Jays lose two stinkers in a row. Hitters 1 for 11 in scoring position.

Toronto v Oakland. Game one of three.

Lineups: Toronto: Scutaro, Hill, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Millar, Barajas, Bautista and Richmond pitching. Changes Bautista and Millar for Snider and Overbay.
Oakland: Cabrera, Suzuki, Giambi, Holliday, Cust, Sweeney, Crosby, Buck and Oatman pitching.
Yankees have already beaten Baltimore 4-0 with a three run homer from Rodriguez in his first at bat after injury. Romero had a rough start in Dunedin tonight,

The very good: Scutaro incredible off- balance throw to get Suzuki in the first inning. Fielding throughout, Rolen, Hill, Bautista and the outfield strong. I also give Richmond a very good with eight innings and under 100 pitches.

The good: Jays more patient at bats tonight. Millar off the bench with a double, he has been Mr. reliable for most of the season so far.

The bad: Rios and Wells in the first not bringing runner in from third. But then it gets worse (see awful). At one stage Oakland pitchers combined had seventy pitches more than made by Richmond and yet were still leading.

The awful: Jays leave 10 on base and hit 1 for 11 with runners in scoring positions.

Top 1st: Scutaro, doubles into left centre. Better start than last night for Marco. Hill, 3-2 count. fly ball to Holliday in left field. Scutaro tags and just beats the throw to third. One down for Rios. Grounds weakly to Cabrera throw to Giambi two down. Wells, pops up to Crosby and once again Rios and Wells cannot bring the hitter in from third. Cito has to start thinking of moving the order around. I would put Rios at number seven or eight until he can show he is more consistent.
Bottom 1st: Richmond pitching, Cabrera strikes out. Suzuki, with one down, grounds to Scutaro behind third turns and an incredible off- balance long throw to get Suzuki, that was spectacular highlight reel play, two down for Holliday lifts this one into centre for Wells.

Top 2nd: Lind full count. Jays hitters seem to be more patient tonight than last night Lind strikes out. Rolen, doubles into left centre, same spot as Scutaro hit. One on one down for Millar, singles into right centre. Rolen scores and Jays are ahead 1-0. Barajas with Millar on first. WHOA…. Barajas gets hold of this one, deep and high into left centre that was 400 ft at least. 3-0 Jays. Bautista playing left tonight. Full count, strikes out looking. Two down for Scutaro and walks. Hill with one on and two down. Grounds to third throw to second for the out. Oatman already has 53 pitches in first two innings. Boston has beaten Tampa 7-3.
Bottom 2nd: Holliday singles into left. Cust, passed ball and Holliday to second. 3-0 count, high fly ball to Wells in centre. Holliday tags and gets to third. Sweeney. This one has gone, into right field seats, two runs score 3-2 Jays. Crosby grounds to Scutaro throw to Millar for second out. Buck singles into left centre. Hannahan, doubles to right centre, Buck scores and this game is tied up 3-3 just like that. Cabrera singles to centre, Hannahan scores and Cabrera to second on the throw, 4-3 Oakland. Suzuki doubles into left corner Cabrera scores 5-3 Oakland. Giambi with Murphy up in Jays bullpen. Full count. walks Giambi. Holliday for second at bat this inning. Pops it up to Hill for third out but that was one ugly inning. Most of the damage done with two outs.

Top 3rd: Rios to lead off. Let’s see what he can do here. 3-0 count, swings at ball four. Full count. Strikes out. When did Alex last get a hit? Wells singles into left. One down one on for Lind, full count, strikes out looking. Rolen with Vernon on first and two down. slow roller to Cabrera at short but good throw to Giambi for the out at first. Oatman is over 70 pitches but still has the lead.
Bottom 3rd: Richmond will be on a very short leash despite his low pitch count. Cito will not let this one get away. Starts with a curve instead of first pitch fast ball, Cust pops it up to Wells, one down. Sweeney lines out to Wells. Two down Crosby fly ball to Bautista in left. Only 41 pitches for Richmond despite that second inning. Mixed up his pitch selection this inning.

Top 4th: Millar to lead off. Pops it up to Sweeney in centre. Barajas fly ball to Buck in shallow right. Two down for Bautista. Shows bunt. 3-0 count and walks. One on for Scutaro. Grounds to Hannahan at third throw to Crosby at second and drops the ball, Bautista safe, error on Crosby, ball was in and out of his glove. Hill with two on can he make them pay for that error there? 0-2 count, strikes out. Outman on 90 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Buck at bat, lines it right at Scutaro one down. Hannahan strikes out. Cabrera lines out to Wells, Vernon makes it look so easy, but that was not an easy out.

Top 5th: This could be Outman’s last inning, if Jays bats can do something here. Rios to lead off again 3-0 count and walks on four, Alex first visit to first base for a long time. Oakland bullpen working. Wells lines it to Buck in right. One down, BUT why is Alex still at first and not stealing? Oatman is ignoring him. Lind singles into centre. If Alex had stolen second when Vernon was hitting that would be a run. That’s it for Oatman though. One lousy inning when Jays had three runs but he is still leading in the game. It is his pitch count at 100 that is the problem. Wuertz now pitching, with two on and one down. Rolen at bat, lines it into right corner, nice running catch by Buck, Rios tags and gets to third for Millar, grounds to Cabrera at short throw to second to get Lind. Once again Jays leave hitter at third. The last two games on this road trip have not been the good play we have seen for the last six weeks.
Bottom 5th: Suzuki pops it up to Millar, one down. Giambi fly ball to Bautista in left. Two down for Holliday, strikes out. Richmond is doing his job. 60 pitches.

Top 6th: Barajas to lead off. Grounds to Hannahan at third, throw to Giambi one down. Bautista pops it up to Giambi, two down for Scutaro. Strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Cust 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches, Cito will be getting restless. Sweeney pops up to Bautista in shallow left. One down for Crosby, grounds to Scutaro throw to Hill on to Millar double play ball. That’s the way friends.

Top 7th: Jays big bats. Hill to lead off. Hitless tonight. Springer new pitcher. Singles into left. Rios also hitless tonight, loops pitch into shallow centre breaks his bat doing it. Two on and no outs for Wells. Fly ball to left but not deep enough for runners to move up. Lind with two on and one down. lines it up the middle Cabrera trying for two fumbles the ball and everyone is safe. Bases loaded for Rolen one down. Need a hit here Scott. Strikes out. Millar with two down and bases still loaded, just foul down left field line. Full count. Nail biting time. Grounds to Hannahan throw to first for the out. Jays leave three more on base.
Bottom 7th: Here’s a very revealing stat. Richmond has thrown 71 pitches for Jays tonight. Oakland pitchers combined have thrown 143… and yet they lead by two. Buck leading off. Singles to centre. Hannahan showing bunt. Good bunt only one Play for Richmond to first to get Hannahan. Buck at second with one down. Cabrera lines to right, nice running catch by Alex and Buck has to hold. Two down for Suzuki, lines it to Bautista in left and no further damage. Now if only the hitters could do their job.

Top 8th: Jays running out of opportunities and outs. Barajas facing Andrew Bailey number four pitcher for Oakland tonight. Lines it right at Buck in right field, one down for Bautista the only Jay without a hit tonight. Stays hitless as he grounds to Cabrera for throw to Giambi and two down. Scutaro, can he be a hero tonight? full count and strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Richmond still out there. 81pitches. Bullpen is getting a great rest over the last three days. Giambi lines it out to left corner wall, Bautista catches it and hits the wall. Nice catch Jose. One down for Holliday, full count bat shatters and grounds to Rolen strong throw to first for the second out. Cust grounds to Millar nice play to knock it down and flip to Richmond for the out. 96 pitches for Richmond, he did his job very well tonight, one rough inning. But it is the bats that are quiet tonight when it counted with runners at third, bases loaded.

Top 9th: Hill to lead off. Grounds to Hannahan throw to Giambi, one down for Rios. Awful strikes out on three pitches, last strike down and away and swinging way over it. Just like old times Alex. Wells the last chance, first pitch, grounds to second. Throw to Giambi and Jays hitters under achieve bigtime tonight.

Jays lose this one 5-3 but it was one that could and should have been gift wrapped as early as the first inning.