Morrow wins one behind Lind home run and Gregg save

Toronto v Tampa. Game one of three Monday May 31.

Major series here for both teams. Tampa wins can put them further ahead of the pack including the Yankees who have just beaten Cleveland this afternoon. Jays win can put more distance from Boston.

Lineups: Tampa: Zobrist, Crawford,Longoria, Pena, Jaso, Blalock, Upton, Brignac, Rodriguez.
Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Gonzalez, Bautista, Overbay, Encarnacion, Molina.

Pitching: Garza v Morrow.

Top 1st: Zobrist leading off lines out to Wells in centre, nice sliding catch Vernon. Crawford fly ball to Wells, busy guy after the last game where he didn’t have one play. Longoria lines out Lewis in left for third out. Nice three up and down by Morrow.
Bottom 1st: Lewis lines to Zobrist in right, one down. Hill singles to centre. Lind gets hold if this one, opposite field into the Jays bullpen, home run for Adam, here comes Aaron here comes Adam, 2-0 Jays. Wells singles to right. Jays getting to Garza early. Bautista with one on, wild pitch, Wells to second. Bautista 3-0 and walks on four pitches. Two on again for Gonzalez fly ball to Zobrist, two down. Overbay with two on, strikes out. But Jays showing up early tonight.

Top of 2: Pena grounds to Gonzalez at short, throw to first base Overbay, one down. Jaso fly ball to Lewis two outs. Blalock same again, fly ball to Lewis in left.
Bottom of 2:Encarnacion strikes out. Molina fouls out to Pena at first. Lewis strikes out. That was quick !

Top of 3:Upton full count and walks. Brignac fly ball to Lewis in left. Rodriguez grounds to, shortstop Gonzalez on to second base Hill on to Overbay, double play ball to get out of this one. Bottom of 3: Hill grounds to Longoria at third, throw to Pena. Lind pops up to Brignac at short. Wells singles to third. Bautista pops up to Brignac. Quick three up and down for Morrow.

Top of 4: Zobrist grounds to Gonzalez at second, throw to Overbay at first. Crawford grounds to Overbay flips to to pitcher Morrow. Longoria pops up to Hill covering second..
Bottom of 4: Gonzalez full count and walks. Overbay lines to Zobrist in right, one down, one on. Encarnacion singles to left, Gonzalez to second. Molina grounds to Longoria at third, throw to second base Rodriguez on to Pena at first, double play ball.

Top of 5th: Pena full count and walks. Jaso grounds back to Morrow throw to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay at first, Pena out. Blalock grounds back to Morrow throw to Overbay. Another three up and down for Morrow.
Bottom of 5th: Lewis doubles to right. Wild pitch, Lewis to third. Hill singles to centre, Lewis scores 3-0 Jays. Lind lines to Crawford in left, one down.Wells grounds to Longoria at third, throw to Rodriguez at second on to Pena at first, double play ball.

Top 6th: Upton lines to Gonzalez at short, nice catch Alex, one down for Brignac strikes out. Rodriguez grounds to short safe at first. There goes the no-hitter but Morrow should be delighted with 6 2/3 no hit. Especially against Tampa. Molina throw to first picks him off. Great play, that is why Molina is in there tonight.
Bottom 6th: Bautista.pops it up to Upton in shallow centre for the out. Gonzalez, lines it into left great catch by Crawford. Two down for Overbay, 0-2 tonight.Singles into left. One on two down for Encarnacion.grounds to Brignac at short throw to Rodriguez at second to get Lyle for the third out.

Top 7th: Zobrist, singles into centre. Crawford, bunting ? no way,grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw to Hill to get Zobrist. One down. Longoria fly ball to Wells, two down, Pena fly ball to wells for third out.
Bottom 7th: Molina pops up to Pena at first. Lewis doubles to left, ground rule double into the seat. Hill lines it off glove of Longoria, safe at first. Two on no outs and that’s it for Garza. 99 pitches, ten hits tonight. Choate now pitching facing Lind, strikes him out two down and that’s it for Choate. Wheeler pitching. Vernon grounds first pitch to third, Longoria throw to second to get Hill. Come on Vernon, take a pitch or two.

Top 8th: Morrow on 96 pitches. Might get one more here. Jaso leading off. 3-0 count, come on Brandon, just put ball in play, singles to right, better than walking the guy. That’s it for Brandon, great outing. The bullpen is rested again after Marcum and Romero outings and now a third game. Downs now. Kapler, pinch hitting for Blalock. Strikes out. One down for Upton, lines it to right, over the head of Bautista off the wall, here comes Jaso, Upton to third. 3-1 Jays. Aybar, with runner at third. Here comes Cito again. Camp now pitching. Morrow’s great outing in danger here. Aybar pinch hitting for Brignac, grounds to first here comes the runner, 3-2 Jays and two down. Rodriguez, two down, lines it into right just off the glove of Hill. Need to grow a bit Aaron. Frasor and Purcey warming up in bullpen.2-2 count. Bounces it down to Overbay for third out, arguing the call no luck, here comes Joe Maddon, still no luck..
Bottom 8th: Wheeler pitching. Kapler in as designated hitter. Aybar in at second base. Rodriguez in at short. Jays have to give Morrow some help here and a few runs to put it away. Bautista leading off. That’s the way Jose, doubles it into left corner. Gonzalez, time to hit one out Alex. 2-0 count. That will do it Alex, high fly ball to Upton at the wall in centre, enough for Jose to tag and get to third, one down that’s it for Wheeler, Maddon ringing the changes here, Benoit pitching. lefty-lefty matchup. Overbay grounds to Aybar at second throw to Pena for the out. Encarnacion grounds to Longoria at third, throw to Pena at first.

Top 9th: Gregg pitching. Crawford strikes out. Longoria this is trouble, lines hard to centre and dives into third as ball gets there late. Triple and go ahead run at the plate. to center. Pena 3-0 and walks on four pitches. Jaso grounds to Gonzalez coming home with the throw to catcher Molina, Longoria out as Jose hits him in the chest or actually higher, no slight tap for Jose. Pena to second. Two on for Kapler with two down. Runner in scoring position, no room for error here. Kapler, this should be it, grounds to Gonzalez flip to Hill, Jaso out. Gregg makes it interesting but hangs in there to give Morrow the win and big win by Jays over Tampa. 3-2. Good to get that first win of the series. Tomorrow another day though. Tallet…… Well perhaps he can have a miracle game and the bullpen is still very rested.

The excellent: Has to be Morrow. Jays needed this one tonight for a lot of reasons not least Morrow’s form. Too early for the season but most Jays fans will be happy with today’s outing.
The good: The usual bats Hill, Lind and Wells, and also good fielding.
The poor: What could be wrong with this win and widening gap with idle Boston?

Romero bounces back with complete game beauty supported by three more home runs from Jays hot May bats,

Series finale. Toronto v Baltimore Sunday May 30.
Romero out to provide something today, that his last outing was nerves with his family and friends all around. He has that perfect game to aim for… Halladay’s game was welcomed by so many Jays fans. I remember that one hit game in Toronto where he lost it with two out in top of the ninth at the (old Skydome) That was heartbreaker so well done Doc.
Lineups: Baltimore: Patterson, Lugo, Markakis, Wigginton, Tejada, Scott, Jones, Wieters, Izturis.
Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Gonzalez, Bautista, Overbay, Buck and Encarnacion.

Top 1st: Patterson singles to right. Lugo, balk by Romero, Patterson to second. Bunting? you bet. Sac bunt by Lugo, Romero to Overbay for the out. Patterson to third. Markakis singles to left. Here comes Patterson to score first run, 1-0 Baltimore.Wigginton grounds to Gonzalez throw to second base Hill to first baseman Overbay, to get third out Markakis.
Bottom 1st: Lewis leading off doubles to left. One on for Hill, fly ball to left field Patterson. Lind fly ball to Patterson in left. Two down one on for Wells, that’s better, Vernon doubles to centre, here comes Lewis. Game is tied 1-1. Bautista full count and walks.Two on for Gonzalez, singles to left, here comes Vernon to score 2-1 Jays. Bautista to third all with two outs. Overbay, hot off his two home run day yesterday. Singles to right. Here comes Bautista, 3-1 Jays. Buck, with Gonzalez at third, strikes out but Jays have taken the lead.

Top 2nd: Tejada leading off grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay for first out. Scott fly ball to Bautista. Two down. Jones grounded out, third baseman Encarnacion to first baseman Overbay
Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion leading off, grounds to Izturis at short throw to Wigginton.One down. Lewis lines out to centre field Jones. Hill 3-0 and walks. Lind fly ball to left field Patterson for third out.
Top 3rd: Wieters leading off strikes out. Izturis 3-0 and walks on four pitches.
Patterson, ohhh pickoff by Romero perfect just as Izturis was going, a milli-second too soon, Romero to Overbay to Gonzalez. Two down. Patterson strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Wells leading off fly ball to Jones in centre. Bautista fly ball to Markakis in right. Two down for Gonzalez, singles to left. Overbay full count and walks, Gonzalez to second. Buck with two on, grounds to Izturis throw to Lugo to get Overbay and end this rally.

Top 4th: Lugo leading off strikes out. One down for Markakis strikes out. Wigginton grounds to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay at first for third out. Three up and down for Romero.
Bottom 4th: Encarnacion leading off grounds to Tejada at third, throw to Wigginton for out at first. One down for Lewis, pops up to Izturis. Hill fly ball to Jones in centre to end the inning. Jays go quietly.

Top 5th: Tejada leading off grounds to Romero throw to Overbay, one down. Scott grounds to Overbay, two down. Jones grounds to Gonzalez, off balance throw goes wide of first into crowd Jones to second on the error Alex should probably not have tried that he was off-balance when he had the ball. Wieters grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay, no damage done on the error.
Bottom 5th: Lind leading off singles to right. Lind has not had the season he had last year and seems to be under the radar compared to the others in the lineup. Wells with one on lines to Tejada at third. Bautista fly ball to Markakis in right. Gonzalez fly ball to Jones in centre to end this inning and leave Lind out there.

Top 6th:Izturis leading off grounds to Hill throw to Overbay. One down for Patterson strikes out. Lugo singles to left. Markakis grounds to Hill throw Overbay to end this inning.
Bottom 6th: Overbay leading off, 3-0 count, gets hold of this one nice swing Lyle, to right field Home run Lyle. 4-1 Jays and gives Romero a bit more breathing room here. Lyle’s third !! home run in two games, that’s more like it Lyle and getting hot for Tampa and Yankees series. Buck fly ball to Jones in centre field. Encarnacion strikes out. Two down for Lewis, lines out to Jones in centre field, busy guy today.

Top 7th: Wigginton leading off grounds to short, ball bounces out of glove as Gonzalez tries to throw, runner safe with no throw. Tejada strikes out. Scott grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw to Hill to get Wigginton. Two down for Jones, strikes out to end this inning.
Bottom 7th: Ex-Jay Hendrickson now pitching. Hill leading off grounds to Izturis at short, throw to Wigginton for the out at first. Lind strikes out. Two down for Wells, pops up to Lugo at second.

Top 8th: Wieters leading off grounds back to Romero, throw to Overbay for the out at first. Izturis grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay. Patterson singles to centre. One on two down for Lugo, fly ball out to Lewis in left.
Bottom 8th: Ohman now pitching. Bautista leading off, ohhhh first pitch this one is out of here, home run to centre and the home run parade continues for these Jays. Thatis number sixteen for Bautista to lead the league. Number two today and another to add to the May franchise record of 53. 5-1 Jays. Gonzalez, 3-1 count and here goes another this one is almost an excuse me golf shot into the Jays bullpen. Back to back home runs and Jays are out ahead 6-1 Jays. Overbay can he make it three, no, not this time, pops it up weakly to Izturis. One down. Buck strikes out, two down. Encarnacion fly ball to Patterson in left. Will Ricky finish this one off ? I think so and a second complete game for him this season. Cito will love getting the bullpen a rest here with three big series starting tomorrow.

Top 9th: Romero still out there, he will finish this unless he gets into trouble. This game is still only just over two hours. Markakis leading off grounds to Overbay flip to Romero. One gone. Wigginton 3-0 and walks on four pitches. Come on Ricky you don’t need this. Tejada with one and one down, perfect, grounds to Gonzalez throw to Hill over to Overbay, double play ball to end this one and give Romero a well-deserved complete game win.
Jays win this one 6-1 and sweep the Orioles. This is what they should do to Baltimore but it has been known for them more often than not to blow these types of series.

The excellent: Romero complete game, not more one could ask for. Ricky is really settling in that number two rotation position. Remember Burnett ??? Who would you rather have right now?
The good: The home run club of Overbay, Gonzalez and Bautista increasing that franchise record for May. Who would have thought?
The bad: I can’t think of much today. Maybe the small crowd. Exciting wining baseball and great weather, what more do they want? It will be interesting to compare today with next Sunday visit by Yankees.

Now for next series, Tampa in Toronto. Tough series for Jays, they have to keep the Rays speedsters off the bases. First game though is Morrow followed by Tallet back in the rotation. I don’t like that but perhaps Tallet can confound everyone and pitch his heart out.

Jays big bats boom for Cecil win.

Game two Toronto v Baltimore. Saturday May 29, 2010
Jays have to keep pressure on Boston now and keep on winning.
Lineups:
Baltimore: Lugo, Markakis, Wigginton, Tejada, Scott, Jones, Atkins, Tatum, Izturis,
Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Gonzalez, Bautista, Overbay, Molina, Encarnacion. Overbay still down the order. I have no problem with that, Cito had no choice forced to play the guy where most others would have been benched long ago.
Pitching: Tilman v Cecil.

Top 1st: Lugo fly ball to Wells in centre. One down for Markakis, strikes out. Two down Wigginton grounds to third base Encarnacion throw to first base Overbay to end this inning.
Bottom 1st: Lewis doubles to centre. Hill strikes out. Lind strikes out. Wells strikes out. Ok who is pitching here? Halladay ? Young Cecil striking out the side.
Top 2nd: Tejada pops up to Encarnacion at third. Scott strikes out. Jones pops up to Overbay at first for third out..

Bottom 2nd: Bautista pops up to Izturis at short. Gonzalez fly ball to Markakis in right. Two down. Overbay, gets hold of this one HOME RUN Lyle….That is something to cheer about. 1-0 Jays. Encarnacion fly ball to Jones in centre for third out but Jayas go ahead on Lyle’s home run. We are all cheering that.

Top 3rd: Atkins leading off strikes out. Tatum fly ball to Bautista in right. Two down. Izturis grounds to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay. Three up and down again for Cecil.
Bottom 3rd: Molina fly ball to Jones in centre. Lewis 3-0 and walks on four pitches. One on for Hill grounds to third Tejada throw to second to get Lewis. No chance here to double up Hill.Lind grounds to Izturis throw to Wigginton at first for the out.

Top 4th: Lugo grounds back to Cecil throw to Overbay. One down. Markakis singles to centre. First hit of Cecil today. Here we go Wigginton grounds to Encarnacion throw to to Hill on to Overbay, double play ball. No damage done to Cecil.
Bottom 4th: Wells fly ball to Markakis in right, one down. Bautista walks. Gonzalez pops up to Lugo at second. Overbay grounds back to pitcher Tillman throw to Wigginton at first.


Top 5th:Tejada leading off, pops up to Overbay, one down. Scott, strikes out. JOnes strikes out. Cecil working fast and very efficiently here.

Bottom 5th: Encarnacion pops up to Lugo at second. Molina grounds to second safe at first. Lewis grounds to Lugo throw to Izturis over to Wigginton at first, double play ball.

Top 6th: Atkins pops up to Overbay at first one down. Tatum fly ball to Lewis.Two down.Izturis doubles to right. First time an Oriole has reached second today. Lugo singles to left here comes Izturis. 1-1. Lugo to second. Markakis singles to left, here comes Lugo, 2-1 Orioles. just like that Orioles go out ahead. Wigginton grounds to third, safe at first on Encarnacion's error, Markakis to second. Tejada strikes out.

Bottom 6th: Jays playing catch up for first time this game. Hill leading off, there she goes, a typical Aaron swing, but no doubt about this one into left, first pitch home run and he has tied this up 2-2. Lind singles to right. Wells grounds to Izturis throw to Lugo on to first base Wigginton, double play ball. Bautista doubles to right. That’s it for Tilman, 96 pitches and has held Jays attack for the most part. Berken now pitching. Gonzalez strikes out.

Top 7th: Scott leading off fly ball to Wells in centre. Jones grounds to Hill throw to Overbay at first for the out. Atkins fly ball to Lewis in left.
Bottom 7th: Overbay strikes out. Encarnacion full count and walks. Buck pinch-hitting for Molina.Buck strikes out. Lewis full count and walks, Encarnacion to second. Hill pops up to Lugo at second base.

Top 8th: Buck in as catcher. Tatum grounds to short Gonzalez throw to Overbay at first.
Izturis fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Lugo strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Lind lined out to shortstop Izturis. Wells connects on this high fly ball off the deck in third level. Home run Vernon. 3-2 Jays. Bautista strikes out. Gonzalez singles to left. Castillo now pitching. Overbay, already with a home run today, Oh Lyle, connects on this one first pitch. Home run to right field, number two this afternoon. 5-2 Jays. and that might just be enough to win this today. Bullpen up and working Gregg. Encarnacion walks. Mata now pitching. Buck grounds to short Izturis throw to second to get Encarnacion.

Top 9th: Gregg pitching. This one is save situation unlike last night. Markakis strikes out. One down. Wigginton singles to centre.Tejada grounds to Encarnacion on to Hill on to Overbay, double play ball to end this one., save number 13 for Gregg and Jays win this one 5-2. Yankees getting pounded by Cleveland.

The very good: Cecil obviously with eight great innings. Only 96 pitches. Could probably have gone the distance if needed but he saved bullpen from extra work today. Now the big bats are booming. Hill, Wells and Overbay between them four home runs today Jays now have a new home run club record for May. Perhaps these guys can have a great June and do what they should have been doing for the first two months. Will Lyle be moved back up the order?
The bad: 0/5 with runners in scoring position.

Jays start homestand with a win and gain on Boston and Tampa

Friday May 28.
Toronto v Baltimore in Toronto.

This series a great chance to make some space again ahead of Red Sox.

Baltimore: Patterson, Wigginton, Markakis, Tejada, Scott, Wieters, Jones, Moore, Izturis
Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Bautista, Gonzalez, Overbay, Buck, Encarnacion.
Pitching: Millwood v Marcum.

Top 1st: Patterson leading off strikes out. Wigginton one down, singles to centre. No no- hitter tonight Shaun. Wigginton is going for two but not on Vernon throw on the money to Hill, goodbye Wiggington. Not sure why he would even chance it on Vernon. Markakis at bat, grounds out to Overbay for third out.
Bottom 1st: Lewis leading off grounds to second but beats out the throw. Fred hustling down that line. Hill, there goes Fred, and safe at second. Cito managing here, pressure on the Orioles, I like it. Hill singles to left, here comes Lewis. 1-0 Jays. Hill to second on the throw. Lind fly ball to Jones in centre field, Hill to third. Wells grounds out to Izturis at shirt, throw to first base Wigginton. Bautista, lines this one to the wall in right, bounces back off the fence past the right fielder Bautista triples to right, here comes Aaron, the throw to cutoff is ok but relay from Moore is too strong and off the mark, Bautista sliding into third gets up and comes home. 2-0 Jays. Gonzalez with two down grounds to Izturis throw to first base Wigginton for final out. Marcum has a lead to work with.

Top 2nd: Tejada leading off singles to Wells in centre. One on for Scott singles to left, Tejada to second. Two on for Wieters strikes out. One down for Jones but with two on. Jones lines out to Gonzalez at short. Moore with two down, strikes out.

Bottom 2nd: Overbay leading off pops up to Patterson in left. One down. Buck, strikes out. Encarnacion with two down, grounds to Tejada throw to Wigginton at first to end this inning.
Top 3rd: Izturis leading off strikes out. Patterson fly ball to Wells in centre, two down. Wigginton grounds to third, safe at first, one on two down. Markakis fly ball to Wells in centre.

Bottom 3rd: Lewis leading off strikes out. Hill fly ball to Markakis in right, two down for
Lind, fly ball to Jones in centre to end the inning.

Top 4th: Tejada leading off singles to centre. One down for Scott, 3-0, walks him on four pitches, Tejada moves up to second. Wieters lines out to left field Lewis for first out. Jones grounds to Gonzalez throw to Hill at second base to get Scott.
Bottom 4th: Wells leading off grounded out to Izturis at short, throw to Wigginton at first.Bautista walks. Gonzalez lines out to Patterson in left. Overbay, wild pitch by Millwood, Bautista to second. Overbay fouls out to third base Tejada.

Top 5th: Moore leading off fly ball to Wells, in left. Izturis singles to right. Patterson pops out to third baseman Encarnacion. full count and walks. Wigginton walked on a, Izturis to second. Markakis pops up to pitcher Marcum
Bottom 5th:Bottom 5th: Buck leading off singles to left. Encarnacion grounds to Tejada throw to second base Moore on to first base Wigginton, Double play. Lewis grounds to pitcher Millwood, throw to Wigginton at first.

Top 6th: Tejada leading off strikes out. Scott with one down strikes out. Wieters strikes out. Seven strikes out for Marcum tonight. That might be it at 106 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Hill leading off, there she goes, great quick swing Aaron, into the left field seats. Home run Aaron. 4-0 Jays. Lind lines out to first base Wigginton. Wells with one down, full count, and there she goes, that quick swing pull to left , into the bullpen, looked like an everyday Vernon line drive from here. But they all count. 5-0 Jays.That is number 204 now for Vernon and he goes past Joe Carter into second spot behind Delgado. Will need another three great seasons to get past Carlos. Doable, Bautista lines out to Patterson in left field. Two down for Gonzalez pops up to Izturis at short.

Top 7th: Camp now pitching. Jones leading off grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay one down. Moore grounds to Hill at second, throw to Overbay for the out, two down. Izturis, exactly the same play. Camp getting that ball down here very well. 10 pitches doing his job.

Bottom 7th: Hernandez now pitching. Overbay leading off fly ball to left Patterson.Lyle hitless tonight even hitting in number seven spot. Buck with one down fouls out to first base Wigginton. Two down. Encarnacion pops up to center field Jones.

Top 8th: Janssen now pitching. Patterson grounds to Overbay flip to Janssen covering first, one down. .Wigginton grounds to Hill at second throw to Overbay at first. Markakis two down singles to left, stretching it into two Fred ‘s throw a bullet right on the mark, sorry Nick you are out of there. Great throw to end this inning.
Bottom 8th: Lewis leading off 1-3 tonight. goes down low outside for tis and strokes it into right, nice at bat Fred. Just put the bat on the ball. HiIl, the hero tonight, gets hold of this one but hooks it high and foul to left. 2-3 strikes out looking, dles mnot like the call. Lind with one one and one down. 0-3 tonight, overdue Adama. , strikes out swinfgs at one outside. Wells, singles first purtch rto left. Two on for Bautista full count, runners will be going and we have some speed out there right now. Strikes out, not happy with himself and rightly so, that was ball four but he committed and could not hold up.

Top 9th: Who will finish this one off? Downs or Frasor? Kansas is hammering Boston at Fenway 10-5. No, it’s Gregg out there, no save situation. But needs work. Tejada leading off, 2-2. Back up the middle, one on. Scott,wild pitch and Tejada moves to second. Strikes out one down. Wieters strikes out on three pitches, crowd loves this. Two down one on for Jones, 2-2, crowd on their feet now, outside full count, come on Kevin. Strikes out swinging and Gregg strikes out the side.

Hill grinning as he leaves the field and so he should. We have been waiting long time for this Aaron, keep it going this weekend.
Jays shut out Baltimore 5-0 and should go ahead of Boston once more as they are losing to Kansas. Tampa also lost so a good night for Jays. Rios helps Jays tonight with his home run against Tampa as they lose to the White Sox. Alex you can hit as many as you want against Tampa.

The very good: Hill, Bautista and Wells, and Marcum and the bullpen of Camp, Janssen and Gregg backing him up with three scoreless innings.
Lewis using his speed and stealing to get into scoring position in the first inning.

The bad: Not really bad tonight but Jays 2/6 with runners in scoring position, but Orioles are far worse, 0-8.

Jays give this one back.

Toronto v Los Angeles. Final game of three.
Not a great road trip so far for Jays but at least it is not as bad as last season where they lost all nine.

Lineups: Jays: Reed, (getting chance for leadoff, not Bautista Cito ?) Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Bautista, Buck, Encarnacion.
Angels: Aybar, Kendrick, Abreu, Hunter, Morales, Matsui, Napoli, Izturis, Ryan.

Top 1st: Reed grounds to Morales at first flip to pitcher Pineiro. Hill strikes out. Lind lines to left field Ryan for the third out. Three up and down.
Bottom 1st: Aybar pops up to Gonzalez at short, one down. Kendrick strikes out. Abreu full count and walks, one on. Hunter strikes out. No damage done.

Top 2nd: Wells grounds to Aybar at short, throw to Morales at first. Overbay full count and walks. .Gonzalez strikes out. One down one on for Bautista, he walks, two on and one down. Overbay to second. Buck singles to centre, Overbay to third, Bautista to second. Encarnacion, patience here full count and walks bases loaded. Still only one out, chance here for Jays big inning. Encarnacion walks, not giving Edwin anything to hit. Here comes Overbay, everyone moves up. 1-0 Jays. Bautista at third, Buck at second. Reed singles to centre, here comes Bautista here comes Buck, two runs score 3-0 Jays. Hill grounds to Aybar at short, throw to second on to first, double play ball.
Bottom 2nd: Morales leading off, hit by a pitch. Matsui strikes out. Napoli strikes out
Two down one on for Izturis lines out to Wells in centre.

Top 3rd: Lind grounds to pitcher Pineiro, throw to first baseman Morales, one down. Wells grounds to Izturis throw to Morales at first, two down. Overbay strikes out.
Bottom 3rd: Ryan leading off, walks. Aybar full count and walks, Ryan to second. Morrow in trouble here. Kendrick with two on, doubles to left, here comes Ryan, 3-1 Jays. Aybar moves up to third. Abreu, sac fly to Wells, Aybar scores, 3-2 Jays. Kendrick to third. Hunter grounds to Encarnacion at third, throwing home, to Buck, Kendrick out. Hunter to first. Morales strikes out but Morrow has let them back in this one.

Top 4th: Gonzalez strikes out Bautista grounds to .Aybar at shirt, to first baseman K.Morales. Buck strikes out
Bottom of 4th: Matsui singles to centre. Napoli grounds to third, Encarnacion throw to Hill at second to get Matsui. Izturis, there goes Napoli, Buck’s throw in time to get Napoli. Izturis, full count. Fouling them off here. Walks him. Ryan, doubles into right field corner, here comes Izturis this game is all tied up. Aybar, hammers this to centre, Vernon gets it great catch at the wall. That was trouble. But Morrow not convincing here.

Top 5th: Encarnacion leading off 2-2 count. Grounds to tIzturis at hjrd, throw to first for the out. Reed, one down. Starting to get in the groove. Strikes out. Two down for Hill, grounds to third Izturis throw to Morales at first for the out. 0-3 tonight for Aaron .156 average. Three up and down.
Bottom 5th: Morrow on 86 pitches, those walks will do that to you, could be his last inning. Kendrick leading off grounds to Encarnacion at third throw to Overbay for the first out. Abreu, grounds to Hill , throw to Overbay for second out. Hunter, two down. 0-2 count, strikes out. Nice inning but maybe too late for Morrow tonight.

Top 6th: Pineiro 90 pitches. May be his last inning as well. Lind, also hitless tonight 3-0 count. Walks on four pitches. Wells also hitless, oh boy grounds to third throw to second on to first, double play ball. Overbay, 2-2. Grounds to Morales at first for the out. Hill, Lind and Wells collectively 0-8.
Bottom 6th: That’s it for Morrow, four walks. Rommie Lewis now. Morales leading off. Singles to centre. One on for Matsui, bunting ? Conference on the mound with pitching coach and Buck here. No bunt. NO question though on this hit by Matsui, high fly ball into right field seats. Two runs score. 5-3 Angels. Lewis left that one hanging in the middle of the plate. But not good, Jays have given yup that thrre run lead for five unanswered runs by Angels. Pitching, pitching pitching. Cito vant wait for the rehab guys. Sayonara Rommie, here comes Camp. Jays with off day tomorrow will use the bullpen tonight. Napoli with no outs. Strikes out, one down for Izturis, Oh lady luck, comedy of errors, grounds in front of plate, throw to first is wild by Buck, gong to second throw by Bautista nails him at second, two down. Lucky there. Lines out to Reed in left for third out.

Top 7th: Pineiro 102 pitches out. Jepsen pitching. Looking at shutting Jays down now. Not that difficult so far tonight. Willits in left. Gonzalez, strikes out looking. One down for Bautista, perfect, grounds one bouncing slowly to third but no chance for throw. One on one down for Buck, strikes out swinging two down. Encarnacion, this should do it lashes one to the wall in centre right, Bautista beats the throw. 5-4 Angels, with Encarnacion at second. Reed, have to bring him in here Jeremy. Base hit is all that is needed don’t try to be a hero. Grounds to first for the out, leaves Edwin out there. Jays get one back, not enough.
Bottom 7th: Frasor now pitching. Aybar, bunting not a good one, back to Frasor throw to first for the out. Kendrick, lines it to Bautista in right, that must be difficult now with the light, half sun and shadow. 6.20 pm. Ball comes out of the shadow into sun in the right outfield. Two down for Abreu. 2-2 count. Strikes out looking. Nice job Jason. Now can the Jays hitters get a couple here and break this open?

Top 8th: Fernando Rodney now pitching 5/6 saves but 14 walks to go with 14 strike outs, some control issues hgere. Will love the free swinging hitters now. Hill 0-3 again tonight. Pops this one up to Willits in left 0-4. Lind, with one down. Opposite field hit into left corner for Willits, two down for Wells. That’s better, Vernon grounds it under diving third base into left field for a double. One on, two down for Overbay. Don’t bet on this one. Strikes out swinging, one day I would love Cito to pinch hit for this guy. But he never will.
Bottom 8th: Should be Downs ? Gregg needs the work for the ninth if these hitters can get two. Yes here comes Scott. Hunter leading off. 3-0 count, come on Scott don’t walk this guy. There’s a strike, full count. Lines it to Wells in centre. Another good catch by Vernon. One down, Morales, 3-0 count, Downs not sharp here, Pops it up to Wells, two down. Matsui, 2-0 behind each hitter this inning. 2-1, lines it to right but this time Bautista has it backed up against the wall. Downs does his job, can the hitters get one?

Top 9th: Fuentes 6/8 saves. This will be very tough. Gonzalez 0-3 tonight so far. 2-2 count. Pops it up to shallow riught oh Abreu, he drops the ball. Off his glove and at second. Big chance here for Jays. Bautista with no outs and runner at second. Oh man strikes out looking how could you Jose? At least swing at the thing, game is on the line here. Buck, you have to get a hit here, they will just walk Encarnacion now on deck. Buck waves at it, strike two, don’t take this one. That’s my boy John, doubles into right corner, here comes Encarnacion this game is all tied up. McCoy pinch running at second, Encarnacion Not walking him. Game is already tied up, Fly ball to Hunter, McCoy tags and gets to third. Two down for Reed. Go ahead runner at third, pulling off the ball Jeremy, go with it to left. 2-2 count, strikes out looking without a swing, even worse.
Bottom 9th: Gregg now warming up but Downs still pitching. Molina now catching. Jays have clawed their way back into this but is it enough? Napoli leading off. Oh dear, doubles into left centre. One on in scoring position no outs. Izturis bunting, yes indeed. Strike one. Strike two. Izturis grounds to first, throw to Downs covering first one down. at third. Napoli to third. Here comes Cito. Leaving Scott in there, that was strategy call for suicide squeeze ? Rivera pinch hitting for Willets, putting him on. Cito strategising big time. Aybar, Ciot is putting him on as well to load the bases. Nowhere to put the next guy. Kendrick, already has a double tonight. 2-0 count. Scotty, come on. grounds back to Gonzalez throws home to get runner go to first not in time. Two down base still loaded. Abreu, who would love to atone for that fielding error. 1-2 count. Low 2-2. Singles into left. 6-5 Angels. Jays have a LONG flight home.

Jays have lost momentum now on this road trip, it was not a disaster by any means, but they lost games they should have won. Boston is on the upsurge beating up on Tampa tonight again and should go past Jays tonight into third place.
Jays have to refocus against Baltimore and I for one do not believe it will be pushover series. Especially the way they are playing right now. Then they have Tampa coming in on Monday, not a good homestand to look forward to.

The good: Bullpen Frasor and Downs stopped the rot and kept Jays in the game. Buck
double in the ninth to tie it up.
The bad: Not necessarily Morrow but he did not pitch that well and could not hold the 3-0 lead although that double past Encarnacion in the third inning was key in the Angels comeback . Hill (once again) not sure there is a solution anymore for Aaron. Reed a couple of poor at bats especially one in the ninth with go ahead runner at third. Not sure he is first team material despite playing well in the minors. Did Cito over-manage in bottom of ninth? Walking two to load them up. Playing the percentages for double play balls which backfired.

Angels too strong for Romero. Bautista and Hill go deep.

Game two of three. Jays v Angels. Tuesday May 26, 2010

Lineups: Jays: Reed, Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Buck, Bautista, Encarnacion.
Angels: Aybar, Kendrick, Abreu, Aybar, Rivera, Matsui, Napoli, Izturis, Willits.

Pitching: Romero v Santana.
Santana an excellent pitcher and Ricky in good form should be good pitching matchup. Ricky also at home and playing in front of huge group of family and friends. Jays would love to take this one and go for the sweep tomorrow, but Angels team is a good one.

Top 1st: Reed leading off for Lewis tonight, fly ball to Abreu in right, one down. .
Hill pops up to Izturis at third. Lind pops up to Aybar at short.
Bottom 1st: Aybar leading off grounds to Encarnacion at third. Safe at first. Kendrick strikes out.One down. Abreu doubles to centre, Aybar scores 1-0 Angels. Morales strikes out, two down. Rivera fly ball to Bautista in right for third out but Ricky gives you the first. Home jitters with those hundreds of family and friends out there.

Top 2nd: Wells leading off grounds to Izturis at third throw to.Morales at first. Overbay fly ball to Rivera in left. Gonzalez grounds to third, error on the throw by Izturis. Bautista 3-0 and walks on four. Gonzalez to second. Jays have two on and two down for Buck. Lines out to Kendrick at second.
Bottom 2nd: Matsui leading off strikes out. Good start, one down. Napoli singles to centre. Izturis singles to centre, Napoli to third. Willits grounds to second, throw by Hill gets away, error on the play. Napoli scores 2-0 Angels. Izturis to second and on the error moves to third. Aybar bunting back to Romero, throw to first to get him but Izturis scores 3-0 Angels. Kendrick doubles to right, here comes Willits, 4-0 Angels. Abreu singles to centre, here comes Kendrick, 5-0 Angels and this game is already almost out of reach Morales singles to right, Abreu to third. Rivera strikes out but damage has been done.
Top 3rd: Encarnacion leading off strikes out. One down for Reed, strikes out. Hill fly ball to left field Rivera for third out. Jays going quietly tonight.
Bottom 3rd: Matsui leading off 3-0 count and walks on four. One on for Napoli full count and walks. Matsui to second.Two on and no outs. Izturis grounds to Encarnacion at third to get Matsui, Napoli to second, Izturis to first. Error by Encarnacion at third, Napoli moves to third. Willits grounds to Encarnacion at third, on to Hill at second on to Overbay at first double play ball to help Ricky here.

Top 4th: Jays need some runs here. Lind leading off lines to Morales at first. One down for Wells strikes out. Overbay with two down strikes out. Thes three are not producing gmuch are hey? Especially when compared with bnottom of the order.
Bottom4th: Aybar leading off strikes out. Kendrick bunting here to Encarnacion at third. Safe at first. Great bunt. How many times have Jays fans wished for some great small ball from the Jays? Especially with such a poor record with runners in scoring position. Well perhaps next year with new Manager. Abreu grounds back to Romero throw to Gonzalez at second on to Overbay double play ball.

Top 5th: Gonzalez leading off, loops it up to shallow centre, great running catch and slide by Willits, that was definitely worthy of Tori Hunter. Bautista , first pitch swing and this one is out of here into Angels bullpen. Home run for Jose. 5-1 Angels. Buck pops up to Morales at first two down for Encarnacion, strikes out. Jays get one back.
Bottom 5th: Morales, leading off, strikes out. Rivera strikes out. Two down for Matsui strikes out. Romero strikes out the side but a little late tonight.

Top 6th: Reed leading off lines to Rivera in left. One down. Aaron 2-27, very sad. Not this time though great short swing here on first pitch and this one is out of here in left, number six for Aaron but none sweeter right now for him. 5-2 Angels. Lind fly ball to Willits in centre. Wells pops it up to Morales at first.
Bottom 6th: Napoli leading off, 2-2 and gets hold of this one into left, home run. 6-2 Angels. Izturis 3-0 and walks on four pitches. Willits bunts back to Romero throw to Overbay, Izturis moves up to second. Aybar with runner at second, doubles to centre, here comes Izturis 7-2 Angels. and that’s it for Ricky tonight. I think far too much pressure on him tonight, returning home and in front of 300 family And friends. There will be many days of success for Romero and he will be learning from this tonight. Roenicke pitching. Kendrick grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay. Abreu walks. Morales grounded out, shortstop Ale.Gonzalez to first baseman Overbay
Top 7th: Overbay leading off grounds to Morales at first for the out. Gonzalez strikes out swinging. Two down for Bautista. 2-2 count, full count, grounds to short, throw to Morales at first for third out.
Bottom 7th: Roenicke still in there. Morales leading off. Grounds to Encarnacion, off his glove, recovers for throw not in time lead off guy on base. Not Jays night tonight (yet). Matsui, this is trouble golfs it into centre right Morales to third, no outs for Napoli. Strikes out. Izturis, wild pitch runner scores. As I said not Jays night tonight. 8-2 Angels. Matsui to second. Pitch way high. 2-2. Full count. Purcey warming up in bullpen. Strikes out. Two down for Willits, 2-0, Cito praying for a relief pitcher who can throw strikes. 3-0 this might be his last pitch.3-1. Full count. Walks him two on two down. Aybar, 2-3 already tonight. Cito leaving Roenicke in. Might as well, this team is not coming back tonight. 2-2. Roenicke 41 pitches 21 balls. Strikes out swinging at a ball way high and outside. Jays will take it anyway they can tonight.
Top 8th: Six more outs for Jays hitters to get six runs. Santana going for a complete game here. 88 pitches. Buck leading off. Full count. Strikes out swinging. Encarnacion a rare 0-2 night. Strikes out swinging. Reed 0-3. There we go Jeremy, great swing, long to centre and over the wall, home run. 8-3 Jays. Hill with two down. Was that home run an aberration Aaron? grounds to short throw to first for third out.
Bottom 8th: Purcey now pitching. McCoy at third. Lines to Reed in left, sitting on that pitch, one down. Abreu, grounds to McCoy at third, throw only just gets there in time, that was too close. Two down. Morales, lines out to Bautista, three up and down, but too little too late tonight for the Jays.
Top 9th: Last chance for any fight tonight. Five run deficit. Lind, leading off 0-3 tonight, big swing at first pitch, another and pops it foul, Adam in a hurry. Strikes out, not a great at bat. One down for Wells, doubles to the wall, both outfielders miss the ball. One on one down for Overbay. Pitching coach worried ? out there, come on guy it is a five run lead here. and this guy is 0-3 tonight, Bautista, grounds to third, throw to first to end this one. Complete game and 116 pitches.

Jays lose a big one as it enables Boston to get level with them. They had chance to move up a game on Tampa and now have to hope that Tamp can avoid the sweep tomorrow whilst Jays themselves have to deal with Morrow, Jays will need a few more runs than tonight to get Morrow a win.

The good: Not much tonight. Bautista home run and Hill’s number six.
The bad: Ricky will bounce back. 0-3 with Runners in scoring position. The three errors, the five walks the wild pitch and with Scioscioa successfully pulling the strings every inning, this was a no contest tonight from the first inning. Tomorrow another day and perhaps Morrow can surprise us all.

Cecil pitches a beauty as Jays win 6-0

Jays v Angels. Game one of three Monday May 24, 2010

We called Eveland right, reassigned today and Purcey is back in the first team Eveland really had nothing for his last three games.
Jays need this first game as Boston is hammering Tampa tonight, that’s ok if Jays win as well as they will gain one and not lose any ground to Boston. They will also move up on Yankees idle tonight.

Lineups: Jays: Have their first team out there today. Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Bautista, Buck, Encarnacion.
Angels: Aybar, Kendrick, Abreu, Hunter, Morales, Rivera, Matsui, Napoli, Frandsen.
Pitching: Cecil v Saunders. AL rules tonight.

Top 1st: Lewis leading off, Great start here Fred, high fly ball to right, high off the wall, just misses going out and hustles to third. Leadoff triple. Fred was very slow out of the box there he might have had a chance at in the park home run if he had hustled from the time he hit. You see that so many times where hitters admire their home run and it hits the fence. Instead of running hard from the moment they hit it. Hill with runner at third, sad, sad Aaron, has a gift run here. No can’t do it, pops it up to third. One down. Lind. This is better, fly ball to Abreu in right, and here comes Lewis Jays go out 1-0. Wells who had the day off yesterday. 3-0 unusual for Vernon. Walks, One on for Overbay. 3-1 count. Full count. Strikes out. Saunders gets out of a mess here. 17 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Which Cecil do we have tonight? Aybar bunting but foul. Pops up to Buck behind home plate. One down. Kendrick, grounds first pitch to Gonzalez, throw to Overbay at first, two down. Abreu, strikes out swinging , very nice start for Cecil here. Nine pitch inning.

Top 2nd: Gonzalez leading off. Lines it to left for Rivera to make the catch, one down Bautista, this one is trouble lines it high and hard to centre, Hunter makes a great over the shoulder catch at the wall. Two down for Buck, full count, strikes out swinging. 33 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Hunter, 2-2 count. Full count. Strikes out, Hunter tries to fool the umpire but first base umpire confirms, one down. Morales, Lines it to Bautista in right, makes a great running catch, two down. We certainly don’t miss Rios out there in right, Bautista is an excellent fielder in that position. Apart from his great bat. this season so far. Two down for Rovera, grounds to Gonzalez at short , long throw to Overbay but gets him. Another three up and down for young Cecil. Both pitchers are not slowing this game down. 22 pitches for Cecil.

Top 3rd: Encarnacion leading off, must be the best number nine ! in the majors. Five home runs over weekend series in Arizona. He has such a great swing. Full count and walks him. One on for Lewis. Grounds to second, Encarnacion breaks up the double play by nice slide. One down Lewis at first for Hill. This is what you wanted first inning Aaron, fly ball to Hunter in centre, this time an out. Lind with two down and runner at first. 2-2 count. Very nice Adam, a line drive to right, Lewis to second. Vernon has a chance here. Not like that, first pitch fly ball to Hunter in centre. Saunders escapes any trouble. 53 pitches for Saunders. Jays 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 3rd: Matsui, pops it up to Gonzalez at short, one down for Napoli. 2-2 count, high pop up to Lewis in left, two down. Frandsen, singles to centre, first hit for Angels tonight. Aybar, bunting, foul. That’s the second time tonight already for Aybar. Grounds to Encarnacion, long throw to Overbay at first, but in time to end this one. 36 pitches.

Top 4th: Overbay to lead off. 3-0 takes one. Grounds to second, throw to first in time, one down. Gonzalez, singles to left past diving Aybar at short. Bautista with one on. Jose was robbed of extra bases by great Hunter catch last at bat. 3-1 count. Misses this one, huge swing, count full. Pitch inside and walks him for Buck. Runners at first and second, one down. Singles into left, here comes Gonzalez, 2-0 Jays. Encarnacion now with two on and one down. Lines it at Frandsen at third, drops the ball but steps on third to get Bautista, two on two down for Lewis. Strikes out swinging but Jays get another for Cecil and leave two on. 79 pitches for Saunders. Jays could see him out next inning.
Bottom 4th: Kendrick leading off. Fly ball to Bautista in right, one down. Abreu, pops it up for Gonzalez in shallow left. Two down for Hunter. Grounds first pitch to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay at first for the third out. 46 pitches for Cecil.

Top 5th: Can Jays hitters add on a few here? Hill 0-2 tonight. Strikes out swinging. His poor pitch selection is compounding his problems. Lind, gets hold of this one long liner out to right caught at the track. Two down. Wells, 2-2 count. Count full. Strikes out. 92 pitches for Saunders, will get another inning.
Bottom 5th: Morales leading off, 3-0 count. Walks him on four pitches. First walk for Cecil tonight. Rivera, takes a strike, whoa great play, grounds to Encarnacion at third and Edwin off balance throws a great strike to Overbay at first for the out. Matsui, pops it up to Lewis in left for second out. Napoli, 3-0 count. Pops it up into right, long run for Bautista to make the catch and third out. Cecil 64 pitches.

Top 6th: Overbay leading off strikes out. The pitch before was the one to hit and he took it. Lyle’s pitch selection is still shaky even though he appears to be out of his own slump. Gonzalez, pops it up to Napoli in front of the plate, two down for Bautista. Full count. and walks, nice at bat by Jose as he was down two strikes and battled back. Buck with one on two down. Oh dear, Saunders throws it away at first, ball gets away into outfield, Bautista moves up to second. Error to Saunders. Bullpen working. Jose giving Saunders concern at second now. Pops it up to Morales at first for the third out. Might be the end of Saunders 109 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Frandsen leading off. Grounds down the line to Encarnacion at third long throw to Overbay for first out. Aybar, Pops it up to Gonzalez for second out. Kendrick, fly ball to Bautista in right for third out. Nice running catch by Jose. 75 pitches for Cecil.

Top 7th: Saunders is still out there. Encarnacion leading off 3-1 count. Walks. Lewis, lines it to right, Encarnacion has to dive back in. One down here comes Scioscia. That is it for Saunders. Giving Hill some respect ?? 115 pitches for Saunders. Jason Bulger now pitching. 3-0 count. Count full. He is not taking this one. Way outside so he does. He will take a walk right now, anything to get on base. Two on for Lind who hit Saunders very hard with no results though. Bulger two balls way high and outside, here’s the pitching coach Butcher , am not surprised. 2-2 count. Count full. Lind singles to the wall in left, here comes Encarnacion, 3-0 Jays, runners at second and third, Wells. Vernon singles to left here comes Aaron 4-0 Jays. Here comes Scioscia, not amused. I can see why he left Saunders in, his bullpen has the highest ERA. Cassevah now pitching Overbay with runners at first and third. Grounds back to the pitcher, fumbles it, throws to first to get Overbay but only one, here comes Lind to score, 5-0 Jays. Gonzalez with Vernon at second, 3-1 count. Walks. Bautista. 2-2 count. Way inside, full count. Cecil warming up again in dugout. Jose walks. Bases loaded for Buck. Lines it to left, off glove of Aybar at short here comes Vernon for another run 6-0 Jays, bases still loaded. Encarnacion for the second time this inning, grounds first pitch to short, throw to second to get runner but Jays have blown this one open with four runs.
Bottom 7th: Abreu leading off. Feel sorry for poor Cecil having to wait that long, but he will probably take the six runs. Strikes out Abreu. Hunter with one down. Pops it high up to Hill at second for the out. Two down for Morales. Fly ball to Wells in centre, Vernon gets it before crashing into the wall. A typical Wells great catch. 91 pitches for Cecil. He will be starting the eighth.

Top 8th: Lewis to lead it off. Grounds one to third, throw to first for the out. One down for Hill. Another chance for Aaron. Fly ball to Hunter in centre, Two down for Lind. Grounds to short, throw to first for the out. Three up and down for a change.
Bottom 8th: Cecil out there, Rivera leading off. Bat shatters as he grounds to Hill throw to Overbay for the out. One down. Matsui, fouling them off here. Singles to Wells in centre. Only the second hit off Cecil all game. One on one down for Napoli. Cecil tiring here, he wants that complete game but I don’t think he will get it. Frasor now warming up. The right move here. Full count. Walks him, come on Cito. Yes I agree with you this time. Here he comes. Cecil has had a great game and it would be shame to spoil it here. 110 pitches. Frasor with two on and one down. Frandsen. Come on Jason, a little wild here,2-2 grounds to Overbay flip to Frasor covering for second out runners move up. Aybar with runners at second and third. 0-2 count. Pops it up to Gonzalez for third out and keeping Cecil’s outing clean, both those runners were his.

Top 9th: Scot Shields now pitching. Wells first pitch fly ball to Hunter in centre, one down. Overbay, 0-4 tonight. But did get the RBI in the eighth. Strikes out. Gonzalez with two down, grounds to Aybar at at short, throw to Moreales at first for third out.
Bottom 9th: Kendrick leading off. Downs has this one. Strikes out looking. Abreu with one down. Full count strikes out. Hunter with two down. Singles to Lewis in left. Morales with one on two down. Groiunds to Encarnacion at third throw to Overbay at first for the out. Jays win big tonight 6-0 and maintain that lead over Boston.

Excellent: Young Cecil 7 1/3 scoreless innings with only two hits.

The good: The bats still hitting although not booming tonight six hits and six runs tonight but no home runs tonight. Frasor a little rusty but managed to do the job in the eighth. Downs closed it out.

The bad: Jays are 3/11 with runners in scoring position.

Jays power supports Marcum with yet another from Encarnacion

Toronto v Arizona. Series finale Sunday May 23.

Jays really need a win here, and not get swept, at least they have a good chance of getting some decent pitching after the last two miserable starts by Morrow and Eveland. Plus Boston is beating up on the Phillies this afternoon an added incentive to win here and not let them gain anymore
No Wells, Buck or Gonzalez in the lineup today. Not sure what Cito ‘s thinking is here. I would have thought he would want to have the best lineup out there to avoid the sweep, especially with a pitcher hitting. When Johnny Mc. is batting number seven you know you have problems. Putting a ton of pressure on Marcum. Cito may not have noticed here but it is run shortage that is one of the issues in this series. He has taken out two of his best bats and seriously Lind, Hill and Overbay are hardly hot right now. He has a lineup out there with Lewis, Bautista and Encarnacion who are the only ones seriously hitting at this time. Three hitters ??? We will see if he is right. Or has made a huge mistake. It could be another reason why Jays have such a poor inter-league record, Cito is not a strategic manager. Is very much hands off. And perhaps these games needs a different approach. They start handicapped with the pitcher hitting, you don’t need to handicap them further.

Lineups: Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Bautista, Overbay, Encarnacion, McDonald, Molina, Marcum.
Arizona: Jackson, Abreu, Drew, Upton, LaRoche, Reynolds, Young, Snyder, Buckner.
Pitching: Buckner v Marcum.

Top 1st: Lewis leading off playing centre today. Awful half-hearted swing at this one pops it up to catcher. One down. Hill, how is he today after that ninth inning home run last night? Full count. Pops it up behind second for number two. Lind. Grounds to second throw to pitcher covering for third out, easy inning for Buckner.
Bottom 1st: Jackson leading off. Strikes out swinging. One down for Abreu doubles to the wall right over head of Bautista, one on for Drew, strikes out swinging. Upton with two down. Singles into left, Lind bobbles the ball, no error given but probably should have. 1-0 D-Backs, Sloppy by Lind. Grounds to first throw to Marcum covering to get out of this one. Nothing like last night but not what we wanted to see so early in game.
Top 2nd: Bautista 0-2, full count. Strikes out looking. Overbay, singles to right. Encarnacion. The only hitter on Jays side that has been hitting well in Arizona. Singles into left. Two on one down for Johnny Mc. This is where the hitting ends in this lineup on paper at least. Prove us wrong Johnny Mc. Lines to third quick throw to second but Lyle gets back. Molina, lucky Jays. Grounds up the middle to second, to throw to first not in time. Bases loaded however for Marcum. Has never had a hit. Strikes out on three.

Bottom 2nd: Reynolds strikes out looking, one down for Young. Strikes out. Number four already for Shaun. Snyder, lazy pop up to Encarnacion. Great inning for Marcum BUT where are the bats again today?
Top 3rd: Top of the order for second time. Lewis leading off. Much better at bat, singles into shallow right centre, one on for Hill, grounds up the middle, Abreu kicks it away towards third, Both runners safe. Error on the play. Jays get a break here. Two on for Lind, wouldn’t it be great to see a double steal right here ? totally unexpected ? dream on. Grounds to LaRoche at first, off his glove throw to pitcher by runners move up at least. One down for Bautista, two in scoring position. Nice play just puts his bat on the ball and pushes it back up the middle, here comes Lewis here comes Hill and Jays have a lead for a very long time. 2-1. Jays. Overbay with Bautista at first. Fly ball to right, two down. Bautista holds at first. Encarnacion, grounds to short flip to second for third out but Jays at least give Marcum a lead to work with here. 49 pitches for Buckner. That’s more like it for the Jays, get into their bullpen.

Bottom 3rd: Buckner leading off. Good, he will be one tired guy after that long inning. 2-2. Nice hit here though, great swing and long fly ball to left centre by Lewis at the track. One down. Conor Jackson, grounds to Overbay flip to Marcum covering first for second out. Abreu. Grounds into the hole behind first, great play by Hill to get ball and throw to Overbay in time. Jays getting some defense here today. 46 pitches for Shaun.

Top 4th: McDonald, hanging tough here, Full count, ball four. Buckner a little wild here. Molina, another wild pitch gets away, Johnny Mc. going slides headfirst safe at second. 202 count. Making Buckner work here, grounds to third, looks Johnny Mc back and throw to LaRoche at first for first out this ining. Marcum with runner at second. HEY Shaun, doubles down the third base line into left corner. Nice hit… His teammates will enjoy this one. 3-1 Jays. Lewis with still only one out and runner at second. grounds to second throw to LaRoche for the out, Marcum moves you to third. Hill grounds to third, throw to first for the out. Marcum now has to get out there. Not good for Marcum no break here.
Bottom 4th: Drew leading off doubles to left, Upton with runner at second, strikes out. LaRoche, 2-2, doesn’t like that call, strikes out swinging, no question on that, two down Reynolds, 2-2. Full count. Walks him. First walk today for Marcum. Young with two on. Singles into left, runner scores 3-2 Jays. Snyder with two on. Full count, in danger of loading them up. Feel sorry for Shaun he must be exhausted out there, he has not sat down for almost twenty minutes, there he gets him swinging. Strikeout number seven. Strikes out the side. And now he can get a break if his team mates cooperate. No first pitch swinging please.

Top 5th: Lind leading off, singles to centre, Bautista with one on, there you go Jose, down on one knee and hammers this one to left here comes here comes Jose 5-2 Jays. Overbay singles to right. Pitching coach Stottlemyre out there Todd’s brother. Encarnacion, with one on. I don’t believe it, another home run for Edwin and this one is huge. High into left field off second deck facing. 7-2 Jays. Five home runs for Encarnacion this series. WOW. McDonald. still no outs. Johnny Mc. doubles to left to the wall that must be it for Buckner. Stalling out there. Valdez warming up., Now here comes Manager Hinch. See you later. One of the good things about this is that Marcum is now getting much needed rest between innings he was bushed out there. Cesar Valdez pitching. Molina with Johnny Mc. at second and no outs. Doubles to left off the glove of Jackson here comes McDonald, 8-2 Jays. Throw to second gets Molina but Abreu is injured on the play at second, looks like his wrist. Out of the game. Marcum out there. Full count. Strikes out looking and I don’t blame him he does not want to be out there with the score as it is. His job is to pitch. Lewis not helping Shaun at all here, grounds first pitch to LaRoche for the third out. Lewis does not seem to have much a baseball strategy, surely he should have taken as many as possible to let Shaun recover there.

Bottom 5th: Whole new game here now at 8-2. Jays turn to rub it in now. Marcum on 75 pitches. Valdez, grounds ball back to Marcum throw to Overbay for the out. Jackson, with one down. Count full, doubles it over head of Lind, Singles through Hill, what happened there? Run scores. Hill should have had that one. 8-3 game. Drew, fly ball to Lind in left. Two down for Upton. Full count. Strikes out but Shaun is wiped out here 103 pitches already. Cito will need his bullpen today. Not sure whether Marcum will last beyond six today. Downs and Gregg have not had any work for a few days. That is eighth and ninth.

Top 6th: Jays need to put this one way out of reach now. Add on five more if only for Marcum. Hill this is the guy who has not helped at all today with bat or glove and is the only starter today without a hit. Time to step up Aaron, still hitless but walks, I guess that helps. Lind, that will do Adam doubles into the right field bounces over the fence which ribs Aaron of a run, but two in scoring position will help. Bautista, no outs. Pops it up to short, ooops, not this time Jose. One down. Overbay .217 average ? 2-3 today helps that. Chance to be a hero here Lyle Not like that grounds to short, looks the runners back. And throw to Laroche at first for out number two. Encarnacion, not getting a chance here they are walking him intentionally, OK Cito pinch hitter here, get Vernon off that bench. Johnny Mc. instead. Two down bases loaded, when was your last grand slam John. He does actually have one but a base hit will be fine here. There we go. Lines it to left, here comes Hill, here comes Lind, here comes Encarnacion. No Johnny MC trying to three and hung out to dry caught between bases. That was poor base running Johnny Mc. however you will take the three RBIs and so will we. 11-3 Jays.
Bottom 6th: That's it for Shaun, Camp now pitching. LaRoche grounds to short McDonald throw to Overbay at first, one down. Reynolds doubles to centre. Young strikes out. Snyder pops up to Hill at second.

Top 7th: Rivera now pitching. Molina leading off. Singles to right. No pinch runner here. Camp second major league at bat, what’s with these pitchers, another base hit. Clean single into left. Here comes the ball for trophy case. Two on no outs for Lewis. Singles up the middle, bases loaded. No outs. For Hill, hitless even the two pitchers have a hit Aaron. Don’t be shamed today. Even a fly ball out will do. No he can’t even do that pops it up to shallow centre. Bases still loaded for Adam Lind. 2-4 today. That’s better Adam fly ball to centre, here comes Molina, 12-3 Jays. Bautista, with two on and two down. 2-4 also. Fly ball to centre for the out. But oh dear Aaron.
Bottom 7th: Reed in left for Lind. Crowd has left for early dinner only Jays fans left now. Parra pinch hitting singles into right. Jackson with one on. Lines to McDonald at short throw to second d for the out, one down. Ojeda who came in for injured Abreu. Grounds to short throw to second on to Overbay for double play.

Top 8th: 17 hits for Jays today. Gutierrez now pitching. Ryal now at third. Overbay leading off. High fly ball to left one down for Encarnacion. Pitching to him this time, sort of. Pulls a ball way outside down to third ! throw to first for the out. He could have let it go. Two down for McDonald. ruined his last at bat with that poor base running. First pitch fly ball to centre for third out.
Bottom 8th: McCoy now replaces Hill, Maybe a sign of tomorrow but I doubt it with Cito’s philosophy. Right about Downs here he is. Drew leading off, first pitch fly ball to Lewis in centre. D-Backs have had enough. Upton same play. Two down. LaRoche singles into left. Reynolds, strikes out swinging on three pitches.

Top 9th: Last shots for the Jays before they head to the LA Angels for tomorrow. Strange stadium, it looks like Rogers Centre with all the Jays fans there. Strange also that majority of D-Back fans do not seem to wear their colours. Carlos Rosa pitching. Molina 3-4 today. High fly ball to centre he thought that was at least a double. McCoy. Has been huge disappointment, after this great spring, has just not made it in the first team, strikes out looking here. Two down for Lewis. He can’t complain today about his at bats. 2-5 already. And his sixth at bat. Casey Janssen warming up in on deck circle. You can do him a favour here Fred. I guess he does in one respect, strikes out.
Bottom 9th: Must be Janssen? No Gregg out there we were right earlier but Cito had no one left on the bench. Young leading off, Ooops first pitch fly ball to left and this one is into the seats, Home run 12-4 Jays. Snyder, 3-0 Gregg rattled here ? Walks him. One on, Parra 3-1 come on Kevin all over the place here. Walks another. Just relax Kevin. Hester pinch hitting, no where near, 3-1 bullpen get working. Full count. Shaking off all the signs. That’s better grounds to short flip to second on to Overbay double play ball. Two down for runner to third. Ojeda, fly ball to Bautista in right. Jays win big and break that mini slump.

The very good: Marcum obviously. Only five innings today but he had to battle with hitting and his double meant that he had to stay out there a little longer than he would have liked and the next inning pushed his pitch count way too high to take a sixth inning. Both Marcum and Camp getting first ML hits, that is important as they enter next inter-league games knowing that at least two of the pitchers can hit ! What can we say about Encarnacion ? Yet another home run and two more RBIs. Bautista two hits and four RBIs. Jose Molina getting on base three times.

The good: Johnny Mc. would have put him higher but for that base-running error.

The bad: Hill at rock bottom right now. When two pitchers can get base hits then he is really in trouble. Cito has decision to make, Does he sit him, send him to Vegas to relax and get whatever is missing right now ? or does he keep him out there? Cito will keep playing him, remember Rios ? last year, Wells last year, Overbay this year ? Everyone wants Aaron to come through this but it is so painful to watch every day.

Jays fight back but leave it too late to recover from disasterous outing by Eveland

Game two of three. Saturday May 22. Toronto v Arizona.

Lineups: Toronto: Bautista, Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Buck, Encarnacion, Eveland.
Arizona: Johnson, Abreu, Jackson, Upton, LaRoche, Reynolds, Young, Hester Jackson.

Pitching: Edwin Jackson v Dana Eveland. Which Eveland will show up tonight? and will this be his last game if he bombs? Vegas is not far from here.

Top 1st: Bautista leading off, Lewis not playing to day to give Adam Lind a chance. I give full credit to Cito last night for bringing in Lind for a pinch hit two down in the ninth. He did his job with the home run to get within two. It was Hill who could not come through. Good to see Jose leading off, he was so good in the spring and indeed until Fred Lewis came on the scene. Pops this one up to Upton in shallow right for first out. One down for Hill, this is the guy who really needs help. Sad to see him struggling every game like this. We know he will break out, just please soon…Not this at bat, pops up to Jackson in left for second out. Lind grounds first pitch to Johnson at second throw to LaRoche at first and a very quick and easy three up and down for Jackson.
Bottom 1st: Kelly Johnson leading off, here we go again 3-0 count. Walks him. One on for Abreu, Pops it up to Bautista in shallow right, one down one on for Conor Jackson, grounds to Hill moving to his left , nice play to throw him out at first, two down. Johnson moves to second. Upton. singles to left, runner holds at third. LaRoche, with two on. singles in to shallow right, run scores 1-0 Arizona. Upton was running on the play and gets to third. Reynolds off the wall in left, run scores 2—0. Runners at second and third. Eveland has nothing again tonight. Hester doubles down third base line, two more runs, this is a massacre in the first inning. 4-0 Arizona. Grounds to Gonzalez throw to first for third out, but Eveland has dug another huge hole for his teammates and making it easy for Cito when Tallet and Rzepczynski are ready to return.

Top 2nd: Jays in a hole Wells leading off. That’s better doubles into left corner. Overbay, bring him in Lyle. Wild pitch and Vernon moves to third. Keep ‘em coming here. 3-0 count. Grounds to first for the out but Vernon scores 4-1. Gonzalez, Pops it up to Young in shallow centre, two down for Buck, That’s the third wild pitch so far. Strikes out swinging but Jays get one back, Can Eveland hold D-Backs in this inning?
Bottom 2nd: Pitcher Jackson, Eveland shaking off six signs ??? come on. Strikes him out on three pitches. Top of the order again Kelly Johnson. Doubles into right. One down for Abreu. Singles into right. Johnson holds at third. Two on and only one out. Jackson, doubles into right. How much longer will Cito let this garbage go on? 5-1 Arizona. Now the bullpen action. May be too late once again for second night in a row. Upton intentional walk to load bases. LaRoche, here comes Cito. Can you imagine what he says? leaving him in. Probably said bus ticket to Vegas is waiting for you if you don’t get out of this mess. Singles into right. Here comes run number six and that’s it, Cito walking out again, finished. Doesn’t say a word. Puts his glove out to take the ball. 46 pitches to get four outs one of whom was the other pitcher. 6-1. Rommie Lewis with bases loaded poor guy. The only out Eveland had this inning was the pitcher !!! Reynolds, high fly ball foul. Strikes him out, well done Rommie, that is a great hitter, with 100 home runs since 2007. Young with two down and bases still loaded. Full count. Singles into left, two more runs score 8-1 Arizona. Hester, Strikes him out, didn’t bother to swing and this embarrassment is over. Two innings has taken two hours and Encarnacion has not had a bat yet. D-Backs have nine hits already. Jays have one.

Top 3rd: Encarnacion gets his first at bat. How do you reply to a seven run deficit in first two innings ? Full count. Pops it up to short. One down for Rommie Lewis, strikes out swinging. Bautista another wild pitch, if only Jay could get a player on base they might get a run here. Strikes out. Seven run deficit is impossible even for this team.
Bottom 3rd: Boston hammering Philadelphia tonight so it looks as if they will close n Jays tonight. Pitcher Jackson. Pops it up to Hill on first pitch terrible swing. But Jays will take an out anyway they can. Johnson, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay for the out. Abreu with two down. grounds to Gonzalez at short throw to Overbay for third out. It look s as D-Backs want to finish this thing off quickly now they have it in the bag and get out of the town early tonight. They are swinging and not taking pitches the way they have been doing earlier. As for the Jays, well let’s see what they have in mind.

Top 4th: Hill leading off. Average at .162, can’t buy any hit these days, strikes out. Problem now is that he goes after every pitch bad or good and the pitchers have his number. Lind, pops it up to left for the second out. Wells the only guy with any hit. Strikes out swinging at a pitch that actually bounced ! outside. I guess that inning answers my question, these guys have given up and I really can’t blame them it is must be disheartening to constantly have to fight back form huge deficits. Forget this one and get some sleep and try again tomorrow and maybe avoid an embarrassing sweep.
Bottom 4th: Jackson pops it up to shallow centre for Wells, one down. Another quick out. Upton, lines at Gonzalez, nice catch two down. LaRoche, swinging away, fly ball to Wells in centre, three up and down that tells the story. Let’s get to the ninth inning fast here.

Top 5th: Overbay leading off. Grounds first pitch to short, throw to first for the out. Gonzalez, singles to left, only the SECOND hit tonight by Jays and that is against a pitcher who has not pitched well and thrown at least four wild pitches. Will not win many games like that. Buck, one down one on. Grounds to short, from his knees throws out Gonzalez but not in time for two at first. Two down for Encarnacion. Grounds to short, throw to second to get Buck.
Bottom 5th: Might be last inning for Rommie here as he is up to bat at top of the sixth. Reynolds leading off, fly ball to Wells in centre. One down for Young, grounds to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay for out number two. Hester, pops it up to Buck for third out. This game is racing along now. An hour to do the first two and les than forty minutes to do the next three. That is what an 8-1 lead will do to two teams.

Top 6th: Pinch hitter for Lewis? How about Johnny Mc. for Hill? No McCoy, grounds to third, throw to first and that’s it tonight for you Mike. Bautista strikes out swinging, two down for Hill, last chance Aaron. I think McCoy may be staying in there, lines out to left, for third out.
Bottom 6th: Lewis in for Wells McCoy in for Bautista and Casey Janssen pitching. Edwin Jackson hitting. Just standing there taking them ball three, come on Casey, this is the pitcher. Full count. Strikes out, I should think so. One down for Johnson, strikes out swinging. Two down for Abreu. Grounds first pitch to third, great running play by Encarnacion to get him at first.

Top 7th: Jays last nine outs to get seven runs. Not impossible but Cito obviously has already given up on this lot tonight. Lind, grounds to first, one down. Fred Lewis, now in for Vernon. Strikes out, two down. Overbay, Full count another wild pitch but no runners on to take advantage. 93 pitch count for Jackson. Grounds to first for third out.
Bottom 7th: Johnny Mc. in at short for Gonzalez. Camp pitching, Jackson lines first pitch to Lewis in centre, one down for Upton. Singles to left. LaRoche, grounds to first throw to second back to Camp covering for double pay ball.

Top 8th: Johnny Mc. for Gonzalez. Ojeda playing at second, Way to go Johnny Mc, singles unto left, I love that guy. Sits on the bench for weeks and then when he gets the chance does more than the rest of them. Buck with one on. wild pitch I told you so, Johnny at second, Whoa no one been there for long time. Buck singles to left, two on and no outs Johnny Mc at third. Encarnacion, OH EDWIN…. Does it again huge home run into left, here comes Johnny Mc her comes Buck and here comes three runs score.8- 4. Déjà vu all over again. Another wild pitch. McCoy, strikes out. Jeremy Reed another chance, one down. Come on Jeremy 0-2 another wild pitch, If only Jays had had hitters on base tonight. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Hill. 0-3 tonight. 3-0 count, that’s what we need Aaron. Base runner even if you are unable to hit you can contribute here. OH BOY, YES Aaron gets hold of this one, home run to left, 8-5. And that’s it for Jackson. They left him, far too long this inning way over 100 pitches, (115) surely they could see he was tiring. Now pitching. Esmerling Vasquez, Lind pops it up to third, nice sliding catch by Reynolds at the dugout. But what a comeback. Just like last night, but maybe just maybe it can be different tonight. Great to see Aaron connect on one. Encarnacion is in his own space right now, may it never end. Four home runs in two games.

Bottom 8th: Jays back in this one or are they? Reed in left field. Frasor now pitching, different game here though he has to hold them here. Reynolds, strikes out, one down. Young, strikes out swinging. Two down. Hester, fouling off a lot of pitches here, full count, walks him. Rusty Ryal pinch hitting. Grounds to Encarnacion at third throw to second to get Hester. Nice pitching Jason.

Top 9th: Last chance here for Jays but a lot better than it was half an hour ago. Need base runners though. Lewis leading off, facing Qualls who finished Jays off last night. Grounds to second throw to first for the out. One down for Overbay, come on Lyle your turn to hit it out. 0-3 tonight. 3-1 count, he will be coming down the middle. That’s my boy, singles it into centre. Base runners are what we need here. Johnny Mc. not this time, strikes out, two down for Buck. 0-2 count. fouling them off here, strikes out. Ball gets away but out at first. Jays try but fall short yet again. The eight run deficit too much to comeback from.
Tampa wins, Boston wins Yankees losing.

The very good: Nothing until that eighth inning. Encarnacion incredible three run home run and let’s give Aaron a medal tonight for his home run. Everyone wants him to get going and maybe that was it tonight.
The good: Nothing tonight for Jays until the eighth. Hard to come back from 8-0 deficit. After two innings, they really just went through the motions for the rest of the game until that eighth and let’s give Johnny Mc. a star for getting this going. The bullpen of Rommie Lewis, Camp and Frasor for hanging in there.
Not so good: McCoy and Jeremy Reed disappointing so far. Reed should be taking every advantage of Travis injury. But has not done so. McCoy just looks outmatched.
The very bad: Eveland awful outing 1 1/3 innings. Had nothing at all and as mentioned this could have been his last outing.

Right now it looks as if Morrow and Eveland are the odd ones out in this rotation and should be the obvious choice to go to Vegas when the injured players return. BUT the way Eveland pitched tonight I would not be surprised if Jays did not act tonight, and either release him outright or send him to Vegas.
Tomorrow Jays have to avoid a sweep and get back on track here.

Jays home run show not enough despite three from Encarnacion

Toronto v Arizona. Game one of three. Friday May 21, 2010

Inter-league play. Hardly a local rivalry ! as in the Mets v Yankees. But Jays not complaining. At least Boston has a tough series in the Phillies to face this weekend. Jays record in inter-league play however not good and worse than Red Sox Yankees and even Tampa for a whole bunch of reasons. Perhaps this year it will be different. However with pitcher hitting this is not Cito’s favourite time of the season and I agree with him. Problem is for Jays that they used so many pitchers last night in the last two innings. Limited options tonight but we will be seeing pinch hitting for number nine. Diamondbacks have home run power up and down their lineup, no room for mistakes tonight. Will Cito use National League strategies. Small ball. Moving runners over. Will the pitchers take the bat off their shoulders? Despite their position in the western division this series is no pushover for the Jays.

Lineups:Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Bautista, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Buck, Encarnacion, Morrow.
Arizona: Johnson, Jackson, Drew, Upton, LaRoche, Reynolds, Young, Snyder, Haren.

Pitching: Morrow v Haren.

Top 1st: Lewis leading off, gets hold of this one first pitch bigtime into right corner, just barely foul. That would have been great start. Lots of Jays supporters here tonight behind Jays dugout.. Whoa Fred. Another huge hit, this one no doubt right centre that is a 400ft home run. 1-0 Jays. Hill first pitch lashes it to Jackson in left for the out. One down. Bautista swinging hard to Young in centre, two down. Wells now, not DHing tonight and should be mentally into the game a bit more. Grounds first pitch to Reynolds at third throw to LaRoche at first for the out. Two outs on first pitch swings.
Bottom 1st: Morrow has something to work with here. Johnson leading off, high fly ball to Wells in centre. One down for Jackson, grounds to Encarnacion at third, long throw to Overbay at first get him. Two down for Drew grounds to Gonzalez at short, throw to Overbay for third out.

Top 2nd: Overbay right on .200 to lead off, still around that mark, all he needs is a good game 3-4 and then I am sure he will keep it moving higher. Strikes out looking. Gonzalez singles to left. Buck one on one down. High pop up to left, two down for Encarnacion. Grounds to third throw in time to get him at first. Jays leave Gonzalez on base. Bases loaded top of the ninth in Philadelphia 5-1 Phillies but Ortiz at the plate with two down.
Bottom 2nd: Upton singles to gap in right. One on for LaRoche, Here we go LaRoche gets hold of this, right down the middle of the plate, no question about this one, deep into the seats in right just like that two run home run and 2-1 Diamondbacks. Still no outs as Reynolds batting, high pop up to Wells in centre, that all carried a long way. One down. Young, strikes out. Two down for Snyder, full count with Haren on deck. Let him go ? No, strikes him out. But Jays are playing catch up. 32 pitches for Morrow.

Top 3rd: Morrow leading off. I think he will leave his bat on his shoulder, Cito is not losing any of his pitchers. (Ortiz fly ball to Victorino leaving bases loaded. Boston lose first game of this series 5-1, Jays have a chance to make more space between them iF they can win here). Morrow swinging, nice swing, pops it up to right. One down. Haren wasted two pitches. Lewis who had a couple of excellent swings on Haren in the first. Strikes out, two down for Hill. Aaron had one pitch last inning .170 average. Grounds back to Haren throw to first for the out. Five more pitches for Hill this time.
Bottom 3rd: Haren leading off. This guy has ten hits and a .400 average. There’s another advantage. Eight pitches, wear him out Brandon. Grounds to Gonzalez throw to Overbay on the ninth pitch. Advantage to whom ? Morrow has wasted the pitches but Haren had to work and swing that bat right after the previous inning pitching. We will see next inning. Leadoff Johnson, with one down, strikes him out two down. Jackson doubles into the gap in left. Drew lines it right at Hill, nice catch Aaron to end this inning.

Top 4th: Yankees beating the Mets 2-0 bottom of the ninth. Bautista leading off. Let’s see how Haren is this inning. Lines it hard at third base nice diving stop and throw to first to get Jose. Wells with one down. Grounds first pitch to third, throw to first for the out. Has anyone counted the number of pitches Vernon has seen in the last two days in five at bats? Less than ten. That is the sort of stuff he did all last year, it is not aggressive hitting it is poor hitting, I thought he was through with that this season. Overbay, with two down, that’s the way Lyle, singles the other way into left. Gonzalez, runner at first two down. Singles into left. Two on for Buck. Lines it to left robbed by a great diving catch by Jackson. That was tough on Buck a run all the way.
Bottom 4th: Upton, doubles to the wall in centre. One on again for LaRoche who had the two run home run last at bat. Pops it up into left, oh no not again, Lewis and Encarnacion collide on this and Lewis drops the ball, he was calling for it but Encarnacion obviously didn’t hear. How many times have Jays done this type of error this season? Far too many. Two in scoring position and no outs, No error given. Morrow in deep here. Reynolds doubles to left, Upton scores, LaRoche scores. 4-1 and no one out. Cito does not have many options with bullpen tonight. Young, singles into left. Runners at first and third and no outs, this game is getting out of hand already. Snyder, pops it up to Gonzalez for the first out of this inning. Haren, will probably give his bat away here with this lead. Showing bunt, what are you going to do Brandon? Throws inside. Doubles into right, two runners score, 6-1 Diamondbacks. That is pretty disgusting for a pitcher to get two RBIs doubles his total for the year. Morrow all over the shop here, still only one out for Johnson. Here comes pitching coach about half an hour too late tonight I fear. This game is over for the Jays at least. Roenicke up in bullpen. 3-1 no where near the plate. Walks him. Jackson with two on and one down. Strikes out, two down. Drew, 30 pitch inning, that says it all for Morrow. 2-2 count, Strikes him out but I fear and hope that is the last we will see of Morrow tonight and could be his last game for the first team. He just does not have the consistency. 83 pitches for Morrow. Never looked comfortable even with first inning lead.

Top 5th: Let’s see how Jays respond to this five run deficit. So far in the last two games they are not showing their form of the last month. Encarnacion leading off, that’s a good response at least, high fly ball into left field seats home run for Edwin. 6-2. McCoy pinch hitting trying that crazy bunt move he always does, surely he knows advance scouts have seen that every time. 0-2, strikes out. Lewis, one down, strikes out. Hill, awful swings at pitch three feet off the plate, strikes out to end the inning. Haren in complete control here but some of these free swinging Jays hitters make it awfully easy for him.
Bottom 5th: Roenicke pitching. Yankees have beaten the Mets 2-1.Upton leading off 2-2 tonight, singles into left 3-3. LaRoche 2-2. Walks him. Two on no outs. Trouble once more. Reynolds swinging for the fences. Strikes out on three pitches, but more through poor hitting. One down at least. Young, grounds to Gonzalez, flip to Hill over to Overbay at first double play. The first sign of life from this team in the field tonight.

Top 6th: Jays running out of innings to get four back. Bautista leading off. Strikes out swinging. Wells, now this will be an interesting at bat. Pitch inside wakes him up as he dances out of the way. Finally a single into centre. One on, one down for Overbay. Lyle over .200 again. singles to right, Vernon goes all the way to third on the play. Hit number two for Lyle. Two on for Gonzalez. Gets hold of this one, pulls it high into left field corner but foul. Haren can’t afford to make mistake here. Full count. Has to come to him here to avoid loading bases. Gonzalez grounds to short, throw to second on to first, double play ball. Jays leave two on. They had their chance there.
Bottom 6th: Roenicke still pitching. Snyder, leading off. Wild here and walks him not even close. Haren still in there and why not? Has as many RBIs as the Jays team tonight. 0-2 count. here’s another one doubles to same spot as last time, his second double and another RBI as score now 7-2. Still no outs, Johnson at bat, Roenicke first pitch way high and outside has no control either tonight There’s another same spot. Bullpen call. Full count, all balls way outside. Walks him. Two on and no outs. Roenicke imploding. He just cannot throw a strike. Coach out to talk to him but just giving bullpen time to warm up He just does not have it tonight. Jackson high fly ball to left centre, Lewis and Wells converging, but Lewis backs off, no way is Vernon messing this one up. One down. Drew, another full count. Another pop up for Wells in shallow centre. Two down for Upton. 3-3 tonight. Strikes out looking. Roenicke escapes more damage here and one good result is that Haren was out there for a long period. Now he has to pitch. Only 82 pitches so far tonight thanks to Jays wild hitters.

Top 7th: Jays still need five. They have a tired pitcher to face. Can they take advantage and not give him a quick Jays type three up and down inning. They need base runners and hits to get back into this one. They were close last inning but close is not enough. This is what I mean Buck leading off swings a first pitch pops it up to first, one down. Encarnacion yes Edwin, does it again same place in left another home run. 7-3. Jeremy Reed gets a pinch hit at bat. Full count. and walks oops no he doesn’t Reed thought he had ball four and looked low from here. But catcher raises that mitt and that is what the umpire sees.. Two down. Lewis, still needs to atone for his lousy fielding error. Not this time grounds to short throw to first for third out. Jays have had their home runs tonight but all have been solo shots.
Bottom 7th: Casey Janssen now pitching. LaRoche leading off grounds to Overbay throw to Janssen for first out on one pitch. D-Backs want this one over quick. Reynolds, full count. Singles to Wells in shallow centre. One on one down for Young. There goes the runner, throw in time and out at second. Two down.2-2 count. This is big trouble high fly ball to left into the seats. 8-3 game. Snyder, full count. Singles into centre. Here comes Haren with two doubles and three RBIs already tonight. Strikes out looking, Haren arguing the call. Bush in an 8-3 game.

Top 8th: Hill ofer again tonight. .167 When will Cito bench him? Give McCoy or Johnny Mc. some time, give Aaron a week off. Strikes out looking on four pitches. He is just not in any shape right now and has not been since that hamstring injury. He had such a great spring in Dunedin. Bautista, there we go Jose lines this one into left field seats, another home run 8-4. If only Jays could get some runners on base when they do this. Wels, another poor game with the bat, Lines this one to left but out at the wall. Two down for Overbay, now .209. finally getting clear of .200. Grounds to second throw to first for third out, Haren 109 pitches and can leave it to someone else for the ninth.
Bottom 8th: Rommie Lewis now pitching. All we can hope for now is that he keeps the score at 8.Johnson leading off. Grounds to Hill throw to Overbay one down. Jackson, Fly ball to Lewis in left, two down. Drew, singles to centre. Upton, with one on two down, pops it up to Hill for third out. Last gasp for the Jays tonight.

Top 9th: Gutierrez pitching. Gonzalez, grounds back to the pitcher, throw to first, one down. Buck, strikes out on three pitches. Encarnacion with two home runs tonight. OH BOY Edwin, unbelievable. He does it again, another home run, into left, 8-5. Adam Lind now pinch hitting with two down. YES Adam, another home run one into the right field corner 8-6. Back to back home runs here with two out. Lewis, doubles over the head of Young in centre to the 407 mark. Tie run !!! at the plate here. Weird game. Now that earlier dropped ball comes into play. Chad Qualls the closer now pitching, Hill at bat, time to redeem yourself Aaron. NO not at that pitch way outside. 1-1. And again. both balls turned into strikes. Not a third time. 2-2 count. Lewis at second, just a hit Aaron, that’s all. Pops it up to Young in centre. I think Cito may have been better off pinch hitting but he never would for a starter. Jays lose the opener 8-6 but do manage to show some fight at the end and make it far closer than the rest of the game indicated.

Jays continue their interleague woes just unable to win against National League. But Tampa, Boston and Jays all lose tonight against NL opponents.

The excellent: the home run power of Encarnacion three tonight and clutch.
Very good: Jays get six home runs tonight Bautista, Lewis, Lind and Encarnacion three but all solo shots. When did that happen last ?
The good: I am going to give Lyle a good tonight. Great game with his bat and appears to be finally over that .200 mark. Also Adam Lind deserves one for his pinch hit home run in the ninth with two down. Now if these two are back on track Hill is the last one to work on.

The bad: Hill 0-5 tonight, just all at sea and now swinging at bad pitches way off the plate. At least earlier the season he was taking walks.

The very bad: Morrow. Not much more to say apart from the fact that he was wild and could not throw strikes. Roenicke also wild with three walks. By comparison Haren gave up no walks.

Cito blows this one badly with strategy despite Cecil's great outing.

Game two Toronto v Seattle. This is two game series, not three as we said yesterday. Jays head to Phoenix tonight for weekend series with Diamondbacks.

Lineups: Toronto: Lewis, Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay, Gonzalez, Bautista, Encarnacion, Molina.
Seattle: Suzuki, Figgins, Gutierrez, Sweeney, Lopez, Bradley, Kotchman, Bard, Wilson.
Pitching: Romero v Vargas.

Top 1st: Lewis leading off. NO crazy swings today Fred please. Like that. First pitch but misses. 3-1 count. Full, Pops it up to Lopez at third but at least it took nine pitches, last night that was two innings le alone outs, Hill, what has he brought today? Gets hold of this one, high into left corner but Bradley runs it down nicely. Two down for Lind. High pop up to Gutierrez in centre for third out.
Bottom 1st: Suzuki, grounds to Gonzalez at short quick throw to Overbay to get Ichiro. One down for Figgins, showing bunt, strikes out looking. Gutierrez with two down. Oh WOW what a play by Encarnacion, Gutierrez grounds to third Edwin way off bag in foul ground long, long throw all in one movement to get him and out by at least a stride. Great highlight reel play. We are beginning to see what the Jays saw in Encarnacion.

Top 2nd: Wells DH today, here we go again, Vernon pops up feebly at first pitch to catcher, what is wrong with this guy, you would think he would want to send more time out there if he is DH today? Overbay, at least he takes one. .199 now Lyle, lets get it over that .200. Not this time high lazy pop up to Gutierrez in centre for second out. Gonzalez, pops this one up to Kotchman. Jays looking as if they want to go south fast this afternoon. 25 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Sweeney leading off, 3-0 Come on Ricky, walks him on four pitches. Lopez,not bunting. Fly ball to Lewis in centre, one down. Bradley with one on lines it to centre right but Lewis catches up with it to make catch. Two down. Sweeney almost doubled up he was round second base, Kotchman, two down one on. Full count, Romero thought he had that one but too low. Fly ball to Lewis in centre, earning his money in the field at least making all three outs. 29 pitches for Ricky.

Top 3rd: Bautista, high fly ball to left, if that had flattened out, home run, Encarnacion, 2-2 count. Full. Pops it up to shallow right Ichiro makes the catch in front of the fans. Molina, slow roller to short, throw to first for third out. Nine up and down for Vargas. Perfect game through three. 10 pitch inning.
Bottom 3rd: Bard, full count, walks him. second walk today. Wilson. Bunting? Not yet. Singles into centre. Not good, two on no outs for Ichiro, might see bunt now. Yes indeed. And they get him, great throw by Romero, Encarnacion had it covered and almost a collision but Ichiro gets his job done. Two in scoring position for Figgins, another bunt, perfect up first base line, throw gets him at first but Bard scores, 1-0 Seattle. Great small ball, Jays don’t or unable to do that. Two down runner at third, Gutierrez, grounds to Hill throw to Overbay for the third out but Mariners strike first. Don’t walk these guys Ricky. 43 pitches through three.

Top 4th: This one might be enough to win today the way Jays players are hitting. Lewis, grounds to first flip to Vargas covering for the out. One down for Hill, grounds up the line fair ball at first, Hill safe. First hit for Jays, they will take whatever they can get today. Lind, fly ball to centre, for the second out, Wells now, has spent 30 seconds on the field in an hour today, takes one here, must be difficult for every day player to have to sit for 99% of the game. Fly ball to Ichiro in right for the third out. Roof closed again. They did that last night in the middle of the game. 55 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Sweeney leading off, very nice play, Bautista runs this down in almost centre field, long run but gets it flat out. He is so good in right has cannon for an arm as well one down. Lopez, 3-1 and walks him. I thought you learned last inning Ricky. Bradley, another great play grounds it back to Romero, throw to second on to Overbay at first double play ball. Ricky helping himself here. Two in one. That’s the way. Now can that momentum carry into Jays hitters? 52 pitches.

Top 5th: Overbay leading off. Still flirting with .200. Strikes out, that will not help. Gonzalez, solid hit to centre. One on for Bautista, he has hammered it today without any luck. YES Jose, this time no doubt, off the top of the wall in left, to the right of that scoreboard so it counts, two here comes, Gonzalez, here comes the hero of the hour, Jays take the lead 2-1. Encarnacion. 3-1 and walks, Vargas rattled here? Molina with one on and one down. Time for Jose to join this hit parade. Here comes pitching coach. 2-2 count. Full count, Cito not sending the runner Molina grounds to short, throw to second on to first, double play to end the inning. Cito will get the criticism on that play. Molina is always candidate for double play and that was a full count with one down. Jays have the lead. Vargas 75 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Can Romero go a few more here? Pitch count is in his favour. Kotchman leading off, 3-0 count. Full count. Singles to left. Bard with one on. Lines it to centre right, Lewis cannot make the catch, it looked as if Bautista could have. Two on and no outs. Wilson, bunting foul, but a great bunt third base line, if nothing else Mariners can do that very well. Ichiro, Figgins, now Wilson. 2-2. Trying again, misses, fouls it off and strikes out. One down. Suzuki with two on. NOT bunting. Grounds to Bautista, bounces off his body, throw to Hill, falls over but gets the runner no chance for two. Two down for Figgins. Grounds to second throw to first to get Figgins and third out. Ricky gets out of another jam despite some adventures in the field. 77 pitches as well. Has lost that advantage.

Top 6th: Lewis leading off, grounds slow roller to Figgins at second, throw to first. Lewis diving headfirst not in time but great effort Fred. One down for Hill, strikes out on three. Nowhere near that one. Lind, 0-2, make that 0-3 and another very quick inning for Vargas. 85 pitches now.
Bottom 6th: Could be last inning for Romero unless he can be more economical than last inning. Gutierrez leading off, strikes out. Sweeney, pops it up to Molina in front of the plate, two down. Lopez, 2-2 count, strikes out. That should do Ricky.

Top 7th: Wells leading off. Has played less than five minutes today in his two at bats. Grounds the second pitch to short, throw to first for the out. Overbay, singles up the middle Way to go Lyle but sorry still under .200. Gonzalez, with one on hammers this into left bounces into the crowd, ground rule double. Two in scoring position now for Bautista. Conference on the mound, Texeira warming up in bullpen. This could be the game right here. No, they are putting him on. That is respect Jose. Bases loaded one down for Encarnacion. He can make a difference here. Pops it up very shallow in left, here comes Overbay, here comes the throw up the line, safe at the plate, ball gets away. 3-1 Jays. That was not a good throw from Bradley. That’s it for Vargas. Two down still two on base. Texeira now pitching to Molina with runners at second and third. Molina 2-2 count. Lines it back to Texeira nice reflex catch to end this one but Jays have another.
Bottom 7th: Bradley leading off strikes out. One down for Kotchman, grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay for second out. Two down for doubles to the wall in left. That’s it for Ricky, no complete game today Those three walks hurt his pitch count earlier. Frasor in to help preserve this one. Wilson 2-0 come on Jason, 3-1, not good. Pops it up shallow centre, Lewis calls them of to make the catch and Ricky is happy guy.

Top 8th: Lewis leading off, need some more runs Fred. 3-1 count. That was ball four Fred you fouled off, count full. Low ball four, walks him. Hill, with no one down an done on, is he bunting? HA!.lines it to the wall in centre for the out Lewis glued to first. I wonder if Jays will get a new Manager next year who plays small ball. Whatever the reason Cito, Hill is not the hitter he was last year. Lind, even worse, grounds it softly to short steps on second throw to first and just like that inning over. Another reason to get that leadoff guy to second on a bunt.
Bottom 8th: Jeremy Reed now in the game in left for Lind. Downs pitching. Suzuki leading off. Lefty lefty matchup. Bounces it high off the plate Downs and Molina go for it and collide. No chance to get Ichiro. One on for Figgins, another bunt? Not this time strikes out, Ichiro stays at first, perhaps bunt would have been better. One down one on for Gutierrez, High fly ball to Lewis in centre, two down, Ichiro stays at first, he would be at third now with that Figgins bunt. Here comes Cito ? Ah well. Camp ? for one pitch? Cito and his pitching changes. We will probably miss them next season. Sweeney. Ichiro going on the first pitch stealing second throw is good Molina gets him. I guess that’s it for Camp as well. Ichiro and now Manager arguing. Thrown out.

Top 9th: Kelley pitching. Wells, leading off, poor Vernon, might as well have stayed at home today for his five minutes work. 0-3 this game. 0-2 count. Strikes out, 0-4 for his day’s work. Ouch Vernon. Not good. Overbay.201 can he stay over .300 fly ball to centre for the out. down he goes again. Gonzalez, 2-3 today. Double and a single. Grounds to short, throw to first for the out.
Bottom 9th: Gregg pitching Sweeney leading off. Singles up the middle, one on for Lopez, singles to right. Two on no outs. Bradley, Saunders pinch running for Sweeney, full count, walks him bases loaded. This is where Cito’s pitching strategy backfires on him. Using three pitchers to get four outs is not great idea and this is showing right now. Gregg is it for the game. Kotchman bases loaded. And no outs. 3-1 count. Full count. Walks him and a run, 3-2 game. Bases stay loaded. No room for error now Kevin. Bard. Fly ball to left run scores. 3-3 game. Griffey pinch hitting. One down two on. Runners at second and first. Doubles into right that’s the game, Seattle wins 4-3. Gregg blows it only his second of the season, BUT and a huge but in this book, Manager takes the responsibility here for lousy use of pitchers. Camp threw one pitch. Frasor only five. Downs ten. Now the issue is tomorrow in Arizona Gregg has pitched three days in a row. Will he use Camp, Downs or Frasor? This is where the arms get all worn out Cito they all have to warm up each time. You can’t wear the out like this. We have seen the results in all those pitchers having surgery in the last two years.

The very good: Romero for seven. Jays defense, Encarnacion, Bautista, Gonzalez, some excellent plays. Molina throwing out Ichiro in the eighth.
The good: It is the bottom half of the order that is carrying the offence of this team.
The bad: Top half of the order, from Lewis through Overbay. Two hits today. and not least Cito’s poor strategy cost the Jays today. Gregg had abad day but Cito had no backup to bring in to help him out. He has only blown two all season. I am happy with that. Rivera has blown two in a week, Papelbon has also blown big this week. It happens but the point is there was no backup for Gregg today. Camp could have carried on into the ninth,Vito knew Gregg had worked two nights in a row. As the great Tom Henke said, closers are different animals.Cito is an excellent hitting coach and has never understood pitchers.

On to Arizon and let;s hope for a better result.