Jays v Yankees. Game two of three. Tuesday August 24.
Preview: Yankees have Jeter back in the lineup and need this one to stay even or ahead with Tampa. They will be serious tonight and facing a number five pitcher.
Someone said to me today where would Jays be if Halladay was still with them this season? Interesting thought, 10 of those 16 wins would put Jays well in the hunt.
The big steroid issue of course today, we have to mention it, it is definitely a no-win for Bautista, even if he were proven innocent which is impossible to do, he will always have that slur. My take is the witch hunt, were Hill and Lind on steroids last season? is that the only way to explain their huge drop off in production this year? Were Vernon and Rios on several years ago? Unfortunately now anyone who has an exceptional season will be tarnished and anyone who has a huge drop off after a successful season will be even more of a target. Sad that we cannot just enjoy individual successes, but then the media loves the controversy, any story. I am surprised that they have not target Strasburg especially now with the injuries. The amount of time spent on talk shows today on this and probably tomorrow will be totally out of proportion to the “unsubstantiated rumour”.
Lineups: Yankees: Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira, Cano, Thames, Posada, Kearns, Granderson, Nunez.
Jays: Snider, Escobar, Bautista, Wells, Lind, Hill, Overbay, Buck, Encarnacion.
Don’t like this order. Buck should be higher than that put both him and Overbay after Vernon and move Lind and hill down the order, they are not producing and Buck gives better [protection hitting behind Vernon, pitchers are pitching around him to get the two underachievers Lind and Hill.
Pitching: Rzepczynski v Moseley.
Looks like another big crowd tonight, but they are still pouring in, from where we are sitting and positioning of the ushers in fifth deck another 30,000 plus crowd.
Top 1st: Jeter leading off, grounds first pitch to Hill at second, throw to Overbay at first, one quick out. Swisher lines it into the corner, over the head of Bautista, misjudged that one Jose. Stand up double for Swisher. Teixeira singles p the middle, here comes Swisher and Yankees jump out to 1-0 lead. Cano grounds to Hill throw to Overbay at first back to Escobar at second double play ball. Very nice.
Bottom 1st: Snider leading off, I feel for Travis, this is not his position in the lineup, but looks as if he is stuck with it until one of the outfielders moves. My solution is to sit Encarnacion, move Bautista to third and have Lewis and Snider with Wells in the outfield. What you lose on Lewis’s glove you gain at leadoff and his bat and speed. Travis grounds to Cano at second throw to Teixeira at first for the out. Escobar pop up Granderson in centre. Two down for Bautista, getting a huge friendly reception from the crowd, showing the media and all what they think of the smears, strikes out.
Top 2nd: Thames leading off singles to centre. Posada singles to right, Thames at third.Kearns grounds to Rzepczynski comes home to catcher Buck, Thames avoids the tag but Buck gets him on second attempt. Nice recovery play by Buck. Posada to second. Granderson full count, and ball four. Posada to third, Kearns to second. Nunez grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar to get Granderson but Posada scores. 2-0 Yankees. Two down two on for Jeter, pops up to Bautista. Rzepczynski gets out of trouble here but he is not pitching well, he could be down by five already.
Bottom 2nd: Wells leading off, pops up Kearns in left. Lind one down, exactly the same play, pops up to Kearns. Hill with two down, grounds to Cano at second throw to Teixeira at first for three up and down and that about sums up the season for these three. A month to change it around.
Top 3rd: Swisher leading off, strikes out. Teixeira patience here, full count, there it goes home run to left. 3-0 Yankees. Cano another full count. Rzepczynski is skating on very thin ice tonight. This is NY Marc not the minor leaguers. Thames one down one on, 0-2 count, NO another slam to left, this one is out, 5-0 Yankees. That is the second given up on a two strike count. He has to be able to finish them off. Posada, 2-0 count, staying away from the hitters but he has to throw strikes, cannot walk everyone. Posada gets hold of this one, into left field seats, third home run of the inning. 6-0 Yankees. Kearns grounds to Hill throw to Overbay. Two down. Granderson singles to right. This is not over yet. Nunez grounds to Escobar to get Granderson at second to end this nightmare for Rzepczynski.
Bottom 3rd: Overbay leading off, grounds to Nunez at third, throw to Teixeira, one down.Buck strikes out. Encarnacion singles to left. Two down one on for Snider, grounds to Teixeira at first for third out.
Top 4th: Tallet now pitching. Rzepczynski should be at the bus station waiting for the Vegas bus, he just doesn’t have it yet. Jeter leading off fly ball to Bautista. One down for Swisher. Lines it to Snider. Two down for Teixeira, singles to left. Cano pops up to Encarnacion.
Bottom 4th: Escobar leading off, walks. Bautista singles to centre, Escobar to third. Now surely someone can bring one run in. Wells, there we go Vernon, singles opposite field here comes Escobar, Bautista all the way to third. Two on nobody out. Jays have something going here for the first time. Lind lines to Kearns in left. One down, no chance for Bautista to score. Hill pops up to Cano. If I were Aaron this late in the season unable to bring a guy in from third, I would be bunting. But more important, what is wrong with him? Is he injured, sick ? Something definitely off. Overbay now final chance, grounds to Cano throw to Teixeira. Moseley escapes with runner at third and no outs. That is very bad for Jays hitters, Cito should be very concerned.
Top 5th: Tallet still out there. Thames leading off, singles to left. Posada pops up to Overbay. One down. Kearns full count and ball four, we have been waiting for that first walk by Tallet, does not disappoint. Two on one down. Granderson. Here we go, hammers this first pitch to right, no doubt about that, here comes Thames, here comes Kearns and here comes Granderson. 9-1 Yankees. Jays faithful heading up the aisles to the bar to drown their sorrows. Makes those missed opportunities by the Jays hitters even more huge. Nunez pops up to Buck. Two down for Jeter, here we go again, into left field seats and another home run. 10-1 Yankees. Swisher pops up to Tallet. Overbay knocks him down as he makes the play, what an image for this inning. That was probably Lyle’s ball in that situation, most pitchers get out of the way of their fielders, but this is the way the game is going tonight.
Bottom 5th: Buck leading off, full count and walks, one on for Encarnacion, grounds to Teixeira for the out, Buck to second. Snider, runner in scoring position, strikes out. Two down for Escobar, grounds to Nunez at third, throw to Teixeira. Three up and down and not surprising.
Top 6th: Tallet still in there; he is soaking up the innings. Teixeira leading off, singles to left. Cano pops up to Hill. One down. Thames 3-0 and ball four. Teixeira to second. Two on for Posada, singles to left, here comes Teixeira, 11-1 Yankees. They have not finished with the Jays yet. Thames at second. Two on for Kearns, grounds to Encarnacion throw to Overbay, Thames at third, Posada at second. Granderson pops up to Bautista.
Bottom 6th: Bautista leading off. Full count and ball four, Yankee pitchers not giving Jose much to swing at now. Wells pop up to Granderson, one down. Lind singles to centre, Bautista to second. Hill with two on, strikes out. Overbay 3-0 count, ball four, walks on four pitches, Bautista to third, Lind to second. Bases are actually loaded with two down. Buck, there we go John, singles to centre, here comes Bautista NO!!! Lind coming home and thrown out by Granderson. If he had stayed at third bases would still be loaded. Who is sending these runners ? Is it Butterfield at third ? This last week that is the third ? runner thrown out at home plate. 11-2 Yankees.
Top 7th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Nunez leading off. strikes out. One down for Jeter pop up to Bautista in right. Swisher, ouch fouls one off his leg he is down on the ground in pain, may be his knee. Can hardly stand, is staying in there ? that is ridiculous. The game is hardly in the balance here, there is no one on base, if he cannot stand what is going to do if he hits he cannot run? Misses with horrible swing, now here comes the coach to get him. Take him out of there. Sometimes you wonder where the heads of these players are. He could have serious damage to his knee and be out for days, you get out of there and ice it fast, not continue to be macho. This team is in the thick of battle for first, you don’t jeopardize that for some pigheaded decision by a player. Let’s see if he plays tomorrow.I doubt it he can hardly walk off here. Now Gardner pinch-hitting for Swisher with two strikes against him, gets one pitch here instead of two if Swisher had left earlier, strikes out. Dumb all round in my book.
Bottom 7th: Gardner in at left field. Kearns in right field. Gaudin now pitching. Encarnacion leading off, pops up to Teixeira at first. One down for Snider, grounds to first but great hustle down the line and beats out the throw, Travis really hustling there, great to see with the score of this game. Anything can happen in baseball and usually does at the most unexpected time. Wild pitch and Snider to second. Escobar with one down and one in scoring position, lines out to Teixeira. Two down. Bautista, walks. What is going on here? Wise pinch-running for Bautista. OK Cito, this game is not over, you may regret that decision if bases are loaded and Bautista is missing his at bat. Wells, there we go Vernon, singles to left here comes Travis. 11-3 game. Lind, another base hit, doubles to centre, here comes Wise, here comes Wells. 11-5 game. You never know in baseball. Hill now with Lind at second, bring him in Aaron, your turn, or better still a special into the Jays bullpen to make this game interesting, big out here for Yankees. Oh boy, lines it to Nunez at third. Jays get three more but leave another in scoring position. I think we will stay until the end of this one. Cito I hope you will not regret pulling Jose early.
Top 8th: Wise in right field. Teixeira leading off, grounds to Overbay flip to Janssen, one down. Cano grounds to Hill throw to Overbay. Two down for Thames, grounds to Escobar throw to Overbay. Yankees going quickly and quietly here.
Bottom 8th: Now can the Jays get a few more here ? Pena in at second. Overbay leading off, patience here, full count and walks, good at bat for Lyle, he knows the situation, base runners are what are needed. One on for Buck, lines to Pena at second. One down, no pinch hitter here for Encarnacion, not Cito’s style. Encarnacion lines out to Kearns in right, two down. Snider grounds to short and again beats out the throw, he can really hustle down that line, way to go Travis, you play to the very last out. Overbay to second. Two on two down for Escobar, grounds to Jeter throw to Pena at second, Snider cannot beat that one out. Jays rally ends.
Top 9th: Posada leading off, singles to centre. One down, Kearns pop up Wells.
Granderson singles to right, Posada to second. Nunez grounds to short to load the bases, Posada at third, Granderson at second. Jeter strikes out. Two down. Carlson pitching. Gardner grounds to Encarnacion throw to Overbay and that should be it for Jays pitchers tonight.
Bottom 9th: No need for Rivera tonight, Kerry Wood now pitching. Wise leading off, wonder if Cito regrets pulling Jose earlier. Wise pops up to Jeter at short one down. Wells, has had a good night for him at least with two hits but no big hits for a long time, strikes out. Final out for Jays. Lind strikes out.
Ends this horrible outing by Jays.
This was one miserable game to spend money on. Always worse to have so many Yankees fans all around you at games like tonight. However to be fair tonight they were not rubbing it in. Jays leave nine on base and are 4/13 with runners in scoring position, they had some chances to make this much closer.
The positives..... Wells and Lind with two hits each, that is a plus.Janssen some good innings of work.
Terrible pitching by Rzepczynski and Tallet although we expect it from Tallet. Terrible fielding, lousy hitting generally and with men in scoring position, and poor base running and poor judgement by coaching staff responsible for the out at home plate. Nothing much went right tonight for Jays, they need to turn it around for Wednesday game. They are too far out of wild card now to make any difference but they could make it uncomfortable for the Yankees here in Toronto by wining the series and make Yankees worry about that final home series in Toronto when the division title could be on the line. That’s what this game is all about, hope…… and dreams…
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