No clutch hitting by Jays tonight as they lose the opener.

Toronto v Boston. Opening game of series.

Huge series for Jays. I think it could go either way. Jays do need to show both Boston and the rest of the division that they are for real. At least one of the three this series. Two would be perfect. Three probably unlikely. In terms of lineups Boston obviously have the edge on paper but we have not see Vernon and Alex performing together much this season and this would be the perfect series to break out. I agree with leaving young Snider on the bench, he needs to inhale this atmosphere and get accustomed to the various bounces off that wall out there even though he a better left field than Lind. Millar DH tonight is a good move as he will be wanting to show Boston crowd that he still has something left, plus he is a veteran who would know more about knuckleballers such as Wakefield. Jays definitely have more power in their lineup and more with averages over .300 but this is Fenway and anything can and will happen. No lead will be big enough. Tallet has to keep Ellsbury and Pedroia off the bases. Ellsbury has 16 stolen bases already this season.

Lineups: Toronto: Scutaro, Hill, Rios, Wells, Lind, Rolen, Overbay, Millar, Barajas, and Tallet pitching.
Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Bay, Lowell, Drew, Lugo, Bailey, Kotteras, and Wakefield pitching.

Jays lose this one 2-1 but it was nowhere as close as score suggests. Wakefield outpitched Tallet.

The good: Perhaps only Millar and home run and Frasor and BJ Ryan scoreless innings. Chavez throw to get Ellsbury at third in the eighth.Not much else especially from the hitters.

Bad : Poor hitting by Jays all around tonight except for Millar and his home run. Lind at bat in the fourth. Wells and Rios in the eighth with only one out and two on base. Tallet constantly behind and deep into the count.

Top 1st: Scutaro, Scutaro strikes out. Hill grounds to second base. Pedroia throw to Bailey at first base. Rios infield single to third. Two down for Wells, time for a breakout game Vernon. Rios stealing second throw by Kottaras to Pedroia at second base to end the inning leaving Vernon at the plate for a second try next inning.
Bottom 1st: Ellsbury grounds to short Scutaro throw to Overbay. Pedroia lines to shortstop Scutaro. Two down for Big Papi, Ortiz who sat out the last game on the west coast. He walks here for Bay. Not good Brian here, you don’t need Bay with a guy on base. Bay grounds to Scutaro throw to Hill, Ortiz out at second.

Top 2nd: Wells pops up to Lowell at third. Lind with one down. Strikes out. Rolen now, has more experience with Wakefield 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Patience is the key. Overbay, also more experienced can he start this one off? Takes this one to the track in left centre for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Lowell lines to left past Rolen, one on for Drew, full count, walks him. Two on and no outs, not good here. Lugo at bat. Pops it up to Overbay, almost over balances with that catch. One down for Bailey. Two on. singles into left, Lowell scores 1-0 Boston. Still two on and one down for Kotteras. Drew at third. Tallet needs a ground ball here. Another full count. Fly ball to Lind in left run scores 2-0 Boston. Two down and Bailey at second. Ellsbury lines it at Overbay for third out. Jays have some catch up to do. Far too many pitches here for Tallet also almost fifty in two innings.

Top 3rd: Millar pops it softly to Kotteras. Barajas lines it into left. Scutaro now with one on and one down. Lines it into centre right, two on for Hill. First pitch swing and pops it up to Pedroia at second two down for Rios. Lines it hard to left but right at Bay who gets it at the wall. Jays leave two on.
Bottom 3rd: Pedroia leading off. Full count again, this is the problem Tallet going deep into most of the counts, fly ball to Wells in deep centre. Ortiz strikes out. Two down for Bay, need to be careful Brian. Doubles to the wall in centre. Vernon had no chance. Lowell two down and one on. Grounds hard to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. 65 pitches in three innings, not looking good here Brian.

Top 4th: Wells grounds to Lugo throw wild at first, error on play and Vernon is safe. Lind first pitch pops up to Bay one down. Against a Wakefield forget it Adam. Rolen has more sense. Lines it to Drew in right, two down. Overbay strikes out swinging. I give Lind a black star there for his at bat especially with Vernon on at first, didn’t even give him chance to steal second or put any pressure on Wakefield.
Bottom 4th: Drew another full count. Tallet now 70 pitches, but he only has himself to blame going deep into almost every count. Strikes out Drew but it takes eight pitches. Boston will gladly buy those outs at that rate. Lugo at bat, there’s a first pitch swing and line out to Wells. Two down. Bailey strikes out.

Top 5th: Now can these Jays hitters get their heads into this game ? Wakefield is having a very easy time so far tonight. Millar to leadoff. Way to go Kevin, over the Green Monster in left into the seats on the wall. That’s the way Kevin.2-1 Boston. Barajas pops it up to Ellsbury in centre. Scutaro first pitch fly ball to Drew in right. Two down for Hill who has had a bad night so far at the plate. Quickly 0-2 on first two pitches and then grounds to Lowell at third throw to Bailey at first for third out and Hill 0-3 tonight. Jays hitters have no patience at all with Wakefield. 66 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Kottaras strikes out. Number four for Tallet tonight. Ellsbury singles into centre. Now Tallet has his hands full as you know Ellsbury will be stealing. 16/20 already this season. Pedroia, lines it right at Rios in right field, two down for Ortiz. Shift on and grounds it to Hill throw to Overbay for third out. 90 pitches. He might start the next but will not get through six tonight but he only has himself to blame, he could not get that first pitch strike and was behind most of the hitters all night and worse going into far too many full counts. Meanwhile Wakefield has only 63 pitches and will be there all night if Jays hitters keep going after that first pitch.

Top 6th: Rios full count and this one jams Alex inside and pops it up to Lowell for first out. Wells first pitch pop up to Lugo. Lind now grounds to Pedroia at second throw to Bailey for third out at first. Awful, awful hitting by Jays. A seven pitch inning for Wakefield.
Bottom 6th: Bay first pitch swing, fly ball to Lind in left. The disease is contagious. Lowell strikes out. Drew with two down. grounds to Hill throw to Overbay for third out. Over the 100 pitch count.

Top 7th: Rolen, pops up to Kotteras. One down for Overbay. Pop up to Lugo at short Two down. Millar the only Jay hitter to get to Wakefield tonight, grounds to Lowell at third throw to Bailey at first and another quick one, two three inning for Wakefield. Only 80 pitches, he might go the distance at this rate.
Bottom 7th: Frasor now in for Tallet. Lugo grounds to Scutaro at short throw to Overbay for the first out. Bailey strikes out, two down for Kotteras. Fly ball to Lind in left, nice three up and down inning for Frasor. Looks like BJ Ryan for the eighth.

Top 8th: Jays last chance to get some runs before they face Papelbon in the ninth and lights out. If they need him with Wakefield low pitch count. Barajas to lead off and walks. Johnny Mc pinch running. Scutaro showing bunt. Now swings and pops it up behind the plate for Kotteras. One down. Hill who has had a bad night tonight. Pitch gets away and Johnny Mc moves to second. Hill at first singles to right. First hit tonight he will take it. Two on one down for Rios
fly ball to Bay in left field. Two down for Wells fly ball to Bay in left. Rios and Wells leave two on. When oh when are they going to get their act together at the same time?
Bottom 8th: Chavez now in for Barajas. BJ pitching to Ellsbury doubles . Pedroia Ellsbury stealing third but great throw by Chavez gets him. One down. Singles into centre. Ortiz strikes out, very nice BJ. One more Bay, fly ball to Wells for third out. Way to go BJ.

Top 9th: Jays do not make it easy for themselves Papelbon now pitching. Lind strikes out on three pitches, the student meets the master here. No contest. Rolen, grounds to Pedroia throw to Bailey for second out. Overbay, last chance. Full count. Grounds to Bailey at first.

Not a good performance here by Jays hitters, they had their chances and a golden opportunity in the eighth with two on and only one out and Rios and Wells to bat. But once again numbers three and four cannot come through when it counts and I believe this is what will be the difference between this Jays team being a very good team and one that is overachieving right now.