Sorry friends no Jays blog until the 30th.
then I will do summary of all the missed games.
Watching first inning at the airport though, why doesn't Cito send Escobar at first? The double by Vernon would have scored him.
New Manager in 2011 has to use that speed at the top of the order, otherwise what is the point ? Just watch Tampa for model. But loads of other teams as well.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Payback time, take that you Rays as Jays win with Lind dramatic walk off home run.
Game three Rays v Jays. Sunday September 12.
Must win for Rays as they will pull level with Yankees. Rays also going for the sweep. Jays are playing for some respectability here, they have been awful all weekend. Cito is now lame duck manager so I guess they think they may be able to get away with it. Cito says today that Snider should play every day. Hello Cito where have you been this season? it was your call and didn’t play him game after game and then played him up and down the lineup. Travis never had a chance, he had no idea what was going on. That’s no way to give the kid confidence Cito, phooey with your old school macho stuff.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Rodriguez, Longoria, Baldelli, Zobrist, Hawpe, Navarro, Jennings.No Crawford or Pena. Joe Maddon giving Jays a chance here, make him pay guys.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider.
Pitching: Marcum v Niemann.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, pops up to Overbay, one down for Bartlett. Pops up to Snider in left. Rodriguez, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off, grounds to Bartlett at short, throw to Hawpe at first. One down. Escobar strikes out. Bautista pops up to Hawpe for third out. Pitchers duel today friends.
Top 2nd: Longoria leading off, full count and ball four. Come on Shawn. Baldelli with one on, strikes out. Zobrist , ball four, second walk for Marcum don’t let this be like yesterday Shawn. Longoria to second. Navarro two down, pops up to Escobar. Two down for Hawpe, strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Wells leading off, 3-0 count, ball four, one on for Overbay, strikes out. Hill one on one down, strikes out. Two down for Lind, wild pitch by Niemann, Wells to second. Lind lines out to Zobrist in right.
Top 3rd: Jennings leading off, pops up to Wells. One down. Upton same again Wells a busy guy. Bartlett grounds to Escobar throw to Overbay for third out.
Bottom 3rd: Buck leading off, strikes out. One down for Snider, pops up to Jennings.
Wise two down, full count, ball four. Escobar with one on and two down, pops up to Upton in centre.
Top 4th: Rodriguez pops up to Snider in left, one down. Longoria doubles to centre.
Baldelli pops up to Snider in left, two down. Zobrist, two down one on, doubles to right, here comes Longoria and Rays go out ahead 1-0 Rays. Navarro, wild pitch, Zobrist to third. Come on Shawn, falling apart here. That’s better pops up to Snider to end this.
Bottom 4th: Bautista leading off, doubles to left. One on for Wells, 3-0 count, ball four , second walk today, go figure Vernon. Two on nobody out. Overbay singles to right, bases loaded, Bautista at third, Wells at second. Hill grounds back to pitcher, here comes Jose and scores, here comes Vernon, Niemann throws ball away, 2-1 Jays, and Aaron safe, Overbay to third. Error to Niemann. Two on for Lind, ball four and bases are loaded with nobody out. Buck, this will do, lines this one to Upton in centre. Here comes Lyle, 3-1 Jays. One down for Snider, pops up to Upton. Two down for Wise strikes out.
Top 5th: Hawpe leading off grounds to Hill throw to Overbay, one down. Jennings strikes out. Upton with two down. singles to left, safe on the throw to Overbay. Bartlett with runner on. There goes Upton and safe on the throw at second. 1-2 count, strikes out.
Bottom 5th: Escobar leading off 3-1 count lifts it into centre. One down for Bautista. Lines it into left for the second out. Wells, first pitch out, lines it to left centre, two pitches two outs, Vernon brain warp again. Maybe not as he is always doing this. You have already walked twice Vernon this game, surely take a couple. These are the outs that can make huge difference, push Niemann to the limit and he is out of the game. Two runs is nothing for Rays to recover.
Top 6th: Rodriguez, 1-2 count, grounds up the middle, Escobar flashy play but ball out off his glove, I think Aaron had much better shot at that one. Longoria, 3-0 count, Rays and Yankees are patient hitters, Jays could learn something. Grouds hard to third Bautista cannot make the play at first, two on and nobody out. This is exactly what we said about Wells at bat. Tough for Marcum he should have at least one out here. Baldelli. 2-0 count, no room for error for Marcum. High pop up to shallow centre for Escobar. Frasor now warming up. Zobrist, one down two on. Bunting, foul, 0-2 count, ground rule double down the right field line into the crowd. Run scores 3-2 Jays. One down, two in scoring position for Navarro,1-1 count, pops up to Wells in centre, runners stay put. Two down. Here comes Cito. Just a social call. Hawpe with two in scoring position. Marcum on 100 pitches. 2-2 count, wild pitch, here comes the run. How many more is this team going to give up? It seems like almost one a game these days 3-3 game. Full count. Zobrist has moved up to third. Strikes out swinging but Marcum will not be happy with his infielder Escobar.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters owe Marcum big here now. Wells, Escobar just to mention two. Choate now pitching for Rays. Overbay leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Longoria at third, throw to first, one down. Hill, 3-1 count. Balfour warming up for Rays. Lines to Jennings in left, two down. Lind, 3-1 count, ball four. Here comes Maddon. Balfour will be pitching. Buck with two down and one on, great time for a home run John. Full count, strikes out on ball four.
Top 7th: Carlson now pitching. Jennings leading off, 0-2 count. Singles into left. One on and another speedster, watch him Jesse. Not his problem, here comes Cito. Frasor now pitching to face Upton. 2-0 there goes Jennings, safe on the throw. Full count. Grounds to Bautista at third, looks Jennings back to second, throw to Overbay, one down. Bartlett, 1-1 count, yet another wild pitch !!! Jennings to third. How many bases have Jays pitchers now given up on these wild pitches? 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Crawford. Here comes Cito, that’s it for Frasor, Downs now pitching. 0-2 count, pops up to Downs, everyone converged on that one around the mound, could have been nasty. Jays escape here but they have to score runs themselves to win this thing and they have not looked like doing it for a long time.
Bottom 7th: Zobrist at second, Crawford in left and Jennings moves to right. Snider leading off. Would live to see Travis get hold of one here. 1-1 count, pops up to Bartlett at short, one down. Wise, 1-2 count, watches strike three. Oh boy. Escobar, owes his pitcher one. Lines out to centre, three up and down, easy pickings for Rays today.
Top 8th: Downs still out there. Longoria leading off, grounds to Hill at second, nice play buy Aaron, throw to Overbay, one down. Baldelli, full count, bounces to Escobar, throw to Overbay, two down. Zobrist, 1-2 count, great pitch Scott, pops up to Wise in right to end this one. Back to Jays hitters.
Bottom 8th: Bautista leading off. Everyone ion the stadium wants him to at least tie the record here in Toronto. Would not be the same in Baltimore (if he did it there). Benoit now pitching. Pops up first pitch to Longoria, one down. Wells, singles into left. Always when it doesn’t count eh Vernon? Overbay one down one on. 2-2 count, Gregg warming up but Jays have to get ahead here. Full count Lyle. Strikes out Vernon stealing and thrown out at second, double play ball. Vernon in the middle of it. Just not his day.
Top 9th: Gregg pitching. I hope he has Johnny Mc. behind him. No, Escobar. Shoppach leading off for Navarro. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, long throw to Overbay for the first out. Hawpe, 3-1 count, ball four. One on one down. Jennings, full count, singles into left, Hawpe running and gets to third on the play, this is trouble. Upton watch the bunt. 2-0 count, lines this to Snider in left, throw not in time here comes the run and Jays déjà vu all over again, 4-3 Rays. Jenings at second for Bartlett, two down. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay for third out but Jays now backs against the wall with Soriano lights out pitching.
Bottom 9th: Shoppach now catching, Pena in at first, Soriano pitching. Hill leading off, that’s a good start Aaron singles to left, one on for Lind, 0-2 count, YES ADAM gets hold of this hammers it into right corner seats, here comes Aaron and here comes the winning run as Lind is mobbed at the plate. Jays win 5-4.What a huge win for the Jays here. The Yankees must be very happy in Texas watching this score.
P.S. Gregg gets the win…. Yeah Kevin.
Problem watching Tampa is that they always show up the weaknesses of Jays running game…. many fans cannot wait for spring to see the new approach speed and youth. Add that component to their game which has been missing under all of Cito’s lineups.
The excellent: Well of course it has to be Lind’s shot, walk off two run home run. But also credit Hill for getting on base.
The good: Marcum. Watching Joe Maddon coaching a game, out there on the steps with Martinez, forever looking at the odds, watching, making changes, reacting. Like a good chess player. Lets wish hard friends.
Bad: Key at bat, Wells in the 5th. First pitch after Bautista out. Escobar play in front of Hill in the 6th. All flash, I would much prefer to see Johnny Mc. in these days, Escobar is too much of a hotdog for my liking.
Must win for Rays as they will pull level with Yankees. Rays also going for the sweep. Jays are playing for some respectability here, they have been awful all weekend. Cito is now lame duck manager so I guess they think they may be able to get away with it. Cito says today that Snider should play every day. Hello Cito where have you been this season? it was your call and didn’t play him game after game and then played him up and down the lineup. Travis never had a chance, he had no idea what was going on. That’s no way to give the kid confidence Cito, phooey with your old school macho stuff.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Rodriguez, Longoria, Baldelli, Zobrist, Hawpe, Navarro, Jennings.No Crawford or Pena. Joe Maddon giving Jays a chance here, make him pay guys.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider.
Pitching: Marcum v Niemann.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, pops up to Overbay, one down for Bartlett. Pops up to Snider in left. Rodriguez, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off, grounds to Bartlett at short, throw to Hawpe at first. One down. Escobar strikes out. Bautista pops up to Hawpe for third out. Pitchers duel today friends.
Top 2nd: Longoria leading off, full count and ball four. Come on Shawn. Baldelli with one on, strikes out. Zobrist , ball four, second walk for Marcum don’t let this be like yesterday Shawn. Longoria to second. Navarro two down, pops up to Escobar. Two down for Hawpe, strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Wells leading off, 3-0 count, ball four, one on for Overbay, strikes out. Hill one on one down, strikes out. Two down for Lind, wild pitch by Niemann, Wells to second. Lind lines out to Zobrist in right.
Top 3rd: Jennings leading off, pops up to Wells. One down. Upton same again Wells a busy guy. Bartlett grounds to Escobar throw to Overbay for third out.
Bottom 3rd: Buck leading off, strikes out. One down for Snider, pops up to Jennings.
Wise two down, full count, ball four. Escobar with one on and two down, pops up to Upton in centre.
Top 4th: Rodriguez pops up to Snider in left, one down. Longoria doubles to centre.
Baldelli pops up to Snider in left, two down. Zobrist, two down one on, doubles to right, here comes Longoria and Rays go out ahead 1-0 Rays. Navarro, wild pitch, Zobrist to third. Come on Shawn, falling apart here. That’s better pops up to Snider to end this.
Bottom 4th: Bautista leading off, doubles to left. One on for Wells, 3-0 count, ball four , second walk today, go figure Vernon. Two on nobody out. Overbay singles to right, bases loaded, Bautista at third, Wells at second. Hill grounds back to pitcher, here comes Jose and scores, here comes Vernon, Niemann throws ball away, 2-1 Jays, and Aaron safe, Overbay to third. Error to Niemann. Two on for Lind, ball four and bases are loaded with nobody out. Buck, this will do, lines this one to Upton in centre. Here comes Lyle, 3-1 Jays. One down for Snider, pops up to Upton. Two down for Wise strikes out.
Top 5th: Hawpe leading off grounds to Hill throw to Overbay, one down. Jennings strikes out. Upton with two down. singles to left, safe on the throw to Overbay. Bartlett with runner on. There goes Upton and safe on the throw at second. 1-2 count, strikes out.
Bottom 5th: Escobar leading off 3-1 count lifts it into centre. One down for Bautista. Lines it into left for the second out. Wells, first pitch out, lines it to left centre, two pitches two outs, Vernon brain warp again. Maybe not as he is always doing this. You have already walked twice Vernon this game, surely take a couple. These are the outs that can make huge difference, push Niemann to the limit and he is out of the game. Two runs is nothing for Rays to recover.
Top 6th: Rodriguez, 1-2 count, grounds up the middle, Escobar flashy play but ball out off his glove, I think Aaron had much better shot at that one. Longoria, 3-0 count, Rays and Yankees are patient hitters, Jays could learn something. Grouds hard to third Bautista cannot make the play at first, two on and nobody out. This is exactly what we said about Wells at bat. Tough for Marcum he should have at least one out here. Baldelli. 2-0 count, no room for error for Marcum. High pop up to shallow centre for Escobar. Frasor now warming up. Zobrist, one down two on. Bunting, foul, 0-2 count, ground rule double down the right field line into the crowd. Run scores 3-2 Jays. One down, two in scoring position for Navarro,1-1 count, pops up to Wells in centre, runners stay put. Two down. Here comes Cito. Just a social call. Hawpe with two in scoring position. Marcum on 100 pitches. 2-2 count, wild pitch, here comes the run. How many more is this team going to give up? It seems like almost one a game these days 3-3 game. Full count. Zobrist has moved up to third. Strikes out swinging but Marcum will not be happy with his infielder Escobar.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters owe Marcum big here now. Wells, Escobar just to mention two. Choate now pitching for Rays. Overbay leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Longoria at third, throw to first, one down. Hill, 3-1 count. Balfour warming up for Rays. Lines to Jennings in left, two down. Lind, 3-1 count, ball four. Here comes Maddon. Balfour will be pitching. Buck with two down and one on, great time for a home run John. Full count, strikes out on ball four.
Top 7th: Carlson now pitching. Jennings leading off, 0-2 count. Singles into left. One on and another speedster, watch him Jesse. Not his problem, here comes Cito. Frasor now pitching to face Upton. 2-0 there goes Jennings, safe on the throw. Full count. Grounds to Bautista at third, looks Jennings back to second, throw to Overbay, one down. Bartlett, 1-1 count, yet another wild pitch !!! Jennings to third. How many bases have Jays pitchers now given up on these wild pitches? 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Crawford. Here comes Cito, that’s it for Frasor, Downs now pitching. 0-2 count, pops up to Downs, everyone converged on that one around the mound, could have been nasty. Jays escape here but they have to score runs themselves to win this thing and they have not looked like doing it for a long time.
Bottom 7th: Zobrist at second, Crawford in left and Jennings moves to right. Snider leading off. Would live to see Travis get hold of one here. 1-1 count, pops up to Bartlett at short, one down. Wise, 1-2 count, watches strike three. Oh boy. Escobar, owes his pitcher one. Lines out to centre, three up and down, easy pickings for Rays today.
Top 8th: Downs still out there. Longoria leading off, grounds to Hill at second, nice play buy Aaron, throw to Overbay, one down. Baldelli, full count, bounces to Escobar, throw to Overbay, two down. Zobrist, 1-2 count, great pitch Scott, pops up to Wise in right to end this one. Back to Jays hitters.
Bottom 8th: Bautista leading off. Everyone ion the stadium wants him to at least tie the record here in Toronto. Would not be the same in Baltimore (if he did it there). Benoit now pitching. Pops up first pitch to Longoria, one down. Wells, singles into left. Always when it doesn’t count eh Vernon? Overbay one down one on. 2-2 count, Gregg warming up but Jays have to get ahead here. Full count Lyle. Strikes out Vernon stealing and thrown out at second, double play ball. Vernon in the middle of it. Just not his day.
Top 9th: Gregg pitching. I hope he has Johnny Mc. behind him. No, Escobar. Shoppach leading off for Navarro. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, long throw to Overbay for the first out. Hawpe, 3-1 count, ball four. One on one down. Jennings, full count, singles into left, Hawpe running and gets to third on the play, this is trouble. Upton watch the bunt. 2-0 count, lines this to Snider in left, throw not in time here comes the run and Jays déjà vu all over again, 4-3 Rays. Jenings at second for Bartlett, two down. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay for third out but Jays now backs against the wall with Soriano lights out pitching.
Bottom 9th: Shoppach now catching, Pena in at first, Soriano pitching. Hill leading off, that’s a good start Aaron singles to left, one on for Lind, 0-2 count, YES ADAM gets hold of this hammers it into right corner seats, here comes Aaron and here comes the winning run as Lind is mobbed at the plate. Jays win 5-4.What a huge win for the Jays here. The Yankees must be very happy in Texas watching this score.
P.S. Gregg gets the win…. Yeah Kevin.
Problem watching Tampa is that they always show up the weaknesses of Jays running game…. many fans cannot wait for spring to see the new approach speed and youth. Add that component to their game which has been missing under all of Cito’s lineups.
The excellent: Well of course it has to be Lind’s shot, walk off two run home run. But also credit Hill for getting on base.
The good: Marcum. Watching Joe Maddon coaching a game, out there on the steps with Martinez, forever looking at the odds, watching, making changes, reacting. Like a good chess player. Lets wish hard friends.
Bad: Key at bat, Wells in the 5th. First pitch after Bautista out. Escobar play in front of Hill in the 6th. All flash, I would much prefer to see Johnny Mc. in these days, Escobar is too much of a hotdog for my liking.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Jays embarrass themselves with bush league performance and worst game of the season
Game three of four. Rays v Jays. Saturday September 11.
Very tough loss last night, that would make it difficult to get up this morning. However I suggest that Jays had a great deal to be proud of in that game. Down and out in the very first inning by six. Playing a team that is still fighting Yankees for Division title and Jays get off the floor and score eight against Shields one of the best pitchers in the AL. Overall they have played Rays tough this season and far better than last when they were the doormats for Tampa. No longer and they know that they are getting better. Two more to go. Let’s see what they can do.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Crawford, Longoria, Zobrist, Pena, Rodriguez, Hawpe, Shopppach.
Jays: Lewis, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Molina, Snider.
Pitching: Romero v Davis.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, pops up to catcher Jose Molina. One down for Bartlett, strikes out. Two down for Crawford, pops up to Bautista at third to end the inning. Anytie Rays do not score is definitely a good inning in my book.
Bottom 1st: Lewis leading off, strikes out. Escobar one on, singles to left. Two on and nobody out. Bautista, great applause for this guy. It will be interesting to see how his home run quest impacts the crow this weekend. Not here, pops up to Crawford in left. Two down. Wells pops up to Rodriguez at second to end the inning..
Top 2nd: Longoria leading off, singles to centre. Zobrist lines out to right field Lewis. Pena with one down, strikes out. Rodriguez, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay leading off pops up to Upton in centre. One down for Hill. Singles to left. Lind 3-0 and ball four, walked on four pitches, Hill to second with only one down.
Molina strikes out. Snider strikes out.
Top 3rd: - Hawpe leading off fly ball to Wells in centre, one down. Shoppach strikes out. Upton strikes out. Very nice Ricky.
Bottom 3rd: Lewis leading off pops up to Crawford in left, one down. Escobar doubles to right. Bautista grounds to Longoria at third throw to Pena at first. Two down for Wells lines out to Crawford. Three up and down.
Top 4th: Bartlett leading off 3-0 and ball four, walks on four pitches. Crawford, oh come on Ricky, hit by a pitch, Bartlett to second. Two on and nobody out. Longoria, strikes out. One down. Zobrist, doubles to right. Here comes Bartlett, here comes Crawford and Rays get their first runs today. 2-0 Rays. Pena full count and ball four, second walk, Romero has lost it here. Romero's wild pitch, Zobrist to third. Rodriguez walks, bases loaded, Pena to second. Hawpe, there she goes, into right seats, grand slam Hawpe and Rays go out 6-0. Romero has been hammered today. 6-0 Rays. Shoppach hit by pitch. No surely not a payback here. Rays ignore it but note for Dunedin probably. Upton strikes out. Two down for Bartlett pops up to Wells. What an inning. Three walks, a hit batter, wild pitch and grand slam to go with the six runs.
Bottom 4th: Jays have a long hill to climb for the second day in a row but I don’t think we will see yesterday’s fight back again here. Overbay leading off, full count, that will do it Lyle, lines this into the seats in centre field. Home run Lyle. 6-1 Rays. Hill pops up to Longoria at third. Lind strikes out. Molina two down lines out to Longoria.
Top 5th: No more Romero, just didn’t have it today. Still has that inconsistency but let’s see how he bounces back next game. Mills now pitching. Crawford leading off strikes out. one down Longoria pops up Escobar. Two down. Zobrist, doubles to left.Pena doubles to centre, here comes Zobrist. 7-1 Rays. Rodriguez strikes out. p of 6th
Bottom 5th: Snider leading off singles to left. It’s a start. Lewis grounds to Pena at first throw to Bartlett back to.Davis, double play ball. Jays get no breaks today. Escobar singles to right. Bautista full count and ball four Escobar to second. Now that double play by Lewis really hurts them. Wells hits infield single to centre, bases loaded, Escobar at third, Bautista at second. That would have been a run. Overbay with bases loaded, great chance here to get back in this, strikes out.
Top 6th: Hawpe leading off pops up flied out to Lewis, one down. Shoppach full count and ball four. Upton, another passed ball, Shoppach to second. Upton another full count, ball four. Mills is no improvement, just as bad as Romero. Bartlett pops up to Lewis in right, Shoppach tags on the throw and gets to third. Crawford, NO, lines it to right, this is more trouble, here comes Shoppach, here comes Upton form first and Crawford has yet another triple, he must love this place. The second triple in three games. 9-1 Rays. I don’t see Jays scoring eight today. Longoria pops it up to Lewis leaving Crawford at third.
Bottom 6th: Hill leading off grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, one down. Lind pops up to Upton in centre. Two down for Molina, pops up to Upton. Quick inning for Davis.
Top 7th: Zobrist leading off pops up to Lewis. one down. Pena strikes out. Rodriguez fly ball to Snider in left. When did we last have that three up and down? Rays want on the town. Film Festival first weekend in Toronto.
Bottom 7th: Snider leading off pops up to Zobrist, one down. Lewis ball four, walks.
Escobar pops up to Crawford. Two down. Bautista, passed ball, Lewis moves to second. Bautista strikes out. Davis still overpowering these Jays hitters today.
Top 8th: Rommie Lewis now pitching. Hawpe leading off singles to centre. One on for Shoppach, there she goes home run to left, two runs score and 11-1 Rays. Jennings pinch-hitting for Upton. Still nobody out. Jennings doubles to right.Bartkett with yet another runner in scoring position. Lines it to centre and look at this guy run, Jenings scores 12-1 Rays. Bartlett has a triple. Imagine a team with two who get triples in the same inning. Fortunately Jays new GM sees it the same way and will be changing the one-dimensional game that they currently play. Jays get a break here no Crawford,
Joyce pinch-hitting for Crawford. Doesn’t make any difference, grounds to Bautista at third throw to Overbay for the first (yes the first out), run scores 13-1 Rays. Rubbing it in bigtime but with the pitching this bad No Longoria Aybar. 3-0 count, ball four. This woul be hilarious if it were another team, this is just sad, Mills has nothing . Finally Cito has pity on the fans, forget Mills. Purcey now pitching. Wild pitch, well why not. Aybar to second. Zobrist full count, ball four another walk, I have forgotten how many outs there are now. This has to be the most embarrassing performance by Jays pitchers for many a long time. Brignac pinch-hitting for Pena, strikes out. Huge Bronx cheers from the few who are left. Two down, Rodriguez at least he is swinging, the others were just walking pops up to Wells. Mercifully. SEVEN walks today let alone the hit batter and wild pitches. A comedy of errors indeed.
Bottom 8th: All change, reserves now in there. Jennings at centre field. Joyce in at left Aybar at third. Zobrist at first. Brignac at short. Hawpe at right. Oh yes and Wheeler pitching. Wise leading off pinch-hitting for Wells. Vernon needs a rest ? Wise grounds to Rodriguez at second throw to Zobrist. One down for Overbay, fly ball to Jennings in center. McCoy pinch-hitting for Hill. At least he has an excuse with his knee. McCoy lines out to Joyce in left for third out.
Top 9th: All change on Jays bench. Johnny Mc. at short, I would love to see him in place of Escobar the way he is fielding. He would have had that double play yesterday. It looks as if Escobar cannot handle the guy coming at him on those double plays. He had better learn. Hoffpauir in at third. Wise in centre. McCoy in at second. Arencibia catching. Have I missed anyone? Hawpe leading off strikes out. Shoppach strikes out. Jennings pops up to Overbay. Poor Lyle no one on the bench who can give him an inning off.
Bottom 9th: Ekstrom now pitching to finish this team off or put them out of their misery might be more apt. Lind leading off grounds to Rodriguez at second, throw to Zobrist. One down. Arencibia lines to Jennings in centre. to center fielder Jennings.
Snider lines to Jennings in centre. Three up and down very quickly.
Let’s get out of here but they have to come back tomorrow and show some backbone. Make no mistake there will be no freebie tomorrow from the Rays, they need every single win and will be fighting for it. These games are at least showing the fans how far this team still has to go to compete. Romero in particular is not yet a Halladay, it would have been a wakeup call to him today. But the bats also seem to be taking more days off recently.
Nothing good about today at all. Probably their worst performance this year without a doubt.
Bad, where do we start? Has to be Jays pitching and lets name all four of the culprits. Romero, Mills, Lewis and Purcey pitching as if it were the first week of spring training. Awfuu is far too weak for this collective performance.
Very tough loss last night, that would make it difficult to get up this morning. However I suggest that Jays had a great deal to be proud of in that game. Down and out in the very first inning by six. Playing a team that is still fighting Yankees for Division title and Jays get off the floor and score eight against Shields one of the best pitchers in the AL. Overall they have played Rays tough this season and far better than last when they were the doormats for Tampa. No longer and they know that they are getting better. Two more to go. Let’s see what they can do.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Crawford, Longoria, Zobrist, Pena, Rodriguez, Hawpe, Shopppach.
Jays: Lewis, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Molina, Snider.
Pitching: Romero v Davis.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, pops up to catcher Jose Molina. One down for Bartlett, strikes out. Two down for Crawford, pops up to Bautista at third to end the inning. Anytie Rays do not score is definitely a good inning in my book.
Bottom 1st: Lewis leading off, strikes out. Escobar one on, singles to left. Two on and nobody out. Bautista, great applause for this guy. It will be interesting to see how his home run quest impacts the crow this weekend. Not here, pops up to Crawford in left. Two down. Wells pops up to Rodriguez at second to end the inning..
Top 2nd: Longoria leading off, singles to centre. Zobrist lines out to right field Lewis. Pena with one down, strikes out. Rodriguez, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 2nd: Overbay leading off pops up to Upton in centre. One down for Hill. Singles to left. Lind 3-0 and ball four, walked on four pitches, Hill to second with only one down.
Molina strikes out. Snider strikes out.
Top 3rd: - Hawpe leading off fly ball to Wells in centre, one down. Shoppach strikes out. Upton strikes out. Very nice Ricky.
Bottom 3rd: Lewis leading off pops up to Crawford in left, one down. Escobar doubles to right. Bautista grounds to Longoria at third throw to Pena at first. Two down for Wells lines out to Crawford. Three up and down.
Top 4th: Bartlett leading off 3-0 and ball four, walks on four pitches. Crawford, oh come on Ricky, hit by a pitch, Bartlett to second. Two on and nobody out. Longoria, strikes out. One down. Zobrist, doubles to right. Here comes Bartlett, here comes Crawford and Rays get their first runs today. 2-0 Rays. Pena full count and ball four, second walk, Romero has lost it here. Romero's wild pitch, Zobrist to third. Rodriguez walks, bases loaded, Pena to second. Hawpe, there she goes, into right seats, grand slam Hawpe and Rays go out 6-0. Romero has been hammered today. 6-0 Rays. Shoppach hit by pitch. No surely not a payback here. Rays ignore it but note for Dunedin probably. Upton strikes out. Two down for Bartlett pops up to Wells. What an inning. Three walks, a hit batter, wild pitch and grand slam to go with the six runs.
Bottom 4th: Jays have a long hill to climb for the second day in a row but I don’t think we will see yesterday’s fight back again here. Overbay leading off, full count, that will do it Lyle, lines this into the seats in centre field. Home run Lyle. 6-1 Rays. Hill pops up to Longoria at third. Lind strikes out. Molina two down lines out to Longoria.
Top 5th: No more Romero, just didn’t have it today. Still has that inconsistency but let’s see how he bounces back next game. Mills now pitching. Crawford leading off strikes out. one down Longoria pops up Escobar. Two down. Zobrist, doubles to left.Pena doubles to centre, here comes Zobrist. 7-1 Rays. Rodriguez strikes out. p of 6th
Bottom 5th: Snider leading off singles to left. It’s a start. Lewis grounds to Pena at first throw to Bartlett back to.Davis, double play ball. Jays get no breaks today. Escobar singles to right. Bautista full count and ball four Escobar to second. Now that double play by Lewis really hurts them. Wells hits infield single to centre, bases loaded, Escobar at third, Bautista at second. That would have been a run. Overbay with bases loaded, great chance here to get back in this, strikes out.
Top 6th: Hawpe leading off pops up flied out to Lewis, one down. Shoppach full count and ball four. Upton, another passed ball, Shoppach to second. Upton another full count, ball four. Mills is no improvement, just as bad as Romero. Bartlett pops up to Lewis in right, Shoppach tags on the throw and gets to third. Crawford, NO, lines it to right, this is more trouble, here comes Shoppach, here comes Upton form first and Crawford has yet another triple, he must love this place. The second triple in three games. 9-1 Rays. I don’t see Jays scoring eight today. Longoria pops it up to Lewis leaving Crawford at third.
Bottom 6th: Hill leading off grounds to Bartlett throw to Pena, one down. Lind pops up to Upton in centre. Two down for Molina, pops up to Upton. Quick inning for Davis.
Top 7th: Zobrist leading off pops up to Lewis. one down. Pena strikes out. Rodriguez fly ball to Snider in left. When did we last have that three up and down? Rays want on the town. Film Festival first weekend in Toronto.
Bottom 7th: Snider leading off pops up to Zobrist, one down. Lewis ball four, walks.
Escobar pops up to Crawford. Two down. Bautista, passed ball, Lewis moves to second. Bautista strikes out. Davis still overpowering these Jays hitters today.
Top 8th: Rommie Lewis now pitching. Hawpe leading off singles to centre. One on for Shoppach, there she goes home run to left, two runs score and 11-1 Rays. Jennings pinch-hitting for Upton. Still nobody out. Jennings doubles to right.Bartkett with yet another runner in scoring position. Lines it to centre and look at this guy run, Jenings scores 12-1 Rays. Bartlett has a triple. Imagine a team with two who get triples in the same inning. Fortunately Jays new GM sees it the same way and will be changing the one-dimensional game that they currently play. Jays get a break here no Crawford,
Joyce pinch-hitting for Crawford. Doesn’t make any difference, grounds to Bautista at third throw to Overbay for the first (yes the first out), run scores 13-1 Rays. Rubbing it in bigtime but with the pitching this bad No Longoria Aybar. 3-0 count, ball four. This woul be hilarious if it were another team, this is just sad, Mills has nothing . Finally Cito has pity on the fans, forget Mills. Purcey now pitching. Wild pitch, well why not. Aybar to second. Zobrist full count, ball four another walk, I have forgotten how many outs there are now. This has to be the most embarrassing performance by Jays pitchers for many a long time. Brignac pinch-hitting for Pena, strikes out. Huge Bronx cheers from the few who are left. Two down, Rodriguez at least he is swinging, the others were just walking pops up to Wells. Mercifully. SEVEN walks today let alone the hit batter and wild pitches. A comedy of errors indeed.
Bottom 8th: All change, reserves now in there. Jennings at centre field. Joyce in at left Aybar at third. Zobrist at first. Brignac at short. Hawpe at right. Oh yes and Wheeler pitching. Wise leading off pinch-hitting for Wells. Vernon needs a rest ? Wise grounds to Rodriguez at second throw to Zobrist. One down for Overbay, fly ball to Jennings in center. McCoy pinch-hitting for Hill. At least he has an excuse with his knee. McCoy lines out to Joyce in left for third out.
Top 9th: All change on Jays bench. Johnny Mc. at short, I would love to see him in place of Escobar the way he is fielding. He would have had that double play yesterday. It looks as if Escobar cannot handle the guy coming at him on those double plays. He had better learn. Hoffpauir in at third. Wise in centre. McCoy in at second. Arencibia catching. Have I missed anyone? Hawpe leading off strikes out. Shoppach strikes out. Jennings pops up to Overbay. Poor Lyle no one on the bench who can give him an inning off.
Bottom 9th: Ekstrom now pitching to finish this team off or put them out of their misery might be more apt. Lind leading off grounds to Rodriguez at second, throw to Zobrist. One down. Arencibia lines to Jennings in centre. to center fielder Jennings.
Snider lines to Jennings in centre. Three up and down very quickly.
Let’s get out of here but they have to come back tomorrow and show some backbone. Make no mistake there will be no freebie tomorrow from the Rays, they need every single win and will be fighting for it. These games are at least showing the fans how far this team still has to go to compete. Romero in particular is not yet a Halladay, it would have been a wakeup call to him today. But the bats also seem to be taking more days off recently.
Nothing good about today at all. Probably their worst performance this year without a doubt.
Bad, where do we start? Has to be Jays pitching and lets name all four of the culprits. Romero, Mills, Lewis and Purcey pitching as if it were the first week of spring training. Awfuu is far too weak for this collective performance.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Jays lose heartbreaker after Bautista and bullpen almost pull this one out.
Rays v Jays. Friday September 10.
Big weekend test for Jays, on a mini-slide and not playing very well right now, facing a Rays team that wants that division title.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Rodriguez, Baldelli, Zobrist, Shoppach.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Buck, Lind, Snider.
Pitching: Shields v Cecil.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, singles to centre, one on for Bartlett. Grounds to Bautista throws to Hill to get lead runner Upton. One down one on for Crawford. This is trouble, gets hold of this one lines it all the way to the wall in centre, here comes Bartlett and Crawford has stand up triple. 1-0 Rays and threatening more with only one out. Longoria, singles to centre, here comes Crawford and Rays take 2-0 lead. Cecil not starting off very well here. Pena with one down and runner at first, strikes out. Two down. Rodriguez, walks, two on. Baldelli, good to see him back playing at this level after all his own health problems. Gets hold of this one and doubles to left, here comes Longoria, here comes Rodriguez, 4-0 Rays and Cecil not fooling anyone this inning. Zobrist with Baldelli at second and two down. Oh boy….gets hold of this one bigtime, home run to Zobrist and this score is now 6-0 Rays before Jays get a bat. Not over yet either, Shoppach with two down. Finally, strikes out to end this nightmare.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off, strikes out. One down. Escobar grounds to third, Longoria cannot handle it and Escobar safe on the error. Bautista, wild pitch by Shields, Escobar moves to second. Bautista pops up to Zobrist in right. Two down for Wells. That’s the way Vernon, singles to right, here comes Escobar to get Jays on the board. 6-1 Rays. Overbay grounds to Bartlett at short, throw to Pena at first for third out. Shields does his job.
Top 2nd: Has Cecil learned anything ? Top of the order for second time already. Upton leading off pops up to Hill at second. One down for Bartlett, doubles to centre. Crawford grounds to Hill, will not get him with that speed. Bartlett to third. Two on and only one down for Longoria. Singles to centre, here comes Bartlett 7-1 Rays. Crawford to second. Pena with runner at second and only one down, perfect, strikes out. Rodriguez grounds back to Cecil throw to Overbay for third out. Not as bad as the first but obviously Cecil does not have it tonight. Pitch count 50.
Bottom 2nd: Hill pops up to Crawford in left one down. Lind pops up to Upton in centre, two down. Buck, strikes out. Shields closing the door.
Top 3rd: Baldelli walks. That’s it for Cecil, Cito and the crowd have had more than enough. Roenicke now pitching. Zobrist grounds to Overbay, throw to Escobar, back to Overbay double play ball. Shoppach with two down, strikes out. Roenicke stops the bleeding for now at least.
Bottom 3rd: Snider leading off, that’s better Travis, doubles to the wall in centre. One on for Wise, lines out to Crawford in left. Travis has to hold at second. Escobar singles to right, Snider to third. Jays have something going here. Bautista pops up to Zobrist in shallow right. Travis tagging and here comes the throw Snider out at home plate. Double play ball. That was probably not a great idea with Vernon on deck, it was much too shallow and we had already seen Zobrist throw.
Top 4th: Upton, first pitch swinging there she goes, home to left. 8-1 Rays. The beat goes on. Bartlett pops up to Escobar at short, one down. Crawford grounds to Overbay steps on the bag himself, two down for Longoria, pops up to Wise in right.
Bottom 4th: Wells leading off, full count, grounds to short, long throw to first for the out. Overbay lines to right, one on one down for Hill.1-2 strikes out, two down. Lind, gets hold of one but just foul in right. 0-1 count, YES, YES Adam gets hold of this one into centre, here comes Lyle, here comes Adam, 8-3 game. Buck, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 71.
Top 5th: Can Roenicke close them down here and get Jays hitters out there. Pena leading off, shift right, pops up right at Hill in shallow right behind Lyle. One down. Rodriguez, pops up to Wells, two down. Baldelli, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, that’s the way, perfect inning Josh. Now lets get those bats a booming.
Bottom 5th: Snider, first pitch pop up to Upton in left. Come on Travis use your head. Wise with one down. 2-1 count, grounds to second, throw to first, two down. Escobar. Lines it to short, off his glove into left, that was hit very hard. Bautista, with one on and two down. 2-2 count, WHOA Jose !!!!!!!!! yes Jose, gets this one into left, a moon shot, here comes Yunel, here comes Jose, 8-5 Rays. Wells pops up to Longoria at third. But Jays are definitely back in this one. Pitch count 83, would have been a lot better than that if Travis had thought for a second.
Top 6th: Janssen now pitching. Roenicke did great job. Zobrist leading off, 3-1 count, ball four inside, come on Casey…. Shoppach, pops up to Wise in right, one down. Upton, full count, Carlson and Camp warming up in bullpen. Strikes out swinging there goes Zobrist, Buck throw way high at second, come on John. That was terrible, Zobrist now to third on the error. Two down for Bartlett. 3-1 count, low ball four, come on Casey, that’s your night over. Cito out there, here comes Carlson. Crawford with two down and two on. WHOA!!! Grounds to Hill flip to Escobar at second to just get Bartlett. That was very close.
Bottom 6th: Jays get another chance to close the gap. Overbay leading off. Randy Choate now pitching for Shields. Pops up to Upton in centre, one down. Hill, one down. 1-2 count, Matt Balfour warming up in Rays bullpen. Strikes out swinging, two down for Lind. strikes out swinging.
Top 7th: Frasor now pitching. Longoria, 0-1 count. Grounds very hard to Bautista at third, dives knocks it down, Jose up and bounces throw to Overbay, one down. Pena, 1-1 count, high moon shot to right field corner, Wise gets it at the wall. Two down. Rodriguez, 1-2 count, pops up to Wells. Frasor did his job.
Bottom 7th: Buck leading off, Choate still out there. 2-2 count. Gets hold of this one, drives it into right,no dount this time about this one, home run to Buck, 8-6 Rays. Snider, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Wise, with one down, full count. Ball four, great at bat by DeWayne. Here comes Joe Maddon, Chad Qualls now pitching. Escobar, the tying run. Who would have thought that at the bottom of the first? Wise running Escobar bounces the ball to first Qualls just beats Escobar to the bag, two down. Bautista with runner at second. Here comes Maddon again, and calling for Benoit. Managers pulling all the stops out tonight, I tell you these games are huge for the Rays and should be for the Jays as well but a lot less pressure on them. Yankees already winning tonight and could go out 3.5 games ahead if Rays were to lose this one. Asks for time but does not get it, strike one. OH WOWEEEEE gets hold of this one another into left field seats here comes Yunel, here comes Jose two run home run to tie this game up. 8-8. Curtain call, Wells now chance for you Vernon, grounds to first. What a game. Can you imagine what the Yankees say when they see that score… Have you ever noticed when Jose gets mad he hits a home run? He was denied that time out and comes back to hit the home run. Cecil also off the hook for loss, no decision now.
Top 8th: Camp now pitching, Jaso pinch hitting for Baldelli, full count, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay for the first out. Zobrist 3-1 count, ball four. One on one down. Matt Joyce pinch hitting for Shoppach, 2-1 count. Downs warming up in bullpen.3-1 count, Camp not finding the zone right now. Ball four wide and two on now. Not good at all after the way hitters have come back in this one. Upton with one down and two on. Need a ground ball here Shawn. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging, two down but not out of it yet with Bartlett now at bat. That’s more like it. lines it hard to second but Hill dives to make the stop and throw to Overbay for third out. That took a run away. Great defense helping out Camp here.
Bottom 8th: All square with Overbay leading off and no lefty in the Rays bullpen. Benoit still pitching. 2-2 count. Pops up to Upton in centre. One down. Hill, should be fired up after that great fielding play last inning. Grounds to Longoria at third, dives to make the stop and throw to first to get Aaron, two down for Lind. 0-2 count, grounds to Rodriguez, throw to first.
Top 9th: Gregg now pitching, what happened to Downs? Cito gambling here. Crawford leading off, first pitch lines to Snider in left. Longoria, one down, 3-1 count, ball four, Cito getting anxious. One on one down for Pena. 3-0 count, getting (very) restless here Kevin. There‘s a strike, full count, ball four. Two on one down for Rodriguez. 1-2 count, NO, grounds to Overbay throw to Escobar at second to get Pena, throw to Gregg at first, wide of first and Rays take the lead on the Escobar error, 9-8 Rays. that has taken wind out of the crowd. Two down for Jaso grounds to Overbay, takes it himself for third out.
Bottom 9th: Jays have an uphill battle here now Soriano 41 saves, lights out this season. Buck leading off. 0-2 count, way over head of catcher and umpire, weird. Strikes out swinging. One down for Snider, 0-2 count, goes high and Travis always swings at it. Never ever learns. Two down for Wise. Last chance for Jays. full count. Strikes out swinging. Jays lose a heartbreaker.
Interesting how Joe Maddon goes out there with the team to join in the celebrations.
One run, winning run on an error. Escobar the goat. I am still on the fence on this guy. Too many errors and not really producing with the bat either on a regular basis since that first few weeks. Not alone in that there are others in the same boat. Bautista is carrying some of them on his bat.
Good: Bautista two run home run to get Jays within three and then Number 46 to get the team level and his own home run total one behind Bell. Wise at bat in the 7th. against Choate the lefty specialist, hangs in there for a walk to get tying run to the plate. Roenicke, Camp and Frasor. Jays hitters deserve the plaudits for getting back into this one.
Bad: Janssen awful, Snider error on the tag home, Buck throwing error in the 6th. Gregg not sharp but he had the ball on the ground for the double play.
The very bad: Has to be Escobar all alone out there tonight with the error. Cecil for getting the team in the mess in the first inning.
Better crowd tonight: 14,305
Big weekend test for Jays, on a mini-slide and not playing very well right now, facing a Rays team that wants that division title.
Lineups: Rays: Upton, Bartlett, Crawford, Longoria, Pena, Rodriguez, Baldelli, Zobrist, Shoppach.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Buck, Lind, Snider.
Pitching: Shields v Cecil.
Top 1st: Upton leading off, singles to centre, one on for Bartlett. Grounds to Bautista throws to Hill to get lead runner Upton. One down one on for Crawford. This is trouble, gets hold of this one lines it all the way to the wall in centre, here comes Bartlett and Crawford has stand up triple. 1-0 Rays and threatening more with only one out. Longoria, singles to centre, here comes Crawford and Rays take 2-0 lead. Cecil not starting off very well here. Pena with one down and runner at first, strikes out. Two down. Rodriguez, walks, two on. Baldelli, good to see him back playing at this level after all his own health problems. Gets hold of this one and doubles to left, here comes Longoria, here comes Rodriguez, 4-0 Rays and Cecil not fooling anyone this inning. Zobrist with Baldelli at second and two down. Oh boy….gets hold of this one bigtime, home run to Zobrist and this score is now 6-0 Rays before Jays get a bat. Not over yet either, Shoppach with two down. Finally, strikes out to end this nightmare.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off, strikes out. One down. Escobar grounds to third, Longoria cannot handle it and Escobar safe on the error. Bautista, wild pitch by Shields, Escobar moves to second. Bautista pops up to Zobrist in right. Two down for Wells. That’s the way Vernon, singles to right, here comes Escobar to get Jays on the board. 6-1 Rays. Overbay grounds to Bartlett at short, throw to Pena at first for third out. Shields does his job.
Top 2nd: Has Cecil learned anything ? Top of the order for second time already. Upton leading off pops up to Hill at second. One down for Bartlett, doubles to centre. Crawford grounds to Hill, will not get him with that speed. Bartlett to third. Two on and only one down for Longoria. Singles to centre, here comes Bartlett 7-1 Rays. Crawford to second. Pena with runner at second and only one down, perfect, strikes out. Rodriguez grounds back to Cecil throw to Overbay for third out. Not as bad as the first but obviously Cecil does not have it tonight. Pitch count 50.
Bottom 2nd: Hill pops up to Crawford in left one down. Lind pops up to Upton in centre, two down. Buck, strikes out. Shields closing the door.
Top 3rd: Baldelli walks. That’s it for Cecil, Cito and the crowd have had more than enough. Roenicke now pitching. Zobrist grounds to Overbay, throw to Escobar, back to Overbay double play ball. Shoppach with two down, strikes out. Roenicke stops the bleeding for now at least.
Bottom 3rd: Snider leading off, that’s better Travis, doubles to the wall in centre. One on for Wise, lines out to Crawford in left. Travis has to hold at second. Escobar singles to right, Snider to third. Jays have something going here. Bautista pops up to Zobrist in shallow right. Travis tagging and here comes the throw Snider out at home plate. Double play ball. That was probably not a great idea with Vernon on deck, it was much too shallow and we had already seen Zobrist throw.
Top 4th: Upton, first pitch swinging there she goes, home to left. 8-1 Rays. The beat goes on. Bartlett pops up to Escobar at short, one down. Crawford grounds to Overbay steps on the bag himself, two down for Longoria, pops up to Wise in right.
Bottom 4th: Wells leading off, full count, grounds to short, long throw to first for the out. Overbay lines to right, one on one down for Hill.1-2 strikes out, two down. Lind, gets hold of one but just foul in right. 0-1 count, YES, YES Adam gets hold of this one into centre, here comes Lyle, here comes Adam, 8-3 game. Buck, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 71.
Top 5th: Can Roenicke close them down here and get Jays hitters out there. Pena leading off, shift right, pops up right at Hill in shallow right behind Lyle. One down. Rodriguez, pops up to Wells, two down. Baldelli, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, that’s the way, perfect inning Josh. Now lets get those bats a booming.
Bottom 5th: Snider, first pitch pop up to Upton in left. Come on Travis use your head. Wise with one down. 2-1 count, grounds to second, throw to first, two down. Escobar. Lines it to short, off his glove into left, that was hit very hard. Bautista, with one on and two down. 2-2 count, WHOA Jose !!!!!!!!! yes Jose, gets this one into left, a moon shot, here comes Yunel, here comes Jose, 8-5 Rays. Wells pops up to Longoria at third. But Jays are definitely back in this one. Pitch count 83, would have been a lot better than that if Travis had thought for a second.
Top 6th: Janssen now pitching. Roenicke did great job. Zobrist leading off, 3-1 count, ball four inside, come on Casey…. Shoppach, pops up to Wise in right, one down. Upton, full count, Carlson and Camp warming up in bullpen. Strikes out swinging there goes Zobrist, Buck throw way high at second, come on John. That was terrible, Zobrist now to third on the error. Two down for Bartlett. 3-1 count, low ball four, come on Casey, that’s your night over. Cito out there, here comes Carlson. Crawford with two down and two on. WHOA!!! Grounds to Hill flip to Escobar at second to just get Bartlett. That was very close.
Bottom 6th: Jays get another chance to close the gap. Overbay leading off. Randy Choate now pitching for Shields. Pops up to Upton in centre, one down. Hill, one down. 1-2 count, Matt Balfour warming up in Rays bullpen. Strikes out swinging, two down for Lind. strikes out swinging.
Top 7th: Frasor now pitching. Longoria, 0-1 count. Grounds very hard to Bautista at third, dives knocks it down, Jose up and bounces throw to Overbay, one down. Pena, 1-1 count, high moon shot to right field corner, Wise gets it at the wall. Two down. Rodriguez, 1-2 count, pops up to Wells. Frasor did his job.
Bottom 7th: Buck leading off, Choate still out there. 2-2 count. Gets hold of this one, drives it into right,no dount this time about this one, home run to Buck, 8-6 Rays. Snider, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Wise, with one down, full count. Ball four, great at bat by DeWayne. Here comes Joe Maddon, Chad Qualls now pitching. Escobar, the tying run. Who would have thought that at the bottom of the first? Wise running Escobar bounces the ball to first Qualls just beats Escobar to the bag, two down. Bautista with runner at second. Here comes Maddon again, and calling for Benoit. Managers pulling all the stops out tonight, I tell you these games are huge for the Rays and should be for the Jays as well but a lot less pressure on them. Yankees already winning tonight and could go out 3.5 games ahead if Rays were to lose this one. Asks for time but does not get it, strike one. OH WOWEEEEE gets hold of this one another into left field seats here comes Yunel, here comes Jose two run home run to tie this game up. 8-8. Curtain call, Wells now chance for you Vernon, grounds to first. What a game. Can you imagine what the Yankees say when they see that score… Have you ever noticed when Jose gets mad he hits a home run? He was denied that time out and comes back to hit the home run. Cecil also off the hook for loss, no decision now.
Top 8th: Camp now pitching, Jaso pinch hitting for Baldelli, full count, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay for the first out. Zobrist 3-1 count, ball four. One on one down. Matt Joyce pinch hitting for Shoppach, 2-1 count. Downs warming up in bullpen.3-1 count, Camp not finding the zone right now. Ball four wide and two on now. Not good at all after the way hitters have come back in this one. Upton with one down and two on. Need a ground ball here Shawn. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging, two down but not out of it yet with Bartlett now at bat. That’s more like it. lines it hard to second but Hill dives to make the stop and throw to Overbay for third out. That took a run away. Great defense helping out Camp here.
Bottom 8th: All square with Overbay leading off and no lefty in the Rays bullpen. Benoit still pitching. 2-2 count. Pops up to Upton in centre. One down. Hill, should be fired up after that great fielding play last inning. Grounds to Longoria at third, dives to make the stop and throw to first to get Aaron, two down for Lind. 0-2 count, grounds to Rodriguez, throw to first.
Top 9th: Gregg now pitching, what happened to Downs? Cito gambling here. Crawford leading off, first pitch lines to Snider in left. Longoria, one down, 3-1 count, ball four, Cito getting anxious. One on one down for Pena. 3-0 count, getting (very) restless here Kevin. There‘s a strike, full count, ball four. Two on one down for Rodriguez. 1-2 count, NO, grounds to Overbay throw to Escobar at second to get Pena, throw to Gregg at first, wide of first and Rays take the lead on the Escobar error, 9-8 Rays. that has taken wind out of the crowd. Two down for Jaso grounds to Overbay, takes it himself for third out.
Bottom 9th: Jays have an uphill battle here now Soriano 41 saves, lights out this season. Buck leading off. 0-2 count, way over head of catcher and umpire, weird. Strikes out swinging. One down for Snider, 0-2 count, goes high and Travis always swings at it. Never ever learns. Two down for Wise. Last chance for Jays. full count. Strikes out swinging. Jays lose a heartbreaker.
Interesting how Joe Maddon goes out there with the team to join in the celebrations.
One run, winning run on an error. Escobar the goat. I am still on the fence on this guy. Too many errors and not really producing with the bat either on a regular basis since that first few weeks. Not alone in that there are others in the same boat. Bautista is carrying some of them on his bat.
Good: Bautista two run home run to get Jays within three and then Number 46 to get the team level and his own home run total one behind Bell. Wise at bat in the 7th. against Choate the lefty specialist, hangs in there for a walk to get tying run to the plate. Roenicke, Camp and Frasor. Jays hitters deserve the plaudits for getting back into this one.
Bad: Janssen awful, Snider error on the tag home, Buck throwing error in the 6th. Gregg not sharp but he had the ball on the ground for the double play.
The very bad: Has to be Escobar all alone out there tonight with the error. Cecil for getting the team in the mess in the first inning.
Better crowd tonight: 14,305
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Jays give this one away with sloppy all-round play despite Jose home run number 44.
Game four. Rangers v Jays. Thursday September 9.
Big news today is local boy Shawn Hill start for the Jays. Off two Tommy John surgeries and another arm operation he has been fighting to get back in the big league. Has pitched very well in the minors but he knows this is different tonight. Interesting news that Toronto police have provided the US Justice Department with the Jays medical records of Roger Clemens from the time he was here.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Murphy, Guerrero, Cruz, Moreland, Molina, Blanco, Borbon.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Buck, Lewis, Snider.
Pitchers: Shawn Hill v Colby Lewis.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off, pops up to Wise playing centre today. One down. Young, 2-2 count, nice pitch strikes out swinging. Two down for Murphy, 0-2 count. Pops up to Snider in left for third out. Nice job Shawn. Pitch count 12.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off. Pops up to Borbon in centre, one down for Escobar. 1-1 count. High pop up to Borbon in centre. Bautista with two down. 3-1 count. Jose does not get much to hit these days. Everyone pitching around him. Ball four. Walk number 90 this season. Comes with the territory Jose. Wells, with two down and one on. 3-1 count. Ball four outside but Vernon swings full count. Leaves that one, ball five Vernon walks. Two on two down for Overbay, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Lyle leaves two on. Come on Lyle. Pitch count 20.
Top 2nd: Guerrero leading off. Singles it into left. Cruz pops up to Hill, one down. Moreland grounds to Escobar takes it himself steps on second and throw to Overbay double play ball. Pitch count 15.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off. 1-2 count, pops up to Cruz in right, one down. Buck, full count. Grounds to Blanco at short, throw to first, two down. Lewis hitting way down today. Pops up at the plate, mile high but Young has it. What is with these Jays hitters and getting under the pitches? Seems like every game recently. Pitch count 32.
Top 3rd: Bengie Molina leading off singles to centre, one on for Blanco, 2-2 count. Singles into centre, two on nobody out. Borbon, Bunting, yes but fouls it off. 1-1 count, good bunt up third line, Hill cannot get ball out of glove and safe at first, in trouble now, bases loaded. Kinsler, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, perfect Shawn. One down for Young, not out of this yet. 1-1 count, OH Yes, grounds to Escobar, flips to Hill, over to Overbay, double play ball. Whoa. That was huge. Pitch count 35.
Bottom 3rd: Snider leading off. 2-1 count, singles into centre, one on for DeWayne Wise, not bunting here. 2-2 count, Travis stealing throw down and gets him, strikes out. Double play. Escobar with two down, NO Yunel, first pitch pops it up to second, another dumb at bat. Two pitches three outs. That is bush league. I hope any new Manager gets rid of this type of hitting. Pitch count 42.
Top 4th: Murphy leading off. 3-1 count. Ball four, not good Shawn. Here comes trouble for you, Guerrero. Singles to Lewis in right. Two on and nobody out. Cruz singles to Snider in left, off his glove, here comes Murphy, 1-0 Rangers. Two in scoring position and nobody out. Moreland. 2-1 count, pops up to Wise, great throw to Buck but cannot hold on to the ball. 2-0 Rangers. One down. Cruz at third. Molina with one on one down. Grounds to Bautista throw home gets Cruz second attempt. Almost another disaster. Two down for Blanco, pops up to Bautista at third. Could have been worse but Jays are down by two. Pitch count 51.
Bottom 4th: Sloppy performance with bat and glove by Jays so far tonight, need to smarten up fast. Bautista leading off. Singles into left. Wells, first pitch pop to Cruz in right, one down. Overbay, full count, strikes out swinging. Second time tonight. Jose if I were you I would be stealing three bases rather than relying on this lot tonight. Hill, 0-2 count, awful, strikes out swinging pitch way outside. 53 pitch count. Jays leave` leadoff guy at first, that is not good at all.
Top 5th: Borbon, 2-2 count. Lines it to Snider in left. Kinsler 2-2 count, taking a lot of pitches here, finally grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay, two down for Young. 3-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay for third out. Three up and down for a change for Hill. Pitch count 70.
Bottom 5th: Buck leading off. Jays hitters have not had a good night at all. Full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Lewis, 1-2 count, singles to Cruz in right. Snider now has a lot to make up for tonight. 0-2 count, awful, swings at ball high and inside. Snider a lot to learn still. Probably a reason Lewis did not try to steal. Two down, Wise, 2-2 count. strikes out swinging. Pitch count 77.
Top 6th: Murphy leading off full count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay, one down. Guerrero, 2-2 tonight, 2-0 count, singles to left. One on one down. Cruz, 1-2 count, lines it to the wall in right centre, Guerrero stops at third. Two in scoring position. That’s it for Hill. Jesse Carlson pitching. Moreland, doubles into the corner 4-0 Texas. Here comes Cito again. Robert Ray minor league callup now pitching. Molina with runner at second, one down 0-2 count. Pops up to Wise in centre two down. Blanco, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay for final out.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters out of this game again as last night, one run in 14 innings, in a mini-slump all of them together. I don’t think we will see big fight back here tonight. It only gets worse this weekend when Tampa is in town because they are focused on one thing only, that division title. No time for mini-slumps. Escobar leading off, first pitch lines out to Cruz in right. I think I can see why Atlanta was not unhappy to see this guy leave town. Bautista, 3-1 count, pops up to Murphy in left, two down. Wells, lines (first pitch) to centre, seven pitch inning. Some of these guys are thinking about their October golf. At this rate Lewis will go complete game. Pitch count 84.
Top 7th: Ray still out there. Borbon leading off. Pops up to Wise in centre. One down for Kinsler, 1-2 count, pops up to Wise in centre, two down. Young, 0-2 count, lines out to Lewis in right. Texas has had enough, four runs is enough tonight, they want to get on that plane they have a meaningful series next against the Yankees.
Bottom 7th: Overbay leading off, struck out swinging both times tonight. That’s better Lyle, drives this one to right, this one is out of here second deck. 4-1 Rangers. Hill, strikes out. Buck with one down. Singles into right. One on for Lewis. Rapada warming up and ready in Rangers bullpen. Here comes Washington. That’s it for Lewis. Rapada 0-2 count, lines it to Murphy in left, two down for Snider, another chance and maybe his last tonight to redeem himself. A home run here would certainly do it. 1-2 count. Lines it to Blanco at short. Dream on.
Top 8th: Murphy leading off, doubles to right centre. One on for Guerrero, 3-3 tonight. 0-2 count, strikes out looking, Ray will love that strikeout. On down for Cruz, Murphy steal third. Throw not in time. 3-1 count. Pops up to Lewis in shallow right centre, Lewis good strong throw to the plate, runner holds at third, two down. Moreland, intentional walk. Molina now two on and two down. Perfect, grounds to Bautista at third, throw to Overbay for third out. Ray escapes further damage.
Bottom 8th: Wise leading off. 2-1 count, pops up to Murphy in left. One down for Escobar, here comes Washington. Rapada is finished. Darren O’Day now pitching. Escobar needs a good at bat now to redeem his errors. 2-1 count. Bounces one to Kinsler at second throw to first, two down. Bautista 1-1 just foul into left.2-2 count, YES JOSE.. hammers this one into left. 4-2 Rangers. Home run number 44. Wells grounds to third throw to first for third out. Jays have closed to two but need at least two more against Feliz in the 9th.
Top 9th: Downs now pitching. Blanco 2-1 count. Lines it to Escobar at short, one down for Borbon, 2-2 count, bounces to Overbay at first, takes it himself for the second out. Kinsler, 2-1 count, Lines it high into centre to Wise at the wall to make the catch and third out.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Jays. Feliz now pitching 34 saves. Overbay leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out looking, gotta swing there Lyle, one down for Hill. 0-3 tonight pops up to 0-4 night. Last chance here in Buck. 2-0 count, lines it to Borbon in centre, Texas wins 4-2 but this one was a very sloppy performance by the Jays and it cost the game. Play like this at the weekend and they will be embarrassed by the Rays. Tampa players must have enjoyed watching this one in their hotel rooms.
Good: No not much tonight. With Hill pitching we didn’t expect much and he didn’t disappoint but did not have enough and escaped on several occasions form serious damage. Bautista home run number 44. And Overbay but that was it tonight.
The bad: Jays looked very lax tonight. Number of first pitch outs by Jays hitters tonight. Lousy fielding by Snider, Escobar hitting first pitch after a double play. Snider caught stealing. Mental head errors in my book, get focused and quick. Wise, Escobar, Wells and Hill all hitless tonight.
Big news today is local boy Shawn Hill start for the Jays. Off two Tommy John surgeries and another arm operation he has been fighting to get back in the big league. Has pitched very well in the minors but he knows this is different tonight. Interesting news that Toronto police have provided the US Justice Department with the Jays medical records of Roger Clemens from the time he was here.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Murphy, Guerrero, Cruz, Moreland, Molina, Blanco, Borbon.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Buck, Lewis, Snider.
Pitchers: Shawn Hill v Colby Lewis.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off, pops up to Wise playing centre today. One down. Young, 2-2 count, nice pitch strikes out swinging. Two down for Murphy, 0-2 count. Pops up to Snider in left for third out. Nice job Shawn. Pitch count 12.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off. Pops up to Borbon in centre, one down for Escobar. 1-1 count. High pop up to Borbon in centre. Bautista with two down. 3-1 count. Jose does not get much to hit these days. Everyone pitching around him. Ball four. Walk number 90 this season. Comes with the territory Jose. Wells, with two down and one on. 3-1 count. Ball four outside but Vernon swings full count. Leaves that one, ball five Vernon walks. Two on two down for Overbay, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Lyle leaves two on. Come on Lyle. Pitch count 20.
Top 2nd: Guerrero leading off. Singles it into left. Cruz pops up to Hill, one down. Moreland grounds to Escobar takes it himself steps on second and throw to Overbay double play ball. Pitch count 15.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off. 1-2 count, pops up to Cruz in right, one down. Buck, full count. Grounds to Blanco at short, throw to first, two down. Lewis hitting way down today. Pops up at the plate, mile high but Young has it. What is with these Jays hitters and getting under the pitches? Seems like every game recently. Pitch count 32.
Top 3rd: Bengie Molina leading off singles to centre, one on for Blanco, 2-2 count. Singles into centre, two on nobody out. Borbon, Bunting, yes but fouls it off. 1-1 count, good bunt up third line, Hill cannot get ball out of glove and safe at first, in trouble now, bases loaded. Kinsler, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, perfect Shawn. One down for Young, not out of this yet. 1-1 count, OH Yes, grounds to Escobar, flips to Hill, over to Overbay, double play ball. Whoa. That was huge. Pitch count 35.
Bottom 3rd: Snider leading off. 2-1 count, singles into centre, one on for DeWayne Wise, not bunting here. 2-2 count, Travis stealing throw down and gets him, strikes out. Double play. Escobar with two down, NO Yunel, first pitch pops it up to second, another dumb at bat. Two pitches three outs. That is bush league. I hope any new Manager gets rid of this type of hitting. Pitch count 42.
Top 4th: Murphy leading off. 3-1 count. Ball four, not good Shawn. Here comes trouble for you, Guerrero. Singles to Lewis in right. Two on and nobody out. Cruz singles to Snider in left, off his glove, here comes Murphy, 1-0 Rangers. Two in scoring position and nobody out. Moreland. 2-1 count, pops up to Wise, great throw to Buck but cannot hold on to the ball. 2-0 Rangers. One down. Cruz at third. Molina with one on one down. Grounds to Bautista throw home gets Cruz second attempt. Almost another disaster. Two down for Blanco, pops up to Bautista at third. Could have been worse but Jays are down by two. Pitch count 51.
Bottom 4th: Sloppy performance with bat and glove by Jays so far tonight, need to smarten up fast. Bautista leading off. Singles into left. Wells, first pitch pop to Cruz in right, one down. Overbay, full count, strikes out swinging. Second time tonight. Jose if I were you I would be stealing three bases rather than relying on this lot tonight. Hill, 0-2 count, awful, strikes out swinging pitch way outside. 53 pitch count. Jays leave` leadoff guy at first, that is not good at all.
Top 5th: Borbon, 2-2 count. Lines it to Snider in left. Kinsler 2-2 count, taking a lot of pitches here, finally grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay, two down for Young. 3-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay for third out. Three up and down for a change for Hill. Pitch count 70.
Bottom 5th: Buck leading off. Jays hitters have not had a good night at all. Full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Lewis, 1-2 count, singles to Cruz in right. Snider now has a lot to make up for tonight. 0-2 count, awful, swings at ball high and inside. Snider a lot to learn still. Probably a reason Lewis did not try to steal. Two down, Wise, 2-2 count. strikes out swinging. Pitch count 77.
Top 6th: Murphy leading off full count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay, one down. Guerrero, 2-2 tonight, 2-0 count, singles to left. One on one down. Cruz, 1-2 count, lines it to the wall in right centre, Guerrero stops at third. Two in scoring position. That’s it for Hill. Jesse Carlson pitching. Moreland, doubles into the corner 4-0 Texas. Here comes Cito again. Robert Ray minor league callup now pitching. Molina with runner at second, one down 0-2 count. Pops up to Wise in centre two down. Blanco, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay for final out.
Bottom 6th: Jays hitters out of this game again as last night, one run in 14 innings, in a mini-slump all of them together. I don’t think we will see big fight back here tonight. It only gets worse this weekend when Tampa is in town because they are focused on one thing only, that division title. No time for mini-slumps. Escobar leading off, first pitch lines out to Cruz in right. I think I can see why Atlanta was not unhappy to see this guy leave town. Bautista, 3-1 count, pops up to Murphy in left, two down. Wells, lines (first pitch) to centre, seven pitch inning. Some of these guys are thinking about their October golf. At this rate Lewis will go complete game. Pitch count 84.
Top 7th: Ray still out there. Borbon leading off. Pops up to Wise in centre. One down for Kinsler, 1-2 count, pops up to Wise in centre, two down. Young, 0-2 count, lines out to Lewis in right. Texas has had enough, four runs is enough tonight, they want to get on that plane they have a meaningful series next against the Yankees.
Bottom 7th: Overbay leading off, struck out swinging both times tonight. That’s better Lyle, drives this one to right, this one is out of here second deck. 4-1 Rangers. Hill, strikes out. Buck with one down. Singles into right. One on for Lewis. Rapada warming up and ready in Rangers bullpen. Here comes Washington. That’s it for Lewis. Rapada 0-2 count, lines it to Murphy in left, two down for Snider, another chance and maybe his last tonight to redeem himself. A home run here would certainly do it. 1-2 count. Lines it to Blanco at short. Dream on.
Top 8th: Murphy leading off, doubles to right centre. One on for Guerrero, 3-3 tonight. 0-2 count, strikes out looking, Ray will love that strikeout. On down for Cruz, Murphy steal third. Throw not in time. 3-1 count. Pops up to Lewis in shallow right centre, Lewis good strong throw to the plate, runner holds at third, two down. Moreland, intentional walk. Molina now two on and two down. Perfect, grounds to Bautista at third, throw to Overbay for third out. Ray escapes further damage.
Bottom 8th: Wise leading off. 2-1 count, pops up to Murphy in left. One down for Escobar, here comes Washington. Rapada is finished. Darren O’Day now pitching. Escobar needs a good at bat now to redeem his errors. 2-1 count. Bounces one to Kinsler at second throw to first, two down. Bautista 1-1 just foul into left.2-2 count, YES JOSE.. hammers this one into left. 4-2 Rangers. Home run number 44. Wells grounds to third throw to first for third out. Jays have closed to two but need at least two more against Feliz in the 9th.
Top 9th: Downs now pitching. Blanco 2-1 count. Lines it to Escobar at short, one down for Borbon, 2-2 count, bounces to Overbay at first, takes it himself for the second out. Kinsler, 2-1 count, Lines it high into centre to Wise at the wall to make the catch and third out.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for Jays. Feliz now pitching 34 saves. Overbay leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out looking, gotta swing there Lyle, one down for Hill. 0-3 tonight pops up to 0-4 night. Last chance here in Buck. 2-0 count, lines it to Borbon in centre, Texas wins 4-2 but this one was a very sloppy performance by the Jays and it cost the game. Play like this at the weekend and they will be embarrassed by the Rays. Tampa players must have enjoyed watching this one in their hotel rooms.
Good: No not much tonight. With Hill pitching we didn’t expect much and he didn’t disappoint but did not have enough and escaped on several occasions form serious damage. Bautista home run number 44. And Overbay but that was it tonight.
The bad: Jays looked very lax tonight. Number of first pitch outs by Jays hitters tonight. Lousy fielding by Snider, Escobar hitting first pitch after a double play. Snider caught stealing. Mental head errors in my book, get focused and quick. Wise, Escobar, Wells and Hill all hitless tonight.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Jays play sloppy game with bat and glove behind poor outing by Rzepczynski
Game three of four. Rangers v Jays. Wednesday September 8.
Interesting thought. Someone mentioned today what would this team be like with Halladay still in Toronto and take out Rzepzcynski. Add on another 8-10 wins to their total and Jays would be right with Tampa and Yankees and well in the hunt for wild card. Interesting. But despite that I think most Jays fans (even those without SN2), would admit that new GM Alex A. has done a great job already and is laying the foundation for a Jays team that will be competing for a long time. The young pitching staff at least the top four can match up with any in the league. Great to see Baltimore handing it to the Yankees last night. If anything was a dead cert it was Sabathia winning his 20th. But not so, and as we have said many times anything can and usually does happen in baseball, despite the odds. Today Baltimore almost swept Yankees and in New York ? That was very embarrassing game for Yankees relying on bottom of 9th to finally get the runs from Swisher. This one definitely a moral victory for the Orioles.
Tonight though Jays have the second team out there, Cito wants the right handed bats out there. We will see. Too bad for Rzepzcynski, I would have thought he needed some power support tonight but obviously Cito does not agree and he is the paid the $ for a few more weeks at least.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Cruz, Guerrero, Francouer, Murphy, Cantu, Molina, Guzman.
Jays: McCoy, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Lind, Hill, Buck, Hoffpauir, Molina.
Pitching: Rzepczynski v Holland.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off. 3-1 count. Drives this one out of here into bullpen in left. Home run. 1-0 Texas. Young, full count, ball four, this will be a long night for Jays fielders. Cruz 2-2 count, lines it hard to left, McCoy (yes McCoy) has the catch, first out of the game. One down one on for Guerrero, no second team out there for Washington. They are going to feast on some runs tonight. Singles to left, two on one down for 18 ? pitches for one out. Francouer, singles into left, here comes Young, 2-0 Texas. Two on, one down for Murphy. 1-1 count, grounds to Hill steps on the bag and throws to Overbay for double play ball. But Jays already two down. Pitch count 23. At this rate? should be four innings for Marc tonight. Maybe we will see some of the minor league pitching call ups tonight. But definitely not Accardo eh Cito ? sort of a sore point with Cito evidently as he criticized management for misleading him last season. Cito certainly bristled when asked whether Accardo would be brought up. Not this year Jeremy, you will have better luck in Spring.
Bottom 1st: McCoy, yes McCoy leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out. One down for Escobar, 3-1 count, ball four, one on for Bautista. 2-2 count, strikes out, two down for Wells. 3-1 count, another ball four, all is not lost but no Lyle tonight. Lind batting behind Vernon, maybe why he had the semi-intentional walk, although Adam did show a sign of life last night with the home run. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Leaves two on. Pitch count 25.
Top 2nd: Cantu leading off, 1-2 count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, throw to Lind at first, takes some getting used to, Bengie Molina, with his brother catching, what do they say to each other at the plate? grounds first pitch to Escobar at shirt, throw to Lind, two down. Guzman, two down, pops up to Lind in foul ground, seven pitches for Rzepczynksi. Much better. Pitch count 30.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off, lines it to Cruz in left, one down. Buck, 0-2 count, grounds to Guzman at short, Guzman throw to first high and wide, error to Guzman, Buck, safe at first for Hoffpauir. One on one down. 2-2 count, bounces to second, Kinsler steps on the bag and throw to first double play ball. Pitch count 38. Tampa already hammering Boston again tonight 4-0 after one inning. Next stop for the Rays is Toronto on Friday.
Top 3rd: Kinsler leading off, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, one down for Young, full count, lines it to Vernon, makes the catch at the wall in centre, two down. Cruz, doubles first pitch to the wall in centre, no chance for Vernon on that one. Stand up double. Guerrero, 3-1 count, don’t give him one down the middle Marc. Full count, great pitch strikes out swinging. Pitch count 47 but at least he should last longer than predicted four innings.
Bottom 3rd: Molina leading off, hi brother. Lines it very hard to left but Cruz gets it at the wall by Jays bullpen. Nice play Nelson. McCoy, one down, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. McCoy has not seen these fast balls in Vegas. Escobar with two down, singes first pitch up the middle. Bautista, long overdue for a big one. 3-0 count, pops up high to first for third out. Pitch count 51.
Top 4th: Francouer leading off, singles into right. Murphy,2-0 count, Molina throw to first, they have Francouer picked off in rundown and tagged out , one down. 0-2 count, Murphy strikes out, two down. Cantu, 3-0 count, ball four, not good Marc. Bengie Molina, 3-0 count, ball four, that is eight in a row. Come on somebody, settle the guy. Jose Molina out there but maybe a little late here. Guzman, 0-2 count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, throw to Lind to get Guzman. Pitch count 63. At least he gets into the 5th.
Bottom 4th: Time Jays bats got going here. One hit will not cut it especially when Cito has loaded the lineup with right handed hitters…supposed to be an advantage. Wells leading off. 2-2 count, gets a life on the foul ball in right, strikes out swinging anyway. Lind, 0-2 count, strikes out looking, come on Adam, swing at that one. Hill, 0-2 count, Jays making this guy look like Cy Young. Way high but Aaron swings at that one, number seven strikeout. Awful. Pitch count 64.
Top 5th: Kinsler leading off, singles into centre, one on for Young. Kinsler running throw goes off glove of Hill into centre, Kinsler all the way to third and nobody out. 1-2 count, singles into right, here comes Kinsler for run number three. 3-0 Texas. Cruz with runner at first, Tallet warming up in bullpen, ah well. 3-0 count, there’s a strike. That’s better, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, over to Hill, on to Lind double play ball. Guerrero at least no one is on for him. 3-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind at first for third out. Jays escape big damage there. Pitch count 79 but it could have been Marc’s last hitter.
Bottom 5th: Hello out there! anyone hitting tonight ? Bottom of the order, Buck, Hoffpauir, Molina. Buck leading off. 3-1 count, lines it over the head of Francouer to the wall, but gets it back in quickly and holds Buck to a single. Hoffpauir, with one on. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Molina. 2-0 count, that will do Jose, singles into left, two on one down for McCoy, long, long overdue for a hit. 3-1 count. Harrison warming up in Rangers bullpen. Grounds to Young at third throw to Kinsler second but not in time at first, McCoy safe. Buck at third. Escobar with runners at the corners. 2-2 count, lines it hard but great diving catch by Guzman at short, pitch count 88.
Top 6th: Tallet now pitching, hang on friends. Tampa now 5-4 over Boston. Francouer leading off lines it right back at Tallet into single. 3-3 tonight for Francouer . One on for Murphy, full count, strike three looking, one down. Cantu, pops it up to right, Hill and Bautista going after it, drops in foul but Bautista hobbling there, hope that is temporary. 2-2 count, another full count, ball four, what would an inning by Tallet be without his usual walk? Two on one down for Molina, 0-2 count, oh boy, grounds to Lind throw to Escobar, horrible throw back to Tallet covering first, well wide of the bag, error on the play to Escobar, Francouer scores all the way from second, that was an easy double play ball it was Molina running. 4-0 Texas. Guzman with two down. 3-1 count, grounds up the middle to Hill flip to Escobar for third out.
Bottom 6th: Jays running out of innings. Matt Harrison pitching. Bautista leading off. Pops up to Guzman at short, one down for Wells. Grounds first pitch to Young at third, throw to first two down. Lind, 2-2 count, strikes out waving half –heartedly to end this one. Pretty bad hitting by the Jays here tonight. Good news is that no more Tallet, here comes Casey Janssen.
Top 7th: Top of the order again, Kinsler leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Young. 0-1 count, bounces to Escobar, throw to Lind, for the second out, Bronx cheer for Escobar. Cruz with two down, 2-2 count, close there, full count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, holds on to the ball, did not have grip on the ball. Safe at first for Guerrero. Grounds to Hill at second, throw to Lind for third out. No more damage BUT cannot win this game unless they score some runs here. Boston now beating Tampa 7-5
Bottom 7th: Darren O’Day pitching. Hill leading off. Singles into right centre, one on for Buck. Grounds to Young at third, throw to Kinsler on to first, double play ball. Two down for Snider now pinch hitting for Hoffpauir. Travis grounds first pitch to Cantu, steps on the bag for third out. Five pitch inning, you live by the first pitch swing sword and die by the sword.
Top 8th: Texas has this one under control so far. Jays hitters have not looked like getting any runs against the left handed pitching. However McCoy still out there in right with Snider in left, no Wise out there. Bautista at third for Hoffpauir. Roenicke pitching, Francouer leading off. Grounds to Hill, throw to Lind, one down. Murphy, 2-0 count, doubles to Wells in centre. Cantu, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Molina. 2-2 count, singles to right, Murphy scores on the throw by McCoy (Bautista is now playing at third, Cito has struck out tonight with all his moves).McCoy tried but he does not have the cannon of Jose. 5-0 Texas. Guzman, two down one on. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging.
Bottom 8th: Last chance for Jays, before the Rangers closer Feliz (34 saves, lights out) finishes them off tonight. Molina leading off, that’s’ better gets hold of this one, into left field bullpen and finally Jays get one back. 5-1. That’s it for O’Day, here comes the boss. Darren Oliver now pitching. Wise pinch hitting for McCoy finally out of the game. 1-1 count. Lifts it into left Escobar, really owes his team one tonight with that terrible error. 1-1 count. Lines it right at Cantu at first, two down for Bautista. 0-1 count, pops up to Guzman for third out. Jose remains homerless in September. Hope he is saving them up for Tampa this weekend.
Top 9th: Lewis now in right. Purcey now pitching. Kinsler leading off. 2-2 count. Pops up to Wells in centre, one down. Young, 1-1 count. Singles into right. One on one down for Cruz, 1-2 count, gets hold of this one, off the restaurant windows, two runs score 7-1 Texas. Guerrero, pops this one up into right, drops between Hill and Lind, Guerrero at second, nothing going right for this team tonight. Borbon for Francouer last inning. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Murphy, 2-2 count, singles in to centre, here comes Guerrero. 8-1 Rangers. Cantu 1-2 count, singles into left, Murphy to third on the play. Guzman now the only Ranger without a hit tonight. Rommie Lewis warming up in Jays bullpen. Molina with two on and two down, pops up to Lewis in shallow right.
Bottom 9th: It will be interesting to see if Jays can muster any fight at all this inning, seven runs back. Feliz slamming the door shut here. Needs the work. I hope he gets some. Wells leading off. 3-1 count, ball four, Vernon on base. Lind, 0-3 tonight, all strikeouts. 0-2 count. strike three number four strikeout, awful game for Lind. Hill with one down and one on. 2-1 count, grounds to short throw to second to get Vernon but Hill beats the throw at first, and prolongs the inning for Buck. Wild pitch, Hill to second. Pops up to Cantu at first to end this one. Jays go out with a whimper tonight.
In my book they started out with two strikes against them. One Rzepczynski was pitching and two the lineup was the second team. Cito wanted the right handed bats in there but McCoy and Hoffpauir are not first team yet. Texas 16 hits tonight. Jays five and two errors. Molina gets two of those five hits including the home run.
Rzepczynski remains with one win this season. Perhaps he could take over from Tallet in long relief next season.
The good ? I really didn’t see anything tonight. This one was a major payback by the Rangers from very first inning. They really didn’t need more than those two runs to win this one.
The bad: Cito gambled twice and lost, loaded the lineup with right handed hitters…supposed to be an advantage with the lefty pitching, not tonight. And Tallet pitching in the 6th your decisions Cito.
Molina and Escobar throwing errors, lead to two runs.
Tomorrow the final game between these two but does not look much better with local guy Hill pitching in place of Morrow. I hope Cito at least gives him some power support in the lineup.
Interesting thought. Someone mentioned today what would this team be like with Halladay still in Toronto and take out Rzepzcynski. Add on another 8-10 wins to their total and Jays would be right with Tampa and Yankees and well in the hunt for wild card. Interesting. But despite that I think most Jays fans (even those without SN2), would admit that new GM Alex A. has done a great job already and is laying the foundation for a Jays team that will be competing for a long time. The young pitching staff at least the top four can match up with any in the league. Great to see Baltimore handing it to the Yankees last night. If anything was a dead cert it was Sabathia winning his 20th. But not so, and as we have said many times anything can and usually does happen in baseball, despite the odds. Today Baltimore almost swept Yankees and in New York ? That was very embarrassing game for Yankees relying on bottom of 9th to finally get the runs from Swisher. This one definitely a moral victory for the Orioles.
Tonight though Jays have the second team out there, Cito wants the right handed bats out there. We will see. Too bad for Rzepzcynski, I would have thought he needed some power support tonight but obviously Cito does not agree and he is the paid the $ for a few more weeks at least.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Cruz, Guerrero, Francouer, Murphy, Cantu, Molina, Guzman.
Jays: McCoy, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Lind, Hill, Buck, Hoffpauir, Molina.
Pitching: Rzepczynski v Holland.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off. 3-1 count. Drives this one out of here into bullpen in left. Home run. 1-0 Texas. Young, full count, ball four, this will be a long night for Jays fielders. Cruz 2-2 count, lines it hard to left, McCoy (yes McCoy) has the catch, first out of the game. One down one on for Guerrero, no second team out there for Washington. They are going to feast on some runs tonight. Singles to left, two on one down for 18 ? pitches for one out. Francouer, singles into left, here comes Young, 2-0 Texas. Two on, one down for Murphy. 1-1 count, grounds to Hill steps on the bag and throws to Overbay for double play ball. But Jays already two down. Pitch count 23. At this rate? should be four innings for Marc tonight. Maybe we will see some of the minor league pitching call ups tonight. But definitely not Accardo eh Cito ? sort of a sore point with Cito evidently as he criticized management for misleading him last season. Cito certainly bristled when asked whether Accardo would be brought up. Not this year Jeremy, you will have better luck in Spring.
Bottom 1st: McCoy, yes McCoy leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out. One down for Escobar, 3-1 count, ball four, one on for Bautista. 2-2 count, strikes out, two down for Wells. 3-1 count, another ball four, all is not lost but no Lyle tonight. Lind batting behind Vernon, maybe why he had the semi-intentional walk, although Adam did show a sign of life last night with the home run. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Leaves two on. Pitch count 25.
Top 2nd: Cantu leading off, 1-2 count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, throw to Lind at first, takes some getting used to, Bengie Molina, with his brother catching, what do they say to each other at the plate? grounds first pitch to Escobar at shirt, throw to Lind, two down. Guzman, two down, pops up to Lind in foul ground, seven pitches for Rzepczynksi. Much better. Pitch count 30.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off, lines it to Cruz in left, one down. Buck, 0-2 count, grounds to Guzman at short, Guzman throw to first high and wide, error to Guzman, Buck, safe at first for Hoffpauir. One on one down. 2-2 count, bounces to second, Kinsler steps on the bag and throw to first double play ball. Pitch count 38. Tampa already hammering Boston again tonight 4-0 after one inning. Next stop for the Rays is Toronto on Friday.
Top 3rd: Kinsler leading off, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, one down for Young, full count, lines it to Vernon, makes the catch at the wall in centre, two down. Cruz, doubles first pitch to the wall in centre, no chance for Vernon on that one. Stand up double. Guerrero, 3-1 count, don’t give him one down the middle Marc. Full count, great pitch strikes out swinging. Pitch count 47 but at least he should last longer than predicted four innings.
Bottom 3rd: Molina leading off, hi brother. Lines it very hard to left but Cruz gets it at the wall by Jays bullpen. Nice play Nelson. McCoy, one down, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. McCoy has not seen these fast balls in Vegas. Escobar with two down, singes first pitch up the middle. Bautista, long overdue for a big one. 3-0 count, pops up high to first for third out. Pitch count 51.
Top 4th: Francouer leading off, singles into right. Murphy,2-0 count, Molina throw to first, they have Francouer picked off in rundown and tagged out , one down. 0-2 count, Murphy strikes out, two down. Cantu, 3-0 count, ball four, not good Marc. Bengie Molina, 3-0 count, ball four, that is eight in a row. Come on somebody, settle the guy. Jose Molina out there but maybe a little late here. Guzman, 0-2 count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, throw to Lind to get Guzman. Pitch count 63. At least he gets into the 5th.
Bottom 4th: Time Jays bats got going here. One hit will not cut it especially when Cito has loaded the lineup with right handed hitters…supposed to be an advantage. Wells leading off. 2-2 count, gets a life on the foul ball in right, strikes out swinging anyway. Lind, 0-2 count, strikes out looking, come on Adam, swing at that one. Hill, 0-2 count, Jays making this guy look like Cy Young. Way high but Aaron swings at that one, number seven strikeout. Awful. Pitch count 64.
Top 5th: Kinsler leading off, singles into centre, one on for Young. Kinsler running throw goes off glove of Hill into centre, Kinsler all the way to third and nobody out. 1-2 count, singles into right, here comes Kinsler for run number three. 3-0 Texas. Cruz with runner at first, Tallet warming up in bullpen, ah well. 3-0 count, there’s a strike. That’s better, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, over to Hill, on to Lind double play ball. Guerrero at least no one is on for him. 3-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind at first for third out. Jays escape big damage there. Pitch count 79 but it could have been Marc’s last hitter.
Bottom 5th: Hello out there! anyone hitting tonight ? Bottom of the order, Buck, Hoffpauir, Molina. Buck leading off. 3-1 count, lines it over the head of Francouer to the wall, but gets it back in quickly and holds Buck to a single. Hoffpauir, with one on. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Molina. 2-0 count, that will do Jose, singles into left, two on one down for McCoy, long, long overdue for a hit. 3-1 count. Harrison warming up in Rangers bullpen. Grounds to Young at third throw to Kinsler second but not in time at first, McCoy safe. Buck at third. Escobar with runners at the corners. 2-2 count, lines it hard but great diving catch by Guzman at short, pitch count 88.
Top 6th: Tallet now pitching, hang on friends. Tampa now 5-4 over Boston. Francouer leading off lines it right back at Tallet into single. 3-3 tonight for Francouer . One on for Murphy, full count, strike three looking, one down. Cantu, pops it up to right, Hill and Bautista going after it, drops in foul but Bautista hobbling there, hope that is temporary. 2-2 count, another full count, ball four, what would an inning by Tallet be without his usual walk? Two on one down for Molina, 0-2 count, oh boy, grounds to Lind throw to Escobar, horrible throw back to Tallet covering first, well wide of the bag, error on the play to Escobar, Francouer scores all the way from second, that was an easy double play ball it was Molina running. 4-0 Texas. Guzman with two down. 3-1 count, grounds up the middle to Hill flip to Escobar for third out.
Bottom 6th: Jays running out of innings. Matt Harrison pitching. Bautista leading off. Pops up to Guzman at short, one down for Wells. Grounds first pitch to Young at third, throw to first two down. Lind, 2-2 count, strikes out waving half –heartedly to end this one. Pretty bad hitting by the Jays here tonight. Good news is that no more Tallet, here comes Casey Janssen.
Top 7th: Top of the order again, Kinsler leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Young. 0-1 count, bounces to Escobar, throw to Lind, for the second out, Bronx cheer for Escobar. Cruz with two down, 2-2 count, close there, full count, grounds to Hoffpauir at third, holds on to the ball, did not have grip on the ball. Safe at first for Guerrero. Grounds to Hill at second, throw to Lind for third out. No more damage BUT cannot win this game unless they score some runs here. Boston now beating Tampa 7-5
Bottom 7th: Darren O’Day pitching. Hill leading off. Singles into right centre, one on for Buck. Grounds to Young at third, throw to Kinsler on to first, double play ball. Two down for Snider now pinch hitting for Hoffpauir. Travis grounds first pitch to Cantu, steps on the bag for third out. Five pitch inning, you live by the first pitch swing sword and die by the sword.
Top 8th: Texas has this one under control so far. Jays hitters have not looked like getting any runs against the left handed pitching. However McCoy still out there in right with Snider in left, no Wise out there. Bautista at third for Hoffpauir. Roenicke pitching, Francouer leading off. Grounds to Hill, throw to Lind, one down. Murphy, 2-0 count, doubles to Wells in centre. Cantu, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Molina. 2-2 count, singles to right, Murphy scores on the throw by McCoy (Bautista is now playing at third, Cito has struck out tonight with all his moves).McCoy tried but he does not have the cannon of Jose. 5-0 Texas. Guzman, two down one on. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging.
Bottom 8th: Last chance for Jays, before the Rangers closer Feliz (34 saves, lights out) finishes them off tonight. Molina leading off, that’s’ better gets hold of this one, into left field bullpen and finally Jays get one back. 5-1. That’s it for O’Day, here comes the boss. Darren Oliver now pitching. Wise pinch hitting for McCoy finally out of the game. 1-1 count. Lifts it into left Escobar, really owes his team one tonight with that terrible error. 1-1 count. Lines it right at Cantu at first, two down for Bautista. 0-1 count, pops up to Guzman for third out. Jose remains homerless in September. Hope he is saving them up for Tampa this weekend.
Top 9th: Lewis now in right. Purcey now pitching. Kinsler leading off. 2-2 count. Pops up to Wells in centre, one down. Young, 1-1 count. Singles into right. One on one down for Cruz, 1-2 count, gets hold of this one, off the restaurant windows, two runs score 7-1 Texas. Guerrero, pops this one up into right, drops between Hill and Lind, Guerrero at second, nothing going right for this team tonight. Borbon for Francouer last inning. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Murphy, 2-2 count, singles in to centre, here comes Guerrero. 8-1 Rangers. Cantu 1-2 count, singles into left, Murphy to third on the play. Guzman now the only Ranger without a hit tonight. Rommie Lewis warming up in Jays bullpen. Molina with two on and two down, pops up to Lewis in shallow right.
Bottom 9th: It will be interesting to see if Jays can muster any fight at all this inning, seven runs back. Feliz slamming the door shut here. Needs the work. I hope he gets some. Wells leading off. 3-1 count, ball four, Vernon on base. Lind, 0-3 tonight, all strikeouts. 0-2 count. strike three number four strikeout, awful game for Lind. Hill with one down and one on. 2-1 count, grounds to short throw to second to get Vernon but Hill beats the throw at first, and prolongs the inning for Buck. Wild pitch, Hill to second. Pops up to Cantu at first to end this one. Jays go out with a whimper tonight.
In my book they started out with two strikes against them. One Rzepczynski was pitching and two the lineup was the second team. Cito wanted the right handed bats in there but McCoy and Hoffpauir are not first team yet. Texas 16 hits tonight. Jays five and two errors. Molina gets two of those five hits including the home run.
Rzepczynski remains with one win this season. Perhaps he could take over from Tallet in long relief next season.
The good ? I really didn’t see anything tonight. This one was a major payback by the Rangers from very first inning. They really didn’t need more than those two runs to win this one.
The bad: Cito gambled twice and lost, loaded the lineup with right handed hitters…supposed to be an advantage with the lefty pitching, not tonight. And Tallet pitching in the 6th your decisions Cito.
Molina and Escobar throwing errors, lead to two runs.
Tomorrow the final game between these two but does not look much better with local guy Hill pitching in place of Morrow. I hope Cito at least gives him some power support in the lineup.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Jays win another with Marcum supported by power from Wells (2), Buck and Lind.
Game two Rangers v Jays. Tuesday, September 7.
Jays have owned the Rangers this season but even with Marcum pitching, this is not a given by any means. Rangers are not Division leaders without cause, even without Hamilton and Andrus.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Murphy, Guerrero, Cruz, Moreland, Treanor, Blanco, Borbon.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider. Same for Jays. Cito loves that.
Pitching: Marcum v Feldman. Feldamn has just returned for the DL so who knows what he will be like BUT this guy is a good pitcher and was season opener for Rangers.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off, pops up to Wells in centre, one down. Young, one down strikes out. Murphy with two down, strikes out. Marcum looking sharp early.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off strikes out. Escobar singles to centre. Bautista, one on one down, pops up to Young at third. Wells with one and two down, singles to left, Escobar to second. Overbay with two on, grounds to Moreland at first, throw to pitcher Feldman covering at first to end the Jays threat.
Top 2nd: Guerrero leading off, always better to have this guy hitting with nobody on base, grounds to Escobar throw to Overbay. One down. Cruz pops up to Buck catching tonight. Moreland two down, pops up to Wells in centre.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off, strikes out. Lind pops up to Murphy. Buck first pitch swinging lines this one into Rangers bullpen, or maybe not, did it hit top of the wall? Umpire does not call it home run. Buck not sure but Cito is out there, video review of the shot, we don’t get many of those, and yes indeed there the umpire goes, waving his hand around his head. Home run it is for Buck and 1-0 lead for Jays. Snider strikes out.
Top 3rd: Treanor leading off singles to right. Blanco one on, strikes out. Borbon grounds to Bautista at third but safe at first, Treanor to second. Two on one down for top of the order again Kinsler, pops up to Overbay at first. Young with two down, strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Wise leading off pops up to Borbon in centre, one down. Escobar grounds back to pitcher Feldman, throw to Moreland at first two down. Bautista lines it hard to second Kinsler has it no problem.
Top 4th: Murphy leading off, doubles to left. Not a good start with Guerrero behind him. There we go, first pitch Vladdy special, into the left field bullpen Texas gets their first lead here 2-1 Rangers. Still nobody out. Cruz pops up to Wise in right, one down for Moreland grounds to Overbay ,takes it himself for the second out. Treanor, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 4th: Wells leading off. Oh wow Vernon gets hold of this one, this is way up in left, fourth level luxury box, right by that Tom Cheek sign, home run Vernon. This game is all tied up again 2-2. Overbay,strikes out. Hill grounds to Blanco at shirt, throw to Moreland at first, two down. Lind pops up to Cruz in right.
Top 5th: Blanco leading off strikes out. One down for Borbon, gets him, strikes out. Marcum locked in here. Kinsler two down, he strikes out. Marcum strikes out the side, three up and down great inning.
Bottom 5th: Buck leading off, no home run this time but good hit pops up to Borbon in centre. One down for Snider, goes the opposite field, singles to left. Good to see Travis doing that as opposed to pulling everything to right. Wise singles to centre, Snider to second. Two on for Escobar, grounds to Blanco at short, throw to Moreland at first for second out, Snider at third, Wise at second. Here comes Bautista. There you go Jose, doubles to right, here comes Travis, here comes DeWayne and Jays go out ahead 4-2. How often do you see Jose going the opposite field instead of pulling to left? Jays hitters are hitting smart tonight. Wells, with two down and one on, there goes Jose, safe at third. Wow, don’t often see that from Jays, but right now a two run lead is nothing with this Texas lineup just waiting to burst out on somebody. Jose adding on the pressure.
Wells getting the intentional walk, ball four and two on for Overbay. That’s it for Feldman, here comes Washington. Kirkman now pitching. Overbay, patient here not swining, and ball four Kirkman losads the bases for Hiill. Not exactly what Washington had in mind. Bautista at third, Wells to second. Hill, strikes out.
Top 6th: Young leading off, grounds to Overbay steps on the bag for first out. Murphy singles to left. One on one down but here comes Guerrero. Perfect, grounds to Escobar flip to Hill throw to Overbay double play ball. No problem for Marcum but probably sighing with relief.
Bottom 6th: Lind leading off, grounds to Moreland at first, steps on the bag for the out. Buck singles to right. One on one down for Snider grounds to Kinsler at second, throw to Moreland at first for the out but moves Buck to second. Wise with two down and runner in scoring position. There you go DeWayne, doubles to left, here comes Buck to score easily. 5-2 Jays. Escobar strikes out.
Top 7th: Cruz leading off, full count ball four, lead off walk. Moreland another ball four, Marcum has back to back walks. Cruz at second. Guzman pinch-hitting for Treanor. Two on and nobody out. Perfect, grounds to Escobar, steps on bag and throw to Overbay, another double play ball. Cruz moves to third but two down. Blanco singles to right here comes Cruz. 5-3 Jays. Borbon 1-2 count, two down, pops up to Wells in centre for third out. That will be it for Marcum. Pitch count 95 and only three hits.
Bottom 7th: Darren O Day pitching, Benjie Molina catching. Bautista leading off. 2-1 count, full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Wells, 1-1 count, there she goes again, lines it into left, home run Vernon.6-3 Jays. Home run number 27 for Vernon. Great to see him ending the season on a high. Overbay grounds to second throw to first second out. Hill with two down, 3-0 count, ball four. One on two down for Lind, hitless tonight. Here comes Washington. Pitching change Darren Oliver lefty- lefty match up. 2-2 count. WHOA Adam gets hold of this one bigtime, huge hit, off the restaurant windows in centre above 400ft sign. Here comes Hill, here comes Adam, that was a bullet drive. 8-3 Jays. Buck, 1-2 strikes out.
Top 8th: Jason Frasor now pitching. Kinsler leading off, 0-2 count, drives it to Wise in right, one down. Young, 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw off the line, runner safe, and error to Escobar. Murphy, with one on, singles to left in front of Snider, two on one down. Guerrero, with two on, you don’t want him to get hold of one Jason, better to walk him. 2-0 count. Perfect, grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar over to Overbay double play ball rescues Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Rapada pitching, Snider leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Wise. Grounds to Kinsler throw to first for the second out. Escobar, 3-0 count. Ball four. Bautista now with one on. Here comes Washington again. Pitcher number six. Pedro Strop, pops up to Cruz in centre. No home run tonight for Jose.
Top 9th: Camp in to maybe finish this off. Johnny Mc. at second to give Hill an inning off. Cruz leading off. 1-1 count. Bounces it up the middle. One on for Moreland, lines it into left corner and bounces into the seats, ground rule double. Two in scoring position for Molina, 0-2 count. Grounds up the line to third, Bautista throw to first, one down. Blanco, singles up the middle, both runners score, 8-5 Jays. Borbon, 2-1 count, singles into right. Kinsler with two on, and still only one down, tying run here. That’s it for Camp not exactly what Cito had wanted here. Gregg now pitching. 0-1 count. Grounds to Overbay throw to McDonald at second for the out. No chance for double play. Two down for Young. Runners at the corners. Full count. Lines it to Vernon in centre, save number 31 for Gregg. Jays win 8-5.
The excellent: Marcum definitely, Vernon yes gets his dues tonight two home runs, now has homered for third game in a row. September stats are now four home runs and eight RBIs. Lind, hammered that home run to centre off the windows, that was a classic Adam home run and perhaps he too can have a great final month. John Buck also seems to be back in his hitting groove after going through mini-slump at the end of the month.
The good: Give Gregg his due, that was not an easy inning for him but now has 31 saves and almost four weeks to go.
The bad: No not tonight. Maybe the small crowd but this isback to school day plus the noise was more than enough for double this number.
Jays have owned the Rangers this season but even with Marcum pitching, this is not a given by any means. Rangers are not Division leaders without cause, even without Hamilton and Andrus.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Murphy, Guerrero, Cruz, Moreland, Treanor, Blanco, Borbon.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider. Same for Jays. Cito loves that.
Pitching: Marcum v Feldman. Feldamn has just returned for the DL so who knows what he will be like BUT this guy is a good pitcher and was season opener for Rangers.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off, pops up to Wells in centre, one down. Young, one down strikes out. Murphy with two down, strikes out. Marcum looking sharp early.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off strikes out. Escobar singles to centre. Bautista, one on one down, pops up to Young at third. Wells with one and two down, singles to left, Escobar to second. Overbay with two on, grounds to Moreland at first, throw to pitcher Feldman covering at first to end the Jays threat.
Top 2nd: Guerrero leading off, always better to have this guy hitting with nobody on base, grounds to Escobar throw to Overbay. One down. Cruz pops up to Buck catching tonight. Moreland two down, pops up to Wells in centre.
Bottom 2nd: Hill leading off, strikes out. Lind pops up to Murphy. Buck first pitch swinging lines this one into Rangers bullpen, or maybe not, did it hit top of the wall? Umpire does not call it home run. Buck not sure but Cito is out there, video review of the shot, we don’t get many of those, and yes indeed there the umpire goes, waving his hand around his head. Home run it is for Buck and 1-0 lead for Jays. Snider strikes out.
Top 3rd: Treanor leading off singles to right. Blanco one on, strikes out. Borbon grounds to Bautista at third but safe at first, Treanor to second. Two on one down for top of the order again Kinsler, pops up to Overbay at first. Young with two down, strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Wise leading off pops up to Borbon in centre, one down. Escobar grounds back to pitcher Feldman, throw to Moreland at first two down. Bautista lines it hard to second Kinsler has it no problem.
Top 4th: Murphy leading off, doubles to left. Not a good start with Guerrero behind him. There we go, first pitch Vladdy special, into the left field bullpen Texas gets their first lead here 2-1 Rangers. Still nobody out. Cruz pops up to Wise in right, one down for Moreland grounds to Overbay ,takes it himself for the second out. Treanor, two down, strikes out.
Bottom 4th: Wells leading off. Oh wow Vernon gets hold of this one, this is way up in left, fourth level luxury box, right by that Tom Cheek sign, home run Vernon. This game is all tied up again 2-2. Overbay,strikes out. Hill grounds to Blanco at shirt, throw to Moreland at first, two down. Lind pops up to Cruz in right.
Top 5th: Blanco leading off strikes out. One down for Borbon, gets him, strikes out. Marcum locked in here. Kinsler two down, he strikes out. Marcum strikes out the side, three up and down great inning.
Bottom 5th: Buck leading off, no home run this time but good hit pops up to Borbon in centre. One down for Snider, goes the opposite field, singles to left. Good to see Travis doing that as opposed to pulling everything to right. Wise singles to centre, Snider to second. Two on for Escobar, grounds to Blanco at short, throw to Moreland at first for second out, Snider at third, Wise at second. Here comes Bautista. There you go Jose, doubles to right, here comes Travis, here comes DeWayne and Jays go out ahead 4-2. How often do you see Jose going the opposite field instead of pulling to left? Jays hitters are hitting smart tonight. Wells, with two down and one on, there goes Jose, safe at third. Wow, don’t often see that from Jays, but right now a two run lead is nothing with this Texas lineup just waiting to burst out on somebody. Jose adding on the pressure.
Wells getting the intentional walk, ball four and two on for Overbay. That’s it for Feldman, here comes Washington. Kirkman now pitching. Overbay, patient here not swining, and ball four Kirkman losads the bases for Hiill. Not exactly what Washington had in mind. Bautista at third, Wells to second. Hill, strikes out.
Top 6th: Young leading off, grounds to Overbay steps on the bag for first out. Murphy singles to left. One on one down but here comes Guerrero. Perfect, grounds to Escobar flip to Hill throw to Overbay double play ball. No problem for Marcum but probably sighing with relief.
Bottom 6th: Lind leading off, grounds to Moreland at first, steps on the bag for the out. Buck singles to right. One on one down for Snider grounds to Kinsler at second, throw to Moreland at first for the out but moves Buck to second. Wise with two down and runner in scoring position. There you go DeWayne, doubles to left, here comes Buck to score easily. 5-2 Jays. Escobar strikes out.
Top 7th: Cruz leading off, full count ball four, lead off walk. Moreland another ball four, Marcum has back to back walks. Cruz at second. Guzman pinch-hitting for Treanor. Two on and nobody out. Perfect, grounds to Escobar, steps on bag and throw to Overbay, another double play ball. Cruz moves to third but two down. Blanco singles to right here comes Cruz. 5-3 Jays. Borbon 1-2 count, two down, pops up to Wells in centre for third out. That will be it for Marcum. Pitch count 95 and only three hits.
Bottom 7th: Darren O Day pitching, Benjie Molina catching. Bautista leading off. 2-1 count, full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Wells, 1-1 count, there she goes again, lines it into left, home run Vernon.6-3 Jays. Home run number 27 for Vernon. Great to see him ending the season on a high. Overbay grounds to second throw to first second out. Hill with two down, 3-0 count, ball four. One on two down for Lind, hitless tonight. Here comes Washington. Pitching change Darren Oliver lefty- lefty match up. 2-2 count. WHOA Adam gets hold of this one bigtime, huge hit, off the restaurant windows in centre above 400ft sign. Here comes Hill, here comes Adam, that was a bullet drive. 8-3 Jays. Buck, 1-2 strikes out.
Top 8th: Jason Frasor now pitching. Kinsler leading off, 0-2 count, drives it to Wise in right, one down. Young, 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw off the line, runner safe, and error to Escobar. Murphy, with one on, singles to left in front of Snider, two on one down. Guerrero, with two on, you don’t want him to get hold of one Jason, better to walk him. 2-0 count. Perfect, grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar over to Overbay double play ball rescues Frasor.
Bottom 8th: Rapada pitching, Snider leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Wise. Grounds to Kinsler throw to first for the second out. Escobar, 3-0 count. Ball four. Bautista now with one on. Here comes Washington again. Pitcher number six. Pedro Strop, pops up to Cruz in centre. No home run tonight for Jose.
Top 9th: Camp in to maybe finish this off. Johnny Mc. at second to give Hill an inning off. Cruz leading off. 1-1 count. Bounces it up the middle. One on for Moreland, lines it into left corner and bounces into the seats, ground rule double. Two in scoring position for Molina, 0-2 count. Grounds up the line to third, Bautista throw to first, one down. Blanco, singles up the middle, both runners score, 8-5 Jays. Borbon, 2-1 count, singles into right. Kinsler with two on, and still only one down, tying run here. That’s it for Camp not exactly what Cito had wanted here. Gregg now pitching. 0-1 count. Grounds to Overbay throw to McDonald at second for the out. No chance for double play. Two down for Young. Runners at the corners. Full count. Lines it to Vernon in centre, save number 31 for Gregg. Jays win 8-5.
The excellent: Marcum definitely, Vernon yes gets his dues tonight two home runs, now has homered for third game in a row. September stats are now four home runs and eight RBIs. Lind, hammered that home run to centre off the windows, that was a classic Adam home run and perhaps he too can have a great final month. John Buck also seems to be back in his hitting groove after going through mini-slump at the end of the month.
The good: Give Gregg his due, that was not an easy inning for him but now has 31 saves and almost four weeks to go.
The bad: No not tonight. Maybe the small crowd but this isback to school day plus the noise was more than enough for double this number.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Romero classic win number 12 and home run power from Wells, Hill and Escobar
Game one of four. Jays v Rangers. Monday September 6.
Tough four game series against West division leaders. Although Jays have owned them to day wining 5/6 this is a strong team with or without Hamilton who is injured with rib injury. Tough hitting lineup in a temporary slump and ready to break out. Escobar back in lineup, sorry to see Johnny Mc. out, he has played so very well with bat as well as his usual glove. In fact has more home runs than Escobar and with far fewer at bats. Hill playing although with gammy knee.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Cruz, Guerrero, Francouer, Cantu. Murphy, Teagarden, Blanco.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider.
Pitching: Romero v Hunter.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off. Grounds to third, Escobar cannot come up with the ball. One on for Young, WHOA nice play, grounds back to Romero off his glove and deflects it, Escobar from his knees throw to get Kinsler at second. That might have been double play if Romero let it through. One down for Cruz, 1-2 count, pops up to Wells, two down for Guerrero. 2-2 count, singles into left. Francouer with two on and two down. Pops up to Snider in left. Pitch count 19.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off. Grounds first pitch to Kinsler at second, throw to first for the out. One down for Escobar. Grounds to Blanco at short, throw to first, two down. Bautista, great reception. 3-1 count. Gets under this one, and pops up very high to left for the out. Pitch count 8.
Top 2nd: Cantu leading off, grounds to third, Bautista throw to Overbay for the out. One down, Murphy, first pitch pop up to Wells, two down, Teagarden, 0-2 strikes out swinging. 7 pitch inning. Very nice Ricky. Pitch count 26.
Bottom 2nd: Wells leading off. Bounces one to third no chance for a throw, Vernon at first. Overbay, 3-1 count, Vernon running, ball four. Two on nobody out for Hill. First pitch pop up to Teagarden, awful Aaron. Lind, bounces one to Kinsler at second, runners move up but Lind out. Two in scoring position two down for Buck. 0-2 count, Oh wow. Lucky Jays, ball gets away as he strikes out, here comes Wells, beats the throw by Teagarden to Hunter at the plate but Buck at first. Teagarden could have had Buck at first. 1-0 Jays. Jays get big break for Snider with runners at the corner. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 25.
Top 3rd: Blanco leading off. Full count, ball four. Kinsler with one on. Drives it to Wells in centre for the out. Blanco cannot advance on the throw by Vernon. Young 3-1 count, Romero a bit off here. Ball four, losing the strike zone Ricky. Cruz, with two on. Perfect, first pitch grounds to Escobar, flip to Hill, over to Overbay double play ball. Pitch count 42.
Bottom 3rd: Wise leading off, 1-2 count, singles back up the middle. Escobar, bunting ? Yes, back to pitcher, throw to first to get Wise. Wise safe at second. Problem is he does it so much, scouts are not going to let that go for long. Bautista. 3-1 count. Ball four. Wells with two on and only one out. Takes strike one ? Vernon. 2-1 count. There she goes, drives it into the Jays bullpen, here comes Wise, here comes Bautista and here comes Vernon, 4-0 Jays. Overbay drives it into centre and ball bounces over head of Francouer, totally misjudged the turf bounce. Double for Lyle. Hill with one on and one down. WOWWWWWW… There it goes same place for Aaron, left field bullpen, here comes Lyle, here comes Aaron 6-0 Jays. Lind, singles into centre. Not Hunter’s day today. Buck, 1-2 count, Harrison warming up in Texas bullpen. Full count. Grounds to third, throw to second on to first double play. Pitch count 55.
Top 4th: Romero with a great lead to play with here. Guerrero leading off. 0-2 count, golfs it into right field corner, stand up double. Francouer, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay, one down. Cantu, grounds to Bautista, throw to Overbay, two down and throw back to third but Guerrero safe at third. Murphy two down and runner at third. Singles to Wells in centre, here comes Guerrero, 6-1 Jays. Teagarden, full count, high pop up to shallow left for Snider. Pitch count 58.
Bottom 4th: Snider pop up to Francoeur in right, one down. Wise pop up to flied out to Murphy in centre. Escobar with two down grounds to Blanco at short, throw to Cantu at first. Three up and down10 pitch inning. Pitch count 65.
Top 5th: Grounds to Bautista throw to first, one down for Kinsler, What a great play, grounds to Bautista turns and throws to Overbay, two down. Young lines it of the foot of Romero to Hill, Young safe at first. Cruz with two down. Oh Boy Jose not good. Grounds to Bautista throw high into the crowd, he had time. Error on the play. Runners at second and third. Guerrero with two down. Pops up to Wise in right and escapes damage. That could have been big trouble in Vladdy had hit it out. Pitch count 73.
Bottom 5th: Bautista now chance to atone for that error. He will be mad. Bounces to third, throw to first, one down. Come on Vernon, grounds first pitch to third, throw to first for second out. Not a good at bat by Vernon. Overbay, 0-2 count, strike three looking, two quick innings for Hunter. Jays have to get focused here, this game is not over with this lineup. Pitch count 73.
Top 6th: Francouer grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay. One down for Cantu pops up to Wise in right, two down. Murphy, 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging. Very nice Ricky. Pitch count 84.
Bottom 6th: Hill leading off. 2-2 count. Golfs it into centre to Murphy, one down. Lind, first pitch lousy swing, pops up to left two down. Cito should start sitting Lind. Give Arencibia some time as DH he cannot do worse than Lind. Buck also first pitch back to Hunter throw to first. Seven pitch inning. Hunter should be out of the game and yet Jays hitters are giving him these easy outs. Two innings 15 pitches. Pitch count 80.
Top 7th: Teagarden leading off. Singles into left. Blanco, lines it to Wise in right, one down. Kinsler, grounds to Bautista at third, bounces throw to Overbay but enough to get Kinsler, two down. Camp warming up in bullpen. Singles into right, Teagarden holds at third. Two on for Young, Pops up to Wise in right for the third out.
Bottom 7th: Snider leading off, Hunter unbelievably is still out there, he could last longer than Romero despite the score. Lines it to right but great diving catch by Cantu, that was two for Travis, tough out. Wise, full count. strikes out swinging, two down for Escobar. Yes YUNEL, lines this one into the Jays bullpen. Home run Yunel. 7-1 Jays. Bautista 1-2 count. Pops up to Teagarden behind home plate. Pitch count 98.
Top 8th: Camp now in there to close them down. 1-1 count. Guerrero doubles to the wall in centre. Francouer, Pops up to Snider in left, one down. Guerrero holds at second. Cantu, 2-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay, two down and Guerrero has to hold. Murphy, 1-2 count, loops it to Wells in centre for third out.
Bottom 8th: Strop now pitching. Wells leading off. Pops up to Young in front of mound. One down. Overbay lines it to the wall in centre stand up double. RAIN !!! who decided to open the dome ? Rain is all over southern Ontario today, and the game started with roof closed. Just a light shower. Roof stays open. Hill singles to centre, Lyle has to hold thought it might be caught, moves to third, maybe had a chance to score if he had run on contact. Two on. Johnny Mc. now pinch running for Hill. Give Aaron a break for his knee. That’s it for Sprot. Clay Rapada now pitching. Lind, not a good game so far. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Buck, full count. Strikes out swinging. Oh boy here comes Tallet.
Top 9th: Can Tallet blow this one? Bottom of Texas order. Teagarden leading off. 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging. Good start for Tallet. Blanco, singles into right. Kinsler 1-1 count lines it to Wise in right, two down for Young, Blanco takes second, defensive indifference. 2-2 count, Tallet doesn’t often have the crowd standing .Lines it into centre, here comes Blanco. 7-2 Jays. I tell you with Tallet, anything can happen. Stand up double for Young. Cruz, same again but Vernon playing more shallow and makes the catch to end this one. Jays score seven for second game in a row.
The good: Romero a great game seven innings and win number twelve. Wells, Hill and Escobar home run power and some more excellent defense on the left side.
Bad: Yes today. The middle innings when game was going well, Jays appeared to relax and showed undisciplined hitting. Jays hitters giving Hunter the chance to stay in far longer than he should have been. They had Harrison working in the Texas bullpen in the third inning. Poor hitting first pitch.
Tough four game series against West division leaders. Although Jays have owned them to day wining 5/6 this is a strong team with or without Hamilton who is injured with rib injury. Tough hitting lineup in a temporary slump and ready to break out. Escobar back in lineup, sorry to see Johnny Mc. out, he has played so very well with bat as well as his usual glove. In fact has more home runs than Escobar and with far fewer at bats. Hill playing although with gammy knee.
Lineups: Rangers: Kinsler, Young, Cruz, Guerrero, Francouer, Cantu. Murphy, Teagarden, Blanco.
Jays: Wise, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, Buck, Snider.
Pitching: Romero v Hunter.
Top 1st: Kinsler leading off. Grounds to third, Escobar cannot come up with the ball. One on for Young, WHOA nice play, grounds back to Romero off his glove and deflects it, Escobar from his knees throw to get Kinsler at second. That might have been double play if Romero let it through. One down for Cruz, 1-2 count, pops up to Wells, two down for Guerrero. 2-2 count, singles into left. Francouer with two on and two down. Pops up to Snider in left. Pitch count 19.
Bottom 1st: Wise leading off. Grounds first pitch to Kinsler at second, throw to first for the out. One down for Escobar. Grounds to Blanco at short, throw to first, two down. Bautista, great reception. 3-1 count. Gets under this one, and pops up very high to left for the out. Pitch count 8.
Top 2nd: Cantu leading off, grounds to third, Bautista throw to Overbay for the out. One down, Murphy, first pitch pop up to Wells, two down, Teagarden, 0-2 strikes out swinging. 7 pitch inning. Very nice Ricky. Pitch count 26.
Bottom 2nd: Wells leading off. Bounces one to third no chance for a throw, Vernon at first. Overbay, 3-1 count, Vernon running, ball four. Two on nobody out for Hill. First pitch pop up to Teagarden, awful Aaron. Lind, bounces one to Kinsler at second, runners move up but Lind out. Two in scoring position two down for Buck. 0-2 count, Oh wow. Lucky Jays, ball gets away as he strikes out, here comes Wells, beats the throw by Teagarden to Hunter at the plate but Buck at first. Teagarden could have had Buck at first. 1-0 Jays. Jays get big break for Snider with runners at the corner. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 25.
Top 3rd: Blanco leading off. Full count, ball four. Kinsler with one on. Drives it to Wells in centre for the out. Blanco cannot advance on the throw by Vernon. Young 3-1 count, Romero a bit off here. Ball four, losing the strike zone Ricky. Cruz, with two on. Perfect, first pitch grounds to Escobar, flip to Hill, over to Overbay double play ball. Pitch count 42.
Bottom 3rd: Wise leading off, 1-2 count, singles back up the middle. Escobar, bunting ? Yes, back to pitcher, throw to first to get Wise. Wise safe at second. Problem is he does it so much, scouts are not going to let that go for long. Bautista. 3-1 count. Ball four. Wells with two on and only one out. Takes strike one ? Vernon. 2-1 count. There she goes, drives it into the Jays bullpen, here comes Wise, here comes Bautista and here comes Vernon, 4-0 Jays. Overbay drives it into centre and ball bounces over head of Francouer, totally misjudged the turf bounce. Double for Lyle. Hill with one on and one down. WOWWWWWW… There it goes same place for Aaron, left field bullpen, here comes Lyle, here comes Aaron 6-0 Jays. Lind, singles into centre. Not Hunter’s day today. Buck, 1-2 count, Harrison warming up in Texas bullpen. Full count. Grounds to third, throw to second on to first double play. Pitch count 55.
Top 4th: Romero with a great lead to play with here. Guerrero leading off. 0-2 count, golfs it into right field corner, stand up double. Francouer, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay, one down. Cantu, grounds to Bautista, throw to Overbay, two down and throw back to third but Guerrero safe at third. Murphy two down and runner at third. Singles to Wells in centre, here comes Guerrero, 6-1 Jays. Teagarden, full count, high pop up to shallow left for Snider. Pitch count 58.
Bottom 4th: Snider pop up to Francoeur in right, one down. Wise pop up to flied out to Murphy in centre. Escobar with two down grounds to Blanco at short, throw to Cantu at first. Three up and down10 pitch inning. Pitch count 65.
Top 5th: Grounds to Bautista throw to first, one down for Kinsler, What a great play, grounds to Bautista turns and throws to Overbay, two down. Young lines it of the foot of Romero to Hill, Young safe at first. Cruz with two down. Oh Boy Jose not good. Grounds to Bautista throw high into the crowd, he had time. Error on the play. Runners at second and third. Guerrero with two down. Pops up to Wise in right and escapes damage. That could have been big trouble in Vladdy had hit it out. Pitch count 73.
Bottom 5th: Bautista now chance to atone for that error. He will be mad. Bounces to third, throw to first, one down. Come on Vernon, grounds first pitch to third, throw to first for second out. Not a good at bat by Vernon. Overbay, 0-2 count, strike three looking, two quick innings for Hunter. Jays have to get focused here, this game is not over with this lineup. Pitch count 73.
Top 6th: Francouer grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Overbay. One down for Cantu pops up to Wise in right, two down. Murphy, 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging. Very nice Ricky. Pitch count 84.
Bottom 6th: Hill leading off. 2-2 count. Golfs it into centre to Murphy, one down. Lind, first pitch lousy swing, pops up to left two down. Cito should start sitting Lind. Give Arencibia some time as DH he cannot do worse than Lind. Buck also first pitch back to Hunter throw to first. Seven pitch inning. Hunter should be out of the game and yet Jays hitters are giving him these easy outs. Two innings 15 pitches. Pitch count 80.
Top 7th: Teagarden leading off. Singles into left. Blanco, lines it to Wise in right, one down. Kinsler, grounds to Bautista at third, bounces throw to Overbay but enough to get Kinsler, two down. Camp warming up in bullpen. Singles into right, Teagarden holds at third. Two on for Young, Pops up to Wise in right for the third out.
Bottom 7th: Snider leading off, Hunter unbelievably is still out there, he could last longer than Romero despite the score. Lines it to right but great diving catch by Cantu, that was two for Travis, tough out. Wise, full count. strikes out swinging, two down for Escobar. Yes YUNEL, lines this one into the Jays bullpen. Home run Yunel. 7-1 Jays. Bautista 1-2 count. Pops up to Teagarden behind home plate. Pitch count 98.
Top 8th: Camp now in there to close them down. 1-1 count. Guerrero doubles to the wall in centre. Francouer, Pops up to Snider in left, one down. Guerrero holds at second. Cantu, 2-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Overbay, two down and Guerrero has to hold. Murphy, 1-2 count, loops it to Wells in centre for third out.
Bottom 8th: Strop now pitching. Wells leading off. Pops up to Young in front of mound. One down. Overbay lines it to the wall in centre stand up double. RAIN !!! who decided to open the dome ? Rain is all over southern Ontario today, and the game started with roof closed. Just a light shower. Roof stays open. Hill singles to centre, Lyle has to hold thought it might be caught, moves to third, maybe had a chance to score if he had run on contact. Two on. Johnny Mc. now pinch running for Hill. Give Aaron a break for his knee. That’s it for Sprot. Clay Rapada now pitching. Lind, not a good game so far. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Buck, full count. Strikes out swinging. Oh boy here comes Tallet.
Top 9th: Can Tallet blow this one? Bottom of Texas order. Teagarden leading off. 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging. Good start for Tallet. Blanco, singles into right. Kinsler 1-1 count lines it to Wise in right, two down for Young, Blanco takes second, defensive indifference. 2-2 count, Tallet doesn’t often have the crowd standing .Lines it into centre, here comes Blanco. 7-2 Jays. I tell you with Tallet, anything can happen. Stand up double for Young. Cruz, same again but Vernon playing more shallow and makes the catch to end this one. Jays score seven for second game in a row.
The good: Romero a great game seven innings and win number twelve. Wells, Hill and Escobar home run power and some more excellent defense on the left side.
Bad: Yes today. The middle innings when game was going well, Jays appeared to relax and showed undisciplined hitting. Jays hitters giving Hunter the chance to stay in far longer than he should have been. They had Harrison working in the Texas bullpen in the third inning. Poor hitting first pitch.
Cecil wins number 12 behind power bats and great defense
Final game of series. Jays v Yankees. Game three Sunday September 5.
Same lineup as yesterday for Cito and I agree with him. Need some consistency for the players. Who is not performing right now? Number one has to be Vernon last home run 26 games ago. That’s an average of 6 per season Vernon, Johnny Mc. has that. Lind, definitely in same boat as Vernon. Hill has shown signs but his glove is now suffering. Jays definitely not focused for this series but we also have to remember that Yankees are playing for keeps here. They have Division title at stake and had better be focused. Today Cecil against Hughes who has not pitched as well second half and lost last week to Cecil, perhaps Jays can leave New York on a high note.
Lineups: Jays: Wise, Hill, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Buck, Lind, McDonald, Snider.
Yankees: Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Thames, Posada, Granderson, Golson, Pena.
Pitching: Hughes v Cecil.
Top 1st: Wise leading off. I like the way Wise approaches his at bats. Very focused. Pops up to Gardner behind Jeter at second. One down for Hill. Lines this on to left, off the wall, just misses going out and Aaron has to hustle here to avoid tag at second. Too close there Aaron. Bautista with runner in scoring position. Full count. Strikes out swinging, two down for Wells. 0-2 count, WHOOOOO!!! Vernon drives this one out of here and over the fence in centre, 2-0 Jays. You read my notes. Overbay grounds to first for third out but Jays get on top of Yankees to start. Pitch count 17.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off. Grounds to Hill but no chance to get Gardner he can motor, no throw. Jeter showing bunt, strike one. This will do though, grounds to Hill on to McDonald throw to Overbay double play ball. Teixeira with two down. 3-1 count, ball four, here comes Rodriguez back in the lineup. Grounds to Bautista dives to get the ball and throws to Hill at second from his knees to get Teixeira. Outstanding play by Jose. Pitch count 12.
Top 2nd: Buck leading off. Skies the first pitch to Golson playing today in right field. One down. Lind, in another miserable slump, full count, strikes out swinging. Two down for McDonald. Grounds to Rodriguez, throw to first for third out. Pitch count 29.
Bottom 2nd: Thames leading off. Oh WOW…. Grounds to Johnny Mc. dives and throws to Overbay, for the out, great defense by Jays so far today helping out Cecil big-time. Posada, full count. Strikes out swinging, two down. Granderson, 0-2 count, grounds to Overbay, takes it himself for third out. Pitch count 26.
Top 3rd: Snider leading off, full count, Travis fouling a few off, strikes out swinging. One down, Wise, singles first pitch in to right. Hill, OH WOWEE, Aaron has got hold of this none no doubt at all into left. Same spot as last hit but into the seats this time, here comes Wise, here comes Hill and Jays are out 4-0. Bautista, full count, grounds to first for second out. Wells, 2-2 count, almost hits him, count full. Grounds to Rodriguez at third lazy throw to first, only just gets Vernon, Hughes pitch count 57. Ouch.
Bottom 3rd: Golson getting his first at bat. Rookie callup. Nice start, pulls it to left field wall, bounces back to Travis who throws a strike to second almost gets Golson. Pena with runner in scoring position. Bunting, great bunt by Pena and runners safe at first and third. Cecil in trouble here. Top of the order again Gardner. Pops it to Snider in left, here comes Golson to get Yankees first run. 4-1 Jays. Travis throw to second keeps Pena at first, one down for Jeter. 2-1 count. Pops up to Wells in shallow centre, two down for Teixeira, full count. Just misses, ball four. Cecil thought he had it. Rodriguez with two on, first pitch off the end of his bat back to Cecil who tags A-Rod for third out. Pitch count 44.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to first, Teixeira takes it himself to the bag, one down for Buck. Strikes out, two down for Lind. 1-1 count, high pop up to Gardner in left, easy inning for Hughes for a change. Pitch count 68.
Bottom 4th: Thames leading off singles into left, Posada, perfect, grounds to McDonald, to Hill over to Overbay double play ball rescues Cecil again. Granderson grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay and just like that Jays are batting again. Pitch count 54.
Top 5th: McDonald leading off. Full count. High and ball four. Snider, now Travis you can end the day for Hughes here. Almost, pulls it into the right field corner but bounces right into Golson’s glove and he almost gets Travis at second on the throw, two on nobody out for Wise. Travis hit that so hard Johnny Mc. had no chance to score. 1-2 count, and strikes out swinging. One down for Hill. 1-2 count, that will do Aaron, lifts it into right here comes the throw from Golson Johnny Mc scores on the tag. 5-1 Jays. Travis goes to third on the throw. Two down for Bautista with Snider at third. Lines it to left but right at Gardner Jays get one more, but could have been more. Pitch count 88. Another long inning for Hughes but could have been much worse.
Bottom 5th: Golson leading off. 1-1 count. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging. One down for Pena.0-2 count, grounds to Overbay at first, takes it himself for second out. Gardner, two down. Full count, ball four. Jeter, wild pitch, Jays have had too many of those this season. Gardner moves to second. 3-1 count. Ball four. Not good Brett. Teixiera, here comes pitching coach Walton. Just get that ground ball. Perfect, easy isn’t it, grounds to McDonald throw to Hill to get Jeter and end the inning. Pitch count 74.
Top 6th: Wells leading off pops up first pitch to Golson in shallow right, one down for Overbay. Nice swing but gets under it and pops up to Granderson in centre, two quick outs, Buck. That just might do it John, hammers the fist pitch and drives it into the netting I centre. Hughes knew it as soon as he hit it. Did not even turn to watch it. 6-1 Jays. Lind gets hold of this one and pulls it into right corner bounces into crowd for ground rule double. McDonald, 2-2 count, pops up to Gardner in left for third out.
Bottom 6th: Rodriguez grounds to Bautista safe at first. Thames grounds to Bautista throw to Hill to get A-Rod at second. Another wild pitch by Cecil, Thames to second. Posada doubles to centre, here comes Thames, 6-2 Jays. Granderson lines to Wise, two down but Posada to third. Golson with runner at third, strikes out.
Top 7th: Mitre now pitching. Snider leading off. Singles into right. Wise with one on. Singles into right, two on for Hill. 2-2, lines to right but this time Golson has it for the out one down two on for Bautista, you know Jose wants this one. 3-0 count, turns on this one just misses, foul, that would have been three. 3-1 count, ball four and loads the bases for Vernon. Still only one down. Can’t lay off that one down and away. 3-1 count, ball four and here comes Travis 7-2 Jays. Girardi does not like that. Bases still loaded for Overbay. 2-2 count, big groan, grounds to second, throw to short over to Teixeira, double play ball.
Bottom 7th: Cecil still out there. Pena, 3-1 count, lines a bullet off Hill at second, Aaron knocks it down but that was a very tough play. One on for Gardner. 2-1 Cecil laboring here, come on Cito get him out. Pops up to Snider in shallow left, one down. Jeter, now here comes Cito. Janssen now pitching. Jeter strikes out. Way to go Casey. Two down Teixeira, full count, ball four, not what we need Casey. Two down two on but here cines A-Rod, singles to Vernon in centre, here comes Pena, Teixeira moves up to second. 7-3 Jays. That’s it for Casey here comes Cito. Callup Roenicke, now pitching. He has been so good in Vegas. Thames with two down and two on, pops it up Johnny Mc. has it to end the inning.
Top 8th: Buck leading off, gets hold of this one but lines out to Granderson in centre, one down for Lind grounds to Pena at second, throw to Teixeira at first for second. Johnny Mc. with two down, pops up to Teixeira at first. Jays go quietly.
Bottom 8th: Posada leading off strikes out. One down for Granderson, oh no, grounds to Hill but Aaron muffs that one and Granderson’s speed gets him safe at first. Aaron’s glove is not 100% these days. Swisher now, pinch-hitting for Golson, grounds to Overbay to make the play on the bag, Granderson moves to second. Two down for Berkman now pinch-hitting for Pena. Joe Girardi throwing everyone into the mix today, these games are important to him. That’s it for Roenicke, Carlson now pitching. Jesse is getting overworked these days Cito, be careful you don’t ruin his arm. That will do it, Berkman grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for third out. It will be Kevin Gregg in the 9th.
Top 9th: All those changes for Girardi, Nunez in at second. Kearns in at right field.
Snider leading off, singles to centre, third hit for Travis today, nice going Travis, get the hits going and the home run power will follow. But always good to get the number nine guy on for the top of the order. Wise, NO DeWayne, lines this hard but right at Teixeira who doubles up Travis off the bag, no chance at all for Travis. Two down for Hill grounds to third and beats out the throw, safe at first, that makes that double play tough. That’s it for Mitre, Albaladejo now pitching. Bautista, hit by a pitch, hmmm !!! Yankees want him to leave town on a good note, Jose has not had a happy three days. Hill to second. Wells with two on and two down, strikes out. Ok, now clutch time for Kevin. His first appearance this weekend. What does he have?
Bottom 9th: Gregg now pitching. Not a save but needs the work. McCoy in for Hill at second, what does that mean? Gardner leading off, doubles to left. Ok Kevin relax. You have four runs to play with here. Jeter pops up to Wise in right, one down and Gardner has to hold. Teixeira pops up to Snider, two down Gardner to third. Here comes A-Rod to make his statement, Wooo !!! strikes him out looking. Jays win 7-3 and head home with something at least. Tampa also losing so no change at the top but Jays pick up one on the leaders, not that means anything anymore.
The good: Cecil another excellent outing, has beaten the Yankees twice in a week, that is really something and certainly for next season. The power bats Hill, Wells, and Buck. And don’t forget the defensive plays of Bautista and Johnny Mc. early in the game, huge plays robbing Yankees of base hits. Hill and Travis both with three hits.
The bad: No, not today, let’s enjoy a win in New York.
Same lineup as yesterday for Cito and I agree with him. Need some consistency for the players. Who is not performing right now? Number one has to be Vernon last home run 26 games ago. That’s an average of 6 per season Vernon, Johnny Mc. has that. Lind, definitely in same boat as Vernon. Hill has shown signs but his glove is now suffering. Jays definitely not focused for this series but we also have to remember that Yankees are playing for keeps here. They have Division title at stake and had better be focused. Today Cecil against Hughes who has not pitched as well second half and lost last week to Cecil, perhaps Jays can leave New York on a high note.
Lineups: Jays: Wise, Hill, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Buck, Lind, McDonald, Snider.
Yankees: Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Thames, Posada, Granderson, Golson, Pena.
Pitching: Hughes v Cecil.
Top 1st: Wise leading off. I like the way Wise approaches his at bats. Very focused. Pops up to Gardner behind Jeter at second. One down for Hill. Lines this on to left, off the wall, just misses going out and Aaron has to hustle here to avoid tag at second. Too close there Aaron. Bautista with runner in scoring position. Full count. Strikes out swinging, two down for Wells. 0-2 count, WHOOOOO!!! Vernon drives this one out of here and over the fence in centre, 2-0 Jays. You read my notes. Overbay grounds to first for third out but Jays get on top of Yankees to start. Pitch count 17.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off. Grounds to Hill but no chance to get Gardner he can motor, no throw. Jeter showing bunt, strike one. This will do though, grounds to Hill on to McDonald throw to Overbay double play ball. Teixeira with two down. 3-1 count, ball four, here comes Rodriguez back in the lineup. Grounds to Bautista dives to get the ball and throws to Hill at second from his knees to get Teixeira. Outstanding play by Jose. Pitch count 12.
Top 2nd: Buck leading off. Skies the first pitch to Golson playing today in right field. One down. Lind, in another miserable slump, full count, strikes out swinging. Two down for McDonald. Grounds to Rodriguez, throw to first for third out. Pitch count 29.
Bottom 2nd: Thames leading off. Oh WOW…. Grounds to Johnny Mc. dives and throws to Overbay, for the out, great defense by Jays so far today helping out Cecil big-time. Posada, full count. Strikes out swinging, two down. Granderson, 0-2 count, grounds to Overbay, takes it himself for third out. Pitch count 26.
Top 3rd: Snider leading off, full count, Travis fouling a few off, strikes out swinging. One down, Wise, singles first pitch in to right. Hill, OH WOWEE, Aaron has got hold of this none no doubt at all into left. Same spot as last hit but into the seats this time, here comes Wise, here comes Hill and Jays are out 4-0. Bautista, full count, grounds to first for second out. Wells, 2-2 count, almost hits him, count full. Grounds to Rodriguez at third lazy throw to first, only just gets Vernon, Hughes pitch count 57. Ouch.
Bottom 3rd: Golson getting his first at bat. Rookie callup. Nice start, pulls it to left field wall, bounces back to Travis who throws a strike to second almost gets Golson. Pena with runner in scoring position. Bunting, great bunt by Pena and runners safe at first and third. Cecil in trouble here. Top of the order again Gardner. Pops it to Snider in left, here comes Golson to get Yankees first run. 4-1 Jays. Travis throw to second keeps Pena at first, one down for Jeter. 2-1 count. Pops up to Wells in shallow centre, two down for Teixeira, full count. Just misses, ball four. Cecil thought he had it. Rodriguez with two on, first pitch off the end of his bat back to Cecil who tags A-Rod for third out. Pitch count 44.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to first, Teixeira takes it himself to the bag, one down for Buck. Strikes out, two down for Lind. 1-1 count, high pop up to Gardner in left, easy inning for Hughes for a change. Pitch count 68.
Bottom 4th: Thames leading off singles into left, Posada, perfect, grounds to McDonald, to Hill over to Overbay double play ball rescues Cecil again. Granderson grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay and just like that Jays are batting again. Pitch count 54.
Top 5th: McDonald leading off. Full count. High and ball four. Snider, now Travis you can end the day for Hughes here. Almost, pulls it into the right field corner but bounces right into Golson’s glove and he almost gets Travis at second on the throw, two on nobody out for Wise. Travis hit that so hard Johnny Mc. had no chance to score. 1-2 count, and strikes out swinging. One down for Hill. 1-2 count, that will do Aaron, lifts it into right here comes the throw from Golson Johnny Mc scores on the tag. 5-1 Jays. Travis goes to third on the throw. Two down for Bautista with Snider at third. Lines it to left but right at Gardner Jays get one more, but could have been more. Pitch count 88. Another long inning for Hughes but could have been much worse.
Bottom 5th: Golson leading off. 1-1 count. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging. One down for Pena.0-2 count, grounds to Overbay at first, takes it himself for second out. Gardner, two down. Full count, ball four. Jeter, wild pitch, Jays have had too many of those this season. Gardner moves to second. 3-1 count. Ball four. Not good Brett. Teixiera, here comes pitching coach Walton. Just get that ground ball. Perfect, easy isn’t it, grounds to McDonald throw to Hill to get Jeter and end the inning. Pitch count 74.
Top 6th: Wells leading off pops up first pitch to Golson in shallow right, one down for Overbay. Nice swing but gets under it and pops up to Granderson in centre, two quick outs, Buck. That just might do it John, hammers the fist pitch and drives it into the netting I centre. Hughes knew it as soon as he hit it. Did not even turn to watch it. 6-1 Jays. Lind gets hold of this one and pulls it into right corner bounces into crowd for ground rule double. McDonald, 2-2 count, pops up to Gardner in left for third out.
Bottom 6th: Rodriguez grounds to Bautista safe at first. Thames grounds to Bautista throw to Hill to get A-Rod at second. Another wild pitch by Cecil, Thames to second. Posada doubles to centre, here comes Thames, 6-2 Jays. Granderson lines to Wise, two down but Posada to third. Golson with runner at third, strikes out.
Top 7th: Mitre now pitching. Snider leading off. Singles into right. Wise with one on. Singles into right, two on for Hill. 2-2, lines to right but this time Golson has it for the out one down two on for Bautista, you know Jose wants this one. 3-0 count, turns on this one just misses, foul, that would have been three. 3-1 count, ball four and loads the bases for Vernon. Still only one down. Can’t lay off that one down and away. 3-1 count, ball four and here comes Travis 7-2 Jays. Girardi does not like that. Bases still loaded for Overbay. 2-2 count, big groan, grounds to second, throw to short over to Teixeira, double play ball.
Bottom 7th: Cecil still out there. Pena, 3-1 count, lines a bullet off Hill at second, Aaron knocks it down but that was a very tough play. One on for Gardner. 2-1 Cecil laboring here, come on Cito get him out. Pops up to Snider in shallow left, one down. Jeter, now here comes Cito. Janssen now pitching. Jeter strikes out. Way to go Casey. Two down Teixeira, full count, ball four, not what we need Casey. Two down two on but here cines A-Rod, singles to Vernon in centre, here comes Pena, Teixeira moves up to second. 7-3 Jays. That’s it for Casey here comes Cito. Callup Roenicke, now pitching. He has been so good in Vegas. Thames with two down and two on, pops it up Johnny Mc. has it to end the inning.
Top 8th: Buck leading off, gets hold of this one but lines out to Granderson in centre, one down for Lind grounds to Pena at second, throw to Teixeira at first for second. Johnny Mc. with two down, pops up to Teixeira at first. Jays go quietly.
Bottom 8th: Posada leading off strikes out. One down for Granderson, oh no, grounds to Hill but Aaron muffs that one and Granderson’s speed gets him safe at first. Aaron’s glove is not 100% these days. Swisher now, pinch-hitting for Golson, grounds to Overbay to make the play on the bag, Granderson moves to second. Two down for Berkman now pinch-hitting for Pena. Joe Girardi throwing everyone into the mix today, these games are important to him. That’s it for Roenicke, Carlson now pitching. Jesse is getting overworked these days Cito, be careful you don’t ruin his arm. That will do it, Berkman grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for third out. It will be Kevin Gregg in the 9th.
Top 9th: All those changes for Girardi, Nunez in at second. Kearns in at right field.
Snider leading off, singles to centre, third hit for Travis today, nice going Travis, get the hits going and the home run power will follow. But always good to get the number nine guy on for the top of the order. Wise, NO DeWayne, lines this hard but right at Teixeira who doubles up Travis off the bag, no chance at all for Travis. Two down for Hill grounds to third and beats out the throw, safe at first, that makes that double play tough. That’s it for Mitre, Albaladejo now pitching. Bautista, hit by a pitch, hmmm !!! Yankees want him to leave town on a good note, Jose has not had a happy three days. Hill to second. Wells with two on and two down, strikes out. Ok, now clutch time for Kevin. His first appearance this weekend. What does he have?
Bottom 9th: Gregg now pitching. Not a save but needs the work. McCoy in for Hill at second, what does that mean? Gardner leading off, doubles to left. Ok Kevin relax. You have four runs to play with here. Jeter pops up to Wise in right, one down and Gardner has to hold. Teixeira pops up to Snider, two down Gardner to third. Here comes A-Rod to make his statement, Wooo !!! strikes him out looking. Jays win 7-3 and head home with something at least. Tampa also losing so no change at the top but Jays pick up one on the leaders, not that means anything anymore.
The good: Cecil another excellent outing, has beaten the Yankees twice in a week, that is really something and certainly for next season. The power bats Hill, Wells, and Buck. And don’t forget the defensive plays of Bautista and Johnny Mc. early in the game, huge plays robbing Yankees of base hits. Hill and Travis both with three hits.
The bad: No, not today, let’s enjoy a win in New York.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Jays blow 3-0 lead and continue to play uninspiring baseball.
Game two Jays v Yankees. Saturday September 4.
Which Jay team will turn up today after yesterday’s uninspiring performances? No one expects the Jays to thrash Yankees every game, but they do expect them to play with some intensity. Cannot blame Morrow for the one yesterday, it was the hitters who lost the game, they had many chances to get back into the game. Inning after inning with runners at second, most times two on and could not score. If Jays cannot beat the Yankees playing without Jeter, Swisher and A-Rod then good luck today. This could be a major embarrassment with Rzepzcynski pitching who has not shown anything yet that would convince fans he can win a game.
But as always with this team, you never know what they will do. All we ask is that they make a game of it and play with some interest and definitely some intensity.
Lineups: Jays: Well I get one wish from Cito, Wise is in the game and also leading off, some speed at the top. Hill, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Buck, Lind, McDonald, Snider. (two wishes thank you Cito. Travis should stay at number nine for the month, no pressure on the kid, knows where he will be every day and hopefully he will come through. We also have Bautista at third, thank you Cito, and finally McCoy out and Johnny Mc. at short, almost a team and combination I would have selected myself. Mixture of speed and hitting down to number nine. Now all they have to do is produce.
Yankees: Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Cano, Thames, Berkman, Granderson, Nunez, Cervelli.
Pitching: Vazquez v Rzepzcynski.
Top 1st: Wise, pops up to Gardner in left, one down for Hill. Good to see Aaron back at number two, he has earned the right. Pops up to Gardner in shallow left. Bautista, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging off the plate. Three up and down. Pitch count 7. White Sox have Manny Ramirez in the lineup today at Fenway, that will be an interesting game.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off, 1-2 count, grounds to Hill, off balance throw off the glove of Overbay. Jeter, 2-1 count, fly ball to Wise in right. One down one on for Teixeira 2-0 count, there goes Gardner, safe at second, replay shows out, full count. Lines it hard to Snider in left, two down. Cano with runner at second. Grounds slowly to Overbay for the final out at first. Pitch count 16. Manny has a single first at bat.
Top 2nd: Wells leading off, which game has Vernon brought today? Lots of empty seats down there at third. Pops up to Thames in shallow right. One down for Overbay. WHOA Lyle, gets hold of this one, watch this one go, long drive into right centre, home run for Lyle. Love that swing Lyle. 1-0 Jays. Buck, 3-0 count, Vazquez rattled here ? Ball four. Lind, awful, excuse me swing pops up first pitch to Jeter that was terrible at bat Lind after Vazquez had just walked Buck on four pitches. Adam never impresses me with his thinking skills. McDonald, YES Johnny Mc… gets hold of this one, into left corner, off the foul pole. Here comes Buck, here comes Johnny Mc. 3-0 Jays. Baseball is a strange and unpredictable game. Snider now, OK Travis your turn. Strikes out swinging. Pitch count 27.
Bottom 2nd: Thames leading off. We need a quick up and down inning here Marc. High fly ball to Wells on the track at 400feet sign. One down for Berkman, grounds up the middle great play by Johnny Mc swivels and throws an out, that is why McCoy should not be in the game at short. Two down. Granderson grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay, six pitches, way to go Marc. Pitch count 22.
Top 3rd: Top of Jays order again with a 3-0 lead, let’s build on it here. Wise, 3-0 count, ball four. One on for Hill, grounds to Teixeira, steps on first, no chance for two, speed kills. Wise at second for Bautista. Moseley warming up in Yankees bullpen. Short leash for Vazquez today? That’s the difference with a team in playoffs and a team that is out of it. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging for second time. Wells, up and in strikes out swinging. Jays unable to bring in that runner from second. You take advantage of every chance against Yankees. Pitch count 44.
Bottom 3rd: Nunez leading off, grounds to McDonald at short, throw to Overbay, one down. Cervelli lines it to Snider in left, throw is there at second but Hill cannot make the out. Gardner with Cervelli at second, 3-1 count, ball four, two on for Jeter, need a ground ball Marc. Doubles down the left field line, here comes Cervelli this guy can run for a catcher. 3-1 Jays. Runners at second and third, Teixeira, 3-1 count, ball four to load the bases for Cano. That may have been semi intentional. Not going to give Teixeira anything to hit. 0-1, right down the middle, lousy pitch, singles into centre, here comes the runner followed by Jeter 3-3 game. Walton out there to settle him down but we know realistically Marc is out of his depth here, just try to keep it close and let the hitters do their job. Thames, with two on. Fly ball to Snider in left for second out. Runners hold. Berkman, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 46. Could have been much worse.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off, full count, ball four, one on for Buck. 1-2 count, strikes out, tried to hold up. One down for Lind, needs to redeem himself for that last at bat. That will do Adam, singles into right. Two on for McDonald, full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Snider. Now Travis, big chance here. 2-2 count, golfs it to Thames in right. Pitch count 69. Jays leave two more out there.
Bottom 4th: Granderson 1-1 count, singles into right, now Marc has to worry about stealing. One on for Nunez. Oh man, grounds back to Rzepzcynski, throws to second but Hill gets late and no chance for two. Marc too fast with that play. Should have been two. Cervelli, one down. Lines it to left, great catch by Snider but falls out of glove when he hits ground. Runners at second and third. That earlier missed double play makes the difference here. Gardner one down. Two in scoring position. Gardner 2-1, pops it back to Rzepczynski, cannot get to it Johnny Mc. throw to first for second out, run scores 4-3 Yankees. Jeter, two down runner at third, 3-1 count, ball four two on for Teixeira. Carlson ready in bullpen. 0-2 count. Wild pitch, here comes the runner, Jeter to second. Nothing going right for the hapless Jays today. 5-3 Yankees.1-2 count. Hits him on the elbow. Two on two down for Cano, 2-2, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay. Pitch count 73. Jays playing slapstick ball like Buster Keaton today.
Top 5th: Jays knew they had to get some run support for the pitcher today, not much yet. Wise leading off. Pops up to Gardner in left. Hill, 2-1 count, Hill trying to get on base for the big guys. High pop up to the left field corner to make the catch at the wall. Two down for Bautista. Hitless today. Full count. Up and in, ball four. One on for Wells, who has done zilch in first two games. And 0-2 today. 3-1 count, singles to left, finally a hit but no longer the power from Wells. Bautista at third on the play, nice base running Jose. Overbay with two on and two down, we have been here before with no joy today. That’s it for Vazquez but small victory unless they score here. Moseley pitching. Overbay takes ball one. That’s the way Lyle, pulls it into right field corner, here comes Bautista, here comes Vernon on the throw. 5-5 game. Lyle at second for Buck, full count, Logan warming up in Yankees bullpen. Buck grounds to Nunez at third, throw to Teixeira for third out.
Bottom 5th: Jesse Carlson now pitching. Have to hold it here Jesse. Thames leading off. Full count, grounds to Bautista throw to Overbay, great play by Jose as ball changes direction at the bag. Berkman grounds first pitch to Bautista two down. Granderson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Classic Jesse inning.
Top 6th: Logan now pitching. Jays hitters now have to do some serious damage soon. This is the guy who is bothering me now. Lind, so much ability and yet underachieving all season long. Pops up to left for Gardner to make over the head catch. McDonald, first pitch pops up to Thames in right. Snider, with two down. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. 7 pitch inning.
Bottom 6th: Nunez leading off, grounds to McDonald, throw to Overbay, one down. Cervelli, 2-2 but should have been out that first at bat on the Snider throw. 2-2 count, pops up to Wells in centre. Two down for Gardner, 2-2 count, Frasor warming up in bullpen. Grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay. Six up and down for Carlson, excellent outing.
Top 7th: Logan pitching. Wise leading off, singles up the middle. Here comes Girardi he does not mess around does he? Changes pitchers the way Cito used to before they all wore out. Joba Chamberlain now pitching. Jays at least will get some heat to hit, if they can of course. Hill, 1-1 count, hits Hill on the shoulder, two on no outs for Bautista, perfect timing if Jose can unload here. Full count, strikes out, Bautista loses it and is thrown out of game. Jose you can’t do that, can cost Jays big time with glove and bat. Wells now with one down and two on. Grounds first pitch to Cano at second, steps on the bag and throws to first for the out and yes, double play ball. The game can turn just like that on two pitches three outs. But more than that Jays have lost Jose for the game. This is a game of momentum and Jays have just blown it bigtime. Two on and no outs. And two pitches later three outs and the best player out of the game
Bottom 7th: Frasor now pitching. McCoy ! in for Bautista, what a trade. Jeter leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down. Teixeira, full count, grounds to Overbay, steps on the bag for second out. Cano, singles into centre, jammed him but enough to get past Hill. One on two down for Thames. Gets hold of this one into the bullpen in left. 7-5 Yankees. Berkman, singles off the glove of Frasor into centre. Granderson, 1-2 count, grounds to McCoy at short, throw to Overbay for the out but Jays facing two run deficit here and not much time to get it back.
Top 8th: Kerry Wood pitching, Pena in at third base. Olson in right field. Overbay leading off, 0-2 strikes out on three pitches. Buck, grounds to Teixeira throw to Wood for the out, two down. Lind, 1-2 count, pops up to Gardner in left, Jays hitters lambs to the slaughter.
Bottom 8th: Frasor still out there, Pena leading off. Full count. Ball four. Cervelli, 2-2 count, pops up to Wells in shallow centre, one down for Gardner. Here comes Cito ? Not sure why, going through the motions, this game is lost and he knows it. The fans do as well, there are many more empty seats. Purcey now pitching. Gardner showing bunt. 0-1 count. Runner Pena going, Buck throw to second, gets him, two down. Full count. Ball four. One on two down for Jeter.1-2. Rivera ready. Strikes out Jeter swinging.
Top 9th: Unless Rivera collapses here this is an easy save number 29, not through his pitching but through the way Jays hitters have been playing the last two days. Plus he has the bottom of the order to take out unless Cito uses pinch hitters. McDonald leading off. Takes first pitch strike. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Snider, 0-3 day. 1-2 count, cannot lay off that high pitch. Grounds to Cano throw to first, two down for Wise. Singles into right, to keep it alive. Hill, tying run !! Bautista hoping he does not get on. 2-2 count. Strikes out looking. Well that about sums up the Jays hitters today. Awful.
Lose another to the Yankees. NY now winning streak at 8 and looking for an easy sweep tomorrow.
I hope Cito lays into this team before the next game. Evidently he had meeting before the game about lack of intensity, it has really shown in these last two games.
The good. Overbay definitely with 3RBIs. Bautista with his glove. Carlson excellent two innings to get six up and down.
The bad: Far too much in this game and series. Jays heads are not in the game right now, poor mental errors and leading to errors in the field and even leading into runs. Unable to do the little things well. Lind first at bat. Rzepczynski throw to second in the 4th should have been double play ball and that would have saved two runs. That turns out to be the game difference.
Lousy hitting with runners in scoring position.
Bautista loses control and has to control his rage. Disappointed in him there. Frasor could not hold the tie game even with two outs and is really writing his one way ticket out of Toronto in the off-season.
Jays teased us earlier but in the end one team is playing for playoffs the other is playing for their Octiober golfing.
Which Jay team will turn up today after yesterday’s uninspiring performances? No one expects the Jays to thrash Yankees every game, but they do expect them to play with some intensity. Cannot blame Morrow for the one yesterday, it was the hitters who lost the game, they had many chances to get back into the game. Inning after inning with runners at second, most times two on and could not score. If Jays cannot beat the Yankees playing without Jeter, Swisher and A-Rod then good luck today. This could be a major embarrassment with Rzepzcynski pitching who has not shown anything yet that would convince fans he can win a game.
But as always with this team, you never know what they will do. All we ask is that they make a game of it and play with some interest and definitely some intensity.
Lineups: Jays: Well I get one wish from Cito, Wise is in the game and also leading off, some speed at the top. Hill, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Buck, Lind, McDonald, Snider. (two wishes thank you Cito. Travis should stay at number nine for the month, no pressure on the kid, knows where he will be every day and hopefully he will come through. We also have Bautista at third, thank you Cito, and finally McCoy out and Johnny Mc. at short, almost a team and combination I would have selected myself. Mixture of speed and hitting down to number nine. Now all they have to do is produce.
Yankees: Gardner, Jeter, Teixeira, Cano, Thames, Berkman, Granderson, Nunez, Cervelli.
Pitching: Vazquez v Rzepzcynski.
Top 1st: Wise, pops up to Gardner in left, one down for Hill. Good to see Aaron back at number two, he has earned the right. Pops up to Gardner in shallow left. Bautista, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging off the plate. Three up and down. Pitch count 7. White Sox have Manny Ramirez in the lineup today at Fenway, that will be an interesting game.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off, 1-2 count, grounds to Hill, off balance throw off the glove of Overbay. Jeter, 2-1 count, fly ball to Wise in right. One down one on for Teixeira 2-0 count, there goes Gardner, safe at second, replay shows out, full count. Lines it hard to Snider in left, two down. Cano with runner at second. Grounds slowly to Overbay for the final out at first. Pitch count 16. Manny has a single first at bat.
Top 2nd: Wells leading off, which game has Vernon brought today? Lots of empty seats down there at third. Pops up to Thames in shallow right. One down for Overbay. WHOA Lyle, gets hold of this one, watch this one go, long drive into right centre, home run for Lyle. Love that swing Lyle. 1-0 Jays. Buck, 3-0 count, Vazquez rattled here ? Ball four. Lind, awful, excuse me swing pops up first pitch to Jeter that was terrible at bat Lind after Vazquez had just walked Buck on four pitches. Adam never impresses me with his thinking skills. McDonald, YES Johnny Mc… gets hold of this one, into left corner, off the foul pole. Here comes Buck, here comes Johnny Mc. 3-0 Jays. Baseball is a strange and unpredictable game. Snider now, OK Travis your turn. Strikes out swinging. Pitch count 27.
Bottom 2nd: Thames leading off. We need a quick up and down inning here Marc. High fly ball to Wells on the track at 400feet sign. One down for Berkman, grounds up the middle great play by Johnny Mc swivels and throws an out, that is why McCoy should not be in the game at short. Two down. Granderson grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay, six pitches, way to go Marc. Pitch count 22.
Top 3rd: Top of Jays order again with a 3-0 lead, let’s build on it here. Wise, 3-0 count, ball four. One on for Hill, grounds to Teixeira, steps on first, no chance for two, speed kills. Wise at second for Bautista. Moseley warming up in Yankees bullpen. Short leash for Vazquez today? That’s the difference with a team in playoffs and a team that is out of it. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging for second time. Wells, up and in strikes out swinging. Jays unable to bring in that runner from second. You take advantage of every chance against Yankees. Pitch count 44.
Bottom 3rd: Nunez leading off, grounds to McDonald at short, throw to Overbay, one down. Cervelli lines it to Snider in left, throw is there at second but Hill cannot make the out. Gardner with Cervelli at second, 3-1 count, ball four, two on for Jeter, need a ground ball Marc. Doubles down the left field line, here comes Cervelli this guy can run for a catcher. 3-1 Jays. Runners at second and third, Teixeira, 3-1 count, ball four to load the bases for Cano. That may have been semi intentional. Not going to give Teixeira anything to hit. 0-1, right down the middle, lousy pitch, singles into centre, here comes the runner followed by Jeter 3-3 game. Walton out there to settle him down but we know realistically Marc is out of his depth here, just try to keep it close and let the hitters do their job. Thames, with two on. Fly ball to Snider in left for second out. Runners hold. Berkman, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 46. Could have been much worse.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off, full count, ball four, one on for Buck. 1-2 count, strikes out, tried to hold up. One down for Lind, needs to redeem himself for that last at bat. That will do Adam, singles into right. Two on for McDonald, full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Snider. Now Travis, big chance here. 2-2 count, golfs it to Thames in right. Pitch count 69. Jays leave two more out there.
Bottom 4th: Granderson 1-1 count, singles into right, now Marc has to worry about stealing. One on for Nunez. Oh man, grounds back to Rzepzcynski, throws to second but Hill gets late and no chance for two. Marc too fast with that play. Should have been two. Cervelli, one down. Lines it to left, great catch by Snider but falls out of glove when he hits ground. Runners at second and third. That earlier missed double play makes the difference here. Gardner one down. Two in scoring position. Gardner 2-1, pops it back to Rzepczynski, cannot get to it Johnny Mc. throw to first for second out, run scores 4-3 Yankees. Jeter, two down runner at third, 3-1 count, ball four two on for Teixeira. Carlson ready in bullpen. 0-2 count. Wild pitch, here comes the runner, Jeter to second. Nothing going right for the hapless Jays today. 5-3 Yankees.1-2 count. Hits him on the elbow. Two on two down for Cano, 2-2, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay. Pitch count 73. Jays playing slapstick ball like Buster Keaton today.
Top 5th: Jays knew they had to get some run support for the pitcher today, not much yet. Wise leading off. Pops up to Gardner in left. Hill, 2-1 count, Hill trying to get on base for the big guys. High pop up to the left field corner to make the catch at the wall. Two down for Bautista. Hitless today. Full count. Up and in, ball four. One on for Wells, who has done zilch in first two games. And 0-2 today. 3-1 count, singles to left, finally a hit but no longer the power from Wells. Bautista at third on the play, nice base running Jose. Overbay with two on and two down, we have been here before with no joy today. That’s it for Vazquez but small victory unless they score here. Moseley pitching. Overbay takes ball one. That’s the way Lyle, pulls it into right field corner, here comes Bautista, here comes Vernon on the throw. 5-5 game. Lyle at second for Buck, full count, Logan warming up in Yankees bullpen. Buck grounds to Nunez at third, throw to Teixeira for third out.
Bottom 5th: Jesse Carlson now pitching. Have to hold it here Jesse. Thames leading off. Full count, grounds to Bautista throw to Overbay, great play by Jose as ball changes direction at the bag. Berkman grounds first pitch to Bautista two down. Granderson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Classic Jesse inning.
Top 6th: Logan now pitching. Jays hitters now have to do some serious damage soon. This is the guy who is bothering me now. Lind, so much ability and yet underachieving all season long. Pops up to left for Gardner to make over the head catch. McDonald, first pitch pops up to Thames in right. Snider, with two down. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. 7 pitch inning.
Bottom 6th: Nunez leading off, grounds to McDonald, throw to Overbay, one down. Cervelli, 2-2 but should have been out that first at bat on the Snider throw. 2-2 count, pops up to Wells in centre. Two down for Gardner, 2-2 count, Frasor warming up in bullpen. Grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay. Six up and down for Carlson, excellent outing.
Top 7th: Logan pitching. Wise leading off, singles up the middle. Here comes Girardi he does not mess around does he? Changes pitchers the way Cito used to before they all wore out. Joba Chamberlain now pitching. Jays at least will get some heat to hit, if they can of course. Hill, 1-1 count, hits Hill on the shoulder, two on no outs for Bautista, perfect timing if Jose can unload here. Full count, strikes out, Bautista loses it and is thrown out of game. Jose you can’t do that, can cost Jays big time with glove and bat. Wells now with one down and two on. Grounds first pitch to Cano at second, steps on the bag and throws to first for the out and yes, double play ball. The game can turn just like that on two pitches three outs. But more than that Jays have lost Jose for the game. This is a game of momentum and Jays have just blown it bigtime. Two on and no outs. And two pitches later three outs and the best player out of the game
Bottom 7th: Frasor now pitching. McCoy ! in for Bautista, what a trade. Jeter leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down. Teixeira, full count, grounds to Overbay, steps on the bag for second out. Cano, singles into centre, jammed him but enough to get past Hill. One on two down for Thames. Gets hold of this one into the bullpen in left. 7-5 Yankees. Berkman, singles off the glove of Frasor into centre. Granderson, 1-2 count, grounds to McCoy at short, throw to Overbay for the out but Jays facing two run deficit here and not much time to get it back.
Top 8th: Kerry Wood pitching, Pena in at third base. Olson in right field. Overbay leading off, 0-2 strikes out on three pitches. Buck, grounds to Teixeira throw to Wood for the out, two down. Lind, 1-2 count, pops up to Gardner in left, Jays hitters lambs to the slaughter.
Bottom 8th: Frasor still out there, Pena leading off. Full count. Ball four. Cervelli, 2-2 count, pops up to Wells in shallow centre, one down for Gardner. Here comes Cito ? Not sure why, going through the motions, this game is lost and he knows it. The fans do as well, there are many more empty seats. Purcey now pitching. Gardner showing bunt. 0-1 count. Runner Pena going, Buck throw to second, gets him, two down. Full count. Ball four. One on two down for Jeter.1-2. Rivera ready. Strikes out Jeter swinging.
Top 9th: Unless Rivera collapses here this is an easy save number 29, not through his pitching but through the way Jays hitters have been playing the last two days. Plus he has the bottom of the order to take out unless Cito uses pinch hitters. McDonald leading off. Takes first pitch strike. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Snider, 0-3 day. 1-2 count, cannot lay off that high pitch. Grounds to Cano throw to first, two down for Wise. Singles into right, to keep it alive. Hill, tying run !! Bautista hoping he does not get on. 2-2 count. Strikes out looking. Well that about sums up the Jays hitters today. Awful.
Lose another to the Yankees. NY now winning streak at 8 and looking for an easy sweep tomorrow.
I hope Cito lays into this team before the next game. Evidently he had meeting before the game about lack of intensity, it has really shown in these last two games.
The good. Overbay definitely with 3RBIs. Bautista with his glove. Carlson excellent two innings to get six up and down.
The bad: Far too much in this game and series. Jays heads are not in the game right now, poor mental errors and leading to errors in the field and even leading into runs. Unable to do the little things well. Lind first at bat. Rzepczynski throw to second in the 4th should have been double play ball and that would have saved two runs. That turns out to be the game difference.
Lousy hitting with runners in scoring position.
Bautista loses control and has to control his rage. Disappointed in him there. Frasor could not hold the tie game even with two outs and is really writing his one way ticket out of Toronto in the off-season.
Jays teased us earlier but in the end one team is playing for playoffs the other is playing for their Octiober golfing.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Jays continue in a daze. Snider the only one today with any power as Jays lose to New York.
Jays v Yankees. Game one of three. Friday September 3.
Preview: Yankees on a roll of six straight wins, chance for Jays to make a statement one way or the other, are they any good, are they a mirage and will they be outplayed by the Yankees when they really mean business. Jays coming off a poor series against Tampa. And with a few exceptions appear to be rolling over for the last month. Certainly not pulling out all the stops. Does not help when Cito puts out a second team lineup. Would love to see Wise in every day now not McCoy. Put some speed out there Cito. Escobar and Lewis out through injury but Overbay should be back this series.
Morrow’s last game before being closed down for the season, really begs the question what they would have done if they were fighting for play-off position and then what about playoffs Cito ? Sorry Brandon you can’t pitch in the World Series this year, try again another time? Exactly. Two schools of thought on this one. But with the Jays recent history of ruining young arms to the extent of requiring surgery and missing a year, see Marcum, McGowan, Litsch, Richmond. Not good.
Lineups: Jays: No Lewis today, instead McCoy (yes McCoy leading off in Yankee Stadium) followed by Snider, poor Travis, the afterthought in every lineup. Leadoff, number eight, number nine, and now number two. Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, McDonald, Molina.
Yankees: No Jeter today, Jays get one break plus no Swisher and A-Rod. And a rookie pitcher, the baseball gods are ling this one up for Morrow. (Maybe.) Gardner, Granderson, Teixeira, Cano, Posada, Berkman, Kearns, Pena, Nunez.
Pitching: Nova v Morrow
Top 1st: McCoy leading off grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira at first, one down. Snider, hitting second for a change. There it goes, we have been waiting for this one, a bomb from Travis into right centre. Finally, he must be very relieved. Travis is a streaky hitter also, so just maybe this could get him going. 1-0 Jays. Bautista, that home run seems to have rattled Nova, full count and ball four to walk. One down one on for Wells, grounds to Nunez at shirt throw to Cano to get Bautista at second, two down. Overbay with one on, good to see Lyle back in the lineup. Fly ball to Kearns in right to end the inning but Jays strike first.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off ball four and walks. Not what we need here Brandon. Granderson 3-0 count, Cannot find the strike zone, ball four walks on four pitches, definitely not a good start here, Gardner to second. Two on and nobody out for Teixeira. Doubles to right, here comes Gardner, 1-1 game. Granderson all the way to third. Two more in scoring position for Cano. Grounds to Overbay, Lyle not coming home but takes the out at first. One down. Granderson run scores 2-1 Yankees, still only one down. Posada grounds back to Morrow throw to Overbay. Two down for Berkman. Pops up to Snider in left. Morrow very shaky start.
Top 2nd: Hill leading off grounds to Pena at third, throw to Teixeira at first, one down.
Lind singles to right. One on one down. McDonald pops up to Granderson in centre. Two down for Molina. Jose grounds to Teixeira at first to make the out. Very quick three up and down for Nova.
Bottom 2nd: Kearns leading off, hit by a pitch. Morrow having all sorts of control problems out there. One on for Pena pops up to Wells. One down. Nunez grounds to McDonald at third, throw to Overbay, two down, Kearns to second. Gardner full count and ball four to walk. Two on two down, Granderson, doubles to right, here comes Kearns, here comes Gardner, 4-1 Yankees. Teixeira with Granderson in scoring position at second, strikes out but Morrow is not sharp at all today.
Top 3rd: McCoy leading off grounds to Pena at third, throw to Teixeira at first, one down. Snider pops up to Pena at third, two quick outs. Bautista singles to centre, that’s better. One on two down for Wells grounds to Pena at third, throw to Cano to get Bautista.
Bottom 3rd: Cano leading off strikes out. Morrow finally gets a leadoff hitter out. Posada doubles to right. One on one down for Berkman, singles to Bautista in right, Posada to third. Kearns strikes out. Two down. Pena, singles to left, here comes Posada, 5-1 Yankees, Berkman to second two on for Nunez, grounds to McCoy at short, throw to late, bases loaded, Berkman at third, Pena at second. Watching McCoy makes you appreciate Escobar playing short. Gardner now with the bases loaded, Tallet has been warming up already this inning, could be Morrow’s last hitter if he doesn’t get him. This game is already getting out of hand in the third inning. Gardner strikes out. Morrow gets out of a bigger mess but Jays still need to get it going here.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off doubles to centre, Lyle finding his stroke. No apparent sign of that concussion which is very good. Hill there we go Aaron, doubles to centre, and here comes Lyle 5-2 Jays. Lind with runner in scoring position, grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira for the out at first but Hill moves to third with only one down. McDonald, gets this one in the air to Kearns in right, is it deep enough, yes indeed, here comes Aaron 5-3 Yankees. Two down for Molina, grounds back to Nova throw to Teixeira at first for third out. But Jays get two back.
Bottom 4th: That’s it for Morrow, for this game and possible the season. Did not have it today, arm looked dead. No velocity on that fast ball. Tallet now pitching. This one will be finished by committee. Granderson leading off grounds to Hill at second, throw to Overbay for the out at first, one down for Teixeira, strikes out. Two down for Cano grounds to Hill throw to Overbay to finish this one off. Good three up and down for Tallet for the first time today.
Top 5th: McCoy leading off grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira, one down for Snider, singles to right. Second hit for Travis. Bautista pops up to Granderson in second, two down. Wells, there goes Travis, safe on the throw at second. Vernon patient for a change, ball four and walks. Two on and that is it for Nova. Boone Logan now pitching. Overbay with two on two down, strikes out. Jays had their chance there.
Bottom 5th: Posada leading off fly ball to Bautista. One down for Berkman, grounds to McDonald at third, safe on the throw. Kearns grounds McDonald at third, that’s better, to Hill throw to Overbay, double play ball. So far Tallet having a good outing.
Top 6th: Hill leading off, ball four. One on for Lind, fly ball to Granderson in centre. Hill stays at first. That’s it for Logan, Robertson now pitching. McDonald grounds Nunez at short throw to Cano, Hill out at second. Molina with McDonald at first, full count and ball four to walk, McDonald to second. Wild pitch from Robertson, McDonald to third, Molina to second. Two in scoring position for McCoy, strikes out. Cito probably wishing he had put in a pinch hitter, McCoy just not up to it 0-4 today already.
Bottom 6th: Pena leading off fly ball to Wells. One down Nunez, singles to left. One on one down, Gardner, this is trouble, lines it to the wall in centre, here comes Nunez to score 6-3 Yankees, Gardner going in to third. Granderson with one down. Doubles to right, Gardner scores 7-3. Teixeira putting him on, intentional walk. Cano pops up to McCoy at short, two down. Posada, strikes out.
Top 7th: Snider leading off strikes out. Bautista taking them here, ball four and walks. Wells with one on,also being patient here for Vernon at least, ball four and walks, Bautista to second. Back to back walks, but Jays have not been successful today bringing them in. That’s it for Robertson, Kerry Wood now pitching. Overbay one down and two on, strikes out. Hill pops up to Gardner in left. That is the third inning in a row Jays have had two on and cannot score.
Bottom 7th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Berkman leading off grounds to McCoy throw to Overbay, one down. Kearns with one down, strikes out. Pena singles to right. Nunez with two down, fly ball to Wells. Three up and down for Janssen. But we need runs.
Top 8th: Lind leading off lines out to Nunez. McDonald grounds to Nunez throw to Teixeira, two down for Molina, strikes out. Not very good friends.
Bottom 8th: Purcey now pitching. Good to see him back from the DL. Gardner leading off, grounds to McCoy, throw to Overbay. One down. Granderson ball four and walks,
Teixeira with one down and one on, strikes out. Two down for Cano, wild pitch, Granderson to second. Cano lines out to Wells.
Top 9th: Last chance for Jays, top of the order. Rivera pitching. McCoy leading off, Cito refusing to pinch hit for him, 0-4 today, bunting ???? Where is his head? Back to Rivera throw to Teixeira at first, easy out and McCoy goes 0-5 today, well perhaps I can see why he is bunting but Mikey this is not Vegas. Don’t tell me that this guy is better than Wise. Put McDonald at short, but give somebody else a shot pinch hitting Cito, you have Arencibia, Buck, and Wise on the bench. Snider one down, has had a very good day, not this time, grounds to Teixeira at first for the second out. Down to the final out, Bautista pops up to Pena at third for final out.
It was so important for Jays to win that first one. With Nova pitching they had a great chance. No intensity today from the Jays. Perhaps it was just the makeup or the order of the lineup. Very easy day at the park for the Yankees even without Jeter, Swisher and A-Rod. Jays have to play a whole lot better than this to even win one in this series.
The good: Lind great day, two hits, home run and stolen base… have a great month Travis. That is if your Manager lets you play every day….
The question marks: Morrow obviously, had nothing on his fast ball today and had no accuracy either. Was lucky to last three with only five runs. Now the debate will begin, is his arm dead? We will not know until Dunedin in February 2011.
Other question mark is McCoy. Has not done much since his callup last week, is he overmatched here?
Preview: Yankees on a roll of six straight wins, chance for Jays to make a statement one way or the other, are they any good, are they a mirage and will they be outplayed by the Yankees when they really mean business. Jays coming off a poor series against Tampa. And with a few exceptions appear to be rolling over for the last month. Certainly not pulling out all the stops. Does not help when Cito puts out a second team lineup. Would love to see Wise in every day now not McCoy. Put some speed out there Cito. Escobar and Lewis out through injury but Overbay should be back this series.
Morrow’s last game before being closed down for the season, really begs the question what they would have done if they were fighting for play-off position and then what about playoffs Cito ? Sorry Brandon you can’t pitch in the World Series this year, try again another time? Exactly. Two schools of thought on this one. But with the Jays recent history of ruining young arms to the extent of requiring surgery and missing a year, see Marcum, McGowan, Litsch, Richmond. Not good.
Lineups: Jays: No Lewis today, instead McCoy (yes McCoy leading off in Yankee Stadium) followed by Snider, poor Travis, the afterthought in every lineup. Leadoff, number eight, number nine, and now number two. Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Hill, Lind, McDonald, Molina.
Yankees: No Jeter today, Jays get one break plus no Swisher and A-Rod. And a rookie pitcher, the baseball gods are ling this one up for Morrow. (Maybe.) Gardner, Granderson, Teixeira, Cano, Posada, Berkman, Kearns, Pena, Nunez.
Pitching: Nova v Morrow
Top 1st: McCoy leading off grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira at first, one down. Snider, hitting second for a change. There it goes, we have been waiting for this one, a bomb from Travis into right centre. Finally, he must be very relieved. Travis is a streaky hitter also, so just maybe this could get him going. 1-0 Jays. Bautista, that home run seems to have rattled Nova, full count and ball four to walk. One down one on for Wells, grounds to Nunez at shirt throw to Cano to get Bautista at second, two down. Overbay with one on, good to see Lyle back in the lineup. Fly ball to Kearns in right to end the inning but Jays strike first.
Bottom 1st: Gardner leading off ball four and walks. Not what we need here Brandon. Granderson 3-0 count, Cannot find the strike zone, ball four walks on four pitches, definitely not a good start here, Gardner to second. Two on and nobody out for Teixeira. Doubles to right, here comes Gardner, 1-1 game. Granderson all the way to third. Two more in scoring position for Cano. Grounds to Overbay, Lyle not coming home but takes the out at first. One down. Granderson run scores 2-1 Yankees, still only one down. Posada grounds back to Morrow throw to Overbay. Two down for Berkman. Pops up to Snider in left. Morrow very shaky start.
Top 2nd: Hill leading off grounds to Pena at third, throw to Teixeira at first, one down.
Lind singles to right. One on one down. McDonald pops up to Granderson in centre. Two down for Molina. Jose grounds to Teixeira at first to make the out. Very quick three up and down for Nova.
Bottom 2nd: Kearns leading off, hit by a pitch. Morrow having all sorts of control problems out there. One on for Pena pops up to Wells. One down. Nunez grounds to McDonald at third, throw to Overbay, two down, Kearns to second. Gardner full count and ball four to walk. Two on two down, Granderson, doubles to right, here comes Kearns, here comes Gardner, 4-1 Yankees. Teixeira with Granderson in scoring position at second, strikes out but Morrow is not sharp at all today.
Top 3rd: McCoy leading off grounds to Pena at third, throw to Teixeira at first, one down. Snider pops up to Pena at third, two quick outs. Bautista singles to centre, that’s better. One on two down for Wells grounds to Pena at third, throw to Cano to get Bautista.
Bottom 3rd: Cano leading off strikes out. Morrow finally gets a leadoff hitter out. Posada doubles to right. One on one down for Berkman, singles to Bautista in right, Posada to third. Kearns strikes out. Two down. Pena, singles to left, here comes Posada, 5-1 Yankees, Berkman to second two on for Nunez, grounds to McCoy at short, throw to late, bases loaded, Berkman at third, Pena at second. Watching McCoy makes you appreciate Escobar playing short. Gardner now with the bases loaded, Tallet has been warming up already this inning, could be Morrow’s last hitter if he doesn’t get him. This game is already getting out of hand in the third inning. Gardner strikes out. Morrow gets out of a bigger mess but Jays still need to get it going here.
Top 4th: Overbay leading off doubles to centre, Lyle finding his stroke. No apparent sign of that concussion which is very good. Hill there we go Aaron, doubles to centre, and here comes Lyle 5-2 Jays. Lind with runner in scoring position, grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira for the out at first but Hill moves to third with only one down. McDonald, gets this one in the air to Kearns in right, is it deep enough, yes indeed, here comes Aaron 5-3 Yankees. Two down for Molina, grounds back to Nova throw to Teixeira at first for third out. But Jays get two back.
Bottom 4th: That’s it for Morrow, for this game and possible the season. Did not have it today, arm looked dead. No velocity on that fast ball. Tallet now pitching. This one will be finished by committee. Granderson leading off grounds to Hill at second, throw to Overbay for the out at first, one down for Teixeira, strikes out. Two down for Cano grounds to Hill throw to Overbay to finish this one off. Good three up and down for Tallet for the first time today.
Top 5th: McCoy leading off grounds to Nunez at short, throw to Teixeira, one down for Snider, singles to right. Second hit for Travis. Bautista pops up to Granderson in second, two down. Wells, there goes Travis, safe on the throw at second. Vernon patient for a change, ball four and walks. Two on and that is it for Nova. Boone Logan now pitching. Overbay with two on two down, strikes out. Jays had their chance there.
Bottom 5th: Posada leading off fly ball to Bautista. One down for Berkman, grounds to McDonald at third, safe on the throw. Kearns grounds McDonald at third, that’s better, to Hill throw to Overbay, double play ball. So far Tallet having a good outing.
Top 6th: Hill leading off, ball four. One on for Lind, fly ball to Granderson in centre. Hill stays at first. That’s it for Logan, Robertson now pitching. McDonald grounds Nunez at short throw to Cano, Hill out at second. Molina with McDonald at first, full count and ball four to walk, McDonald to second. Wild pitch from Robertson, McDonald to third, Molina to second. Two in scoring position for McCoy, strikes out. Cito probably wishing he had put in a pinch hitter, McCoy just not up to it 0-4 today already.
Bottom 6th: Pena leading off fly ball to Wells. One down Nunez, singles to left. One on one down, Gardner, this is trouble, lines it to the wall in centre, here comes Nunez to score 6-3 Yankees, Gardner going in to third. Granderson with one down. Doubles to right, Gardner scores 7-3. Teixeira putting him on, intentional walk. Cano pops up to McCoy at short, two down. Posada, strikes out.
Top 7th: Snider leading off strikes out. Bautista taking them here, ball four and walks. Wells with one on,also being patient here for Vernon at least, ball four and walks, Bautista to second. Back to back walks, but Jays have not been successful today bringing them in. That’s it for Robertson, Kerry Wood now pitching. Overbay one down and two on, strikes out. Hill pops up to Gardner in left. That is the third inning in a row Jays have had two on and cannot score.
Bottom 7th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Berkman leading off grounds to McCoy throw to Overbay, one down. Kearns with one down, strikes out. Pena singles to right. Nunez with two down, fly ball to Wells. Three up and down for Janssen. But we need runs.
Top 8th: Lind leading off lines out to Nunez. McDonald grounds to Nunez throw to Teixeira, two down for Molina, strikes out. Not very good friends.
Bottom 8th: Purcey now pitching. Good to see him back from the DL. Gardner leading off, grounds to McCoy, throw to Overbay. One down. Granderson ball four and walks,
Teixeira with one down and one on, strikes out. Two down for Cano, wild pitch, Granderson to second. Cano lines out to Wells.
Top 9th: Last chance for Jays, top of the order. Rivera pitching. McCoy leading off, Cito refusing to pinch hit for him, 0-4 today, bunting ???? Where is his head? Back to Rivera throw to Teixeira at first, easy out and McCoy goes 0-5 today, well perhaps I can see why he is bunting but Mikey this is not Vegas. Don’t tell me that this guy is better than Wise. Put McDonald at short, but give somebody else a shot pinch hitting Cito, you have Arencibia, Buck, and Wise on the bench. Snider one down, has had a very good day, not this time, grounds to Teixeira at first for the second out. Down to the final out, Bautista pops up to Pena at third for final out.
It was so important for Jays to win that first one. With Nova pitching they had a great chance. No intensity today from the Jays. Perhaps it was just the makeup or the order of the lineup. Very easy day at the park for the Yankees even without Jeter, Swisher and A-Rod. Jays have to play a whole lot better than this to even win one in this series.
The good: Lind great day, two hits, home run and stolen base… have a great month Travis. That is if your Manager lets you play every day….
The question marks: Morrow obviously, had nothing on his fast ball today and had no accuracy either. Was lucky to last three with only five runs. Now the debate will begin, is his arm dead? We will not know until Dunedin in February 2011.
Other question mark is McCoy. Has not done much since his callup last week, is he overmatched here?
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