Jays show their power tonight to support Cecil in series win over Twins,

Game three of series. Twins v Jays.

Series tied another tough one for Jays as Twins are in close division race. On the other hand Jays have to get back into the winning mode at home and try to finish on upbeat note before the All-Star break.

Lineups: Twins: Repko, Hudson, Mauer, Cuddyer, Young, Kubel, Valencia, Hardy, Butera. Morneau not in lineup after that hit by McDonald knee last night. Taking precautions re concussion.

Jays: Lewis, Gonzalez, Bautista, Wells, Lind, Hill, Overbay, Encarnacion, Molina. Hill back in, evidently both he and Wells had food poisoning from same meal in New York and Hill violently ill.
Pitching: Baker v Cecil.

Top 1st: Repko pops up to Encarnacion at third, on down for Hudson, grounds to Encarnacion throw to Overbay. Mauer grounds to Hill throw to Overbay for third out. Good first inning for Cecil.
Bottom 1st: Lewis, leading off 1-2 count, YES Fred, gets hold of this one into right. 1-0 Jays. Gonzalez grounds to Valencia at third throw to Cuddyer at first, one down. Bautista grounds to Hardy at short, throw to Cuddyer. Wells grounds to Hudson throw to Cuddyer but Jays take the early lead.

Top 2nd: Cuddyer fly ball to Lewis. One down for Young fly ball to Wells in centre. Two down for Kubel. Same again fly ball to Wells.18 pitches for Cecil after two. Very efficient.
Bottom 2nd: Lind leading off, 2-2 count, there it goes, into the Twins bullpen, home run for Adam. Hill, good to see him back, 2-0 Jays. Hill singles to left. Overbay one on fly ball to Young in left. Encarnacion singles to left, Hill to second. Here comes the Jays. One down for Molina, two on, pops it up to shallow centre, Repko drops the ball !!! Hill to third, Encarnacion to second. Bases loaded for Lewis, chance to add to his collection tonight. Not this time. Strikes out swinging over it. Two down for Gonzalez. Takes strike one. Lines it to the wall, here comes Hill, here comes Encarnacion, here comes Molina, three runs score, 5-0 Jays. Baker really playing with fire this ining. Gonzalez at second. Twins bullpen call. Bautista, 0-2 count. Burnett up in Twins bullpen. Grounds to third, throw to first for the out. 5-0 Jays. 41 pitches.

Top 3rd: Valencia leading off. 2-2 count. Ball three. Fly ball to Wells in centre, one down. Hardy with one down. 3-1 count. Doubles over the head of Bautista to the wall in right. First hit off Cecil. One on one down for Butera, grounds to Overbay at first, steps on first. No chance for two as Valencia moves to third. Repko, now with two down. 1-1 count. Grounds to Gonzalez, long throw to Overbay at first in time, great throw to get him. Cecil getting some help here from his defense. Cecil 38 pitches
Bottom 3rd: Wells, still not sure about Vernon yet. Great winning RBI last night but….. I need to see more consistency to be a believer, here we go strikes out. One down for Lind. 2-2, ball three. Strikes out, two down. Hill, this is the guy I want to see hitting. Hits this one hard but caught at the wall in right to end this inning. 53 pitches.

Top 4th: Quick game so far. Hudson leading off. Strikes out, great pitch. One down for Mauer. Grounds to Hill, throw to Overbay, two down for Cuddyer gets hold of this one, into left field seats. 5-1 Jays. Young two down drives it to Wells in centre. No more damage. 53 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Overbay leading off. Lines it very hard to Repko in centre for the out. I think Lyle is hitting very hard consistently now. One down. Encarnacion, 2-2 count. Grounds to short, throw to first for second out. Molina, 2-1 count. Grounds to short, throw to first to end this one. One hour for four innings. Both pitchers moving fast. 66 pitches.

Top 5th: Kubel leading off. 0-2 count. Grounds to Overbay, takes it himself for the first out. Valencia with one down. 3-1 count. Ball four. First walk tonight. Hardy, with one down and one on.1-2 count. Bounces to Hill at second steps on the bag and throw wild at first. Two down but should have been three. Butera, with runner at first and two down, grounds to Gonzalez, flips to Hill at second to make the out. 70 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Lewis grounds to Hudson at second flip to Cuddyer at first, one down. Gonzalez with one down. 2-2 count. Lines to Hardy at short, two down. These teams are racing through this game. Need Frasor in there to slow it down. Bautista with two down. Skies this one very high into centre for Repko to make the catch and third out. That one would have gone a mile if it had flattened out. Jays hits again tonight spread around the lineup as last night. All six different players. Bautista, Wells and Overbay are the three without a hit through five. 79 pitches.

Top 6th: Cito would like two more out of Cecil if he can do it. Repko leading off. Pops it into shallow right over Hill’s head. Hudson with one on, 2-0 count. Grounds to Gonzalez at short, flip to Hill throw to Overbay double play ball. Two down for Mauer lines it to Lewis for third out. Very nice inning. 78 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Wells, goes the other way singles into right. Hudson not there, playing shift left. One on for Lind. 1-2 count. Strikes out. Jays hitters have loads of problems with that high fast ball. Hill, with one on and one down. Will Vernon steal here? There he goes and throw by Butera gets him at second. But still a good decision to go in my book. Hill 2-2 count. Fly ball to Kubel in right for third out. 91 pitches.

Top 7th: Cuddyer, leading off. Grounds to Encarnacion strong throw to Overbay for the out. Young, doubles to the wall in left. Kubel one on one down. 2-2 count. Strikes out looking, another great pitch breaking ball on the corner, two down for Valencia, taps first pitch right back to ceil throw to first for third out. Nice inning by Cecil. He may get one more or at least start one. We have not seen Casey Janssen this series perhaps his turn for one tonight. 90 pitches.
Bottom 7th: That’s it for Baker Alex Burnett now pitching. Bottom of Jays order, Overbay leading off, another hard hit here lines it to centre, just over the wall, home run number ten for Lyle. Just kept on going. 6-1 Jays. Encarnacion, 0-2 count, 2-2 and strikes out swinging. One down. Molina. This one is out of here, lines it to left, no doubt about that hit. Right off the bat. 7-1 Jays. Lewis, 0-2 count. Pops up to third for second out. Gonzalez. Lines it to left corner, nice hit but caught by Young in the corner for third out.

Top 8th: Cecil has more room to work with. No that’s it for Cecil, now Casey is in here. Cito was listening. Hardy leading off, 1-2 count, full count. Lines it over head of Encarnacion into left. Butera with one on. 3-0 count, come on Casey. There’s a strike, need a ground ball here. Count full. That’s the way grounds to Gonzalez, over to Hill at second throw to Overbay, double play ball. Repko, with two down, 2-0 count. Fly ball to Wells in centre.
Bottom 8th: Mahay pitching. Bautista leading off. Oh Yes Jose, no doubt about this one. Lines it to left, over the wall, over the 375 sign. 8-1 Jays. Wells, 0-2 strikes out, what is wrong with Vernon when everyone else is hitting it out here? One down for Lind. 0-2 and strikes out swinging. Two down for Hill. 1-2 count. Count full. Does he take or swing? Swings and lines it to Repko in shallow centre to end this one.

Top 9th: Purcey to pitch the ninth. Wise in right for Bautista. Hudson leading off. 0-2 count. Pops up to Wise in shallow right. One down for Mauer, 0-2 count. Strikes out swinging at high pitch. Two down for Cuddyer, 2-2, Full count. Fouling them off here. This should do it, fly ball to left, Lewis has it for the out. Jays win 8-1 and the series. Excellent all round effort by Jays tonight. Everyone gets a hit and seven of them have a run. Similar to last night’s performance, everyone clicking right now. I like that strength throughout the lineup. Toorrow Boston for three to finish off the first half. Jays go into the series on win streak at least. Should be much bigger crowds for the weekend. Joey Votto in All-Star game. Another Canadian actually from Toronto.

The excellent: Jays club record with eight players with ten home runs before the break. Cecil great outing. Five home runs, from five players. Bautista with number 23 to lead the league. Molian with his first of the season.

The good: Consistency throughout the lineup and in pitching both Cecil and his bullpen relief. Very quick game just over two hours. Would love to see Vernon get a few hits together. Perhaps against Boston.

The bad: Not tonight.