reed grounds to Scutaro at 2B, throw to Overbay for the second out. Johjima at bat two down, fly ball out to Mench in RF. Neat inning for Marcum, two good innings so far.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat, full count, and now walks. Barajas at bat with one on, fly ball out to Reed in CF. Lind at bat, on very hot steak since the All-Star break. Not this time. Lines out to Lopez at 2B. Rolen with two down but Overbay at 1B lines out to Betancourt SS. Washburn sailing through Jays hitters so far.
Top 3rd: LaHair strikes out. Betancourt grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Suzuki singles to RF only his second hit off the series her in Toronto. Vidro lines out to Rios. Another good inning from Marcum.
Bottom 3rd: Mench first at bat, doubles to LF. First hit by Jays hitters today. McDonald at bat fly ball out Suzuki.One down for Eckstein pops out to Betancourt. Mench still at 1B. Scutaro full count, now walks. Jays have something going finally against Washburn. Two on and two outs for the two home run guy from yesterday, Rios, need one here Alex. Rios fouls out to LaHair at 1B and leaves two on.
Top 4th: Ibanez strikes out. Beltre grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, two down. Lopez full count and now walks. Reed at bat doubles to RF, Lopez is coming home but Mench throw gets him, great throw by Mench. Marcum, escapes trouble here.
Bottom 4th: Overbay singles to CF. Lead runner on. Barajas at bat fouls out to LaHair at 1B. Barajas is really not hitting well right now, maybe Cito will get Zaun back in there. Lind at bat with on one strikes out. Rolen at bat, fly ball out to Reed in CF. Rolen also needs to breakout soon.
Top 5th: Johjima lines out to Mench, one down. LaHair grounds to Overbay throw to Marcum for the out at 1B. Betancourt pops up to Scutaro. Three up and down for Marcum but this is a pitcher’s duel here.
Bottom 5th: Mench grounds to Beltre throw to LaHair, one down. Johnny Mc here swinging at first pitch and gets hold of one to LF, this one is out, HR to Johnny Mc only his second of the season. Jays 1-0. Eckstein fly ball out to Ibanez LF. Scutaro lines out to Betancourt. Jays get the lead and if McDonald can hit Washburn what about the eight guys in front of him???
Top 6th: Suzuki full count and now walks. That is the last thing Marcum wanted to put Ichiro on and with no outs. Ichiro not going but Vidro gets hold of this one and home run to RF, two runs score and just like that Jays lead has gone. 2-1 Mariners. Ibanez singles to CF. This is not the start Marcum wanted. Beltre grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, Ibanez moves to 2B. Lopez walks. Two on and Marcum is definitely not sharp here. Reed grounds to Scutaro, Lopez out and Ibanez to 3B. Johjima doubles to CF, Ibanez and Reed score 4-1 Mariners and Marcum losing control here and that is it for him today. Camp now pitching. LaHair singles to LF, Johjima to 3B. Betancourt strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters need to get some back here. Rios fly ball out to Suzuki. Alex 0-3 today.Overbay grounds to Betancourt throw to LaHair, two down. Barajas at bat grounds to Betancourt throw to LaHair. Jays go awfully quietly. Need some more punch if they want to get to Washburn.
Top 7th: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Vidro singles to CF.Ibanez doubles to center, Vidro to 3B. .Beltre at bat, intentional walk with 1B open. Lopez singles to RF, Vidro scores, Ibanez to 3B, Beltre to 2B and Mariners leading this one 5-1. Reed grounds back to Camp throw to catcher Barajas throw to Overbay, Ibanez out at home plate but more damage done.
Bottom 7th: Lind fly ball out to Ibanez. Rolen fly ball out to Suzuki. Mench strikes out. That about sums up Jays hitters today apart from SupeMac.
Top 8th: Frasor now pitching.Johjima pops up to McDonald at SS. LaHair strikes out. Two down.
Betancourt lines out to Mench in RF. A good inning from Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Cairo in now at 1B. McDonald fly ball out to Ibanez in LF. Eckstein singles to RF. Jays first base runner since the fourth inning. Scutaro at bat grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo for the out, Eckstein to 2B. Rios at bat, hitless tonight. Grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo and Jays leave Eckstein at in scoring position at 2B.
Top 9th: Suzuki at bat lines this one to RF and look at him running, a triple. I guess the good news is that he cannot steal or can he ??? Vidro grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay. Two down.Ibanez intentionally walk. Bloomquist now pinch-running for Ibanez. Beltre strikes out.Lopez grounds back to Frasor throw to Overbay and no more run damage.
Bottom 9th: Bloomquist in as left fielder. Putz pitching. Last very slim chance for Jays to get back in this one. Overbay grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo. One down. Barajas at bat pops out to Betancourt. Lind at bat, hitless tonight singles to CF. Rolen at bat, last chance for Jays grounds back to Putz throw to Cairo for the last out.
This game is over Mariners win easily today 5-1 and take the season series 5-4. Jays are the only AL team that Seattle has a winning season.
What they said:
Cito : "If we go two out of three the rest of the way, I'll be real happy,"
Marcum: "I wasn't locating my fastball today and I didn't do it in Baltimore, either. It's tough to pitch when you can't throw that over for a strike because they can sit on everything else."
Toronto going for the sweep today and a season high six game win streak. Jays need this one to go into the Tampa series tomorrow on a real high. However it is Washburn pitching and Mariners are not as bad as their record and have already won four against the Jays. You know that Ichiro is due to break out of his mini-slump.
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Lind, Rolen, Mench, McDonald and Marcum pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Vidro, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, Reed, LaHair, Cairo, Betancourt and Washburn pitching.
The result: Jays lose 5-1. Nothing like yesterday’s effort.
The good: Johnny Mc. HR his first since May 2007. Mench throw to get Lopez in the fourth. Bullpen to hold Mariners again.
The bad: Rolen, Rios, Barajas hitless today. Not much help to the pitchers at all.
The game:
Top 1st: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Vidro grounds out to Overbay two down. Ibanez doubles to RF. One on two down. Beltre at bat grounds to Rolen, Ibanez out at 3B.
Bottom 1st: No Inglett today, Eckstein grounds back to Washburn throw to LaHair. Scutaro grounds to Beltre to LaHair at 1B. Rios after his big day yesterday is he finally breaking out? pops out to Lopez. Jays go quietly.
Top 2nd: Lopez fly ball out to Lind in LF. Reed grounds to Scutaro at 2B, throw to Overbay for the second out. Johjima at bat two down, fly ball out to Mench in RF. Neat inning for Marcum, two good innings so far.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay at bat, full count, and now walks. Barajas at bat with one on, fly ball out to Reed in CF. Lind at bat, on very hot steak since the All-Star break. Not this time. Lines out to Lopez at 2B. Rolen with two down but Overbay at 1B lines out to Betancourt SS. Washburn sailing through Jays hitters so far.
Top 3rd: LaHair strikes out. Betancourt grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Suzuki singles to RF only his second hit off the series her in Toronto. Vidro lines out to Rios. Another good inning from Marcum.
Bottom 3rd: Mench first at bat, doubles to LF. First hit by Jays hitters today. McDonald at bat fly ball out Suzuki.One down for Eckstein pops out to Betancourt. Mench still at 1B. Scutaro full count, now walks. Jays have something going finally against Washburn. Two on and two outs for the two home run guy from yesterday, Rios, need one here Alex. Rios fouls out to LaHair at 1B and leaves two on.
Top 4th: Ibanez strikes out. Beltre grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, two down. Lopez full count and now walks. Reed at bat doubles to RF, Lopez is coming home but Mench throw gets him, great throw by Mench. Marcum, escapes trouble here.
Bottom 4th: Overbay singles to CF. Lead runner on. Barajas at bat fouls out to LaHair at 1B. Barajas is really not hitting well right now, maybe Cito will get Zaun back in there. Lind at bat with on one strikes out. Rolen at bat, fly ball out to Reed in CF. Rolen also needs to breakout soon.
Top 5th: Johjima lines out to Mench, one down. LaHair grounds to Overbay throw to Marcum for the out at 1B. Betancourt pops up to Scutaro. Three up and down for Marcum but this is a pitcher’s duel here.
Bottom 5th: Mench grounds to Beltre throw to LaHair, one down. Johnny Mc here swinging at first pitch and gets hold of one to LF, this one is out, HR to Johnny Mc only his second of the season. Jays 1-0. Eckstein fly ball out to Ibanez LF. Scutaro lines out to Betancourt. Jays get the lead and if McDonald can hit Washburn what about the eight guys in front of him???
Top 6th: Suzuki full count and now walks. That is the last thing Marcum wanted to put Ichiro on and with no outs. Ichiro not going but Vidro gets hold of this one and home run to RF, two runs score and just like that Jays lead has gone. 2-1 Mariners. Ibanez singles to CF. This is not the start Marcum wanted. Beltre grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, Ibanez moves to 2B. Lopez walks. Two on and Marcum is definitely not sharp here. Reed grounds to Scutaro, Lopez out and Ibanez to 3B. Johjima doubles to CF, Ibanez and Reed score 4-1 Mariners and Marcum losing control here and that is it for him today. Camp now pitching. LaHair singles to LF, Johjima to 3B. Betancourt strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters need to get some back here. Rios fly ball out to Suzuki. Alex 0-3 today.Overbay grounds to Betancourt throw to LaHair, two down. Barajas at bat grounds to Betancourt throw to LaHair. Jays go awfully quietly. Need some more punch if they want to get to Washburn.
Top 7th: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Vidro singles to CF.Ibanez doubles to center, Vidro to 3B. .Beltre at bat, intentional walk with 1B open. Lopez singles to RF, Vidro scores, Ibanez to 3B, Beltre to 2B and Mariners leading this one 5-1. Reed grounds back to Camp throw to catcher Barajas throw to Overbay, Ibanez out at home plate but more damage done.
Bottom 7th: Lind fly ball out to Ibanez. Rolen fly ball out to Suzuki. Mench strikes out. That about sums up Jays hitters today apart from SupeMac.
Top 8th: Frasor now pitching.Johjima pops up to McDonald at SS. LaHair strikes out. Two down.
Betancourt lines out to Mench in RF. A good inning from Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Cairo in now at 1B. McDonald fly ball out to Ibanez in LF. Eckstein singles to RF. Jays first base runner since the fourth inning. Scutaro at bat grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo for the out, Eckstein to 2B. Rios at bat, hitless tonight. Grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo and Jays leave Eckstein at in scoring position at 2B.
Top 9th: Suzuki at bat lines this one to RF and look at him running, a triple. I guess the good news is that he cannot steal or can he ??? Vidro grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay. Two down.Ibanez intentionally walk. Bloomquist now pinch-running for Ibanez. Beltre strikes out.Lopez grounds back to Frasor throw to Overbay and no more run damage.
Bottom 9th: Bloomquist in as left fielder. Putz pitching. Last very slim chance for Jays to get back in this one. Overbay grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo. One down. Barajas at bat pops out to Betancourt. Lind at bat, hitless tonight singles to CF. Rolen at bat, last chance for Jays grounds back to Putz throw to Cairo for the last out.
This game is over Mariners win easily today 5-1 and take the season series 5-4. Jays are the only AL team that Seattle has a winning season.
What they said:
Cito : "If we go two out of three the rest of the way, I'll be real happy,"
Marcum: "I wasn't locating my fastball today and I didn't do it in Baltimore, either. It's tough to pitch when you can't throw that over for a strike because they can sit on everything else."
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Jays win with Purcey and two home runs from Rios.
Toronto v Seattle Game two, Saturday July 25th, 2008.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Eckstein, Rios, Overbay, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson, Zaun and Purcey pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Bloomquist, Ibanez, Betre, Lopez, Vidro, Cairo, Burke, Betancourt, and Dickey pitching.
Result: Jays win big 8-3. Purcey gets first win.
The good: Rios two home runs his first multihome run game in two years. Inglett three hits two doubles. Inglett continues last night's heroics with 3 hit game. Stairs still hitting and a triple. Pitching all through Purcey and the bullpen. Good hitting with runners in scoring position today. Jays go in five win streak.
The game: Top 1st: Suzuki grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay, one down. Bloomquist at bat strikes out.
Ibanez fly ball out to Lind. Three up and down for Purcey.
Bottom 1st: Inglett at bat grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo, one down. Eckstein lines to Lopez, two down. Rios home run to left Jays 1-0. Overbay strikes out.
Top 2nd: Beltre doubles to CF. Lopez doubles to CF, Beltre scores 1-1.Vidro strikes out. Cairo infield single to SS, Lopez to 3B. Burke bunting but great diving catch by Overbay. Betancourt at bat fly ball out to Rios.
Bottom 2nd: Stairs triples to RF. Rolen first pitch swing and sacrifice fly to Suzuki, Stairs scores 2-1 Jays. Lind singles to RF. Wilkerson at bat fly ball out to Ibanez in LF two down. Zaun fly ball out to Bloomquist.
Top 3rd: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Bloomquist grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay. Two down. Ibanez walks. Beltre strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett doubles to LF. Eckstein bunting, Dickey to Cairo, Inglett to 3B. Rios at bat wild pitch, Inglett scores 3-1 Jays. Rios walks. Overbay grounds into double play, Lopez to Betancourt to Cairo, Rios out. Overbay doesn’t even give Alex a chance to steal here, swinging at first pitch. That was now a smart at bat by Lyle.
Top 4th: Lopez fly ball out to Rios. Vidro lines out to Overbay. Cairo fly ball out to Rios. Three up and down for Purcey here, good inning.
Bottom 4th- Stairs singles to LF. Rolen full count and walks, Stairs to 2B. Lind full count and walks, bases loaded Stairs to 3B, Rolen to 2B. Wilkerson sacrifice fly to Bloomquist CF, Stairs scores 4-1 Jays. Zaun at bat strikes out. Inglett doubles to CF Rolen scores, Lind to 3B. 5-1 Jays. Eckstein grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo.
Top 5th: Burke singles to CF. Betancourt fouls out to Zaun. Suzuki pops up to Inglett Bloomquist grounds out to Overbay.
Bottom 5th: Rios home run number two today to CF. 6-1 Jays. .Overbay full count and walks.
Stairs grounds to Beltre throw to Lopez, Overbay out. Rolen fly ball out to Bloomquist. Lind grounds to Lopez to Betancourt, Stairs out at 2B.
Top 6th: Ibanez strikes out. Beltre singles to CF.Lopez home run to left on the first pitch, Beltre scores. 6-3 Jays. Vidro grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Cairo hit by a pitch. Burke single to third, Cairo to 2B. Betancourt grounds to Eckstein to Inglett, Burke out at 2B.
Bottom 6th: Wilkerson strikes out. Zaun doubles to RF. Inglett singles to CF, Zaun scores. 7-3 Jays. Eckstein at bat wild pitch, Inglett to 2B. Eckstein isingle to SS, Inglett to 3B. Corcoran now pitching. Rios hits sacrifice fly to Suzuki, Inglett scores 8-3 Jays. Eckstein to 2B.On the throw Eckstein to 3B. Overbay strikes out.
Top 7th: Downs pitching. Suzuki grounded out, catcher Zaun to Overbay. Bloomquist grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Ibanez doubles to LF. Beltre strikes out.
Bottom 7th: Stairs strikes out. Rolen grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo. Two down. Lind grounds to Beltre throw to Cairo. Jays go quietly for a change.
Top 8th: League pitching. Lopez grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Vidro grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay. Two down. Cairo grounds to Overbay throw to League for the out.
Bottom 8th: Wilkerson grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo.One down. Zaun grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo.Two down. Inglett walks on four pitches. Eckstein strikes out.
Top 9th: Frasor now pitching. LaHair pinch-hitting for Burke singles to CF. Betancourt strikes out. Suzuki singles to CF, his first hit of the series. LaHair to 2B. Reed pinch-hitting for Bloomquist strikes out. Ibanez grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay.
Jays win this one going away 8-3. Go for the sweeep on Sunday with Marcum pitching.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Eckstein, Rios, Overbay, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson, Zaun and Purcey pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Bloomquist, Ibanez, Betre, Lopez, Vidro, Cairo, Burke, Betancourt, and Dickey pitching.
Result: Jays win big 8-3. Purcey gets first win.
The good: Rios two home runs his first multihome run game in two years. Inglett three hits two doubles. Inglett continues last night's heroics with 3 hit game. Stairs still hitting and a triple. Pitching all through Purcey and the bullpen. Good hitting with runners in scoring position today. Jays go in five win streak.
The game: Top 1st: Suzuki grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay, one down. Bloomquist at bat strikes out.
Ibanez fly ball out to Lind. Three up and down for Purcey.
Bottom 1st: Inglett at bat grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo, one down. Eckstein lines to Lopez, two down. Rios home run to left Jays 1-0. Overbay strikes out.
Top 2nd: Beltre doubles to CF. Lopez doubles to CF, Beltre scores 1-1.Vidro strikes out. Cairo infield single to SS, Lopez to 3B. Burke bunting but great diving catch by Overbay. Betancourt at bat fly ball out to Rios.
Bottom 2nd: Stairs triples to RF. Rolen first pitch swing and sacrifice fly to Suzuki, Stairs scores 2-1 Jays. Lind singles to RF. Wilkerson at bat fly ball out to Ibanez in LF two down. Zaun fly ball out to Bloomquist.
Top 3rd: Suzuki fly ball out to Rios. Bloomquist grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay. Two down. Ibanez walks. Beltre strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Inglett doubles to LF. Eckstein bunting, Dickey to Cairo, Inglett to 3B. Rios at bat wild pitch, Inglett scores 3-1 Jays. Rios walks. Overbay grounds into double play, Lopez to Betancourt to Cairo, Rios out. Overbay doesn’t even give Alex a chance to steal here, swinging at first pitch. That was now a smart at bat by Lyle.
Top 4th: Lopez fly ball out to Rios. Vidro lines out to Overbay. Cairo fly ball out to Rios. Three up and down for Purcey here, good inning.
Bottom 4th- Stairs singles to LF. Rolen full count and walks, Stairs to 2B. Lind full count and walks, bases loaded Stairs to 3B, Rolen to 2B. Wilkerson sacrifice fly to Bloomquist CF, Stairs scores 4-1 Jays. Zaun at bat strikes out. Inglett doubles to CF Rolen scores, Lind to 3B. 5-1 Jays. Eckstein grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo.
Top 5th: Burke singles to CF. Betancourt fouls out to Zaun. Suzuki pops up to Inglett Bloomquist grounds out to Overbay.
Bottom 5th: Rios home run number two today to CF. 6-1 Jays. .Overbay full count and walks.
Stairs grounds to Beltre throw to Lopez, Overbay out. Rolen fly ball out to Bloomquist. Lind grounds to Lopez to Betancourt, Stairs out at 2B.
Top 6th: Ibanez strikes out. Beltre singles to CF.Lopez home run to left on the first pitch, Beltre scores. 6-3 Jays. Vidro grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Cairo hit by a pitch. Burke single to third, Cairo to 2B. Betancourt grounds to Eckstein to Inglett, Burke out at 2B.
Bottom 6th: Wilkerson strikes out. Zaun doubles to RF. Inglett singles to CF, Zaun scores. 7-3 Jays. Eckstein at bat wild pitch, Inglett to 2B. Eckstein isingle to SS, Inglett to 3B. Corcoran now pitching. Rios hits sacrifice fly to Suzuki, Inglett scores 8-3 Jays. Eckstein to 2B.On the throw Eckstein to 3B. Overbay strikes out.
Top 7th: Downs pitching. Suzuki grounded out, catcher Zaun to Overbay. Bloomquist grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Ibanez doubles to LF. Beltre strikes out.
Bottom 7th: Stairs strikes out. Rolen grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo. Two down. Lind grounds to Beltre throw to Cairo. Jays go quietly for a change.
Top 8th: League pitching. Lopez grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay. Vidro grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay. Two down. Cairo grounds to Overbay throw to League for the out.
Bottom 8th: Wilkerson grounds to Lopez throw to Cairo.One down. Zaun grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo.Two down. Inglett walks on four pitches. Eckstein strikes out.
Top 9th: Frasor now pitching. LaHair pinch-hitting for Burke singles to CF. Betancourt strikes out. Suzuki singles to CF, his first hit of the series. LaHair to 2B. Reed pinch-hitting for Bloomquist strikes out. Ibanez grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay.
Jays win this one going away 8-3. Go for the sweeep on Sunday with Marcum pitching.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Jays win in extra innings, Inglett the hero.
Friday July 25, 2008. Toronto v Seattle first game.
Jays need to start this series off with a win. It will be hard with Parrish pitching tonight.
Pitching: Parrish v Batista.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Parrish pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Bloomquist, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, Vidro, Cairo, Johjima, Betancourt and Batista pitching.
The very good: Inglett with winning double 2RBIs bottom of the tenth.
The good: Stairs HR. and three hits tonight. Lind two hits. Bullpen once again.
The bad: Rios and Barajas bottom of sixth. Rios first pitch and Barajas twice swinging at ball four, that at bat had impact on next batters where run could have scored with Barajas on base. Overbay in bottom of ninth watches third strike with runner on 2B. What was he thinking? Nine left in scoring position.
The game:
Top 1st: Suzuki grounds back to Parrish throw to Overbay at 1B. One down for Bloomquist, singles to CF. Ibanez with one on walks, Bloomquist to 2B. Beltre at bat grounds to Rolen throw to Inglett throw to Overbay, Ibanez out. Double play.
Bottom 1st: Inglett strikes out. Scutaro fly ball out to Ichiro.Two down. Rios pops out to Cairo 1B. Batista 12 pitches.
Top 2nd: Lopez fly ball out to Lind in LF. Vidro at bat grounds to Rolen to Overbay at 1B. Cairo singles to CF. Johjima doubles to CF, Cairo scores. 1-0 Seattle. Betancourt lines out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 2nd: Jays need to get going here and support Parrish. Overbay at bat gets hold of one but long fly ball out to CF. One down. Barajas same as Overbay long fly ball out to CF, two down. Stairs oh boy…. Long, long overdue Matt. Full count and fouling them off here, just missing them Matt. THAT’S IT Matt, gets hold of that one. HR to Right centre. 1-1. That is SO good to see Matt hit that one. Rolen at bat two down. 29 pitches.
Top 3rd: Ichiro at bat, grounds to SS throw to Overbay gets him at 1B. One down for Bloomquist. Singles to Rios in CF. Second hit for him tonight. Ibanez hit and run on, grounds back to Parrish great stop and throws him out at 1B. Bllomquist too quick for doubling up. Beltre at bat two down. Full count, Parrish is really struggling tonight again. Lines it over Lind’s head, that was catchable. Bloomquist scores 2-1 Seattle. Bloomquist at 2B. Lopez at bat. Singles to CF, Bloomquist scores. 3-1 Seattle all with two outs. Vidro Grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay finally gets this inning over but two more score. 65 ! pitches for Parrish Ouch. Not what management hoped for tonight. But again some run support might help here.
Bottom 3rd: Lind at bat, doubles to RF, is this guy real ??? High off the wall also just missed going out. Wilkerson at bat one on no outs, gotta bring Adam in friends. Grounds to 1B out on the throw, but moves Lind to 3B. Inglett at bat, grounds to Lopez 2B Lind scores. 3-2 Seattle. Inglett out at 1B. Scutaro with two out. Keeps it going singles to LF. Rios at bat, has to start performing consistently, oh boy, waves at first pitch way outside. What does a coach say to this guy? Lines one right at LF. Hard hit but right at Ibanez. Jays scratch one back, Will need more than that, this is also the team with worst record in the league and playing away from home… Come on. 42 pitches.
Top 4th: Parrish really needs to hold them here. Cairo at bat grounds to Scutaro at SS throw to Overbay, one down. Johjima at bat singles up the middle. One on, one down for Betancourt. Johjima picked off at 1B, Parrish is superb at this, coaches should be noting he has been doing this ever since spring training. Two down. Fly ball out to Lind. Parrish escapes here with no more trouble. Can his hitters help him with a big inning here?
Bottom 4th: Overbay, first pitch grounds it to 1B. That’s what drives me so mad. No thinking about how they can help Parrish out here. Lyle, taking a few pitches would help. Barajas at bat, singles to 2B. two quick outs. Stairs at bat, strikes out looking. Jays hitters look awfully flat tonight. 60 pitches.
Top 5th: Ichiro at bat, grounds again to Scutaro, throw to Overbay, one down. Bloomquist 2-2 tonight. Strikes out on wicked pitch here. His first of game. Two down for Ibanez. Two strikes on him, can he finish him off here? Grounds to Scutaro and three up and down, neat inning for Parrish. But may be his last, 93 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Rolen at bat, grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo for the out. Lind at bat, can he ??? YES he can. Lines it off the wall in LF just misses a HR. But hit so hard he can only get one base. .448 since the All-Star break. Wilkerson singles to RF. Inglett now with two on and one down. Full count. Walks and loads bases for Scutaro. Oh man, lines it hard at Betancourt throw to Lopez 2B double play ball as Wilkerson was off base.
Top 6th: Camp pitching. Jays will start to miss long relief Wolfe now in Syracuse. Beltre at bat. Strikes him out. Lopez at bat, walks him. Vidro at bat, grounds to Overbay, thinks about going to 2B but holds it and gets Vidro at 1B. Two down for Cairo with Lopez at 2B. fly ball out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 6th: Rios at bat, grounds first pitch to Betancourt SS, nothing from Alex tonight. Overbay walks on four pitches, and this is another reason to doubt these first pitch swingers, Barajas does not swing ball one. Ball two and six in a row. That’s it for Batista and in the middle of an at bat. 83 pitches. Cesar Jiminez pitching. Full count swing on ball four. Same pitch and strikes out. That was ball four again. Barajas and Rios in my bad file tonight. Two down for Stairs. That’s it Matt, doubles into RF corner, two in scoring position now. Overbay holds at 3B. Barajas at bat now is huge, this game could be tied as Overbay would have been at 2B for Stairs, not only that Barajas would have been at 3B and with only one out. These simple things but thinking hitters would take these advantages. Rolen at bat, Roy Corcoran pitching. Scott 0-2 tonight we need a hit here Scott….. two in scoring position. Strikes out. Barajas part in this will not be seen in the stats.
Top 7th: Johjima at bat, strikes out. Betancourt grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay two down. Ichiro at bat, that one gets him strikes out, very nice pitching relief here by Camp. Has done his job. Three up and down.
Bottom 7th: Jays bats have to appear sometime, don’t they? Lind at bat 2-2. His average is now .321 easily leading the team. WOW. Arthur Rhodes pitching. Pitcher number four for Seattle tonight. Lind, full count. Strikes out on this one. Wilkerson at bat 3-0 and walks on four. One on, one down for top of the order. Inglett at bat, hitless tonight but walked, here a soft fly ball out to Ichiro in shallow RF. Two down for Scutaro. Passed ball and Wilkerson at 2B. That’s it for Rhodes . Number five pitcher Sean Green, 3-0 and now ball four, Scutaro walks. Two on for Rios. Way away overdue, 0-3. Do not swing Alex. Does not. Grounds hard to Betancourt at SS gets Scutaro at 2B. Jays big guy leaves them on again. It will be interesting to see what Vernon does when he comes back and how that will affect Alex, not that he having any pressure leading the team right now, if anyone that seems to be Lind.
Top 8th: League now pitching. Bloomquist grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Ibanez at bat, strikes out. Beltre at bat, hammers this one up the middle but Inglett great diving stop and throw to Overbay gets Beltre. Three up and down. Nice inning for League. He has good stuff he is just so unpredictable like Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Jays have to get something now. Reed now in CF and Bloomquist in LF. JJ Putz pitching. Coming off disabled list slowly before he goes into closer role. Overbay at bat doubles over head of Reed to CF wall. Nice hit Lyle. Barajas at bat, singles up the middle, Overbay hesitates although coach Layva quite rightly waving him in. That was big error Lyle. Run like the wind and watch your coach. Eckstein pinch running at 1B. Stairs at bat, this one will do Matt, singles to RF, his first hit against Putz and third of the night. Overbay scores and this game is tied. 3-3. Rolen at bat with two on here and no outs. Scotty man you are due big time. Not this time. Grounds to Beltre tags Eckstein throw to 1B gets Rolen double play. Lind at bat. McDonald at 2B running for Stairs, Lind strikes out. Jays get one but oh dear that could have been the game.
Top 9th: BJ Ryan pitching. What does he have tonight? Zaun now catching. Lopez fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Vidro at bat, shatters bat as he flies out to Wilkerson, Two down. Cairo at bat singles to RF. Johjima at bat, strikes out. Now it is up the bats.
Bottom 9th: Morrow pitching Wilkerson at bat, full count. Walks him. Inglett at bat. will he be bunting ?? Yes, at least trying to. This time does it to 1B. Inglett out at 1B. Wilkerson at 2B. Scutaro at bat, full count. Walks him for Rios. OK Alex. Hitless tonight 0-4. $65 million?? You have to come through here. Two on, swings and misses, fouls two off into RF crowd. Lines it into RF, hard hit but right at fielder Bloomquist. Two down. Overbay now with two outs. How could he do that, watches ball right down the middle for third strike, that was an awful at bat by Overbay. Not even an attempt at swing. Fast ball Lyle game on the line. Sometimes this team.
Top 10th: Carlson pitching to Betancourt. Pops up to Overbay, one down. Ichiro at bat, grounds to Overbay, throw to Carlson just and only just beats Ichiro. Two down. Bloomquist at bat. Walks him. Come on Jesse. Reed at bat. Bloomquist running on first pitch. Safe at 2B. Lines it to RF Wilkerson, Bloomquist scores. Seattle gets the lead 4-3. Mariners show Jays how it is done with two outs, execution. Beltre fly ball out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 10th: Good news is that neither Rios or Overbay will be at bat this inning. Jays have already left nine in scoring position on base. How can they be so different from the Baltimore series? Fans have left, they have no faith in a comeback. Jays have not won an extra innings game at Rogers this season, are 0-5.Lowe pitching. Zaun at bat, singles into CF. How can a catcher do it when the big bats cannot? McDonald now at bat. Shows bunt. Gets it down and throw to 2B pulls him off the bag, Zaun ruled safe and Johnny Mc safe at 1B. Error on Lowe. two on and no outs. Rolen now can win this here. Showing bunt. So much confidence in him by management. What a waste at bat. Gets it down Cairo throw to 3B gets Zaun, one down. Rolen safe. What a waste of an at bat. He has had one successful bunt in 13 years. One down for Lind takes a strike. High fly ball to CF. two down. Runners do not advance. Wilkerson at bat. 2-12 with runners in scoring position. Full count at least runners will be moving. Walks bases loaded. Excellent at bat by Wilkerson on base four times tonight Inglett YES, YES Joe hits this one very hard to RF and off Ichiro’s glove to the wall, was playing shallow, this is the game……….. two runs score…, WOWEEE Jays improbably win this one 5-4. First extra inning win at home this season in six tries.
Baltimore and Boston both lose.
Jays need to start this series off with a win. It will be hard with Parrish pitching tonight.
Pitching: Parrish v Batista.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson and Parrish pitching.
Seattle: Suzuki, Bloomquist, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, Vidro, Cairo, Johjima, Betancourt and Batista pitching.
The very good: Inglett with winning double 2RBIs bottom of the tenth.
The good: Stairs HR. and three hits tonight. Lind two hits. Bullpen once again.
The bad: Rios and Barajas bottom of sixth. Rios first pitch and Barajas twice swinging at ball four, that at bat had impact on next batters where run could have scored with Barajas on base. Overbay in bottom of ninth watches third strike with runner on 2B. What was he thinking? Nine left in scoring position.
The game:
Top 1st: Suzuki grounds back to Parrish throw to Overbay at 1B. One down for Bloomquist, singles to CF. Ibanez with one on walks, Bloomquist to 2B. Beltre at bat grounds to Rolen throw to Inglett throw to Overbay, Ibanez out. Double play.
Bottom 1st: Inglett strikes out. Scutaro fly ball out to Ichiro.Two down. Rios pops out to Cairo 1B. Batista 12 pitches.
Top 2nd: Lopez fly ball out to Lind in LF. Vidro at bat grounds to Rolen to Overbay at 1B. Cairo singles to CF. Johjima doubles to CF, Cairo scores. 1-0 Seattle. Betancourt lines out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 2nd: Jays need to get going here and support Parrish. Overbay at bat gets hold of one but long fly ball out to CF. One down. Barajas same as Overbay long fly ball out to CF, two down. Stairs oh boy…. Long, long overdue Matt. Full count and fouling them off here, just missing them Matt. THAT’S IT Matt, gets hold of that one. HR to Right centre. 1-1. That is SO good to see Matt hit that one. Rolen at bat two down. 29 pitches.
Top 3rd: Ichiro at bat, grounds to SS throw to Overbay gets him at 1B. One down for Bloomquist. Singles to Rios in CF. Second hit for him tonight. Ibanez hit and run on, grounds back to Parrish great stop and throws him out at 1B. Bllomquist too quick for doubling up. Beltre at bat two down. Full count, Parrish is really struggling tonight again. Lines it over Lind’s head, that was catchable. Bloomquist scores 2-1 Seattle. Bloomquist at 2B. Lopez at bat. Singles to CF, Bloomquist scores. 3-1 Seattle all with two outs. Vidro Grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay finally gets this inning over but two more score. 65 ! pitches for Parrish Ouch. Not what management hoped for tonight. But again some run support might help here.
Bottom 3rd: Lind at bat, doubles to RF, is this guy real ??? High off the wall also just missed going out. Wilkerson at bat one on no outs, gotta bring Adam in friends. Grounds to 1B out on the throw, but moves Lind to 3B. Inglett at bat, grounds to Lopez 2B Lind scores. 3-2 Seattle. Inglett out at 1B. Scutaro with two out. Keeps it going singles to LF. Rios at bat, has to start performing consistently, oh boy, waves at first pitch way outside. What does a coach say to this guy? Lines one right at LF. Hard hit but right at Ibanez. Jays scratch one back, Will need more than that, this is also the team with worst record in the league and playing away from home… Come on. 42 pitches.
Top 4th: Parrish really needs to hold them here. Cairo at bat grounds to Scutaro at SS throw to Overbay, one down. Johjima at bat singles up the middle. One on, one down for Betancourt. Johjima picked off at 1B, Parrish is superb at this, coaches should be noting he has been doing this ever since spring training. Two down. Fly ball out to Lind. Parrish escapes here with no more trouble. Can his hitters help him with a big inning here?
Bottom 4th: Overbay, first pitch grounds it to 1B. That’s what drives me so mad. No thinking about how they can help Parrish out here. Lyle, taking a few pitches would help. Barajas at bat, singles to 2B. two quick outs. Stairs at bat, strikes out looking. Jays hitters look awfully flat tonight. 60 pitches.
Top 5th: Ichiro at bat, grounds again to Scutaro, throw to Overbay, one down. Bloomquist 2-2 tonight. Strikes out on wicked pitch here. His first of game. Two down for Ibanez. Two strikes on him, can he finish him off here? Grounds to Scutaro and three up and down, neat inning for Parrish. But may be his last, 93 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Rolen at bat, grounds to Betancourt throw to Cairo for the out. Lind at bat, can he ??? YES he can. Lines it off the wall in LF just misses a HR. But hit so hard he can only get one base. .448 since the All-Star break. Wilkerson singles to RF. Inglett now with two on and one down. Full count. Walks and loads bases for Scutaro. Oh man, lines it hard at Betancourt throw to Lopez 2B double play ball as Wilkerson was off base.
Top 6th: Camp pitching. Jays will start to miss long relief Wolfe now in Syracuse. Beltre at bat. Strikes him out. Lopez at bat, walks him. Vidro at bat, grounds to Overbay, thinks about going to 2B but holds it and gets Vidro at 1B. Two down for Cairo with Lopez at 2B. fly ball out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 6th: Rios at bat, grounds first pitch to Betancourt SS, nothing from Alex tonight. Overbay walks on four pitches, and this is another reason to doubt these first pitch swingers, Barajas does not swing ball one. Ball two and six in a row. That’s it for Batista and in the middle of an at bat. 83 pitches. Cesar Jiminez pitching. Full count swing on ball four. Same pitch and strikes out. That was ball four again. Barajas and Rios in my bad file tonight. Two down for Stairs. That’s it Matt, doubles into RF corner, two in scoring position now. Overbay holds at 3B. Barajas at bat now is huge, this game could be tied as Overbay would have been at 2B for Stairs, not only that Barajas would have been at 3B and with only one out. These simple things but thinking hitters would take these advantages. Rolen at bat, Roy Corcoran pitching. Scott 0-2 tonight we need a hit here Scott….. two in scoring position. Strikes out. Barajas part in this will not be seen in the stats.
Top 7th: Johjima at bat, strikes out. Betancourt grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay two down. Ichiro at bat, that one gets him strikes out, very nice pitching relief here by Camp. Has done his job. Three up and down.
Bottom 7th: Jays bats have to appear sometime, don’t they? Lind at bat 2-2. His average is now .321 easily leading the team. WOW. Arthur Rhodes pitching. Pitcher number four for Seattle tonight. Lind, full count. Strikes out on this one. Wilkerson at bat 3-0 and walks on four. One on, one down for top of the order. Inglett at bat, hitless tonight but walked, here a soft fly ball out to Ichiro in shallow RF. Two down for Scutaro. Passed ball and Wilkerson at 2B. That’s it for Rhodes . Number five pitcher Sean Green, 3-0 and now ball four, Scutaro walks. Two on for Rios. Way away overdue, 0-3. Do not swing Alex. Does not. Grounds hard to Betancourt at SS gets Scutaro at 2B. Jays big guy leaves them on again. It will be interesting to see what Vernon does when he comes back and how that will affect Alex, not that he having any pressure leading the team right now, if anyone that seems to be Lind.
Top 8th: League now pitching. Bloomquist grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Ibanez at bat, strikes out. Beltre at bat, hammers this one up the middle but Inglett great diving stop and throw to Overbay gets Beltre. Three up and down. Nice inning for League. He has good stuff he is just so unpredictable like Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Jays have to get something now. Reed now in CF and Bloomquist in LF. JJ Putz pitching. Coming off disabled list slowly before he goes into closer role. Overbay at bat doubles over head of Reed to CF wall. Nice hit Lyle. Barajas at bat, singles up the middle, Overbay hesitates although coach Layva quite rightly waving him in. That was big error Lyle. Run like the wind and watch your coach. Eckstein pinch running at 1B. Stairs at bat, this one will do Matt, singles to RF, his first hit against Putz and third of the night. Overbay scores and this game is tied. 3-3. Rolen at bat with two on here and no outs. Scotty man you are due big time. Not this time. Grounds to Beltre tags Eckstein throw to 1B gets Rolen double play. Lind at bat. McDonald at 2B running for Stairs, Lind strikes out. Jays get one but oh dear that could have been the game.
Top 9th: BJ Ryan pitching. What does he have tonight? Zaun now catching. Lopez fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Vidro at bat, shatters bat as he flies out to Wilkerson, Two down. Cairo at bat singles to RF. Johjima at bat, strikes out. Now it is up the bats.
Bottom 9th: Morrow pitching Wilkerson at bat, full count. Walks him. Inglett at bat. will he be bunting ?? Yes, at least trying to. This time does it to 1B. Inglett out at 1B. Wilkerson at 2B. Scutaro at bat, full count. Walks him for Rios. OK Alex. Hitless tonight 0-4. $65 million?? You have to come through here. Two on, swings and misses, fouls two off into RF crowd. Lines it into RF, hard hit but right at fielder Bloomquist. Two down. Overbay now with two outs. How could he do that, watches ball right down the middle for third strike, that was an awful at bat by Overbay. Not even an attempt at swing. Fast ball Lyle game on the line. Sometimes this team.
Top 10th: Carlson pitching to Betancourt. Pops up to Overbay, one down. Ichiro at bat, grounds to Overbay, throw to Carlson just and only just beats Ichiro. Two down. Bloomquist at bat. Walks him. Come on Jesse. Reed at bat. Bloomquist running on first pitch. Safe at 2B. Lines it to RF Wilkerson, Bloomquist scores. Seattle gets the lead 4-3. Mariners show Jays how it is done with two outs, execution. Beltre fly ball out to Wilkerson.
Bottom 10th: Good news is that neither Rios or Overbay will be at bat this inning. Jays have already left nine in scoring position on base. How can they be so different from the Baltimore series? Fans have left, they have no faith in a comeback. Jays have not won an extra innings game at Rogers this season, are 0-5.Lowe pitching. Zaun at bat, singles into CF. How can a catcher do it when the big bats cannot? McDonald now at bat. Shows bunt. Gets it down and throw to 2B pulls him off the bag, Zaun ruled safe and Johnny Mc safe at 1B. Error on Lowe. two on and no outs. Rolen now can win this here. Showing bunt. So much confidence in him by management. What a waste at bat. Gets it down Cairo throw to 3B gets Zaun, one down. Rolen safe. What a waste of an at bat. He has had one successful bunt in 13 years. One down for Lind takes a strike. High fly ball to CF. two down. Runners do not advance. Wilkerson at bat. 2-12 with runners in scoring position. Full count at least runners will be moving. Walks bases loaded. Excellent at bat by Wilkerson on base four times tonight Inglett YES, YES Joe hits this one very hard to RF and off Ichiro’s glove to the wall, was playing shallow, this is the game……….. two runs score…, WOWEEE Jays improbably win this one 5-4. First extra inning win at home this season in six tries.
Baltimore and Boston both lose.
Series Preview Toronto v Seattle
Series Preview Toronto v Seattle. July 25,2008
Obviously once again another important series. Toronto on a win streak of three ! coming back home for six. Seattle first at Rogers Centre with the worst record in the majors. On paper Jays should handle them But as always with this team as inconsistent as they are anything can and will happen. No Burnett or Halladay in the series.
Tonight Parrish, also inconsistent in his three starts so far but has good stuff when he is on, followed by Purcey who has replaced Jesse Litsch and Marcum on Sunday. Litsch will be able to straighten himself out in the minors and will be back sooner than later. Jays have no long relief man now with Wolfe also in Syracuse. That may change if the starters falter.
This home series will probably also decide whether Jays trade Burnett by the 31st. If they go on an extended win streak then may not happen. On the other hand if they lose six then it will not look good at all for this current team makeup.
The good signs in Baltimore were definitely related to the hitting. Lind continued his amazing performance since his recall. Rolen and Overbay are almost there. McDonald was huge surprise with the bat and definitely earned more starting time. Scutaro started to get off track but the final game on the Orioles series was hitting much better. Stairs and Barajas remain big disappointments, Stairs in particular. Zaun hit very well yesterday in his rare start and is pushing Barajas. Eckstein remains on the outside and may be trade bait this week. Scutaro has proven a great utility backup in so many positions which gives him an edge over Eckstein. Wilkerson had a good breakout game yesterday and Mench earlier on the road trip in his return from the minors but both have been so inconsistent and disappointing replacements to date. But Vernon will be back soon and they will revert back to the bench.
In terms of other aspects of the game, the defence has remained strong the several double plays in the Baltimore series, the throwing out of runners has been an improvement and the base stealing by Rios and Inglett in particular has been another weapon although not heavily used yet by Cito.
An interesting week ahead and one that could well determine the direction of the team for the rest of the season. Yankees are in Fenway so Jays can make up some ground this weekend followed by head to head with Tampa next week to really show some spine.
Obviously once again another important series. Toronto on a win streak of three ! coming back home for six. Seattle first at Rogers Centre with the worst record in the majors. On paper Jays should handle them But as always with this team as inconsistent as they are anything can and will happen. No Burnett or Halladay in the series.
Tonight Parrish, also inconsistent in his three starts so far but has good stuff when he is on, followed by Purcey who has replaced Jesse Litsch and Marcum on Sunday. Litsch will be able to straighten himself out in the minors and will be back sooner than later. Jays have no long relief man now with Wolfe also in Syracuse. That may change if the starters falter.
This home series will probably also decide whether Jays trade Burnett by the 31st. If they go on an extended win streak then may not happen. On the other hand if they lose six then it will not look good at all for this current team makeup.
The good signs in Baltimore were definitely related to the hitting. Lind continued his amazing performance since his recall. Rolen and Overbay are almost there. McDonald was huge surprise with the bat and definitely earned more starting time. Scutaro started to get off track but the final game on the Orioles series was hitting much better. Stairs and Barajas remain big disappointments, Stairs in particular. Zaun hit very well yesterday in his rare start and is pushing Barajas. Eckstein remains on the outside and may be trade bait this week. Scutaro has proven a great utility backup in so many positions which gives him an edge over Eckstein. Wilkerson had a good breakout game yesterday and Mench earlier on the road trip in his return from the minors but both have been so inconsistent and disappointing replacements to date. But Vernon will be back soon and they will revert back to the bench.
In terms of other aspects of the game, the defence has remained strong the several double plays in the Baltimore series, the throwing out of runners has been an improvement and the base stealing by Rios and Inglett in particular has been another weapon although not heavily used yet by Cito.
An interesting week ahead and one that could well determine the direction of the team for the rest of the season. Yankees are in Fenway so Jays can make up some ground this weekend followed by head to head with Tampa next week to really show some spine.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Jays win second today, Halladay and the bats together.
Game four of this series Thursday July 24,2008.
Not much time to get ready for next game now but Jays will be happy at least to be in this position especially with Halladay out there. This could open up a two and half game lead on Baltimore and even season once more at .500 going back to Toronto.
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson, Zaun, and Halladay pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakais, Huff, Mora, Scott, Payton, Quiroz, Castro and Daniel Cabrera pitching.
The very good: Pitching and more pitching. Halladay for the win and the bullpen today of Tallett and Frasor to keep that win.
The good: This is a big win for several reasons. One they move ahead of Baltimore by two and half games. They have a three win streak to return to Toronto on a high. The bats came alive. Four players with multi-hit game, Scutaro, Rios, Lind and Wilkerson. Only Inglett and Stairs hitless today but both reached base. Good also to take both games today even though the first one was completing last night’s game, it still seemed like a double header.
The bad: Jays hitters 5/15 with runners in scoring position but on the other hand the five hits were more than enough to win and is a better percentage than previously. And Baltimore had far worse going 0-6 with runners in scoring position.
Top 1st: Inglett leading off, strikes out. Scutaro at bat lines out to 3B Mora. Rios now at bat two down, Jays need a good game from this guy and soon. Singles to CF, that will help. Rios stealing here and safe at 2B. Number 27. Overbay at bat, grounded out, second baseman B.Roberts to first baseman Huff. 12 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Halladay pitching, Roberts singles to CF. Threat to steal here at 1B. Jones at bat pops up to Scutaro at SS Markakis at bat, one down. Strikes out looking. Huff at bat full count, singles to CF. Roberts to 3B. Two on two down for Mora another full count. Grounds it to Inglett. No damage here but close enough. 27 pitch inning though. Roy has to cut pitch count down.
Top 2nd: Stairs at bat. 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. Rolen now with one on. Strikes out on checked swing. Lind at bat singles up the middle, this kid is so good. Stairs at 2B. Two on, one down. Wilkerson 3-30 last at bats. Singles to Markakis in RF. Wilkerson one happy guy.Stairs holds at 3B. Bases loaded. Zaun bases loaded. 0-17 for Gregg. Would love a hit here. Gets the hit fly ball out to Markakis, Stairs tagging but thrown out at the plate. Double play. Oh dear me…. Great throw, BUT lack of speed hurts here. Jays get nothing out of this. 27 pitches after all that.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, Strikes him out. Payton at bat, pops it up to Inglett at 2B, two down. Ex-Jay Quioroz at bat two down, 0-2 and hits him. Castro at bat. Strikes out. 40 pitches. Much better than first inning.
Top 3rd: Inglett at bat, hit hard on his thigh. That was not intentional. Scutaro at bat, Inglett stealing and safe with high throw. Number five on season. Singles to shallow RF. Inglett holds at 3B. Two on no outs. Rios at bat, Jays have had something going all three innings but have no delivered yet. 0-2 count. Down and away but Alex does not swing and a wild pitch brings in Inglett from 3B. 1-0 Jays. Scutaro at 2B. Fly ball out to Markakis in RF. One down. Overbay at bat drops it into LF. Scutaro scores 2-0 Jays and throw wild Overbay to 2B. Stairs at bat gets hold of this and long fly ball out to Jones CF, Overbay half way to 3B and cannot tag stays at 2B. Two down. Rolen at bat. Watches this one down the middle and strikes out, ugly at bat for Scott. 48 pitches now for Cabrera.
Bottom 3rd: Can Halladay shut them down here? Roberts at bat, grounds to Scutaro at SS, throw to Overbay one down. Jones at bat. singles to center. Markakis at bat, has been a real thorn in Jays side this series, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, Two down for Huff, Jones moves to 3B. Huff grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay and leaves Jones at 3B.
Top 4th: Lind at bat doubles to LF second hit in this game, this kid is red hot over the last month and he gives full credit to the new coaching staff. Wilkerson at bat singles to RF, Lind scores. 3-0 Jays. Wilkerson’s second hit after 3-30 slump but in trouble here with Markakis throw behind him to Huff to Castro to Roberts, Wilkerson out. Zaun at bat gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to Markakis in RF corner. Inglett grounds out to Huff but Jays are giving Halladay breathing room here.
Bottom 4th: Mora doubles to CF. Scott strikes out. Payton grounds back to Halladay bounces off his foot to Scutaro throw to Overbay gets Scott, Mora moves to 3B. Halladay escapes one, if it had not hit his foot that would have gone into CF and scored Mora. Quiroz at bat with Mora at 3B. grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay and no damage done.
Top 5th: Scutaro at bat doubles to LF his second hit of the afternoon. Rios at bat fly ball out to Markakis, Scutaro at least able to move up to 3B. Overbay at bat, can he bring him in? Yes Lyle, lifts this one deep enough to Payton in LF and Scutaroi scores 4-0 Jays. Two down for Stairs. Stairs at bat fly ball out to Jones but Jays have another.
Bottom 5th: Castro at bat strikes out. Top of the order Roberts at bat fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Two down for Jones fly ball out to Rios. Good inning for Halladay.
Top 6th: Rolen at bat two strikes outs already today, singles to left gets the monkey off his back.Lind singles to CF, his third hit already today,Rolen moves to 2B. Wilkerson at bat, wild pitch, Rolen to 3B, Lind to 2B.Two in scoring position now for Wilkerson, full count and walks bases loaded for Zaun who has hit ball very hard today. There it goes Zaun singles to CF, Rolen scores, Lind scores and Wilkerson moves to 3B. 6-0 Jays. That’s it for Cabrera replaced by C. Cabrera no relation. Top of the order with no outs and Wilkerson in scoring position at 3B. Inglett fly ball out to Payton too shallow for Wilkerson to score. Scutaro now trying, this time fly ball to Markakis in RF, Wilkerson scores 7-0 Jays. Zaun tags and gets to 2B as difficult throw for Markakis from the corner although Zaun only just beats it out. Rios at bat can he bring in Wilkerson strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Halladay now with a seven run lead. Markakis at bat grounds out to Overbay one down. Huff at bat singles to CF. Mora singles to CF, Huff to 3B with one down. Scott hits one high to Rios in CF, sac fly Huff scores. 7-1 Jays. Payton singles to CF, Mora moves up to 2B.Quiroz at bat two down, two on, strikes out. Halladay escapes further damage but pitch count is high now, no complete game today.
Top 7th: Overbay at bat strikes out. Stairs strikes out. Rolen fly ball to Payton in LF and Jays go quietly this inning.
Bottom 7th: Halladay still pitching Castro fouls out to Inglett. Roberts full count, now walks.Jones grounds back to Halladay throw to Scutaro, Roberts out at 2B. Jones at 1B. for Markakis at bat fly ball out to Lind in LF.
Top 8th: Castillo now pitching. Lind at bat another three hit day for him. Lifts this one to Jones in CF, one down. Wilkerson a two hit day which he will be pleased with fouls this one out to Mora.
Zaun at bat one hit but has hit the ball hard and has two RBIs today grounds this one to Castro at SS throw to Huff for the out.
Bottom 8th: Halladay has finished for the day 119 pitches. Walked one and struck out six, and but for the long first inning on 27 pitches he might still be in there. Tallet now pitching. Huff at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Mora grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay. Two down. Scott at bat, two down, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay. Very efficient thirteen pitch inning to hold it for Halladay.
Top 9th: Fahey in at SS. Castro in at 3B. Sherrill pitching although hardly a save situation, needs the work. Top of Jays order. Inglett strikes out. Hitless tonight but did get on base when he was hit and made the most of it with a stolen base and run. Scutaro at bat two hits today singles to LF for a three hit afternoon.Looks as if he is out of his mini-slump. Rios singles to LF his second of the game, Scutaro moves to 2B. two on for Overbay with only one down. Overbay strikes out.
Stairs at bat,his last chance with runners on fly ball out to Payton. Stairs remains hitless for this game at least.
Bottom 9th: Frasor now pitching and with a big lead ad no one on base, no pressure Jason relax here plus bottom of the order. Payton at bat fly ball out to Wilkerson. Quiroz hitless so far grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, two down. Castro at bat also hitless today, fouls out to Wilkerson and this game is in the books. Frasor three up and down and on twelve pitches.
Jays win 7-1.
Not much time to get ready for next game now but Jays will be happy at least to be in this position especially with Halladay out there. This could open up a two and half game lead on Baltimore and even season once more at .500 going back to Toronto.
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Wilkerson, Zaun, and Halladay pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakais, Huff, Mora, Scott, Payton, Quiroz, Castro and Daniel Cabrera pitching.
The very good: Pitching and more pitching. Halladay for the win and the bullpen today of Tallett and Frasor to keep that win.
The good: This is a big win for several reasons. One they move ahead of Baltimore by two and half games. They have a three win streak to return to Toronto on a high. The bats came alive. Four players with multi-hit game, Scutaro, Rios, Lind and Wilkerson. Only Inglett and Stairs hitless today but both reached base. Good also to take both games today even though the first one was completing last night’s game, it still seemed like a double header.
The bad: Jays hitters 5/15 with runners in scoring position but on the other hand the five hits were more than enough to win and is a better percentage than previously. And Baltimore had far worse going 0-6 with runners in scoring position.
Top 1st: Inglett leading off, strikes out. Scutaro at bat lines out to 3B Mora. Rios now at bat two down, Jays need a good game from this guy and soon. Singles to CF, that will help. Rios stealing here and safe at 2B. Number 27. Overbay at bat, grounded out, second baseman B.Roberts to first baseman Huff. 12 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Halladay pitching, Roberts singles to CF. Threat to steal here at 1B. Jones at bat pops up to Scutaro at SS Markakis at bat, one down. Strikes out looking. Huff at bat full count, singles to CF. Roberts to 3B. Two on two down for Mora another full count. Grounds it to Inglett. No damage here but close enough. 27 pitch inning though. Roy has to cut pitch count down.
Top 2nd: Stairs at bat. 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. Rolen now with one on. Strikes out on checked swing. Lind at bat singles up the middle, this kid is so good. Stairs at 2B. Two on, one down. Wilkerson 3-30 last at bats. Singles to Markakis in RF. Wilkerson one happy guy.Stairs holds at 3B. Bases loaded. Zaun bases loaded. 0-17 for Gregg. Would love a hit here. Gets the hit fly ball out to Markakis, Stairs tagging but thrown out at the plate. Double play. Oh dear me…. Great throw, BUT lack of speed hurts here. Jays get nothing out of this. 27 pitches after all that.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, Strikes him out. Payton at bat, pops it up to Inglett at 2B, two down. Ex-Jay Quioroz at bat two down, 0-2 and hits him. Castro at bat. Strikes out. 40 pitches. Much better than first inning.
Top 3rd: Inglett at bat, hit hard on his thigh. That was not intentional. Scutaro at bat, Inglett stealing and safe with high throw. Number five on season. Singles to shallow RF. Inglett holds at 3B. Two on no outs. Rios at bat, Jays have had something going all three innings but have no delivered yet. 0-2 count. Down and away but Alex does not swing and a wild pitch brings in Inglett from 3B. 1-0 Jays. Scutaro at 2B. Fly ball out to Markakis in RF. One down. Overbay at bat drops it into LF. Scutaro scores 2-0 Jays and throw wild Overbay to 2B. Stairs at bat gets hold of this and long fly ball out to Jones CF, Overbay half way to 3B and cannot tag stays at 2B. Two down. Rolen at bat. Watches this one down the middle and strikes out, ugly at bat for Scott. 48 pitches now for Cabrera.
Bottom 3rd: Can Halladay shut them down here? Roberts at bat, grounds to Scutaro at SS, throw to Overbay one down. Jones at bat. singles to center. Markakis at bat, has been a real thorn in Jays side this series, grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, Two down for Huff, Jones moves to 3B. Huff grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay and leaves Jones at 3B.
Top 4th: Lind at bat doubles to LF second hit in this game, this kid is red hot over the last month and he gives full credit to the new coaching staff. Wilkerson at bat singles to RF, Lind scores. 3-0 Jays. Wilkerson’s second hit after 3-30 slump but in trouble here with Markakis throw behind him to Huff to Castro to Roberts, Wilkerson out. Zaun at bat gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to Markakis in RF corner. Inglett grounds out to Huff but Jays are giving Halladay breathing room here.
Bottom 4th: Mora doubles to CF. Scott strikes out. Payton grounds back to Halladay bounces off his foot to Scutaro throw to Overbay gets Scott, Mora moves to 3B. Halladay escapes one, if it had not hit his foot that would have gone into CF and scored Mora. Quiroz at bat with Mora at 3B. grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay and no damage done.
Top 5th: Scutaro at bat doubles to LF his second hit of the afternoon. Rios at bat fly ball out to Markakis, Scutaro at least able to move up to 3B. Overbay at bat, can he bring him in? Yes Lyle, lifts this one deep enough to Payton in LF and Scutaroi scores 4-0 Jays. Two down for Stairs. Stairs at bat fly ball out to Jones but Jays have another.
Bottom 5th: Castro at bat strikes out. Top of the order Roberts at bat fly ball out to Wilkerson in RF. Two down for Jones fly ball out to Rios. Good inning for Halladay.
Top 6th: Rolen at bat two strikes outs already today, singles to left gets the monkey off his back.Lind singles to CF, his third hit already today,Rolen moves to 2B. Wilkerson at bat, wild pitch, Rolen to 3B, Lind to 2B.Two in scoring position now for Wilkerson, full count and walks bases loaded for Zaun who has hit ball very hard today. There it goes Zaun singles to CF, Rolen scores, Lind scores and Wilkerson moves to 3B. 6-0 Jays. That’s it for Cabrera replaced by C. Cabrera no relation. Top of the order with no outs and Wilkerson in scoring position at 3B. Inglett fly ball out to Payton too shallow for Wilkerson to score. Scutaro now trying, this time fly ball to Markakis in RF, Wilkerson scores 7-0 Jays. Zaun tags and gets to 2B as difficult throw for Markakis from the corner although Zaun only just beats it out. Rios at bat can he bring in Wilkerson strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Halladay now with a seven run lead. Markakis at bat grounds out to Overbay one down. Huff at bat singles to CF. Mora singles to CF, Huff to 3B with one down. Scott hits one high to Rios in CF, sac fly Huff scores. 7-1 Jays. Payton singles to CF, Mora moves up to 2B.Quiroz at bat two down, two on, strikes out. Halladay escapes further damage but pitch count is high now, no complete game today.
Top 7th: Overbay at bat strikes out. Stairs strikes out. Rolen fly ball to Payton in LF and Jays go quietly this inning.
Bottom 7th: Halladay still pitching Castro fouls out to Inglett. Roberts full count, now walks.Jones grounds back to Halladay throw to Scutaro, Roberts out at 2B. Jones at 1B. for Markakis at bat fly ball out to Lind in LF.
Top 8th: Castillo now pitching. Lind at bat another three hit day for him. Lifts this one to Jones in CF, one down. Wilkerson a two hit day which he will be pleased with fouls this one out to Mora.
Zaun at bat one hit but has hit the ball hard and has two RBIs today grounds this one to Castro at SS throw to Huff for the out.
Bottom 8th: Halladay has finished for the day 119 pitches. Walked one and struck out six, and but for the long first inning on 27 pitches he might still be in there. Tallet now pitching. Huff at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Mora grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay. Two down. Scott at bat, two down, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay. Very efficient thirteen pitch inning to hold it for Halladay.
Top 9th: Fahey in at SS. Castro in at 3B. Sherrill pitching although hardly a save situation, needs the work. Top of Jays order. Inglett strikes out. Hitless tonight but did get on base when he was hit and made the most of it with a stolen base and run. Scutaro at bat two hits today singles to LF for a three hit afternoon.Looks as if he is out of his mini-slump. Rios singles to LF his second of the game, Scutaro moves to 2B. two on for Overbay with only one down. Overbay strikes out.
Stairs at bat,his last chance with runners on fly ball out to Payton. Stairs remains hitless for this game at least.
Bottom 9th: Frasor now pitching and with a big lead ad no one on base, no pressure Jason relax here plus bottom of the order. Payton at bat fly ball out to Wilkerson. Quiroz hitless so far grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, two down. Castro at bat also hitless today, fouls out to Wilkerson and this game is in the books. Frasor three up and down and on twelve pitches.
Jays win 7-1.
Burnett and Jays win suspended game
Game three continues from last night susspensionwith Jays ahead 2-1..
Top 7th: Lind singles, McDonald bunts Lind to 2B. Inglett at bat full count. Strikes out two down. Scutaro at bat. Grounds to 3B hits bag and Mora saves run and throw to 1B not on time. Scutaro safe and Lind at 3B for Rios now. Alex swing and misses, takes one that was down the middle swings at the next and now two strikes, yes you got it pitch down and away and strikes out. My dog could get that guy out. Either his head is totally messed up with the coaching changes or he is just terrible. He was bad before so it cannot be the coaching staff. Leaves Lind at 3B.
Bottom 7th: Camp pitching three up and down inning.
Top 8th: Cormier pitching Overbay leadoff double into LF corner. Barajas can’t make up his mind to swing or not and with two strikes on him pops up to Millar, what a waste at bat. Stairs now intentional walk. Stairs is hardly a threat, they are playing percentages for Jays double play ball. Bierd now pitching Rolen at bat, two on and one down. Walks bases loaded. Patient Rolen here. Lind at bat, Grounds to Millar oh dear, throw to home is wild over catcher’s head two runs score. That was an easy out at plate. 4-1 Jays, still with one out two in scoring position, this could be the game friends. McDonald at bat, fly ball to LF corner, Rolen scores and Lind tags to 3B 5-1 nice hitting Johnny Mc. Inglett at bat, can he bring in Lind? Grounds it to Roberts throw to Millar gets Inglett, but error on Millar opens the gates for Jays.
Bottom 8th: Wilkerson in at RF, Downs pitching. Castro at bat. Singles into LF. Roberts at bat. singles to Rf. Two on and Downs does NOT look sharp here so far. Two on and no outs. Jones at bat can make it interesting with one swing. That’s much better, ground ball to Johnny Mc flip to Scutaro throw to Overbay, double play ball. Two down for Markakis with Castro now at 3B. 0-2 count now, grounds to Johnny Mc and throw to Overbay. Downs escapes further damage.
Top 9th: Jays would love to add a few here with top of the order at bat. Scutaro and Rios?/Wilkerson. Two down for Overbay 2-4 in this game. Continues by walking. Barajas at bat, hit on the upper arm, Stairs at bat, can he get hold of one and put this game away ? Strikes out and his woes continue.
Bottom 9th: Downs trying to finish this one off. Huff at bat, fouls it hard off his foot that hurts. He may not be hitting in the second game today. Strikes out. His mind was definitely on an ice pack. One down for Mora at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay and Orioles down to their last out. Scott at bat, pops it up to Barajas and this game is over.
Jays win huge here and a game that started at 7.05pm last night is just over at 1.25pm next day. BUT AJ Burnett is very happy with win number 11 and Jays take the win 5-1 as it means that they go one and half above Baltimore and even if they lose next game they will leave Baltimore ahead of the Orioles which was one of their goals. However they have a chance now to go one and half games up.
The very good: Burnett of course from last night. Today Overbay,Lind and McDonald get the gold stars.Along with the bullpen Campo and Downs to finish it off.
The bad. Rios and his bat. As I mentioned earier he is either totally confused now by the coaching staff on what to do with his swing or he is just awful.The at bat ion the seventh with Lind at 3B was one we have seen far too many times this season.Poor pitch selection, swings at the bad ones, head in the air, off the back foot, leaves the one pitch down the middle, and then strikes out on the third down and away.
Top 7th: Lind singles, McDonald bunts Lind to 2B. Inglett at bat full count. Strikes out two down. Scutaro at bat. Grounds to 3B hits bag and Mora saves run and throw to 1B not on time. Scutaro safe and Lind at 3B for Rios now. Alex swing and misses, takes one that was down the middle swings at the next and now two strikes, yes you got it pitch down and away and strikes out. My dog could get that guy out. Either his head is totally messed up with the coaching changes or he is just terrible. He was bad before so it cannot be the coaching staff. Leaves Lind at 3B.
Bottom 7th: Camp pitching three up and down inning.
Top 8th: Cormier pitching Overbay leadoff double into LF corner. Barajas can’t make up his mind to swing or not and with two strikes on him pops up to Millar, what a waste at bat. Stairs now intentional walk. Stairs is hardly a threat, they are playing percentages for Jays double play ball. Bierd now pitching Rolen at bat, two on and one down. Walks bases loaded. Patient Rolen here. Lind at bat, Grounds to Millar oh dear, throw to home is wild over catcher’s head two runs score. That was an easy out at plate. 4-1 Jays, still with one out two in scoring position, this could be the game friends. McDonald at bat, fly ball to LF corner, Rolen scores and Lind tags to 3B 5-1 nice hitting Johnny Mc. Inglett at bat, can he bring in Lind? Grounds it to Roberts throw to Millar gets Inglett, but error on Millar opens the gates for Jays.
Bottom 8th: Wilkerson in at RF, Downs pitching. Castro at bat. Singles into LF. Roberts at bat. singles to Rf. Two on and Downs does NOT look sharp here so far. Two on and no outs. Jones at bat can make it interesting with one swing. That’s much better, ground ball to Johnny Mc flip to Scutaro throw to Overbay, double play ball. Two down for Markakis with Castro now at 3B. 0-2 count now, grounds to Johnny Mc and throw to Overbay. Downs escapes further damage.
Top 9th: Jays would love to add a few here with top of the order at bat. Scutaro and Rios?/Wilkerson. Two down for Overbay 2-4 in this game. Continues by walking. Barajas at bat, hit on the upper arm, Stairs at bat, can he get hold of one and put this game away ? Strikes out and his woes continue.
Bottom 9th: Downs trying to finish this one off. Huff at bat, fouls it hard off his foot that hurts. He may not be hitting in the second game today. Strikes out. His mind was definitely on an ice pack. One down for Mora at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay and Orioles down to their last out. Scott at bat, pops it up to Barajas and this game is over.
Jays win huge here and a game that started at 7.05pm last night is just over at 1.25pm next day. BUT AJ Burnett is very happy with win number 11 and Jays take the win 5-1 as it means that they go one and half above Baltimore and even if they lose next game they will leave Baltimore ahead of the Orioles which was one of their goals. However they have a chance now to go one and half games up.
The very good: Burnett of course from last night. Today Overbay,Lind and McDonald get the gold stars.Along with the bullpen Campo and Downs to finish it off.
The bad. Rios and his bat. As I mentioned earier he is either totally confused now by the coaching staff on what to do with his swing or he is just awful.The at bat ion the seventh with Lind at 3B was one we have seen far too many times this season.Poor pitch selection, swings at the bad ones, head in the air, off the back foot, leaves the one pitch down the middle, and then strikes out on the third down and away.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Game suspended but Rios, Overbay and Burnett combine to get ahead.
Toronto v Baltimore Game 3 of series Wednesday July 23, 2008.
Series 1-1. Jays have Burnett and Halladay to finish off but they don’t want to split last two. They need these games to move. Yankees have already won today as have Tampa. Boston all tied up in Seattle in the eighth inning.
Pitching Burnett. 10-9 4.84 ERA v Guthrie. 6-7 3.60 ERA
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, McDonald and Burnett pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Fahey and Guthrie pitching.
The game:
Top 1st: Inglett leading off tonight. Jays wearing their retro powder blue outfit to support Baltimore wearing their own retro outfit to celebrate 25th anniversary of last World Series championship. There are 23 players from that team here tonight. Inglett walks on five pitches. Scutaro at bat, had an awful night last night. 0-5. But never looked confident at all. Grounds to 3B throw to Roberts gets Inglett but Scutaro too fast for doubling up. But this is the third game in a row Jays get a runner on and then next guy gets him out. Rios good night last night. Strikes out here, nowhere near the pitch. Two down for Overbay moving up in the order but deservedly so. Feeble roller to Millar 1B and Jays go very quietly. Wouldn’t it be nice one day to have a three or four run inning to start off the game for the Jays pitchers? We dream, we hope. 15 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Roberts lead off. Wicked breaking ball to strike him out. One down for Jones. Strikes out on three pitches another wicked curve gets him swinging way off the ball. Markakis at bat, two down. First ball here in the first ten pitches by AJ. Singles up the middle. One on. Huff at bat. Singles to Rios in CF. Two on two down. Mora at bat, grounds to Rolen. Throw to Overbay to get him. 17 pitches.
Top 2nd: Barajas at bat not a good night either last night. Strikes out on three pitches. Swings wildly off plate. Stairs at bat, strikes out, number three for Guthrie. Rolen at bat, gets hold of this one but lines out to Jones in CF. 29 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, doubles off LF wall. Millar bat one on, full count. Very nice breaking ball to strike him out. One down one on. Hernandez at bat. Full count, grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay, two down. Scott moves to 3B. Fahey with two down and one on. Strikes him out 37 pitches.
Top 3rd: Adam Lind at bat. Singles into LF, continuing on from last night’s great 4-5 game at bat. McDonald at bat, one on and no outs. Lind stealing and safe at 2B. Hit and run was on but Johnny Mc could not get it. Now lifts it into no-man’s land in shallow CF. Lind to 3B and Johnny Mc safe. Inglett at bat, no outs and runner at 3B. Inglett taps it to 3B Guthrie fields it himself and throws out Inglett at 1B but McDonald gets to 2B and two in scoring position now for Scutaro, definitely needs a hit about now. Grounds it to Roberts at 2B scores Lind McDonald to 3B. 1-0 Jays. Two down for Rios now with Johnny Mc at 3B. Bounces it to 3B throw to Millar at1B gets Alex. Jays do get one but …. This could have been big inning with Lind at 2B and no one out. 53 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Roberts at bat. Grounds to McDonald at SS, throw to Overbay and one down. Jones at bat Markakis, 3-0 count. Bounces it to McDonald throw to Overbay, two down. Markakis first pitch fly ball out to Rios. Great inning for AJ. 48 pitches.
Top 4th: Overbay first pitch fly ball out to Scott in LF. Barajas at bat one down. Singles into LF. One on one down for Stairs, would love to see Matt get big one here. Strikes out. Two down for Rolen. Singles to LF. Barajas moves to 2B. Two on two down. Lind at bat, not this time Adam, lines it to Roberts at 2B throw to Millar to get Lind. 66 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Huff at bat, triples off the wall in left centre. Mora grounds to McDonald throw late at 1B. Mora safe and Huff scores 1-1. Scott at bat. Fly ball out to Rios. One down. Mora tags but holds on Rios throw. Millar at bat, first pitch pops it up to Overbay at 1B. Two down. Hernandez at bat, one on two down. Rain threatening, grounds crew ready at the tarp. They have Mora picked off here and tagged out at 2B. 63 pitches.
Top 5th: McDonald leading off. Grounds to SS Fahey, throws him out at 1B. One down. Inglett at bat, pops it up to Fahey, two down. Scutaro at bat. Grounds up the middle to Roberts gets Scutaro at 1B. But a much better at bat by Marco there. Fouling off several pitches. 80 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Hernandez at bat. Strikes him out. One down. Number five for AJ. Fahey at bat, strikes him out, number six. Leads the league at 138 strike outs. Roberts at bat, doubles down the 3B line. Jones with one on and two down. Strikes him out and the side. Seven on the night. Important also to hold the Orioles at 1-1 as game would be official and with rain imminent Jays don’t want to default this one. 80 pitches.
Top 6th: Rios now high ball goes after it and hammers it to CF. Overbay at bat, same reasoning also applies to Jays scoring here. Get that leading run before the monsoons. Alex stealing and safe with number 26 for the year. Cito wants this run. Now can they bring him in. Full count to Lyle. Here it comes, Lyle doubles into CF Alex scores easily and Lyle at 2B. Jays are ahead now 2-1. Barajas at bat, no outs. That is huge run if this game is called. Hernandez injured on his unprotected hand. Rain is falling. Grounds to Fahey at SS, throws out Barajas at 1B Barajas to 3B. One down for Stairs, grounds out to Mora. Throw to Millar at 1B gets Stairs, Barajas holds at 3B. Rolen now with two down, takes one pitch. Umpire calls play…. Jays are ahead 2-1.
Game is supended with Jays leading.
Series 1-1. Jays have Burnett and Halladay to finish off but they don’t want to split last two. They need these games to move. Yankees have already won today as have Tampa. Boston all tied up in Seattle in the eighth inning.
Pitching Burnett. 10-9 4.84 ERA v Guthrie. 6-7 3.60 ERA
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, McDonald and Burnett pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Fahey and Guthrie pitching.
The game:
Top 1st: Inglett leading off tonight. Jays wearing their retro powder blue outfit to support Baltimore wearing their own retro outfit to celebrate 25th anniversary of last World Series championship. There are 23 players from that team here tonight. Inglett walks on five pitches. Scutaro at bat, had an awful night last night. 0-5. But never looked confident at all. Grounds to 3B throw to Roberts gets Inglett but Scutaro too fast for doubling up. But this is the third game in a row Jays get a runner on and then next guy gets him out. Rios good night last night. Strikes out here, nowhere near the pitch. Two down for Overbay moving up in the order but deservedly so. Feeble roller to Millar 1B and Jays go very quietly. Wouldn’t it be nice one day to have a three or four run inning to start off the game for the Jays pitchers? We dream, we hope. 15 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Roberts lead off. Wicked breaking ball to strike him out. One down for Jones. Strikes out on three pitches another wicked curve gets him swinging way off the ball. Markakis at bat, two down. First ball here in the first ten pitches by AJ. Singles up the middle. One on. Huff at bat. Singles to Rios in CF. Two on two down. Mora at bat, grounds to Rolen. Throw to Overbay to get him. 17 pitches.
Top 2nd: Barajas at bat not a good night either last night. Strikes out on three pitches. Swings wildly off plate. Stairs at bat, strikes out, number three for Guthrie. Rolen at bat, gets hold of this one but lines out to Jones in CF. 29 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, doubles off LF wall. Millar bat one on, full count. Very nice breaking ball to strike him out. One down one on. Hernandez at bat. Full count, grounds to Scutaro, throw to Overbay, two down. Scott moves to 3B. Fahey with two down and one on. Strikes him out 37 pitches.
Top 3rd: Adam Lind at bat. Singles into LF, continuing on from last night’s great 4-5 game at bat. McDonald at bat, one on and no outs. Lind stealing and safe at 2B. Hit and run was on but Johnny Mc could not get it. Now lifts it into no-man’s land in shallow CF. Lind to 3B and Johnny Mc safe. Inglett at bat, no outs and runner at 3B. Inglett taps it to 3B Guthrie fields it himself and throws out Inglett at 1B but McDonald gets to 2B and two in scoring position now for Scutaro, definitely needs a hit about now. Grounds it to Roberts at 2B scores Lind McDonald to 3B. 1-0 Jays. Two down for Rios now with Johnny Mc at 3B. Bounces it to 3B throw to Millar at1B gets Alex. Jays do get one but …. This could have been big inning with Lind at 2B and no one out. 53 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Roberts at bat. Grounds to McDonald at SS, throw to Overbay and one down. Jones at bat Markakis, 3-0 count. Bounces it to McDonald throw to Overbay, two down. Markakis first pitch fly ball out to Rios. Great inning for AJ. 48 pitches.
Top 4th: Overbay first pitch fly ball out to Scott in LF. Barajas at bat one down. Singles into LF. One on one down for Stairs, would love to see Matt get big one here. Strikes out. Two down for Rolen. Singles to LF. Barajas moves to 2B. Two on two down. Lind at bat, not this time Adam, lines it to Roberts at 2B throw to Millar to get Lind. 66 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Huff at bat, triples off the wall in left centre. Mora grounds to McDonald throw late at 1B. Mora safe and Huff scores 1-1. Scott at bat. Fly ball out to Rios. One down. Mora tags but holds on Rios throw. Millar at bat, first pitch pops it up to Overbay at 1B. Two down. Hernandez at bat, one on two down. Rain threatening, grounds crew ready at the tarp. They have Mora picked off here and tagged out at 2B. 63 pitches.
Top 5th: McDonald leading off. Grounds to SS Fahey, throws him out at 1B. One down. Inglett at bat, pops it up to Fahey, two down. Scutaro at bat. Grounds up the middle to Roberts gets Scutaro at 1B. But a much better at bat by Marco there. Fouling off several pitches. 80 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Hernandez at bat. Strikes him out. One down. Number five for AJ. Fahey at bat, strikes him out, number six. Leads the league at 138 strike outs. Roberts at bat, doubles down the 3B line. Jones with one on and two down. Strikes him out and the side. Seven on the night. Important also to hold the Orioles at 1-1 as game would be official and with rain imminent Jays don’t want to default this one. 80 pitches.
Top 6th: Rios now high ball goes after it and hammers it to CF. Overbay at bat, same reasoning also applies to Jays scoring here. Get that leading run before the monsoons. Alex stealing and safe with number 26 for the year. Cito wants this run. Now can they bring him in. Full count to Lyle. Here it comes, Lyle doubles into CF Alex scores easily and Lyle at 2B. Jays are ahead now 2-1. Barajas at bat, no outs. That is huge run if this game is called. Hernandez injured on his unprotected hand. Rain is falling. Grounds to Fahey at SS, throws out Barajas at 1B Barajas to 3B. One down for Stairs, grounds out to Mora. Throw to Millar at 1B gets Stairs, Barajas holds at 3B. Rolen now with two down, takes one pitch. Umpire calls play…. Jays are ahead 2-1.
Game is supended with Jays leading.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Lind and Johnny Mc win this one big for Jays tonight
Jays v Orioles Game two of four. Tuesday July 22, 2008.
It is after a game like last night’s that you realize why so many people love baseball and why it is the American national game.
Baseball is a game of dreams and hope. Last night every Jays fan went to bed upset, furious, disappointed, vowing never to watch again. But a funny thing happens by the time lunch rolls around on the next day fans start to think about tonight’s game and hope, wish and anticipate. Will tonight’s game be THE game? This is why there are 162 games in a season, quite a ridiculous number when you think about it and that is just for the non-play off teams.
But the longer the season, the greater the hope. This is the American psyche and many others around the world watching this game and their team even thought the odds are hopeless, just wishing and hoping that tonight will be the night of the grand slam, the perfect game and the six run comeback in the ninth. How else can you describe the Boston fans waiting for 90 years for a championship ? I won’t go to the Toronto hockey scene this is a baseball blog after all.
But tonight is a new night. Marcum is back and Jays have their hopes on show, you know deep down that they don’t enjoy losing and being bottom of the division.
Let’s sit back and enjoy and perhaps tonight is the night the big run starts. After all we don’t forget the May and how the Jays went 20-10… do we ?
Olson pitching. (6-5, 5.79 ERA) v Marcum (5-4,.265 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios, Barajas, Overbay, Rolen, Lind, Mench, McDonald, and Marcum pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Castro and Olsen pitching.
Result: Jays win a squeaker 10-8 but it is a much needed W and a much needed ego booster.
The very good: Lind 5-5 and bottom of the order hitters Johnny Mc with four RBI night. The Bullpen. And Jays never gave up coming back from 0-4 score and again 6-7. Heart tonight.
The good: Ten runs for first time since June 24 v Cincinatti, a long time.
The bad: Rios, Scutaro at bats and bases loaded hitters or lack of. Alex does redeem himself with his HR but I would still love to see him use his head more. Scutaro leaves five on.
Top 1st: Eckstein leading off, is the DH tonight to get him in there, singles here to RF nice start. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Roberts throw to 2B gets lead runner Eckstein but at least no chance for double play. Rios now at bat, one on and one down. Gets hold of it but under the ball and high fly ball out to Scott in LF. Two down. Barajas at bat grounds out weakly to Mora throw to 2B gets Scutaro. Wasted leadoff single. Cito has to start to be more aggressive on the bases to get this team fired up. 16 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Will Orioles hitters be patient against Marcum tonight knowing that he has 65-70 pitch count. No second pitch pop up to Lind in shallow left one down. Jones at bat, hits him in the back. One on one down, Markakis at bat, there it goes, deep into RF , two run Home run and Baltimore gets out early 2-0. This is the fifth HR off Marcum by Markakis going 8-16. Not quite the start Marcum had hoped for. Huff at bat one down, strikes out on three pitches, two down. Mora at bat. Lifts this one into CF Rios. 15 pitches.
Top 2nd: Can Jays hitters break out tonight and at least give Marcum some support here? Overbay at bat, grounds weakly to Roberts throw to Millar at 1B one down. Rolen at bat one down, gets under this one and lazy fly ball out to Jones in CF. Two down and Lind at bat. Yes Adam singles into CF past a diving Roberts. This kid has been a great asset this time around. Kevin Mench at bat playing RF tonight. Nice at bat by Mench here fouling off pitch after pitch to the right and now doubles into LF corner. Both runners in scoring position for Johnny Mc. 3-0 count, now walks on four to load bases. Two very good thinking at bats by Jays number eight and nine hitters. Now Eckstein can he single here? Grounds to Mora, steps on 3B to get Mench sliding. Long inning for Olsen 42 pitches but leaves the bases loaded.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, walks, Millar at bat, lines this one to Rios in CF, Alex seem s to misjudge it but gets it at the wall. One down, one on for Hernandez strikes out, nice pitch for Marcum, two down, Castro at bat, taps a bouncer to Marcum , nice leap to get ball and throw him out at 1B. No damage here this inning. 28 pitches.
Top 3rd: Top of the order again for Jays. Scutaro first pitch swing fly ball out to RF. One down. Rios at bat, also first pitch swing weakly to Roberts what’s wrong with this guy? He never ever uses his head. Two pitches two outs, this is NOT acceptable Cito. Barajas now has to take first strike whether he wants to or not, a little more patient at bat here now a fly ball out to Jones in CF. At least he took six pitches to do it. If the bottom of the order can do it then the professional hitters should be able to. There is no excuse for not thinking each at bat through. And when you have a $65 million contract there are many more reasons to do so. 50 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Roberts at bat, great catch here by Johnny MC leaps to get Roberts here, one down. That could have been a leadoff double. Jones grounds to Rolen cannot handle it maybe error on this. Markakis at bat, walks semi-intentional. Huff now with two on and one down. Lifts this one into shallow CF, bases loaded one down. Mora at bat doubles off the wall in RF two runs score, 4-0 Baltimore, Scott at bat, intentional walk to load them up again and face Millar. Pops up to Lind in shallow LF. Two down. Hernandez at bat with bases still loaded. Lines out to Scutaro. 48 pitches.
Top 4th: It would be nice to see this team get some runs, the pitchers must be so disheartened. Overbay at bat, grounds weakly to Roberts 2B, one down. Rolen now the goat of last inning, 3-0 count, loops it into RF corner, one on one down, Lind at bat singles again into RF, two on now one down. Second hit for Adam tonight. Averaging a hit a game. Would the rest of the team could say that. Mench now at bat, 3-1 count, again patience at bat, Rios and Scutaro can learn something here. Walks bases loaded. All three Jays hitters thinking here at bats. McDonald at bat base loaded for him. Gets it high fly ball out to RF scores Rolen from 3B, 4-1 Baltimore and Eckstein with two on and two down. Lind at 3B, Eckstein sac bunt a great bunt and safe at 1B but Lind goes back to keep bases loaded. Now Scutaro has chance to redeem his last at bat, 3-1 count. Pops it up into LF and Scott gets the catch. Jays leave bases loaded yet again. Scutaro is not having a good game at bat tonight.
Bottom 4th: Castro lines first pitch into CF, Rios catch. One down. Roberts at bat, lines second pitch out to Lind in LF. Three pitches two outs, this is what Marcum needs tonight. Jones at bat, full count after 0-2 count, singles to Mench in RF. Markakis at bat, 0-2 again. grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay third out. Good inning for Marcum. 12 pitches. should be up to 62 maybe one more inning ? Wolfe was optioned to Syracuse to make room for Marcum I would have preferred to see League and/or Frasor go instead, at leaser Wolfe can pitch more than one inning and they will need that tonight with Marcum on pitch count. Good is that both League and Frasor pitched last night.
Top 5th: Rios at bat takes one for a change. 3-0 count. Yes finally gets hold of one and HR number six just creeps over that low wall in LF almost a line drive. 4-2 Baltimore. And of course very Jays fan wishes that had been last inning with all those bases loaded at bats. Ah well. Take one. Barajas at bat grounds to Mora at 3B, throw to 1B one down. Overbay hit on his elbow. One on one down. Rolen now at bat, strikes out. looked high inside. Lind 2-2 tonight, 100 pitches already for Olsen. Full count for Adam, doubles it into RF centre, Overbay was running and gets to 3B. Lind 3-3 tonight and all three at bats have been excellent. Now base hit will score two. Mench at bat, with two down and two on. 3-0 count, now intentional ball four to get to McDonald with bases loaded. YES INDEED Johnny Mc. Golfs this one to LF, just misses going out and a grand slam, off the wall and three runs score. Jays are WINNING this one. 5-4 Jays and four runs to Johnny Mc. That’s it for Olsen. Cabrera pitching. Stairs 1-14 in last four games now pinch hitting for Eckstein, 3-0 count. Full count now, Johnny Mc will be running. AND Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, Matt singles this to LF, Johnny Mc scores. 6-4 Jays. Scutaro at bat, wild swing pops it up to RF. Horrible Marco. What is wrong with this guy tonight? Three awful at bats. Prove me wrong before the end of this one Marco. You of all people.
Bottom 5th: Huff at bat doubles off the wall in CF. Mora at bat, OH NO Shawn….. Mora gets hold of this one to left centre and this is a two run HR to tie this game up 6-6. Scott with no outs strikes out on three pitches. Number three tonight for Marcum. Millar at bat, Marcum at 70 pitches. Full count. Pops it up to McDonald. Two down. Hernandez at bat high fly ball into RF corner and another HR, just inside the foul pole. 7-6 Baltimore. Castro bounces one up the middle past McDonald. That’s it for Shawn, not the best outing but still good to see Marcum back pitching and at least he had some hits to help him. Carlson now with two down and one on. Roberts at bat lines it to Rios in CF.
Top 6th: Jays can come back here. Alex now at bat, was the last one a one off? Gets hold of it but fly ball out to CF. Barajas at bat, swinging and missing badly here. Strikes out looking foolish on that one. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, nice compact swing. Rolen at bat two down one on, full count. Walks on ball inside. Two on two down for Lind, 3-3 already tonight. Can he get that fourth hit? Tough to ask the guy he has only just been called up 22 games ago. That’s it for Cabrera, Alberta Castillo now pitching. WOWEEEE, Yes, he can, Adam gets hold of this one HR to RF corner, three runs score, 9-7 Jays. Lind for President, is 4-4 tonight….. Mench at bat, strikes out but this game is back in Jays corner now, Can they hold on here?
Bottom 6th: Jones at bat, singles to CF. Markakis at bat with one on, YES very nice, grounds to Overbay throw to Johnny MC back to Overbay, excellent double play. Two down for Huff pops up first pitch to Johnny Mc, and that’s the inning.
Top 7th: Can Jays add to this hitfest tonight? twelve hits tonight already and nine runs, long time since they had ten (June 24th) McDonald at bat has had great night at the bat as well as his usual fielding. Pops this one up to Roberts at 2B. One down for Stairs at bat, still in there even with lefty pitching. Full count and now fly ball out to Castro in shallow left centre. Scutaro at bat, 0-4 tonight and has left five hitters on base, he has had horrible night. 0-5 fly ball out to Jones in CF. He definitely wants to go home.
Bottom 7th: Shawn Camp pitching he has to hold it for Downs in the 8th and BJ in ninth. Mora at bat singles it into shallow CF. One on for Scott, Very nice, grounds it to Scutaro flip to McDonald, throw to Overbay double play helps Camp here. Millar at bat, grounds out to Overbay. Very nice work Shawn. Two double plays turned by Jays tonight.
Top 8th: Big bats again, would love to add to this total. Sarfate pitching to Rios. Nice hitting Alex, stays back on this one with his hands and doubles down the RF line. One on for Barajas hitless tonight. Alex is stealing and Barajas singles to RF centre first hit tonight. Alex scores and this is 10-7 Jays now. Overbay at bat strikes out looking. One down one on. Rolen wants in on the party, Fly ball out to Jones in CF. Look who is here, Adam Lind 4-4 tonight and going for a triple for the cycle. Not tonight for Adam loops it into LF for the third out.
Bottom 8th: Oakland are hammering the Rays 7-1 ouch…. but good… Yankees are winning and Boston still to start on the west coast in Seattle. Back in Baltimore, Wilkerson fielding for Mench in RF and Mench goes to LF for Lind. Downs pitching for Jays Hernandez at bat, fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. One down. Castro at bat, grounds to Overbay flip to Downs for out at 1B. Two down. Roberts at bat grounds out to Overbay at 1B.
Top 9th: Mench at bat, has had a good night so far. Full count, strikes out, one down. McDonald a hero tonight, lines out to Millar at 1B. Two down for Stairs at bat, strikes out. Jays go quietly here.
Bottom 9th: BJ Ryan now against his old team. Jones at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF. One down for Markakis doubles to LF corner, one down one on for Huff. Lines into shallow RF great diving catch by Wilkerson two down for Mora. Singles to RF Markakis scores 10-8. Scott at bat Mora at 1B. two down. Full count. Ball four. Walks him. Millar at bat with two down and two on. Fahey in pinch running for Scott. Millar walks bases loaded. Hernandez at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF. Save number 19 for BJ.
Jays move above Baltimore again by half a game, Yankees win and Rays lose, Red Sox just starting. Tonmorrow Burnett followed by Hallady on Thursday, Jays have a chance to make up some ground.
It is after a game like last night’s that you realize why so many people love baseball and why it is the American national game.
Baseball is a game of dreams and hope. Last night every Jays fan went to bed upset, furious, disappointed, vowing never to watch again. But a funny thing happens by the time lunch rolls around on the next day fans start to think about tonight’s game and hope, wish and anticipate. Will tonight’s game be THE game? This is why there are 162 games in a season, quite a ridiculous number when you think about it and that is just for the non-play off teams.
But the longer the season, the greater the hope. This is the American psyche and many others around the world watching this game and their team even thought the odds are hopeless, just wishing and hoping that tonight will be the night of the grand slam, the perfect game and the six run comeback in the ninth. How else can you describe the Boston fans waiting for 90 years for a championship ? I won’t go to the Toronto hockey scene this is a baseball blog after all.
But tonight is a new night. Marcum is back and Jays have their hopes on show, you know deep down that they don’t enjoy losing and being bottom of the division.
Let’s sit back and enjoy and perhaps tonight is the night the big run starts. After all we don’t forget the May and how the Jays went 20-10… do we ?
Olson pitching. (6-5, 5.79 ERA) v Marcum (5-4,.265 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios, Barajas, Overbay, Rolen, Lind, Mench, McDonald, and Marcum pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Castro and Olsen pitching.
Result: Jays win a squeaker 10-8 but it is a much needed W and a much needed ego booster.
The very good: Lind 5-5 and bottom of the order hitters Johnny Mc with four RBI night. The Bullpen. And Jays never gave up coming back from 0-4 score and again 6-7. Heart tonight.
The good: Ten runs for first time since June 24 v Cincinatti, a long time.
The bad: Rios, Scutaro at bats and bases loaded hitters or lack of. Alex does redeem himself with his HR but I would still love to see him use his head more. Scutaro leaves five on.
Top 1st: Eckstein leading off, is the DH tonight to get him in there, singles here to RF nice start. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Roberts throw to 2B gets lead runner Eckstein but at least no chance for double play. Rios now at bat, one on and one down. Gets hold of it but under the ball and high fly ball out to Scott in LF. Two down. Barajas at bat grounds out weakly to Mora throw to 2B gets Scutaro. Wasted leadoff single. Cito has to start to be more aggressive on the bases to get this team fired up. 16 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Will Orioles hitters be patient against Marcum tonight knowing that he has 65-70 pitch count. No second pitch pop up to Lind in shallow left one down. Jones at bat, hits him in the back. One on one down, Markakis at bat, there it goes, deep into RF , two run Home run and Baltimore gets out early 2-0. This is the fifth HR off Marcum by Markakis going 8-16. Not quite the start Marcum had hoped for. Huff at bat one down, strikes out on three pitches, two down. Mora at bat. Lifts this one into CF Rios. 15 pitches.
Top 2nd: Can Jays hitters break out tonight and at least give Marcum some support here? Overbay at bat, grounds weakly to Roberts throw to Millar at 1B one down. Rolen at bat one down, gets under this one and lazy fly ball out to Jones in CF. Two down and Lind at bat. Yes Adam singles into CF past a diving Roberts. This kid has been a great asset this time around. Kevin Mench at bat playing RF tonight. Nice at bat by Mench here fouling off pitch after pitch to the right and now doubles into LF corner. Both runners in scoring position for Johnny Mc. 3-0 count, now walks on four to load bases. Two very good thinking at bats by Jays number eight and nine hitters. Now Eckstein can he single here? Grounds to Mora, steps on 3B to get Mench sliding. Long inning for Olsen 42 pitches but leaves the bases loaded.
Bottom 2nd: Scott at bat, walks, Millar at bat, lines this one to Rios in CF, Alex seem s to misjudge it but gets it at the wall. One down, one on for Hernandez strikes out, nice pitch for Marcum, two down, Castro at bat, taps a bouncer to Marcum , nice leap to get ball and throw him out at 1B. No damage here this inning. 28 pitches.
Top 3rd: Top of the order again for Jays. Scutaro first pitch swing fly ball out to RF. One down. Rios at bat, also first pitch swing weakly to Roberts what’s wrong with this guy? He never ever uses his head. Two pitches two outs, this is NOT acceptable Cito. Barajas now has to take first strike whether he wants to or not, a little more patient at bat here now a fly ball out to Jones in CF. At least he took six pitches to do it. If the bottom of the order can do it then the professional hitters should be able to. There is no excuse for not thinking each at bat through. And when you have a $65 million contract there are many more reasons to do so. 50 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Roberts at bat, great catch here by Johnny MC leaps to get Roberts here, one down. That could have been a leadoff double. Jones grounds to Rolen cannot handle it maybe error on this. Markakis at bat, walks semi-intentional. Huff now with two on and one down. Lifts this one into shallow CF, bases loaded one down. Mora at bat doubles off the wall in RF two runs score, 4-0 Baltimore, Scott at bat, intentional walk to load them up again and face Millar. Pops up to Lind in shallow LF. Two down. Hernandez at bat with bases still loaded. Lines out to Scutaro. 48 pitches.
Top 4th: It would be nice to see this team get some runs, the pitchers must be so disheartened. Overbay at bat, grounds weakly to Roberts 2B, one down. Rolen now the goat of last inning, 3-0 count, loops it into RF corner, one on one down, Lind at bat singles again into RF, two on now one down. Second hit for Adam tonight. Averaging a hit a game. Would the rest of the team could say that. Mench now at bat, 3-1 count, again patience at bat, Rios and Scutaro can learn something here. Walks bases loaded. All three Jays hitters thinking here at bats. McDonald at bat base loaded for him. Gets it high fly ball out to RF scores Rolen from 3B, 4-1 Baltimore and Eckstein with two on and two down. Lind at 3B, Eckstein sac bunt a great bunt and safe at 1B but Lind goes back to keep bases loaded. Now Scutaro has chance to redeem his last at bat, 3-1 count. Pops it up into LF and Scott gets the catch. Jays leave bases loaded yet again. Scutaro is not having a good game at bat tonight.
Bottom 4th: Castro lines first pitch into CF, Rios catch. One down. Roberts at bat, lines second pitch out to Lind in LF. Three pitches two outs, this is what Marcum needs tonight. Jones at bat, full count after 0-2 count, singles to Mench in RF. Markakis at bat, 0-2 again. grounds to Rolen, throw to Overbay third out. Good inning for Marcum. 12 pitches. should be up to 62 maybe one more inning ? Wolfe was optioned to Syracuse to make room for Marcum I would have preferred to see League and/or Frasor go instead, at leaser Wolfe can pitch more than one inning and they will need that tonight with Marcum on pitch count. Good is that both League and Frasor pitched last night.
Top 5th: Rios at bat takes one for a change. 3-0 count. Yes finally gets hold of one and HR number six just creeps over that low wall in LF almost a line drive. 4-2 Baltimore. And of course very Jays fan wishes that had been last inning with all those bases loaded at bats. Ah well. Take one. Barajas at bat grounds to Mora at 3B, throw to 1B one down. Overbay hit on his elbow. One on one down. Rolen now at bat, strikes out. looked high inside. Lind 2-2 tonight, 100 pitches already for Olsen. Full count for Adam, doubles it into RF centre, Overbay was running and gets to 3B. Lind 3-3 tonight and all three at bats have been excellent. Now base hit will score two. Mench at bat, with two down and two on. 3-0 count, now intentional ball four to get to McDonald with bases loaded. YES INDEED Johnny Mc. Golfs this one to LF, just misses going out and a grand slam, off the wall and three runs score. Jays are WINNING this one. 5-4 Jays and four runs to Johnny Mc. That’s it for Olsen. Cabrera pitching. Stairs 1-14 in last four games now pinch hitting for Eckstein, 3-0 count. Full count now, Johnny Mc will be running. AND Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus, Matt singles this to LF, Johnny Mc scores. 6-4 Jays. Scutaro at bat, wild swing pops it up to RF. Horrible Marco. What is wrong with this guy tonight? Three awful at bats. Prove me wrong before the end of this one Marco. You of all people.
Bottom 5th: Huff at bat doubles off the wall in CF. Mora at bat, OH NO Shawn….. Mora gets hold of this one to left centre and this is a two run HR to tie this game up 6-6. Scott with no outs strikes out on three pitches. Number three tonight for Marcum. Millar at bat, Marcum at 70 pitches. Full count. Pops it up to McDonald. Two down. Hernandez at bat high fly ball into RF corner and another HR, just inside the foul pole. 7-6 Baltimore. Castro bounces one up the middle past McDonald. That’s it for Shawn, not the best outing but still good to see Marcum back pitching and at least he had some hits to help him. Carlson now with two down and one on. Roberts at bat lines it to Rios in CF.
Top 6th: Jays can come back here. Alex now at bat, was the last one a one off? Gets hold of it but fly ball out to CF. Barajas at bat, swinging and missing badly here. Strikes out looking foolish on that one. Overbay at bat, singles up the middle, nice compact swing. Rolen at bat two down one on, full count. Walks on ball inside. Two on two down for Lind, 3-3 already tonight. Can he get that fourth hit? Tough to ask the guy he has only just been called up 22 games ago. That’s it for Cabrera, Alberta Castillo now pitching. WOWEEEE, Yes, he can, Adam gets hold of this one HR to RF corner, three runs score, 9-7 Jays. Lind for President, is 4-4 tonight….. Mench at bat, strikes out but this game is back in Jays corner now, Can they hold on here?
Bottom 6th: Jones at bat, singles to CF. Markakis at bat with one on, YES very nice, grounds to Overbay throw to Johnny MC back to Overbay, excellent double play. Two down for Huff pops up first pitch to Johnny Mc, and that’s the inning.
Top 7th: Can Jays add to this hitfest tonight? twelve hits tonight already and nine runs, long time since they had ten (June 24th) McDonald at bat has had great night at the bat as well as his usual fielding. Pops this one up to Roberts at 2B. One down for Stairs at bat, still in there even with lefty pitching. Full count and now fly ball out to Castro in shallow left centre. Scutaro at bat, 0-4 tonight and has left five hitters on base, he has had horrible night. 0-5 fly ball out to Jones in CF. He definitely wants to go home.
Bottom 7th: Shawn Camp pitching he has to hold it for Downs in the 8th and BJ in ninth. Mora at bat singles it into shallow CF. One on for Scott, Very nice, grounds it to Scutaro flip to McDonald, throw to Overbay double play helps Camp here. Millar at bat, grounds out to Overbay. Very nice work Shawn. Two double plays turned by Jays tonight.
Top 8th: Big bats again, would love to add to this total. Sarfate pitching to Rios. Nice hitting Alex, stays back on this one with his hands and doubles down the RF line. One on for Barajas hitless tonight. Alex is stealing and Barajas singles to RF centre first hit tonight. Alex scores and this is 10-7 Jays now. Overbay at bat strikes out looking. One down one on. Rolen wants in on the party, Fly ball out to Jones in CF. Look who is here, Adam Lind 4-4 tonight and going for a triple for the cycle. Not tonight for Adam loops it into LF for the third out.
Bottom 8th: Oakland are hammering the Rays 7-1 ouch…. but good… Yankees are winning and Boston still to start on the west coast in Seattle. Back in Baltimore, Wilkerson fielding for Mench in RF and Mench goes to LF for Lind. Downs pitching for Jays Hernandez at bat, fly ball to Wilkerson in RF. One down. Castro at bat, grounds to Overbay flip to Downs for out at 1B. Two down. Roberts at bat grounds out to Overbay at 1B.
Top 9th: Mench at bat, has had a good night so far. Full count, strikes out, one down. McDonald a hero tonight, lines out to Millar at 1B. Two down for Stairs at bat, strikes out. Jays go quietly here.
Bottom 9th: BJ Ryan now against his old team. Jones at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF. One down for Markakis doubles to LF corner, one down one on for Huff. Lines into shallow RF great diving catch by Wilkerson two down for Mora. Singles to RF Markakis scores 10-8. Scott at bat Mora at 1B. two down. Full count. Ball four. Walks him. Millar at bat with two down and two on. Fahey in pinch running for Scott. Millar walks bases loaded. Hernandez at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF. Save number 19 for BJ.
Jays move above Baltimore again by half a game, Yankees win and Rays lose, Red Sox just starting. Tonmorrow Burnett followed by Hallady on Thursday, Jays have a chance to make up some ground.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Jays awful and lose another with poor hitting.
Monday July 21, 2008. Toronto v Baltimore.
Six of the eight games v Baltimore have been one run wins. Jays have won four of them. Jays need to get to Liz early tonight.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Eckstein and Litcsh pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Fahey and Liz pitching.
The result: Jays lose this one 8-3.
The good: Hard to find anything here but perhaps Scutaro with another two hit game. And on base four times. Rolen and Overbay on base three times.
The bad: Where do we start tonight? Runners left in scoring position, runners left on base, double play, poor pitching by League and Frasor. Litsch didn’t get any run support, I don’t think he pitched too badly.
What to do???? I would designate both Frasor and League for assignment to Syracuse. Mel Queen has evidently been hired and can make them his project until September. Bring up David Purcey. Bench Matt Stairs permanently unless Jays have blowout game either way. It is embarrassing to see the poor guy out there outclassed. Bring up Coats or Snider give them a chance, they cannot do any worse than Stairs and the other hitters. I am still not convinced that Cito is the answer, he has had very little impact on this team. John Gibbons at least had a 20-10 month in May, would send double steals, would try some aggressive ball. Cito unfortunately had the stand pat label before he was hired, and so far I have not had my mind changed. They are not an entertaining team to watch.
The game:
Top 1st: Inglett, Scutaro Rios, Empty stadium tonight at start at least. Inglett at bat. Strikes out on three pitches. Hmm! Perhaps not quite the leadoff anticipated. Scutaro at bat one down, much better at bat, now full count. Walks him. Eight pitch at bat. One on for Rios, can he continue from yesterday’s 3-5 ? No, grounds this one to Mora at 3B throw to Roberts 2B and on to Millar 1B you guessed it, double play ball. And this inning is over. What can you say about this team? The ONLY solution is to get guy on 1B stealing and have no one on 1B. 14 pitches for Liz.
Bottom 1st: Roberts, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Jones at bat, taps it in front of pitcher, Litsch quick to pounce on this and throw to Overbay gets Jones, two down. Markakis at bat grounds to Eckstein and throw to Overbay three up and down, nice tidy inning from Jesse here. 11 pitches.
Top 2nd: Overbay at bat, 3-0 count, walks on four pitches, number two tonight. Now will they have yet another double play ? Barajas at bat 0-13 slump, 2-0 six balls in a row here, singles to LF, but Lyle is stretching it out here just beats the throw. Now two on no outs and one at 3B. Stairs is he ever overdue bigtime. Gets hold of it but not deep enough, to RF Lyle fakes but holds on throw. One down. Rople’s yturn….. that’s better Scott, no nonsense here taking pitches, first pitch singles up the middle, Lyle scores 1-0 Jays. Barajas at 2B two on one down for Adam Lind. Liz throwing a lot of pitches, but strikes out Lind, two down. Eckstein something to prove here. High fly ball out to Jones but Jays are ahead. 32 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Huff at bat, lines this one very hard into RF corner but Inglett moving to his left, very nice catch Joe. One down for Mora, grounds hard to Rolen at 3B, great stop Scott and throw to Overbay just gets Mora. Two down for Scott. Nice pitching Jesse, strike his out swinging. 23 pitches.
Top 3rd: Inglett at bat shows bunt pulls back. Grounds out to Millar at 1B one down for Scutaro. Grounds hard to 3B but great save by Mora and throws out at 1B. Great play saved a single. Two down for Alex at least no double play this time. Dribbles this one to Roberts at 2B, out at 1B. I guess Alex had his big game yesterday, 0-2 tonight. 43 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Millar at bat singles over Eckstein at SS into LF, one on for Ramon Hernandez, doubles over head of Overbay into RF corner, Two on in scoring position and no outs for Fahey. Grounds to Scutaro throw to 1B gets Fahey but Millar scores, 1-1. Hernandez moves to 3B. One down for Roberts very nice Jesse, grounds hard bouncer back to Litsch checks runner at 3B and throws out Roberts at 1B, that certainly helped him there. Two down for Jones, gets hold of this one over Inglett’s head into RF crowd. 3-1 Orioles. Markakis at bat with two outs. walks him, steady here Jesse. Huff at bat. one on two down. Fly ball out to Lind in LF. Jays bats need to wake up here now and get something back. 45 pitches for Jesse.
Top 4th: Big bats Overbay, Barajas and Stairs but… Lyle singles this to RF. Barajas gets hold of one but high fly ball out to RF corner. Almost but not quite. Stairs good hit but lines out hard to Jones in CF. Rolen now, 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. Third walk tonight. Lind with two on and two down. Swings and strikes out. Two left again. 56 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Mora singles up the middle on first pitch, one on. Scott at bat high fly ball out to Rios, Mora tags and gets to 2B. Rios throw is way off. I don’t think Alex thought he would be going. Millar at bat, one down one on. Grounds to Eckstein, Mora in rundown but Millar gets to 2B. Two down. Hernandez ground to Eckstein throw to Overbay and this inning is over without any damage this time. 59 pitches. Jays bats have to give Jesse some run support here. Once again they are making Liz out to be Cy Young.
Top 5th: Eckstein at bat, 3-0 count. Walks on five pitches number four for Liz. Inglett at bat, one on. First pitch fly ball out to Jones in CF. Not a good at bat, Joe, the guy has just walked Eckstein, take a couple. Scutaro also first pitch swinging. Bunting now and misses. , singles up the middle Eckstein at 2B. Two on on down. Rios, 0-2 tonight and not at all comfortable. That’s better doubles this one to the wall, Jones misses it, Eckstein scores 3-2 Orioles, Overbay now with two in scoring position and one down. Intentional walk here. Barajas now with bases loaded. Sarfate up in bullpen. Fly ball to CF Jones, Scutaro scores 3-3 game. Stairs now with two on. Rios stealing and gets to 3B.Throw not in time. Number 25. Stairs strikes out. Matt not your season this year but Jays get two back for Litsch. 78 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Fahey grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay one down. Roberts at bat full count. Grounds it into LF great speed by Roberts to make this a double. Jones at bat, grounds it to Eckstein at SS but throw not in time, two on and no outs. Speed kills. Roberts and Jones. Markakis at bat, high fly ball out to RF Inglett. Roberts tags to 3B. Two down. Huff at bat 3-0 count. Semi intentional walk. Bases loaded with two outs. Mora at bat and League now up in bullpen. Singles up the middle Roberts and Jones score. 5-3 Orioles. That’s it for Litsch. League now pitching. Scott hammers first pitch to RF Huff scores 6-3 Orioles. Millar at bat taps in front and League throws him out at 1B. Damage is done though. However Jays have had more than enough opportunities tonight to chase Liz and have not done much damage at all.
Top 6th: Rolen, Lind and Eckstein can they do anything here ???? Liz has had five walks SO FAR, Rolen pops up to Hernandez. Lind with one down. First pitch fly ball out to RF centre. Jays hitters now are getting frustrated and swinging wildly. Eckstein at bat much more patient here, 3-1 count and walks sixth walk for Liz and that is what I would have thought Lind and Rolen could show. That’s it for Liz. Inglett with one on and two down. Patience Joe. See what this guy has. Sarfate pitching, Inglett singles to LF. Nice at bat. Two on for Scutaro. Takes first two, 3-0 count, Castillo throwing in bullpen. Walks bases loaded for Alex Rios. Big chance here Alex. Head in the air fly ball out to RF. Man this kid needs help bigtime from the new coaching staff.
Bottom 6th: League pitching, Hernandez swinging at pitch way off the plate. Strikes out on three pitches. League has good stuff but has been so wild this season. Fahey number nine, full count but walks him. Roberts at bat with one on and on down. 3-0 count. Wild pitch ball four, another walk. Get him out of there Cito fast. Thank you. Here he comes, no he is leaving him in there, major mistake. Jones at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to Eckstein throw to Overbay double play ball for Jays this time and gets League off the hook.
Top 7th: Jays hitters are 2-8 with runners in scoring position tonight and have left nine on base. Will not win many games like that. The problem is that this puts far too much pressure on the pitchers to throw perfect games and they start to press as Litsch is doing. Chad Bradford throws from the worm’s eye level. Overbay at bat strikes out, one down. Barajas at bat grounds to Mora at 3B throw to Millar for two down. Stairs at bat, why ????? Cito knows best. Grounds to 2B Roberts, throw to Millar and that’s it for hitters. But you have to question why Stairs was left in here. When this team is bad they are awful.
Bottom 7th: League pitching, Markakis grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay one down. Huff at bat, grounds to Overbay two down, Orioles hitters want to get out on town. Mora at bat, lofts it to Scutaro. Three up and down.
Top 8th: Jays hitters have six more at bats to make a difference here but they have NO intensity, and are playing roll over dead ball tonight. Rolen at bat, Jim Johnson pitching. 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. The number eight walk tonight but Jays have little to show for it. Lind with one on, dribbler to Mora great play underhand to 2B to just get Rolen. One down for Eckstein one on. Grounds to Millar at 1B steps on base to get Eckstein, Lind at 2B. Two down for Inglett first pitch ground out to 2B Roberts. Inglett wants out. That’s the game, Sherrill will be up in the ninth and there is no way Jays hitters are going to win this one playing the way they are tonight. I am not impressed with the new hitting coaches and staff, this team has not changed one iota.
Bottom 8th: Frasor now pitching. Scott first pitch swing fly ball out to Rios in CF. Millar at bat, full count, ball four way over Millar’s head. Hernandez at bat, wild pitch, Millar to 2B. There it goes two run HR over Rios’ head and 8-3 game. This team is being embarrassed. Fahey at bat. Good news is that Sherrill will not be pitching. Strikes out. Two down but damage is already done. Roberts at bat for fifth time tonight. 3-0 count. Full count grounds to Overbay and this agony is over.
Top 9th: I am always interested in how Jays hitters react to a hopeless situation, do they have any fire? Do they have any pride? Do they have the ability? Well they are playing now for bottom place in the East tonight and it looks as if they will be down there yet again. Top of the order, what will we see? Scutaro at bat, Randor Bierd pitching. Full count. Grounds one to 3B Mora, but throw not in time, one on for Rios who has not impressed tonight. Swings out striking with head in the air once more on a very bad pitch inside. Rios is not a leader but who is on this team? Overbay with one on and one down. Swings over pitch way outside and strikes out. Two down, Barajas fly ball out to LF Scott and the Jays agony is over for one night at least but they have three more here in Baltimore and the way they are playing they will be in the second division by Thursday, a truly awful performance all round.
Six of the eight games v Baltimore have been one run wins. Jays have won four of them. Jays need to get to Liz early tonight.
Lineups:
Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Overbay, Barajas, Stairs, Rolen, Lind, Eckstein and Litcsh pitching.
Baltimore: Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Huff, Mora, Scott, Millar, Hernandez, Fahey and Liz pitching.
The result: Jays lose this one 8-3.
The good: Hard to find anything here but perhaps Scutaro with another two hit game. And on base four times. Rolen and Overbay on base three times.
The bad: Where do we start tonight? Runners left in scoring position, runners left on base, double play, poor pitching by League and Frasor. Litsch didn’t get any run support, I don’t think he pitched too badly.
What to do???? I would designate both Frasor and League for assignment to Syracuse. Mel Queen has evidently been hired and can make them his project until September. Bring up David Purcey. Bench Matt Stairs permanently unless Jays have blowout game either way. It is embarrassing to see the poor guy out there outclassed. Bring up Coats or Snider give them a chance, they cannot do any worse than Stairs and the other hitters. I am still not convinced that Cito is the answer, he has had very little impact on this team. John Gibbons at least had a 20-10 month in May, would send double steals, would try some aggressive ball. Cito unfortunately had the stand pat label before he was hired, and so far I have not had my mind changed. They are not an entertaining team to watch.
The game:
Top 1st: Inglett, Scutaro Rios, Empty stadium tonight at start at least. Inglett at bat. Strikes out on three pitches. Hmm! Perhaps not quite the leadoff anticipated. Scutaro at bat one down, much better at bat, now full count. Walks him. Eight pitch at bat. One on for Rios, can he continue from yesterday’s 3-5 ? No, grounds this one to Mora at 3B throw to Roberts 2B and on to Millar 1B you guessed it, double play ball. And this inning is over. What can you say about this team? The ONLY solution is to get guy on 1B stealing and have no one on 1B. 14 pitches for Liz.
Bottom 1st: Roberts, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay, one down. Jones at bat, taps it in front of pitcher, Litsch quick to pounce on this and throw to Overbay gets Jones, two down. Markakis at bat grounds to Eckstein and throw to Overbay three up and down, nice tidy inning from Jesse here. 11 pitches.
Top 2nd: Overbay at bat, 3-0 count, walks on four pitches, number two tonight. Now will they have yet another double play ? Barajas at bat 0-13 slump, 2-0 six balls in a row here, singles to LF, but Lyle is stretching it out here just beats the throw. Now two on no outs and one at 3B. Stairs is he ever overdue bigtime. Gets hold of it but not deep enough, to RF Lyle fakes but holds on throw. One down. Rople’s yturn….. that’s better Scott, no nonsense here taking pitches, first pitch singles up the middle, Lyle scores 1-0 Jays. Barajas at 2B two on one down for Adam Lind. Liz throwing a lot of pitches, but strikes out Lind, two down. Eckstein something to prove here. High fly ball out to Jones but Jays are ahead. 32 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Huff at bat, lines this one very hard into RF corner but Inglett moving to his left, very nice catch Joe. One down for Mora, grounds hard to Rolen at 3B, great stop Scott and throw to Overbay just gets Mora. Two down for Scott. Nice pitching Jesse, strike his out swinging. 23 pitches.
Top 3rd: Inglett at bat shows bunt pulls back. Grounds out to Millar at 1B one down for Scutaro. Grounds hard to 3B but great save by Mora and throws out at 1B. Great play saved a single. Two down for Alex at least no double play this time. Dribbles this one to Roberts at 2B, out at 1B. I guess Alex had his big game yesterday, 0-2 tonight. 43 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Millar at bat singles over Eckstein at SS into LF, one on for Ramon Hernandez, doubles over head of Overbay into RF corner, Two on in scoring position and no outs for Fahey. Grounds to Scutaro throw to 1B gets Fahey but Millar scores, 1-1. Hernandez moves to 3B. One down for Roberts very nice Jesse, grounds hard bouncer back to Litsch checks runner at 3B and throws out Roberts at 1B, that certainly helped him there. Two down for Jones, gets hold of this one over Inglett’s head into RF crowd. 3-1 Orioles. Markakis at bat with two outs. walks him, steady here Jesse. Huff at bat. one on two down. Fly ball out to Lind in LF. Jays bats need to wake up here now and get something back. 45 pitches for Jesse.
Top 4th: Big bats Overbay, Barajas and Stairs but… Lyle singles this to RF. Barajas gets hold of one but high fly ball out to RF corner. Almost but not quite. Stairs good hit but lines out hard to Jones in CF. Rolen now, 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. Third walk tonight. Lind with two on and two down. Swings and strikes out. Two left again. 56 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Mora singles up the middle on first pitch, one on. Scott at bat high fly ball out to Rios, Mora tags and gets to 2B. Rios throw is way off. I don’t think Alex thought he would be going. Millar at bat, one down one on. Grounds to Eckstein, Mora in rundown but Millar gets to 2B. Two down. Hernandez ground to Eckstein throw to Overbay and this inning is over without any damage this time. 59 pitches. Jays bats have to give Jesse some run support here. Once again they are making Liz out to be Cy Young.
Top 5th: Eckstein at bat, 3-0 count. Walks on five pitches number four for Liz. Inglett at bat, one on. First pitch fly ball out to Jones in CF. Not a good at bat, Joe, the guy has just walked Eckstein, take a couple. Scutaro also first pitch swinging. Bunting now and misses. , singles up the middle Eckstein at 2B. Two on on down. Rios, 0-2 tonight and not at all comfortable. That’s better doubles this one to the wall, Jones misses it, Eckstein scores 3-2 Orioles, Overbay now with two in scoring position and one down. Intentional walk here. Barajas now with bases loaded. Sarfate up in bullpen. Fly ball to CF Jones, Scutaro scores 3-3 game. Stairs now with two on. Rios stealing and gets to 3B.Throw not in time. Number 25. Stairs strikes out. Matt not your season this year but Jays get two back for Litsch. 78 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Fahey grounds to Eckstein throw to Overbay one down. Roberts at bat full count. Grounds it into LF great speed by Roberts to make this a double. Jones at bat, grounds it to Eckstein at SS but throw not in time, two on and no outs. Speed kills. Roberts and Jones. Markakis at bat, high fly ball out to RF Inglett. Roberts tags to 3B. Two down. Huff at bat 3-0 count. Semi intentional walk. Bases loaded with two outs. Mora at bat and League now up in bullpen. Singles up the middle Roberts and Jones score. 5-3 Orioles. That’s it for Litsch. League now pitching. Scott hammers first pitch to RF Huff scores 6-3 Orioles. Millar at bat taps in front and League throws him out at 1B. Damage is done though. However Jays have had more than enough opportunities tonight to chase Liz and have not done much damage at all.
Top 6th: Rolen, Lind and Eckstein can they do anything here ???? Liz has had five walks SO FAR, Rolen pops up to Hernandez. Lind with one down. First pitch fly ball out to RF centre. Jays hitters now are getting frustrated and swinging wildly. Eckstein at bat much more patient here, 3-1 count and walks sixth walk for Liz and that is what I would have thought Lind and Rolen could show. That’s it for Liz. Inglett with one on and two down. Patience Joe. See what this guy has. Sarfate pitching, Inglett singles to LF. Nice at bat. Two on for Scutaro. Takes first two, 3-0 count, Castillo throwing in bullpen. Walks bases loaded for Alex Rios. Big chance here Alex. Head in the air fly ball out to RF. Man this kid needs help bigtime from the new coaching staff.
Bottom 6th: League pitching, Hernandez swinging at pitch way off the plate. Strikes out on three pitches. League has good stuff but has been so wild this season. Fahey number nine, full count but walks him. Roberts at bat with one on and on down. 3-0 count. Wild pitch ball four, another walk. Get him out of there Cito fast. Thank you. Here he comes, no he is leaving him in there, major mistake. Jones at bat, grounds to Scutaro flip to Eckstein throw to Overbay double play ball for Jays this time and gets League off the hook.
Top 7th: Jays hitters are 2-8 with runners in scoring position tonight and have left nine on base. Will not win many games like that. The problem is that this puts far too much pressure on the pitchers to throw perfect games and they start to press as Litsch is doing. Chad Bradford throws from the worm’s eye level. Overbay at bat strikes out, one down. Barajas at bat grounds to Mora at 3B throw to Millar for two down. Stairs at bat, why ????? Cito knows best. Grounds to 2B Roberts, throw to Millar and that’s it for hitters. But you have to question why Stairs was left in here. When this team is bad they are awful.
Bottom 7th: League pitching, Markakis grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay one down. Huff at bat, grounds to Overbay two down, Orioles hitters want to get out on town. Mora at bat, lofts it to Scutaro. Three up and down.
Top 8th: Jays hitters have six more at bats to make a difference here but they have NO intensity, and are playing roll over dead ball tonight. Rolen at bat, Jim Johnson pitching. 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. The number eight walk tonight but Jays have little to show for it. Lind with one on, dribbler to Mora great play underhand to 2B to just get Rolen. One down for Eckstein one on. Grounds to Millar at 1B steps on base to get Eckstein, Lind at 2B. Two down for Inglett first pitch ground out to 2B Roberts. Inglett wants out. That’s the game, Sherrill will be up in the ninth and there is no way Jays hitters are going to win this one playing the way they are tonight. I am not impressed with the new hitting coaches and staff, this team has not changed one iota.
Bottom 8th: Frasor now pitching. Scott first pitch swing fly ball out to Rios in CF. Millar at bat, full count, ball four way over Millar’s head. Hernandez at bat, wild pitch, Millar to 2B. There it goes two run HR over Rios’ head and 8-3 game. This team is being embarrassed. Fahey at bat. Good news is that Sherrill will not be pitching. Strikes out. Two down but damage is already done. Roberts at bat for fifth time tonight. 3-0 count. Full count grounds to Overbay and this agony is over.
Top 9th: I am always interested in how Jays hitters react to a hopeless situation, do they have any fire? Do they have any pride? Do they have the ability? Well they are playing now for bottom place in the East tonight and it looks as if they will be down there yet again. Top of the order, what will we see? Scutaro at bat, Randor Bierd pitching. Full count. Grounds one to 3B Mora, but throw not in time, one on for Rios who has not impressed tonight. Swings out striking with head in the air once more on a very bad pitch inside. Rios is not a leader but who is on this team? Overbay with one on and one down. Swings over pitch way outside and strikes out. Two down, Barajas fly ball out to LF Scott and the Jays agony is over for one night at least but they have three more here in Baltimore and the way they are playing they will be in the second division by Thursday, a truly awful performance all round.
Series Preview Jays v Orioles.
Series Preview. Toronto v Baltimore. Monday July 21, 2008.
The battle for last spot in division East, NO, it is far more than that. Jays have been hovering around .500 for the last month, this is a chance this week to not only reach it but leave it way behind and climb. They have the opportunity, they have the impetus, and some of the quiet bats are making some noises finally.
They swept Baltimore two weeks ago and a four game sweep here would be perfect and it is not implausible. Toronto has won five of eight against Baltimore so far this season. But then again the biggest problem with this team is lack of consistency. Since May they have struggled to get it together. They have the players even without Vernon and Aaron who looks as if he is gone at minimum for the season.
The good signs first: Pitching as ever and Marcum back tomorrow will make huge difference, both Halladay and Burnett pitched well enough to win in St. Petersburg. Jesse Litsch is certainly overdue now and you know he will busting everything to leave it all out there as the cliché goes.
Hitting: Rios 3-5 yesterday and the multi-base hits and is 15-of-43 for a .349 average in the last ten games. Scutaro, Inglett and Lind continuing to shine consistently. The best news is that both Overbay and Rolen are waking up. String it together, add in Barajas to strengthen the bats in the middle and there is lots of reason for hope with this team.
Fielding:
The downside: Double play balls and runners in scoring position. The new coaching staff have to find a way to reduce this and fast. There has been very minimal if any improvement in the double play situation. Two in first two innings yesterday. The statistics show improvement with runners in scoring position but watching yesterday’s game I am sure other fans doubt that. Several innings Jays came up empty, they are getting runners on but that’s it.
One good note was that Joe Inglett didn’t wait to get caught yesterday and took off stealing, perhaps add some Rays aggression on the bases is one answer.
It would surely make Jays a more entertaining team to watch. As one correspondent puts it they have to be THE most boring team to watch right now and it is hard to disagree. Just watch the Rays to see an entertaining young aggressive team, if they were the home team at Rogers Centre it would add 10,000 to the average crowd. And Maddon has had this team going like that since Day 1 of Spring training and that is one huge difference between Toronto and Tampa this season. Cito and staff have to be far more serious about the Spring in 2009.
Tonight Jesse Litsch (8-6) is 1-5 in his last eight starts, giving up 35 runs during the last eight games. Radhames Liz (3-2), has lost his last two starts, giving up 12 runs in less than six innings overall in the two losses, walking eight batters. Liz has pitched against the Jays allowing two runs in five innings in a no-decision on June 8.
Baltimore has 10 losses in last 14 games.
The battle for last spot in division East, NO, it is far more than that. Jays have been hovering around .500 for the last month, this is a chance this week to not only reach it but leave it way behind and climb. They have the opportunity, they have the impetus, and some of the quiet bats are making some noises finally.
They swept Baltimore two weeks ago and a four game sweep here would be perfect and it is not implausible. Toronto has won five of eight against Baltimore so far this season. But then again the biggest problem with this team is lack of consistency. Since May they have struggled to get it together. They have the players even without Vernon and Aaron who looks as if he is gone at minimum for the season.
The good signs first: Pitching as ever and Marcum back tomorrow will make huge difference, both Halladay and Burnett pitched well enough to win in St. Petersburg. Jesse Litsch is certainly overdue now and you know he will busting everything to leave it all out there as the cliché goes.
Hitting: Rios 3-5 yesterday and the multi-base hits and is 15-of-43 for a .349 average in the last ten games. Scutaro, Inglett and Lind continuing to shine consistently. The best news is that both Overbay and Rolen are waking up. String it together, add in Barajas to strengthen the bats in the middle and there is lots of reason for hope with this team.
Fielding:
The downside: Double play balls and runners in scoring position. The new coaching staff have to find a way to reduce this and fast. There has been very minimal if any improvement in the double play situation. Two in first two innings yesterday. The statistics show improvement with runners in scoring position but watching yesterday’s game I am sure other fans doubt that. Several innings Jays came up empty, they are getting runners on but that’s it.
One good note was that Joe Inglett didn’t wait to get caught yesterday and took off stealing, perhaps add some Rays aggression on the bases is one answer.
It would surely make Jays a more entertaining team to watch. As one correspondent puts it they have to be THE most boring team to watch right now and it is hard to disagree. Just watch the Rays to see an entertaining young aggressive team, if they were the home team at Rogers Centre it would add 10,000 to the average crowd. And Maddon has had this team going like that since Day 1 of Spring training and that is one huge difference between Toronto and Tampa this season. Cito and staff have to be far more serious about the Spring in 2009.
Tonight Jesse Litsch (8-6) is 1-5 in his last eight starts, giving up 35 runs during the last eight games. Radhames Liz (3-2), has lost his last two starts, giving up 12 runs in less than six innings overall in the two losses, walking eight batters. Liz has pitched against the Jays allowing two runs in five innings in a no-decision on June 8.
Baltimore has 10 losses in last 14 games.
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