Jays win one but not pretty with runners in scoring position.

Series finale Jays v Rays Sunday July 20, 2008.

Jays really need to get something going here, they could have done much better in both of earlier games. They had great pitching from both Burnett and Halladay last night. It is the usual, the hitting and especially with runners in scoring position. A win here will at least send them in to the Baltimore series on a roll. Another loss will start the sad ending to this team that showed great promise (on paper !) at the beginning of the season. Rios, Rolen, and Overbay along with Stairs have to show improvement here. I like Parrish but he has a tough assignment today and will definitely need run support.

The pitchers: Parrish v Jackson

Lineups: Inglett, Scutario , Rios, Stairs, Overbay, Rolen, Lind, Zaun, McDonald and Parrish pitching.
Rays: Iwamura, Upton, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Aybar, Riggans, Gomes, Zobrist and Jackson pitching.

The result: Jays win 9-4. Bats show some life but can it continue? This should have been a huge blowout in the seventh inning apart from the wasted chances in the sixth. But at the end of the season a W is what counts. Plus Boston and Baltimore lose today.

The good: Scutaro three run homer and two hits in the game. Rios 3-5 today with two run homer and runs scoring double. The bullpenonce again.
The bad: Those horrible double plays two of them today. Runners left in scoring position especially in the sixth and seventh. This was not a pretty win today.

Top 1st: Inglett leading off again, seems to have that role with Cito. Singles to CF, great start. Scutaro at bat, here we go, grounds to Iwamura at 2B, flip to Zobrist SS throw to Pena at 1B yet another double play ball. Jays are their own worst enemy. Rios now at bat two down and no one on, what is his day going to be like today? Fly ball out to Gomes in RF.
Bottom 1st: Parrish pitching. Iwamura fly ball out to Rios CF.One down. Upton at bat 3-0 count walks on four pitches. Crawford at bat one down one on. Upton stealing and safe. Wild pitch here and Upton moves to 3B, still only one out. Parrish in trouble early here. Crawford strikes out. Two down for Longoria grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay and Parrish is out of the inning without a run.

Top 2nd: Stairs at bat, way overdue and big slump for Matt. Cito has suggested shortening up his swing. Let’s see what happens today, fly ball out to Crawford in LF. Overbay at bat singles to CF, good signs for Lyle in last few games but they need him consistent. Rolen at bat, also mired in his own slump but walks here, Overbay to 2B, two on and one down for Adam Lind one of the hotter hitters of this team. Yes Adam does it again, singles to CF, Overbay scores 1-0 Jays. Rolen moves to 2B with Lind at 1B. Two on, one down. Zaun catching today. No, NO Gregg. Grounds to Iwamura throw to Zobrist covering 2B throw to Pena at 1B. Another double play second one already in two innings and ruining opportunity for Jays to add to that run. This is a major issue for Cito and staff, either get the runners moving or try some bunts but anything to stop this awful double play disease. It is killing any opportunity for momentum.
Bottom 2nd: Pena at bat lines out to Rios in CF one down. Aybar pops up to Johnny Mc playing SS today. Two down, much better for Parrish. Riggans at bat, full count and walks. One on two down. Gomes playing today doubles to LF, Riggans at 3B and two in scoring position all with two outs. Zobrist at bat wild pitch here scores Riggans from 3B and Gomes moves to 3B, Parrish definitely not sharp today. This game is tied 1-1. Zobrist strikes out. Parrish escapes here.

Top 3rd: McDonald grounds to Iwamura at 2B throw to Pena gets Johnny Mc. Inglett again, the victim of that double play in first inning. 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. On base for second time today and doing his job, can the guys behind him do theirs? Scutaro at bat and there goes Inglett stealing and safe. He obviously is not hanging around to be doubled up, good strategy Joe. Scutaro strikes out. Two down for Alex, can he bring in Inglett here ? YES finally Alex, gets hold of this one and hammers it to LF, HR Alex scores two. That must feel real good. 3-1 Jays. Stairs at bat, can you do something here Matt ? Fouls out to Aybar at 3B. Matt still waiting for his turn but Jays are ahead and it was Rios who finally came through.
Bottom 3rd: Iwamura at bat grounds to 1B. and safe at 1B. Upton at bat grounds to Parrish throw to McDonald, Iwamura out but error on play by Johnny Mc and Upton moves to 2B. Crawford at bat, one on one down. Parrish's error on pickoff attempt, Upton moves to 3B. That is very unusual Parrish has one of the best pickoff moves, it is NOT his day. Crawford now grounds out to Overbay but runner Upton scores 3-2 Jays. Longoria at bat, gets hold of one here and HR to LF. This game is tied 3-3. Still two down for Pena, now he gets hold of one HR to CF, back to back here and Rays take the lead for first time today, 4-3 Rays. Crowd loves it. Parrish is all over the place. Aybar At bat lines out to Lind in LF and Parrish’s inning is over, but damage is done.

Top 4th: Jays have to answer this. What can they do? Overbay at bat grounds out to Iwamura throw to Pena to get Lyle, one down. Rolen at bat grounds out to Aybar throw to Pena Scott out at 1B. Two down for Lind, can he repeat first at bat. Fly ball out to Crawford in LF and Jays go quietly.
Bottom 4th : That’s it today for Parrish, he just didn’t have it. Camp now pitching. Strange choice but I guess Cito wants him to hold it here. Riggans at bat grounds out to Scutaro throw to Overbay. One down. Gomes 3-0 count, walks on four pitches. One on one down. Zobrist at bat Gomes stealing second, safe on throw by Zaun which goes into CF error on throw and Gomes moves to 3B. Rays are running on Zaun today, definitely not a Barajas in his throwing arm. Zobrist fly ball out to Rios in CF. Gomes is running on Alex’s arm here, great throw gets him at the plate double play. You don’t run on Alex. Jays get huge break.

Top 5th: Zaun leading off, should be pumped up here after that play, pops up to Zobrist at SS, one down. Johnny Mc grounds to Zobrits and beats out throw one on one down for Inglett on base twice already today. Inglett singles to left comes through again here, McDonald to 2B.
Scutaro at bat, now can he bring in Johnny Mc here? YES indeed Marco, gets hold of this one and HR to left, McDonald scores, Inglett scores, Scutaro scores and Jays go out ahead again. 6-4 Jays. We don’t see too many three run HR’s from this bunch. Rios at bat , one down and no one on doubles to LF and Jays are getting something going here with only one down. Hammel now pitching. Stairs at bat, Rios stealing and safe at 3B. Matt just a fly ball here, strikes out and his woes continue. Overbay can he bring in Alex ? Fly ball out to Crawford in LF, that’s what we wanted from Stairs. But Jays have lead again.
Bottom 5th : Jays must shut the door here. Rays have the top of the order here. Iwamura at bat grounds to Overbay throw to Camp one down. Upton at bat grounds to Rolen throw to Overbay, two down. Crawford at bat, doubles to CF. Longoria at bat with two down and one in scoring position, they are not going to let this guy beat them here, walks but semi-intentional.That’s it for Camp. Tallet now pitching to Pena with two on and two down. Pena pops up to Scutaro and Jays pitchers have done their job here.

Top 6th : Rolen at bat, doubles to RF, finally a hit for Rolen. One on with runner in scoring position and no outs. This is where Jays hitters are so very weak. Lind grounds to Iwamura at 2B, throw to Pena at 1B gets Adam but he moves Rolen to 3B. Two chances here friends to bring him in. Zaun at bat 3-0 count, walks on four pitches. Would prefer a hit here Gregg, your colleagues have too many doubles plays for anyone to relax here. McDonald bunting but not good enough, Riggans throw to Pena, gets Johnny Mc and Zaun to 2B but Rolen still sits out there at 3B. Inglett final chance here, has been perfect today. No, Joe, grounds to Zobrist throw to Pena and Inglett is out at 1B. Jays once again get runner in scoring position with no outs and cannot bring him in. You can’t give the Rays opportunities like this to come back. A two run lead is nothing.
Bottom 6th Frasor now pitching. Fourth Jays pitcher and only in the sixth. Aybar at bat singles to CF. Groan, there is nothing worse than Frasor getting lead runner on. Cito seems to like this guy though, even though many Jays fans shudder when he comes in. Riggans at bat strikes out. One down for Gomes. Wild pitch, here from Frasor, he seems to tighten up when he has runners on base. Aybar moves to 2B. Gomes strikes out. Two down but that’s it for Frasor, we can breathe again. Here comes Jesse Carlson. Zobrist at bat fly ball out to Lind in LF and Jays escape this one. It seems that all the heroes this season are those unknowns in April. Carlson, Inglett, Lind, Scutaro.

Top 7th: Speaking of which here comes Scutaro to lead off, full count here and now walks, I like Marco. Hammel now wild pitch, this is catching. Scutaro moves into scoring position at 2B and no outs again !!!. Alex the hero doubles to RF, Scutaro scores 7-4 Jays. Alex does it again. Miller now pitching. This musical chairs here this afternoon in the bullpens. Maddon and Gaston playing the full hands. Mench now pinch-hitting for Stairs. Cito has had enough. First base is open, they are walking him intentionally. Two on and no outs. Overbay at bat is he insulted? takes full count, and walks the bases loaded, Rios at 3B, Mench at 2B for Rolen.Scott you have to make them pay here and break this one open. Not swinging, 3-0 count and walks on four pitches, Miller is not on here, Rios scores and Jays have 8-4 lead. Rolen walked on four pitches, Mench at 3B, Overbay at 2B. I think we would have preferred a bases clearing double from Scott but the way Jays hitters have been going one run is great. Lind now at bat, he could clear them. Gets hold of this one but not hard enough, sacrifice fly to Crawford in LF Mench scores 9-4 Jays, Overbay at 3B, Rolen at 2B with only one out.Can Jays add to this ? Reyes now pitching. He was not sharp yesterday either. Zaun at bat grounds out to Pena. Runners hold and Gregg makes it easy for Cito to put Barajas back in lineup in Baltimore. McDonald at bat fly ball out to Gomes. Four walks in the inning sink the Rays but Jays should not gloat, this was not a pretty inning with bases loaded for the big hitters.
Bottom 7th: Mench now playing as DH for Stairs may not be his last chance either, Matt is deep slump right now. Carlson still in there, he has to hold them here. Rays top of the order Iwamura strikes out. Good start Jesse. Upton fly ball out to Rios. Crawford lines out to Scutaro. Three up and down for Carlson, great inning Jesse.

Top 8th : Jays top of the order, can they add something here ? we haven’t seen double figures for a ling time from this group. Inglett at bat, fly ball out to Crawford in LF. One down. Scutaro at bat one down, grounds to Aybar throw to Pena gets Scutaro. Rios another hero today fly ball out to Upton in CF and Jays hitters go quietly. This game has not been pretty for the Jays but they will take it if they can hang on here.
Bottom 8th: Wolfe now pitching. Carlson did a great job. Longoria at bat gets hold of one, but not enough and fly ball out to Rios. One down and a dangerous one at that. Pena at bat strikes out. Two down for Aybar fly ball out to Inglett. Three up and down for Wolfe, nice job.

Top 9th: Here comes Percival. Rays are still serious about this game, they want to keep that score where it is. Mench at bat strikes out. Overbay hit by pitch. I don’t think that was retaliation for yesterday or do you ? One on one down. Rolen at bat singles to LF, Overbay to second. Rolen has been on base four times today with two hits and two walks, is he finally on track?
Lind at bat with two on and one down. Grounded to Iwamura throw to Zobrist Rolen out at 2B. , Overbay to 3B. Zaun at bat ofer today, grounds to Zobrist throw to Pena and Gregg remains hitless today.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Rays but bottom of the order and BJ Ryan pitching, number seven pitcher for Jays today, Cito really wants this win. Wilkerson in for Lind at LF. Riggans at bat fly ball out to Rios. One down for Gomes strikes out. Two down. Zobrist fly ball out to Wilkerson and this game is over. Jays win 9-4.

What they said: Rios after his fifth home run of the season. "It's great, I don't have a bunch, but when I get one they're good." Gaston on Parrish: "I really didn't think he had his good stuff. Physically he's OK. Location wasn't there."
Jackson: “It's a game of mistakes and today they made me pay. It was one of those days where it wasn't my day."
Percival: "I didn't feel any problems. My mechanics were a little bit off. I'm still able to throw my fastball where I wanted it. I needed to see some hitters in a live situation, and now I feel confident that I can go out there and do whatI need to do."
Gaston on Rolen fielding: "Probably the best third baseman I've ever seen,"
Gaston on the win. "It was one of those days where you could relax a little bit. We had a couple guys get some big hits and that's what we have to do win. Rios had a great day. Scutaro got us going."
Rays Manager Joe Maddon : “Two out of three ain't bad, We did not pitch like we normally do today, and that's why they beat us."