Jays power bats arrive to support excellent outing from Alvarez

Jays v Orioles. Game two of three.

After such an awful last night thanks to Tallet mainly but the game had got away earlier with Cecil and Encarnacion lack of hitting with bases loaded twice. Tallet gone for assignment, we saw that coming. Tonight look who is here? JoJo Reyes and do you think he is not fired up to pitch against his old club who released him. Let us hope that this is not another embarrassing night for the Jays as they are going in the opposite direction to the Orioles. They need a win badly.

Line-ups Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, and Henderson Alvarez pitching. I like Molina catching the rookie Alvarez.
Orioles: Hardy, Markakis, Jones, Guerrero, Reynolds, Andino, Reimold, Adams, Tatum and JoJo Reyes pitching.

So sad to see such an empty stadium.
Top 1st: Escobar, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Thames. 3-1 count, high ball four. One on for Bautista. Pops up to Hardy in shallow left. Two down for Lind. There goes Thames on first pitch and safe on the throw. Lines it to left, Reimold pulls it back on the top of the wall. Saved a two run home run there. Adam you have to hit it harder. 15 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Hardy grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Lind for the first out. Markakis grounds to Kelly Johnson at second, throw to Lind for second out. Jones, full count, strikes out swinging. Nice inning for Alvarez. Pitch count 13.

Top 2nd: Encarnacion who had one of his worst evenings in a long time unable to get a hit with bases loaded twice. He owes the team tonight. That’s a good start, lines it off the wall in right centre, leadoff double. Johnson, grounds to Reynolds at first for the out as Encarnacion moves to third. One down for Lawrie. No problem, lines first pitch to left centre wall, here comes Encarnacion. 1-0 Jays and double for Lawrie. Molina, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to Reynolds for second out. McCoy, grounds to Andino at third, throw to Reynolds for third out. Pitch count 30.
Bottom 2nd: Guerrero leading off. Bounces high back to Alvarez over his glove to Escobar, throw to Lind for the out. Reynolds, full count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Andino. Full count, lines to Bautista in right. Another good inning for Alvarez. 27 pitch count.

Top 3rd: Escobar, singles to right, throw back to first Reynolds falls on top of Escobar, body slam from Reynolds, that would hurt. Looks like his shoulder. All Ok. Thames, lines this one into the right field corner, Escobar chugging around the bases, and scores 2-0 Jays. Escobar goes through the stop sign of Butterfield, Thames to second, Bautista lines it to Markakis in right, throw back but Thames tags and goes to third. Lind, one down and runner at third. Lines it past Reynolds into right field. Here comes Thames. 3-0 Jays. Encarnacion with Lind at first, one down. Singles into right and Lind to third. Two on one down for Johnson. Bergesen warming up in bullpen. NO DOUBT about this one, Kelly hammers it into right field seats, three run home run. Kelly’s first Toronto home run. 6-0 Jays. Lawrie, nice smile on face of Johnson. When was the last home run by second base? Lawrie 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Molina. This one is hammered in to left field. Over the fence and into the seats, home run Jose. 7-0 Jays. And that is end of night for JoJo Reyes. 56 pitches, seven runs. Bergesen now pitching. Finally and I mean finally, Jays bats get going. We have waited far too long for this. McCoy, full count, grounds to Andino throw to Reynolds for the out. Jays score six and neither Bautista or Lawrie get a run. That IS interesting.
Bottom 3rd: Alvarez can now relax. Reimold, how would you like to come for first at bat of the game with a 7-0 deficit? 2-2 count, bounces back to Alvarez, throw to Lind, one down. Adams, singles into shallow centre. One on one down for Tatum, 0-2 count, grounds to Escobar, over to Johnson, to Lind at first double play ball. Perfect. Pitch count 40.

Top 4th: Escobar leading off. 2-0 count, pulls it past Hardy into left. Thames, lines it to Markakis in right gets past Markakis as he dives for the catch, Escobar to third and Thames to second as ball hits the umpire in the foot. Bautista grounds to Reynolds at first, here comes Escobar to score, Thames to third 8-0 Jays. Lind, one down runner at third. Lind hammers this one to centre OH off the top of the wall and here comes Thames. 9-0 Lind to second. Encarnacion, OH BOY there goes Edwin, high into left seats, two run home run 11-0 Jays. Edwin 3-3 tonight, where was this last night Edwin? Johnson, strikes out on three pitches, two down. Bautista, and McCoy remain the only ones without a hit !!!! Lawrie, lines it right at Hardy for third out. Jays POWER, we have waited all season long for this.
Bottom 4th: Hardy leading off. 0-2 count, fly ball to Bautista in right, one down. Markakis, full count, bounces to Johnson, throw to Lind, two down. Jones, full count, grounds to Johnson throw to Lind for the out. Pitch count 59.
Top 5th: Molina off the end of his bat to Bergesen, throw to Reynolds one down, McCoy, 3-0 count, high ball four, one on for Escobar, grounds to second, nice diving save, throw to Hardy over to Reynolds to get Escobar who is just ambling down to first base, come on Yunel, hustle and heart remember. Double play ball to end this one.

Bottom 5th: Guerrero grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind one down. Reynolds, strikes out swinging, two down for Andino, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind for third out, three up and down. 70 pitch count.

Top 6th: Thames, Patton now pitching. Thames bounces one to Adams, and throw not in time. THAT is hustle Yunel. Bautista without a hit. 1-2 count, WHOA !!!! finally Jose connects HIGH into left, and two run home run 13-0 JAYS. Lind with nobody out, Adam unlucky twice tonight with hits to the walls, just missing home runs. fly ball to Jones in centre, one down. Encarnacion 3-3 tonight, needs triple for cycle. not this time strikes out swinging, Johnson lines opposite field hit for single, this guy had a great swing. One on two down for Lawrie, 3-1 count, grounds to Hardy, throw to Adams for third out.
Bottom 6th: Reimold, grounds to Escobar throw to Lind, one down for Adams. Off the end of his bat to Alvarez, throw to Lind, two down. Tatum, lines to Escobar throw to Lind for third out, six pitch inning. 76 pitch count.

Top 7th: Molina, 0-2 count, lines to Jones in centre, one down for McCoy. Waiting for his first hit tonight. 1-2 count, strikes out looking, you will not get a hit that way Mikey. Escobar two down, 0-2 count, singles past Adams into right. Adams did not see that ball and did not move until too late, that was weird. Thames three hit night. Pops it up to Adams at second for the out.
Bottom 7th: Angle pinch hitting grounds to Escobar, throw not in time. Lind tags him way before the bag but called safe. Wow. Error to Escobar. That is tough one Yunel. Jake Fox pinch hitting. Grounds to Lawrie, over to Johnson over to Lind double play. Two down for Jones. 0-2 count, bounces up the middle to Johnson, nice play Kelly and throw to Lind for third out. 85 pitch count.

Top 8th: Bautista leading off, Zach Phillips now pitching in his major league debut and facing Jose, poor guy. DeWayne wise pinch hitting and singles up the middle. Teahen pinch hitting for Lind, strikes out swinging, one down. Encarnacion, 3-4 night needs a triple for the cycle. 3-1 count, lines this one to left bounces off a fan leaning over, umpire calls a double, Wakamatsu out to appeal, umpires call for a review of the play. Double or home run? Double it is. Kelly Johnson, pops it up to Angle in left. Two down for Lawrie 3-1 count, high ball four, bases loaded for Molina, grounds back to Phillips throw to first to end the inning. Jays leave the bases loaded.
Bottom 8th: Wise in right, Teahen at first. Alvarez still out there. Guerrero. Lines it past Escobar into left, one on for Reynolds, 0-2 count, strikes out looking. One down for Andino, singles to Wise in right. Guerrero to second. Reimold, 0-2 count, nice pitch down and away strikes out swinging, two down for Adams, grounds to Escobar, flip to Johnson for third out. Pitch count 97. Excellent outing by Alvarez. That will probably be it tonight, great game Henderson.

Top 9th: Jakubauskas now pitching McCoy hitless tonight so far. Stays hitless as he grounds to Andino now playing at second throw to Fox at first, one down for Escobar. Grounds to Andino throw to Fox bounces off him and Escobar safe. Fourth hit for Escobar. Thames, grounds to Reynolds at third, throw wild at first and Escobar all the way to third, error to Reynolds. Wise, grounds to Tatum throw to Fox at first, Escobar stays put at third. Teahen, two down. Just misses this one foul right. Strikes out swinging.
Bottom 9th: Rommie Lewis to pitch. Tatum leading off. 0-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Teahen for the out. Angle, lines to left, Thames misses this one, misjudged the line on that one. Double for Angle. Fox, one down one on, 1-2 count, grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Teahen at first two down for Jones. 0-2 count, strikes out looking.

Jays finally show some power, in fact lots of it, and destroy Baltimore 13-0, a 20 hit attack. Everyone contributing.

The excellent: Alvarez, a perfect outing for eight innings. Gave the bullpen a much needed rest and also gave the rotation a much needed win after so many sub-par starts by the rotation.
Kelly Johnson, starting to come alive now, first home run for Jays two hits one to right the other to left, love that swing. Thames, Escobar and Encarnacion all with four hit night. Home runs from Molina, Encarnacion, Bautista and Kelly Johnson.

The not so good: Escobar ambling to first on hit in the 5th. Back end of double play.
Tomorrow an afternoon game. It would be nice if Jays could start a winning streak here. Unlikely with New York on Friday but at least make it a two game streak tomorrow.

Cecil, Encarnacion and Tallet combine to blow this game for the Jays

Jays v Orioles. Game one of three.

Jays head to Baltimore on a high note having finally won a game against the Rays. However Baltimore is the type of team that will give them trouble. Jays this season have played badly against the teams at the bottom of their divisions such as Houston, Oakland, Seattle, and Baltimore. This is by no means an easy series the way the Jays are playing out the season.

Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Arencibia, McCoy and Cecil pitching.
Orioles: Hardy, Markakis, Jones, Guerrero, Wieters, Reynolds, Andino, Reimold, Adams and Guthrie pitching.

Top 1st: Escobar, grounds right back to Guthrie, throw to Reynolds at first one down. Thames. Lines it to left centre, Reimold pulls it back over the wall, two down. That could have been a home run. Bautista, 2-2 count, lines it to Reynolds for the third out. Pitch count 13.
Bottom 1st: Orioles line-up Hardy, pops up to Johnson, one down. Markakis, grounds to third, Lawrie a bullet to Lind for second out. Last night Kelly Johnson told Lawrie to tone it down with the velocity, he was throwing it so hard to his fellow infield. Brett is all or nothing guy. Jones. 2-2 count, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Lind for the out. 13 pitch count.

Top 2nd: Lind leading off. Fly ball to Jones in centre. Encarnacion, full count, ball flour, Edwin walks, Johnson who had three hits last night. Full count, inside ball four, two on for Lawrie, drives this one big-time and into the left field seats, three run home run for Lawrie and Jays get out ahead 3-0. Arencibia, one down, full count, Guthrie working very quickly. Pops it up to Adams behind second base. Two down for McCoy. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Jays have a lead now to work with.
Bottom 2nd: Guerrero, singles to centre for McCoy. Wieters, oh boy Cecil, come on, Wieters drives it to centre over the fence two run home run. 3-2 game so much for a three run lead. Reynolds, not the guy you want to see here. Full count. Lines it to Lawrie at third, off his glove, and Reynolds safe at first. Still nobody out. Andino. 3-0 count. Cecil a mess right here. High ball four, two on, nobody out. Reimold, 22 pitches and still nobody out. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, could not hold up. One down Adams, pops it up to McCoy, does not see it, how much longer does McCoy have to play out there he is not a centre fielder. Thames helps him out to make the catch, two down. Hardy, 2-2 count, full count, will be loading the bases. Strikes out swinging but far too late for Cecil as his pitch count is already 45 yes 45 pitches. I think the bullpen will once again be called upon and probably before the 5th inning at this rate. 32 pitch inning, wow that is terrible Cecil.

Top 3rd: Looks like the offence will have to score double figures here tonight whilst Cecil is pitching. Escobar leading off. bounces one over Guthrie and Adams bobbles the ball and Escobar safe at first. One on for Thames. 2-2 count, strikes out on high ball outside. Bautista, one on one down. 2-2 count, whoa that was HIGH, way over his head, full count. singles to right, Escobar to second. Two on for Lind. Strikes out swinging, two down two on for Encarnacion. Breaks his bat as he flies out to Reimold in left. Encarnacion leaves two out there. 68 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: Markakis leading off. Fly ball to McCoy in centre, one down for Jones, grounds back to Cecil, throw to Lind, two down. Guerrero, grounds to Lawrie throw to Lind and a three up and down inning for Cecil to get back on track. 53 pitch count.

Top 4th: Johnson fly ball to Jones in centre. Lawrie, ouch hits him on the arm. Arencibia with Lawrie at first. Now maybe Brett can run here. Distract Guthrie at minimum. There he goes but Arencibia fouls it off. 1-2 singles to centre, Lawrie to second. Two on one down for McCoy, full count, strikes out swinging. Escobar, with two on and two down. 1-2 count grounds to Hardy throw to first to end the inning. Jays leave two more out there. Guthrie pitch count 87 and after only four innings.
Bottom 4th: Wieters, full count, strikes him out looking, nice pitch, one down. Reynolds, high pop up to Escobar, two down. Andino, lines it high to the scoreboard in right, stand up double. Reimold, oh boy, grounds to Cecil, his throw high over Lind. And Andino comes in to score, 3-3 game. Error to Cecil, there was no play on that ball Cecil. Adams, full count, singles back up the middle Reimold to third on the play. Hardy, high fly ball to Thames in left for the final out, but what a mess by Cecil. 78 pitch count. Once again the bullpen has to work before the sixth inning. When oh when is this rotation going to get their act together.

Top 5th: Guthrie not much better than Cecil with 87 pitch count. Who has the worst bullpen tonight at least. Thames leading off, that will do it, lines it over the head of Markakis in right. Stand up double for Thames. Bautista. 3-1 pops it to Reynolds leaves it to Wieters and he drops the ball. Error to Wieters. Bautista gets a life. Two on for Lind. Lines it into right. Thames held up at third. Bases loaded for Encarncion TERRIBLE grounds first pitch back to Guthrie, throw to Wieters and over to Reynolds double play ball. Can Johnson do it? Two in scoring position. Drives it high to centre field but Jones makes the catch at the wall. Not far enough. And Orioles get out of bases loaded and nobody out without a run scored. That was rock bottom hitting. Encarnacion takes the major blame for that one.
Bottom 5th: Markakis, very nice pops it up to left and Thames makes great catch leaning into the crowd. One down. Jones, 3-0 count, ball four outside. Cecil not helping himself tonight. One down one on for Guerrero. Full count, Cecil tempting the fates here. Lines it off the wall in right, here comes Jones and Guerrero going all the way to third, Bautista throw to Lawrie gets Guerrero. Great throw by Jose forget the cut-off guy. Two down but Orioles get the lead 4-3. Wieters pops it up to Bautista makes nice running catch to end the inning. 98 pitch count. It does not look as if Cecil will be leaving with the lead tonight but he has only himself to blame for a very poor outing tonight.

Top 6th: Guthrie on 100 pitch count but has the lead now for first time in the game. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Arencibia, pops it up to Hardy at short, two down. McCoy, grounds to third, throw to Reynolds to make the out. Three up and down,
Bottom 6th: Reynolds, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Andino, grounds first pitch to Escobar, throw to Lind for the second out. Reimold, full count, singles to Thames in left. One on two down for Adams. 2-2 count, pops it up to McCoy for third out.

Top 7th: Jays running out of chances now. Guthrie out of the game but has a chance for the win. Jim Johnson now pitching, top of the Jays order Escobar lines it to Reynolds at first, great play to get Escobar. Thames, lines it to left and off the wall over head of Reimold, stand up double for Thames. Bautista pops it up to Adams in shallow right for the out. Lind, 1-2 count, pops it up to Wieters to get third out.
Bottom 7th: Carreno now pitching. Cecil had the early big lead but blew it. Hardy leading off. 2-2 count, pulls it into left field corner for stand up double. One on for Markakis, 3-0 count, ball four, two on nobody out for Jones, perfect grounds to Escobar, to Johnson over to Lind double play ball, two down and Hardy to third. Guerrero, full count, grounds to Johnson throw to Lind. Leaves Hardy out there at third.

Top 8th: Encarnacion has a chance to redeem himself here with a big one although a single would have scored two last at bat. The good news is that he cannot ground into a double play. Johnson still pitching. Pulls it to third, Andino makes great throw to Reynolds for the out. Johnson, strikes out swinging. Two down for Lawrie. 2-2 count, pops it up to Adams. Jays will be seeing Kevin Gregg in the 9th.
Bottom 8th: Camp now pitching. Wieters leading off. Pulls it to Bautista in right. One on for Reynolds, 3-1 count, outside ball four, two on and nobody out, Camp is nowhere near the pitcher he used to be. Andino bunts to Camp throw to Lawrie gets the out at third. No chance to double up as throw was too high. One down for Reimold. 3-1 count, ball four, Camp walks the bases loaded. Adams, he will be swinging here. 2-1 count, Pops it up Johnson at second, two down for Hardy. Bases still loaded. Grounds to Lawrie at third, takes it himself for the out.

Top 9th: Last three for the Jays. Gregg pitching and going for save number 20, yes 20 saves for Kevin this season. Ah well. Arencibia singles to left on first pitch. Dewayne Wise pinch running. McCoy, showing bunt, playing for one run. 3-0 count, crowd getting restless here. Ball four and McCoy walks. Boos for Kevin. Two on for Escobar. Also showing bunt. 2-1 count, there goes Wise and steals third followed by McCoy double steal runners at second and third. Andino was off the bag at third and gave Wise he chance to take third. Nobody out 3-1 count. Lines it to Markakis, here comes the run 4-4 and McCoy tags to go to third. One down for Thames. 2-2 count. Lines to left for the out, McCoy fakes tag and does not go. Throw right on the money. Bautista now, will they pitch to him. No way, intentional walk for Jose. Two on two down for Lind. Make them pay Adam. 3-0 count, ball four and bases are loaded for guess who. Encarnacion, we have been here before tonight. There goes his bat into left field, too bad it was not the ball. 0-2 count. Grounds to Hardy at short throw to second for the out, Encarnacion has had two chances with bases and loaded and come up empty handed. Awful, just awful. What is wrong with this guy.
Bottom 9th: Molina now catching. Casey Janssen now pitching. Second night in a row. Markakis, 3-0 count, ball four, Markakis at first. Jones, 0-2 count, perfect, grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Johnson at second over to Lind double play. Guerrero, 3-1 count, careful Casey to this guy. Full count, bounces to Lind throw to Janssen for third out.

Top 10th: Willie Eyre now pitching. Johnson, VERY nice, lines it opposite field high to left corner, bounces back into the field and Kelly all the way to third. Lawrie, NO pops it up to Adams at second. One down for Molina, 3-1 count, ball four and wild pitch, Molina waving in Johnson and Jays score 5-4 wow. Molina to first on the walk. McCoy. Bounces to Hardy throw to second over to first not in time. Molina out at second but McCoy beats out the throw. Escobar with McCoy at first, there goes McCoy and out at second on the throw from Wieters, not sure about that one Mikey especially with top of the order at bat.
Bottom 10th: Something wrong with Janssen and now Tallet is out there. Came off the DL this week but is he really the one to be out there right now. Wieters leading off. 3-1 count, ball four, same old Tallet. Reynolds another 3-1 count, ball four, two walks to lead off. Andino showing bunt, 1-2 count, foul ball and Andino out. That is a break. One down. Jake Fox pinch hitting, 1-1 singles to Bautista in right, Wieters scores 5-5 game. Reynolds to third. Still only one out. Adams, yet another 3-1 count, lines it to right centre, no play for Bautista. Orioles win 6-5 but Jays throw this one away several times.

This team is playing so badly. 2/14 with runners in scoring position is very poor. Jays lose to the worst team in the AL. Jays have now won three games in the last eleven. It will be interesting to see if Tallet is re-assigned.

The good: Yes there was some. Lawrie three run home run. Kelly Johnson triple in the 9th.
The not so good. Cecil given a three run lead gives it up immediately to the first two hitters he faced after. His throwing error in the 4th. Tallet inability to throw strikes. 23 pitches 14 balls. He will love his ERA of 54.00.
Encarnacion in the 5th inning, bases loaded and grounds into a double play, how many is that this season, definitely trade or is that shark bait in the off-season. Bases loaded in the 9th and grounds out. Twice in one game.

Jays beat Rays 7-3 to avoid the sweep.

Rays v Jays. Final Game of four game series.

Jays facing an embarrassing sweep by the Rays. I hope every one of them looked in the mirror this morning and said no way. This is not just a poor series for the pitchers, the hitters have been non-existent. A lousy time to go into a slump but perhaps this is their last one for the season and they will have an amazing September. Most of the games will be against the Eastern playoff hopes so Jays have a great opportunity to play spoiler in many of the games and at the same time look at the 2012 line-up in more detail.

Line-ups: Rays: Jennings, Damon, Longoria, Zobrist, Kotchman, Upton and Wade pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Arencibia, Wise and Romero pitching.

Top 1st: Jennings leading off, 3-0 count, ball four. Romero having problems finding the strike zone. Damon, lines this one to right and just over the fence in the corner. Rays go out ahead 2-0. This is not the start that Jays had hoped for with Romero. Longoria fly ball to Wise in centre, one down. Zobrist strikes out. Two down for Kotchman, grounds to Escobar but long throw not in time. Upton with one on, fly ball to Bautista in right to make the out and end the misery for Romero. Rays send six to the plate in the first inning and Romero pitch count is 28 that is definitely not a good start Ricky.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, full count and ball four, nice at bat Yunel. One on for Thames, grounds to Zobrist at second base, throw to Rodriguez at short to get Escobar. One down for Thames. Wild pitch and Thames moves to second. Another wild pitch and Thames at third. Bautista not getting much here, full count. ball four. Two on for Lind back in the line-up after a “rest day” yesterday. No Adam, that is awful, grounds to Zobrist at second, throw to Rodriguez over to Kotchman at first, double play ball.

Top 2nd: Joyce leading off, lines out to Thames in left, one down. Jaso, one down, strikes out. Two down. Rodriguez full count and ball four. One on two down for Jennings, fly ball to Bautista. Much better for Romero but still trails the Rays.
Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion fly ball to Joyce in right. One down for Kelly Johnson, fly ball to Jennings in left. Two down. Lawrie, there we go Brett, singles to centre. One on two down for Arenciba, There goes Lawrie and safe at second, Arencibia strikes out and leaves Lawrie in scoring position.

Top 3rd: Damon leading off, pops this one up to Lawrie at third, one down. Longoria, lines it to the wall in centre, Longoria with stand up triple. Romero in trouble again. Zobrist grounds back to Romero, he has Longoria picked off here and tag him in a rundown between Arencibia and Lawrie. One down Kotchman, grounds back to pitcher and under glove of Romero, safe at first on the error, Zobrist moves to third. More problems for Romero. Upton, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind. No damage done.
Bottom 3rd: Wise leading off strikes out. Not having much luck yet but his bat seems slow and he is holding it behind his head which would slow that swing down, I am sure that Jays coaches are working with him. Escobar singles to centre. Thames doubles to right, Escobar to third. Interesting situation. Bautista grounds to Zobrist throw to Kotchman to get Jose but run scores and Jays cut lead in half. 2-1 Rays. Thames moves to third. Lind, this one will do, hammers it to right centre, over the fences and Jays take the lead with two run home run, 3-2 Jays. Encarnacion grounds to Rodriguez throw to Kotchman at first.

Top 4th: Joyce grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Lind. Jaso, singles to centre. Rodriguez grounds to Lawrie throw to Johnson, Jaso out. Two down for Jennings, grounds to Lawrie throw to Lind for the third out.
Bottom 4th: Kelly Johnson leading off singles to centre. Lawrie grounds to Longoria throw to Kotchman, for the out but Johnson moves to second. Arencibia, doubles to left here comes Johnson to score, 4-2 Jays. Wise, grounds to Zobrist throw to Kotchman, Arencibia to third. Escobar singles to left, here comes Arencibia. 5-2 Jays. Thames singles to centre, Escobar to third. Bautista hit by a pitch, looked like his foot. Bases loaded with Thames at second. Lind, groan grounds to Zobrist at second throw to Kotchman for third out, Jays get three but with bases loaded it could have been much better.

Top 5th: Damon, there she goes, into the crowd in right, Damon’s second home run of the game and Rays get one back quickly. 5-3 Jays. Longoria, ball four and Romero walks another. Zobrist grounds to Johnson throw to Escobar, over to Lind, double play ball. Two down for Kotchman, fly ball to Wise in centre.
Bottom 5th: Encarnacion leading off strikes out. One down for Kelly Johnson, pops it up to right, Joyce dives for the catch but ball gets away from him and Johnson is at third base, he can run, first time we have seen him going flat out. Triple for Kelly. Lawrie, full count and ball four, two on base for Arencibia. Here comes Maddon. That is it for Wade. Gomes now pitching. This will do fine, Arencibia, singles to centre, Johnson scores 6-3 Jays. Lawrie to second. Wise, strikes out.two down for Escobar, there goes Lawrie to third and now Arencibia, delayed double steal. Both runners safe and now in scoring position for Escobar, grounds to Longoria, throw to Kotchman to end the threat but the Jays add another.

Top 6th: Upton leading off, doubles to Thames in left. Romero still having problems but this should be his last inning. Joyce grounds to Escobar throw to Lind, to get Joyce but Upton moves to third. Jaso full count, ball four. Two on and only one down. Rodriguez, perfect, grounds to Lawrie throw to Kelly Johnson upended by tackle of Jaso but gets his throw away to to Lind, and to get Rodriguez. Double play ball, very nice from Johnson to complete that play with Jaso all over him. Romero manages to finish this sixth inning and I doubted that early in this game.
Bottom 6th: Howell now pitching. Thames leading off grounds to Zobrist at second, throw to Kotchman for the out. Bautista, whoa gets all of this one and high bullet to left, hits the brick facing on third deck. Home run number 38. 7-3 Jays. Lind, strikes out. Two down for Encarnacion, singles to left. Kelly Johnson, there goes Encarnacion and safe at second, stolen base Edwin. Full count Kelly Johnson ball four. Lawrie strikes out. Two left on base.

Top 7th: That is it for Romero tonight. He struggled all night long and his pitch count was very high from the first inning. Jesse Litsch pitching. Jennings singles to left. One on for Damon, 3-0 count, ball four, Jennings to second. Here we go again. Two on for Longoria. We all remember that three run home run that Jesse gave up last week. Longoria strikes out. One down for Zobrist, lines it right at Escobar steps on the bag to get Damon for double play ball and Litsch is off the hook.
Bottom 7th: Cruz now pitching. Arencibia pops it up to right Joyce unable to get it and ball bounces away. Great chance here for Wise, strikes out. Not a good night for Dewayne. One down for Escobar, grounds to Rodriguez, great diving save by Rodriguez, and from his knees throw to Kotchman at first. Where is Arencibia ? did not move from third, surely should have come home on that play. That is it for Cruz, McGee now pitching. Thames grounds to Kotchman at first, takes it himself to the bag to end the inning and leave Arencibia at third. Not good at all with that leadoff triple and three poor attempts to bring him in. Jays major weakness.

Top 8th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Kotchman, leading off, grounds back to Janssen. No mistake about this one Casey almost hands the ball to Lind for the first out. Upton pops up to Lawrie, two down for Joyce, fly ball to centre for Wise to make the third out. An easy inning for Janssen. Now can the Jays add on to this lead.
Bottom 8th: Bautista leading off, pops it up to Zobrista at second, one down. Lind strikes out swinging, two down. Encarnacion, full count and takes ball four. That is it for McGee, Ramos now pitching. Kelly Johnson singles to right, Encarnacion moves to second. Lawrie, two on two down, lines to Jennings in left to end the inning.

Top 9th: Francisco now pitching to save this one, a long time since Jays were in that situation. Jaso leading off, grounds to Lind, takes it himself to the bag, one down. Rodriguez bounces to Lawrie, strong throw to Lind for the second out. Jennings, this should do it, grounds to Lawrie and a bullet to Lind for the out.

Jays win 7-3 and avoid ignominious sweep. They also put a dent in Tampa’s faint play-off hopes which feels very good after this weekend series. The Jays could be doing this throughout September to Boston and the Yankees.

The very good: Jays all round much better performance. Maybe Romero was not as sharp as usual which hurt him in the pitch count. Litsch, Janssen, and Francisco held Tampa for the much needed win and some impetus as they head out on the road to Baltimore.
Breakout night for Kelly Johnson who went 3-4, Arencibia also 3-4. But home run power from Lind and Bautista was great to see. Escobar and Thames two hits and Escobar an excellent night on base three times with two hits and a walk.

The not so good: High pitch count by Romero shortened his outing and unable to give this overworked bullpen any rest.
The very bad: RISP tonight Jays went 4/16 with runners in scoring position. That is really bad.

Jays humiliated as they near rock bottom with fourth loss in a row,

Rays v Jays Game three of four.

So far a bust of the series as far as Jays are concerned but with Alvarez and Perez they probably did not expect much more anyway. Today they hope for better things with Morrow. On the other hand will the real Morrow stand up and pitch today. Like Jekyll and Hyde Morrow has been so inconsistent that who knows what he will bring today. But for many fans the trade with Brandon League has been one sided with League quite dominant as a closer so far this season. Would the Jays have such a closer. Morrow with wins so far has been a bust in 2011 no question.

Line-ups: Rays: Jennings, Damon, Longoria, Zobrist, Kotchman, Upton, Joyce, Jaso, Rodriguez and Price pitching has an 8-1 record against the Jays. Good luck today.
Jays: McCoy and this will tell you what to expect today. Escobar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Molina, Thames, Arencibia and Morrow pitching.

Top 1st: Jennings well that’s a great start for Morrow, lines it into the Jays bullpen first pitch, 1-0 Rays. Start off with fastball right down the middle and you deserve what you get Brandon. Could be a long day today friends. Damon, grounds to Kelly Johnson at second, throw to Encarnacion at first, one down. Longoria, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Zobrist, strikes out looking but Jays already coming from behind which seems to be the pattern all weekend against this Rays team.
Bottom 1st: McCoy leading off, full count, ball four, one on for Escobar, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Bautista, has still not apologised for his outburst and some fans are upset at that rightly so, he is supposed to be a role model for the kids like it or not. He has some reputation to rebuild. There goes McCoy and wild pitch enables him to steal without a throw. Runner in scoring position for Bautista. full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Encarnacion, strikes out swinging. Jays once again unable to bring in the runner from second.

Top 2nd: Kotchman, grounds to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion at first, one down for Upton, full count, ball four, Brandon you do not want Upton on base. One on, one down, Joyce, wild pitch and Upton to second. How many times have we seen this from both Jays catchers this season. There goes Upton and steals third without a throw. Is anybody checking on him. Both pitchers and catcher there at fault. Strikes out swinging. Two down. Jaso, lines it down third base line, here comes Upton and Jason safe at second, 2-0 Rays. Rodriguez, lines this one into second deck in left, two run home run and this one is getting out of hand early for Morrow, 4-0 Rays. Jennings, here goes another, high into left field bullpen, 5-0 Rays. Two home runs for Jennings in two innings. Damon, strikes out swinging but three runs with two down and two strikes, bad bad, bad. Morrow has dug a very deep hole for a team that is not hitting and against a pitcher of calibre of Price.
Bottom 2nd: Johnson, strikes out on three pitches, Lawrie, strikes out looking, two down. Molina, full count, singles to right, one on for Thames, strikes out looking. Too easy for Price now just throwing strikes.

Top 3rd: Longoria leading off. full count, lines it to McCoy in centre. Zobrist, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Kotchman, 1-2 count, strikes out, two down for Upton, singles to McCoy in shallow centre, two on two down. Joyce, bounces first pitch back to Morrow throw to Encarnacion for third out.
Bottom 3rd: Arencibia, first bat today, strikes out looking on three pitches, not worth waiting that long for that JP. One down for McCoy, bounces to Zobrist at second throw to first two down for Escobar, 0-2 count, strikes out looking. That is four players who have taken that third strike. When will they get the message that Price is hitting that corner today.

Top 4th: Jaso, full count, pops up to Lawrie in shallow left. One down for Rodriguez, grounds to Lawrie, throw to first for the out. Two down for Jennings 3-0 count, ball for semi-intentional walk here, Morrow is not giving up three home runs to this guy. One on two down for Damon. 2-2 Jennings going, throw there but ruled safe. Full count, grounds to Johnson, bobbles the ball and both runners safe. Error to Johnson. Longoria, pops it up to McCoy in centre.
Bottom 4th: Bautista leading off. 0-2 count, takes strike three. One down for Encarnacion, singles into centre. Johnson, 2-2 count, takes strike three, sounds like a broken record but Jays hitters have to get the message from the umpire here, he is giving that call to Price. Lawrie, full count, pops it up to Zobrist at second for the out.

Top 5th: Zobrist, grounds to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion one down. Kotchman, hits him looked like the bat on replay. But not winning this argument with umpire. One on for Upton, pops it up to Johnson at second. Two down for Joyce, pops up to Lawrie for third out.
Bottom 5th: Molina leading off. Strikes out looking, one down for Thames, grounds to Kotchman at first throw to Price for the second out. Arencibia, strikes out swinging. Number twelve for Price now.

Top 6th: Jaso, full count, fly ball to Thames in left, one down for Rodriguez, another full count. ball four, and that’s it for Morrow. He ate some innings but that is all he did today, yet another poor outing and Jays management must be concerned with the inconsistency. 114 pitches today. Rommie Lewis now pitching. One down one on. Jennings, full count, grounds to Lawrie, thought about second and hesitated before going to first, not in time. Two on for Damon, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Longoria. 0-2 count, pops it up to Lawrie at third. Nice pitching by Lewis to help out Morrow’s ERA.
Bottom 6th: McCoy, 3-1 count, ball four, leadoff walk, his second today. Escobar, lines it to Joyce in right, one down for Bautista. Jose high fly ball to Upton in centre, I don’t think that Jose will not want to remember this weekend. Encarnacion with two down, hit and run grounds to third, nice defensive play by Longoria to throw to first to get Encarnacion.

Top 7th: Lewis still pitching. Zobrist, full count, ball four, one on for Kotchman, hits him, two on nobody out. Upton, pops it up to McCoy in shallow centre. One down for Joyce, full count, lines it t Bautista in right, off his glove, error to Bautista, nothing going right for Jose this weekend. Runner Kotchman scores 6-0 and both runners in scoring position. Jaso grounds to Escobar, runners hold, throw to Encarnacion for second out. Rodriguez fly ball to McCoy.
Bottom 7th: Price still out there, a few more fans have left this one. Not as big a crowd as yesterday or Friday and I fear attendance tomorrow will be even less. This team is not playing attractive baseball right now. Johnson leading off. Strikes out looking. Number thirteen for Price. Lawrie, 2-2 count, lines it off Price and beats out throw at first, speed helps Lawrie here. Molina, now they can send Lawrie surely, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. New record for Rays at 14. Thames, not even a throw over to first, come on Jays lets have some aggressive play here. Nothing to lose the way they are playing, plus it would get what crowd is left back into the game. Fly ball to Upton in centre for the out. Very disappointed in Wakamatsu in not sending Lawrie. Hurry back John.

Top 8th: Carreno in to eat an inning. Jennings, fly ball to McCoy one down for Damon, singles to Thames in left. Longoria, full count, ball four, two on one down for Zobrist, 2-2 count, strikes him out swinging. Two down for Kotchman 3-0 count, ball four to load the bases for Upton. Ouch. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Encarnacion for third out.
Bottom 8th: Brandon Gomes now pitching. Arencibia leading off. Grounds to Longoria at third, throw to Kotchman at first one down for McCoy. 3-0 ball four and McCoy walk for third time. Problem is that no one can bring him in. Escobar, singles to Upton in centre, two on and nobody out. Can they do it this inning. Bautista 3-1 count, they can see Teahen on deck and want to get to him. Full count, takes third strike !!!, come on Jose, he is really playing badly right now. Two down. Teahen pinch hitting for Encarnacion, not sure I agree with this. Edwin is the type who can hit a three run home run not Teahen. First pitch fly ball to left for the out, Pathetic.

Top 9th: Lots of empty seats. Ledezma pitching. Teahen at first for Edwin. Joyce leading off. Full count, lines it to McCoy in centre, does not get it (and that is exactly why Dewayne Wise is on the team) bounces over the wall for double. That was catchable by a good centre fielder note to Wakamatsu. Jaso lines it to the wall and again McCoy unable to get to it, futile dive and ball gets past him and allows Jaso to get to third. Joyce scores 7-0 Rays. Rodriguez, 3-1 and another ball four, two walks in the inning, two on and still nobody out. Not good here Ledezma. Jennings, 2-2 count, singles to McCoy, here comes Jaso. 8-0 Rays and still nobody out and nobody working in bullpen you are eating this inning Ledezma. Damon, grounds to Teahen takes it himself for the first out, jeers for Ledezma for the out but both runners move up and are in scoring position for Longoria. Fly ball to McCoy, both runners tag, Rodriguez scores 9-0 Rays. Two down and runner at third. Zobrist, bounces first pitch up the middle, and Jennings scores, 10-0 Rays. Runner at first and two down for Kotchman, boos are VERY loud. Full count, ball four, two on for Upton. 0-2 count, full count, ball four, third walk and bases are loaded, BOOS, BOOS and more boos, can you believe this. Joyce, bat around inning. Cheers for a strike. 1-1 count, 3-1 count, Campo now working in bullpen. Fly ball to the wall in left over head of Thames, two runs score 12-0 Rays. Two in scoring position for. Jaso. Cheers for a strike, this is bad, bad, bad. Fly ball to McCoy in centre for final out and end to this embarrassment. Huge cheers from what is left of this crowd. Goodbye to Ledezma surely.
Bottom 9th: Gomes still pitching What can the hitters do here. I would suggest put the crowd out of their misery and let everyone go home. Johnson leading off. Full count, strikes out swinging. Oh come on Maddon, out to make a pitching change, with game at 12-0. Two more outs. That is very déclassé Joe. And bush league. I hope every Jays player is noting this for tomorrow. Ramos now pitching. Lawrie that’s the way to answer Maddon Brett, singles to left. Molina, strikes out swinging. Thames, two down one on. Strikes out looking to end this humiliating loss.

Jays go down from the very first hitter and that set the tone for today. Rays win the series and will be bringing their brooms tomorrow for the sweep. They still have hopes for the playoffs and will have no mercy on this team.
It would not surprise me if Ledezma is given an outright release, no point in sending him to Vegas.

The good: Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing from hitters, defence and definitely not pitching.

The bad: Where do we start? First inning runner on second and two chances to bring him in. First inning home run to Jennings. In the second, two down and two strikes and Morrow gives up four more runs. But what is really very, very bad, saved for the ninth inning by Ledezma. Six runs eleven hitters.
Add in the unsporting Joe Maddon to this one.

AND by the way dont look now but the Orioles have won five in a row. Jays could end up at the bottom of the division by the end of this week.

What is the answer ? Who knows but for a start they could start hitting and not put McCoy in centre field. Pitching ? well arms are already shot in the bullpen and starters have to get their act together.

Encarnacion and Thames go deep to make it close but Jays lose another to the Rays

Tampa Rays v Jays Game two of four.

The morning after the night before and the terrible meltdown by Bautista, today clean shaven, has erased the memory of the bad old Jose? He is not commenting which is probably smart if MLB is considering his penalty. However I do think it would have helped him big-time if he had apologized to the fans. Whether he likes it or not he is regarded as role model for many young children.

Line-ups: Rays: Jennings, Fuld, Longoria, Zobrist, Upton, Rodriguez, Shoppach, Johnson, Brignac and Niemann pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Lawrie, Johnson, Arencibia, DeWayne Wise in his first game back, and Perez pitching. Don Wakamatsu still interim Manager today for John Farrell suffering from pneumonia.

Top 1st: Jennings, pops up to a clean shaven Bautista in right, not sure what that is about. Clean start ? Fuld, full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, two down for Longoria full count, pops it up to right, long run by Bautista to make the catch at the wall in foul ground, Easy three up and down for Perez.17 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, bunting pops up to Niemann for the first out. What a waste. Thames, 2-2 count, singles back up the middle. Bautista, that’s the way to answer Jose, hammers it to centre off the wall here comes Thames 1-0 Jays. Jose at second. Lind there goes Jose but Lind fouls it off. Come on Adam, take one. 1-2 count, lines it to right off the wall Jose to third, thought it was being caught Lind at first, Encarnacion, pops it up, the usual hopeless Edwin with runner at third. Shallow right for the out. Johnson now, 2-1 count, grounds back to Niemann, throw to first for the out. 23 pitches.

Top 2nd: Zobrist grounds to Escobar, long throw to Lind, one down. Upton, full count, inside ball four, you don’t want Upton on base Luis. Sean Rodriguez, perfect pops it up to Lind, two down. Shoppach, there goes Upton, great throw by Arencibia, right on the money and Upton out at second. Pitch count 28.
Bottom 2nd: Lawrie leading off, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Arencibia, full count, strikes out on ball four. Two down for DeWayne Wise, grounds first pitch to second, throw to first for the out. Pitch count 34.

Top 3rd: Shoppach, 1-2 count, grounds to Lawrie, spins 360 and throw to Lind in time, nice play Brett, one down for Johnson, lines it at Lind, knocks it down but not in time to get Johnson. Brignac, one on one down. Lines it to Bautista in right, two down. Jennings, 3-1 outside ball four, Two on two down for Fuld. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging leaving two out there. Pitch count 51.
Bottom 3rd: Top of the order, Escobar. 1-2 count, looks at strike three. One down for Thames, 2-2 count, high fly ball to Upton in centre, two down for Bautista, full count, ball four, two down for Lind, hammers it hard again this time right at Upton in centre to make the catch. Two hard hit balls by Lind today. 53 pitches.

Top 4th: Longoria, 3-0 count, ball four. They can walk him every at bat as far as I am concerned, he was one big pain last night with his two home runs. Zobrist, 2-2 count, hammers it to the wall in centre, stand up double. Longoria holds at third, Perez in trouble here for the first time, two on and in scoring position with nobody out, Upton. Strikes out swinging one down, nice pitching Luis. Rodriguez, 3-0 danger of loading them up. Pulls it past Lawrie into left, fan reaches down to get the ball, dumb, here comes both runners 2-1 Rays, and Rodriguez at second for Shoppach. Déjà vu last night. There goes Rodriguez, Arencibia throw to Lawrie gets him 2-2 today for JP. Two down now Shoppach 1-2 count, strikes out looking, Joe Maddon will not like that out by Rodriguez, turns a potentially big inning into just a one run lead. 74 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Encarnacion, it is time he got back into his groove. Full count, ball four, one on for Johnson, grounds to first, throw to second safe, arguing the call as the ball popped out of his glove, Lawrie, with one down and Edwin in scoring position. Lines it to left, hits the wall in the corner, just foul. Full count, froze him with that one. Two down. Arencibia, that will do it, lines pitch into left and ball bounces into the crowd, ground rule double, here comes Edwin 2-2 game. Wise,1-2 count strikes out swinging but very high pitch count at 78 pitches.

Top 5th: Johnson, hammers it to Lawrie at third, great play and throw to Lind. One down nice play Brett. Brignac, singles to Bautista in right. One on one down for Jennings, same play, another single, two on for Fuld, bunting, great bunt but Perez throw gets Fuld. Both runners move up and into scoring position. Longoria, two down, here comes Bruce Walton. Probably says walk him. Pitching to him, 3-1 count, now they are putting him on. Should have done it from the start. Bases loaded. Zobrist, 2-2 count, strikes him out swinging. Leaves the bases loaded, that would feel good way to end for Perez. 93 pitch count. Could be his last inning today. Camp was warming up.
Bottom 5th: Escobar leading off, time to give Perez a few runs to go out of game with. Lines it softly to Elliot Johnson at second, one down for Thames. 2-2 count, drives it into shallow centre, Upton runs it down two down for Bautista. Pops up to Shoppach. 89 pitches.

Top 6th: Camp now pitching. Upton, hits it high to left but foul, Upton arguing, now the umpire and Maddon involved and now making a review. That’s ok, it was foul. 1-2 count, love it, hits him on the leg, that was for last night. One on for Rodriguez lines it past Lawrie into left, two on for Shoppach, WOW.... bunts to Camp, throw to Lawrie, gets him throw to Kelly Johnson covering first, gets Shoppach Johnson throws back to Lawrie, almost, almost a triple play, wow. Runner at third two down for Johnson, singles to right, here comes Rodriguez, 3-2 game. Brignac, Johnson takes second, 2-2 count. grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Lind for the out. Could have been a lot worse when they had two on and nobody out. Maddon will not be happy with just one.
Bottom 6th: Should be last inning for Niemann but you never know with this team when they put Shields through 128 !! pitch game last night and with nothing at stake. Lind, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging on high ball. Encarnacion, grounds to Brignac at short, throw to first, two down. Kelly Johnson, grounds to Elliot Johnson at second, throw to first to end the inning. 100 pitch count.

Top 7th: Jesse Litsch now pitching. Top of the order, Jennings leading off. 2-2 count, bounces to Lind for the out. One down for Fuld, 3-1 count, ball four, one on for Longoria. Another 3-1 count, full count, outside and a second walk for Litsch. Zobrist, another full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Upton, this is disaster, first pitch high drive into upper deck in left centre, home run all the way, 6-2 Rays. That is good bye to Litsch what a mess. He didn’t have much today at all. Janssen now to try and pick up the pieces. Rodriguez, singles to left, Shoppach, now Janssen throws it away into right field Rodriguez up to second and going to third on Bautista throw, wrong decision friend, nailed at the bag by the throw, Maddon will have a fit with that mess-up. Never run on Bautista arm, that is baseball 101 that Rodriguez obviously failed.
Bottom 7th: Kotchman in defensively for Rodriguez at first. OR is that being benched for that out at third base? Lawrie leading off, Niemann still out there, crazy. I would not buy a second-hand pitcher from the Rays. Full count, lines it to the wall in centre, easy triple for him. Not even a throw. Triple number four !!! Arencibia, moves him off the plate, nasty. Way outside the other side, way. Another high inside. It is time Jays pitchers started to throw inside but that is another story, meantime opposing teams do it constantly to the Jays. 3-1 count, perfect JP, grounds to short, here comes Lawrie, 6-3 game. Arencibia out at first but he did what he had to do. One down for Wise, no now Maddon makes the move, end of Niemann, weird but it cost them a run and who knows what arm problems later 111 pitches. Howell now pitching. Wise 1-2 count, throws it over the head of Wise. Ok I can see why Maddon wants his starters to stay in a game, his bullpen is so bad. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Escobar, grounds first pitch to Longoria at third, throw to first for the out.

Top 8th: Jansen still pitching. Shoppach, fly ball to Wise, one down. Johnson, 0-2 count, singles up the middle past diving Escobar. Kotchman, there goes Johnson, Arencibia throw to Escobar, gets him easily, two down, that is the third Ray today that has been caught stealing, you would think they get the message, but that’s ok Jays will take the three outs instead. Kotchman singles to Wise in centre. Expensive mistake by Johnson. One on two down for Jennings. Pops it up to Bautista in right.
Bottom 8th: Thames leading off. Jake McGee now pitching. 0-2 count, fouling them off here, 2-2, gets hold of this one and hammers it high into right field seats, home run to Thames, 6-4 game, this is not over yet friends. Bautista, pops up to Kotchman at first. Lind, 2-2 strikes out swinging, two down for Encarnacion. That is it for McGee. Maddon bringing in Juan Cruz to face Edwin. OH Yes Edwin, a bullet to centre into the seats, 6-5 Rays. One run game Johnson, 3-1 count, ball four. Lawrie with two down and one on, making this game interesting. Here comes the pitching coach, they really do give Lawrie lots of respect for a guy who has not been in the majors for a month. Ball one, high inside, 2-0 count, pops it up to Longoria at third to end the inning.

Top 9th; Francisco now pitching, has to hold them here. Fuld leading off, fly ball to Thames, one down for Longoria, 2-2 count, pops it up to Lind, two down for Zobrist, 3-1 count, singles to Bautista in right. Here comes trouble Upton. Zobrist steals second. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 9th: Peralta now pitching. Arencibia. First pitch pop up to Shoppach, drops the ball. Wow. Fly ball to right, one down. Wise, fly ball to left, two down for Escobar to be the hero. Base hit Yunel to keep it going. 2-2 count, fly ball to left for third out and Jays lose this one 6-5.
Jays make it close at the end but still not enough and lose their second in a row to Tampa.

Bautista ? well my theory is that he wants to let his game respond to the criticism. Lead by example by what he does not what he says.

The very good: The double play that was almost a triple play between Camp, Lawrie and Kelly Johnson. Two of the newbies which is great to see. Arencibia caught three stealing. Perez was fine for a rookie on his second start, he just had no run support. Lawrie yet another triple, fans cannot wait until he starts getting those “in the park” home runs, and they will come, no question. Bautista rbi in the first inning to get the game rolling and a great outfield assist to get Rodriguez at third. The home runs by Thames and Encarnacion to get back into the game but both were single home runs.

The not so good: Litsch unfortunately, the three run home run which was the difference in this game. The first inning also with two on and one down and Jays could not score. Escobar and Wise the only two not to get on base. Camp takes the loss but I don’t think he should be pitching right now.

Another good outing from Alvarez but Jays bats missing and Bautista loses control

Rays are in town for four, I would say an important series for the Jays not least that the Rays are only 4.5 ahead of them. But too many fans now they feel that some of the Jays are playing out the string. Today the news is that Manager Farrell has pneumonia not heart problems. DeWayne Wise has been picked up of waivers from the Marlins as Rasmus is going on the DL tomorrow. This should have meant a recall for Travis but he too has gone on the DL today and is finished for the season with tendonitis. What a roller coaster ride for Travis the last two seasons. Add on Rauch and Rajai Davis on that list and this team is looking beaten up.
My concern watching Camp, is that he may be next for shutting down with a dead arm, he has not looked sharp at all. I hope I am wrong but he was definitely overused in the first half of the season. So it looks as if we will have to wait until spring to see a healthy line-up.

Line-ups: Rays: Jennings, Damon, Longoria, Zobrist, Kotchman, Upton, Joyce, Jaso, Brignac.
Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Lawrie, Molina, McCoy and Henderson Alvarez pitching.

Top 1st: Jennings leading off grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Lind at first, one down. Damon always seems to be a pain for the Jays, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Lind, two down for Longoria, pops it up to Lind to end the inning. Good start for Alvarez.
Bottom 1st: Escobar leading off grounds to Brignac at short, throw to Kotchman at first, one down. Thames, there we go, singles to centre. One on one down for Bautista, strikes out. Jose not happy either with the umpire calls or the fact that he struck out. Lind, with two down and Thames at first, lines it to left but Jennings makes the catch

Top 2nd: Zobrist grounds to Kelly Johnson at second, throw to Lind, one down for Kotchman strikes out, two down for Upton, strikes out. Alvarez continues his good stuff.
Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion strikes out. Lawrie with one down, there we go Brett hammers this to left just over the wall by the bullpen, home run Lawrie, number five on his short major league visit. Kelly Johnson, he gets hold of this one, and lines it to the wall in left but Jennings has it for the second out but that was a very nice swing. Molina, no Jose, first pitch fly ball to Jennings in left to end the inning. But am not sure about the two pitches for two outs. I am the Yankees and Red Sox school off take a few pitches and work the count.

Top 3rd: Joyce grounds to Lind, flip to Alvarez covering the bag at first. One down for Jaso, ouch he hits him or does he? Umpire says no and Jaso pointing to his elbow. Here comes Joe Maddon and Welke is reversing the call. Fans do not like that. Here comes Jays manager and explanation is repeated. One on one down for Brignac, strikes out. Two down one on for Jennings, there she goes home run to left and Rays have a 2-1 lead. Fans are on to Jaso bigtime. Damon strikes out but damage has been done.

Bottom 3rd: McCoy leading off fly ball to Joyce in right, one down for Escobar. Grounds to third, off the glove of Longoria and Escobar safe at first. Thames, singles to right, 2-2 tonight. Escobar to second. Bautista with two on, strikes out. Jose not a happy guy. Lind with two down grounds to Zobrist at second to get Thames and third out leaving two on. Jays still struggling to score with runners in scoring position.

Top 4th: Longoria, leading off, Oh no, first pitch hammers to centre and over the wall, I think he was waiting for that pitch. 3-1 Rays. Zobrist grounds back to Alvarez throw to Lind for the first out. Kotchman, grounds to Kelly Johnson over to Lind. Two down for Upton. Full count and ball four, Upton is not the guy you want to walk Henderson. Joyce, singles to Bautista in right, Upton to second on the play, not risking Jose’s arm by trying for third. Jaso to catcalls about the health of his elbow. Fly ball to McCoy in centre. Alvarez does a nice job getting out of that mess.
Bottom 4th: Encarnacion fly ball to Upton in centre, one down for Lawrie, strikes out. Two down for Kelly Johnson, strikes out. Quick inning for Shields.

Top 5th: Brignac leading off strikes out. One down for Jennings, grounds to Lawrie at third, long throw to Lind for the second out. Damon strikes out.

Bottom 5th: Molina strikes out. McCoy full count and ball four. Jays hitters are having more success taking pitches by Shields and not getting out on wild swinging. But as long as Wayne Murphy is hitting coach they will never be patient at bat like the Yankees or Red Sox. Escobar grounds to Brignac at short to get McCoy but no chance for doubling up Escobar. Thames grounds to Kotchman at first to take it to the bag for third out. Shields looks firmly in control of this one.

Top 6th: Longoria leading off, WHOA! First pitch hammers this one to centre, over the fence, another home run, number two today. 4-1 Rays. Zobrist fly ball to Thames in left, one down. . Kotchman, full count, ball four. One on for Upton, pops it up to Lawrie for the out. Two down Joyce, grounds back to Alvarez, throw to Lind to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Bautista, Shields is pitching him all off-speed pitches, strikes out. does not like that at all. Oh NO, Bautista took his bat and hit the dugout wall so hard we can hear it from our seats, now he is shouting at Umpire Welke, and there he goes, is ejected from the game. Now he is in meltdown throwing his bat on the field, here comes his glove, helmet and finally a water bottle !! He has really lost it here and now storms down the steps out of sight. All game he has been complaining about the strikes but Shields that last at bat threw him only one fast ball, the rest was off speed stuff and most of it off the plate. Lind fly ball to Joyce in right. Encarnacion grounds to Brignac at short throw to Kotchman to end the crazy inning.
There is no justification at all for Jose losing it, he has to suck it up and go on to the next at bat. Now he has really done a lot of things here with that outburst, he is now out of the game which is hardly smart when Jays line-up is struggling so badly. He will probably be suspended thus losing another game. Now someone has to replace him from an already weakened bench, probably Teahen. He has shown to the Rays pitchers and any other scouts who may be watching the game, that he can be needled, that if they throw off-speed at him all night long. Not least he has shown a side of him that does not fit the image that many of his fans have including the young children and umpires will be making note of this and he may not be getting the good calls that he may have had earlier in the season. I for one will be interested in his comments after the game, he has to be in damage control mode and the least he can do is apologise to the umpires, his teammates and last but not least his fans. But his actions in tomorrow’s game will also speak louder than any words. At minimum Jose, stop reacting to the umpire calls each time they do not go your way.

Top 7th: Teahen it is as replacement, hardly a Jose but that bench is bereft of good replacements. Carreno now pitching. Jaso, leading off, oh no !!!!!!! hammers this one to right Teahen watches it go over the fence, home run to Jaso, 5-1 Rays. Brignac singles to left. Carreno struggling here early. Jennings with one on, strikes out. One down for Damon, grounds to Kelly Johnson at second, throw to Escobar to get Brignac but no chance for throw to Lind for two. Longoria with one on two down and two home runs, this will do though, grounds to Escobar, throw to Johnson at second to get Damon.
Bottom 7th: Lawrie leading off, strikes out. One down for Johnson, there we go Kelly, singles to Upton in centre. Molina, grounds to Longoria throw to Zobrist to get Johnson at second but unable to double up Molina Two down for McCoy. NO Jose, is there a full moon tonight, Molina stealing second and picked off by Shelds to end the inning. Why oh why and what was Molina thinking? One of the slowest runners in the majors. That was bush league Jose.

Top 8th: Zobrist grounds back to Carreno throw to Lind. One down for Kotchman, identical play, grounds back to Carreno throw to Lind for the out. Upton, with two down, strikes out.

Bottom 8th: McCoy singles to centre. Escobar with one on, strikes out. Thames, strikes out. Two down. Now Teahen, hitting in Jose’s spot, strikes out. Jose your outburst may have cost at least one if not two runs.

Top 9th: Ledezma now pitching. Joyce doubles to left. Jaso fly ball but very shallow centre to McCoy. Wild pitch, and Joyce moves to third. Brignac, pops up to Escobar at short, one down. Jennings with runner at third. Another wild pitch and NO !!!!! I don’t believe it. The ball bounces off the all right back to Molina who suddenly realizes that Joyce is coming home and is out to dry. Molina dives back to the plate but runners is ruled safe. How did that happen? The play was right in front of us, Molina had the ball with Joyce halfway home. Well as the saying goes when things go wrong it seems that everything is rotten tonight. Not a break for the Jays tonight. 6-1 Rays. Now ball four to Jennings. Damon, grounds to Johnson at second throw to Lind.
Bottom 9th: Last chance for the Jays, Shields is still out there on 105 pitches. Lind, here we go Adam, singles to right. It’s a start. Encarnacion, strikes out. One down for Lawrie, grounds to Zobrist at second, throw to Brignac to get Lind. Johnson, there goes Lawrie and takes second, defensive indifference. Shields is over 120 pitches, this is crazy, it will be interesting to see what happen to his arm but they are really pushing this unnecessarily in this situation. Must remember to check his next start and see how he does. Johnson fly ball to Jennings in left to end this very ugly performance by the Jays and their leader Jose. One that Manager Farrell recuperating at home would not be very happy about.

The good: Alvarez yes, a good outing and learning situation for him at 21. He obviously has some great stuff. Thames two hit night and Lawrie home run number five.
The bad, very bad: The lack of hitting once again, poor judgement from Molina in trying to steal, and very poor judgement by Jose Bautista who will have to do a lot to repair his reputation with that outburst.

Jays embarrassed losing series to Royals at home despite the bats showing some life

Royals v Jays. Series finale (and decider)

Third game of the series but tonight another newbie second base Kelly Johnson from the Diamondbacks. Hitting in front of Lawrie tonight. Reading the media reports, Atlanta coach Pendleton reckons he is the real thing but sounds like the same personality as Rasmus. We will see. Big plus of course is that he and Escobar would have turned double plays in Atlanta. Yankees have already won and Tampa has lost, chance for Jays to pick up one here.

Line-ups: Royals: First break for the Jays not having Gordon leading off. He was a pain last night for Romero. Giavotella, Cabrera, Butler, Hosmer, Francouer, Moustakas, Perez, Maier, Escobar and Canadian Jeff Francis pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind, Lawrie, Johnson, Arencibia, McCoy and Cecil pitching

Top 1st: Giavotella, full count, bounces to Escobar at short, throw to Lind, one down for Cabrera 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Butler, 2-1 lines it hard to third, nice catch by Lawrie. 15 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, pops up to Francouer in right, one down for Thames. First pitch, oh boy fly ball to left two down, please John move this guy down the line-up. Bautista, full count, outside ball four, one on for Encarnacion. Not sure this makes much difference between Lind or Edwin in another mini-slump right now. Grounds up the middle to second throw to Hosmer at first for third out. 16 pitches.

Top 2nd: Hosmer, bounces to Lind, takes it himself for the out, one down for Francouer, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind, two down. Moustakas, 2-2 pops it up to McCoy playing centre tonight. Pitch count 25.
Bottom 2nd: Lind, 2-2 count, grounds to second, throw to first, one down for Lawrie. Singles back up the middle. Johnson, first at bat as a Blue Jay. Pops up to Hosmer at first, that’s ok Kelly get it out of the way and now settle in, two down for Arencibia, a nubber in front of home plate, there goes Lawrie, but throw to first gets Arencibia. Pitch count 28.

Top 3rd: Perez leading off. 3-1 count, this trouble lines it into left field corner, stand up double. Maier popped up to Lawrie at third, Escobar, one down one on, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, two down. Giavotella, singles to McCoy in centre, here comes Perez. Throw not in time Arencibia throw to second not in time. 1-0 Royals. Cabrera with runner at second, two down 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. But Jays are behind once again. Cecil 43 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: McCoy, bunting first pitch throw to first and out once again on the first pitch, McCoy has to be told about this, he does it every game. Waste of an at bat. Escobar, first pitch fly ball to left, two pitches two down. Thames, lines it to the wall in centre, all the way to third. Bautista, with two down. Here we go, intentional walk, two on. Encarnacion, 1-2 count, fly ball to right for third out, Edwin leaving two more on. Pitch count 39.

Top 4th: Butler leading off. Pops it up and drops between Johnson and Bautista, just fair, miscommunication there between the two, however the good news is that Johnson had the speed to get to the play. He will be ok once he gets to play more with Jose and the others. Hosmer, grounds to Lind, one down and Butler to third. Francouer, pops it up to very shallow centre to McCoy no chance to tag and score. Two down. Moustakas, singles back up the middle and here comes Butler, 2-0 Kansas. Perez first pitch pop up to McCoy in centre. Pitch count 52.
Bottom 4th: Jays once again having to come from behind, Francis cruising tonight so far. Lind, 1-2 count, strikes out looking, one down for Lawrie, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Kelly Johnson, full count, ball four, walk for Kelly, at least he is not swinging wildly like some of his new teammates Arencibia, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. 61 pitches.

Top 5th: Maier pops it up to Bautista in shallow centre. One down. Escobar, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind two down. Giavotella, grounds to Lawrie great backhand save and long throw to Lind to get the third out. Six pitch inning for Cecil. 58 pitches.
Bottom 5th: McCoy, not bunting, 2-2 count, leading off. Lines to Maier in left for the out. Escobar bounces to Escobar, throw to Hosmer two down. Thames. Pops up to Maier in left. This is much too easy for Francis tonight. 71 pitch count. This game is just over the one hour mark, what is the hurry?

Top 6th: Cabrera, lines it into the corner in right, stand up double. Butler, no need for him to bunt, full count, singles to McCoy in centre, Cabrera to third on the play, two on and nobody out. Hosmer, this should do it, pops up to Thames in left but Cabrera holds at third. One down for Francouer singles up the middle, here comes Cabrera, 3-0 Royals. Two on one down. Moustakas, 0-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Escobar, no chance to double up, two down. Runners at first and third for Perez, lucky escape there as he lines it to left corner but just foul, saves two runs. 1-2 count, singles to Thames in left, here comes the run, throw to third and Perez to second, two more in scoring position 4-0 Royals. This is embarrassing for the Jays. Maier, full count, Cecil in danger of loading them up. High ball four. Here comes Bruce Walton but I fear far too late Bruce. Camp working in bullpen. Escobar, Bronx cheers for a strike. 0-2 count, just misses, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, but what a mess. A 34 pitch inning and now 92 pitch count. I guess the game was going too quickly. That inning took 23 minutes.
Bottom 6th: Bautista, even Jose cannot score four here. This will be a grind back in to this game for a Jays team that is playing lousy ball right now, and totally without any hitting. Francis much too good to give up four, should get this win barring a major collapse and revival by Jays hitters. This is a start as Jose doubles to centre. But does Jose have any support ? Encarnacion and Lind to date have been missing for far too long. Encarnacion, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Lind, who has not been seen since the All-Star break. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Oh boy. Lawrie, 2-0 count, Francis pitching around Lawrie here. 2-1 count, drives it to the wall in centre but Cabrera makes a great catch up against the wall. Close but not enough. Leadoff double left out there. Manager Farrell has a major problem with his hitters. Pitch count 84.

Top 7th: Surprise, Cecil still out there. Giavotella, full count, drives to right Bautista makes nice running catch. One down for Cabrera, this one is high into left and home run for Cabrera. 5-0 Royals. Now Farrell comes out and you really have to question his judgement sending Cecil out there to start the inning when he had obviously struggled with 34 pitches in the last inning. Not the first time Farrell has shown that he is a pitcher’s pitcher, well sometimes objectivity is needed John. Camp now with one down. Butler, off the end of his bat up third base line and Camp unable to get the ball and Butler safe at first. When the team is playing this badly these things are going to be the norm. Hosmer singles into centre. Francouer singles to Bautista in right, bases loaded once again. Moustakas taps in front of home plate, both Arencibia and Camp go for it, WHY is Arencibia doing that, nobody at home plate as runner comes home but Camp makes the play himself to beat him out. Brain spasm by Arencibia. Two down. Bases still loaded. Perez, full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind for third out and Camp strands three but Jays have little time left to get back into this one as Francis threatens to shut them out tonight.
Bottom 7th: Kelly Johnson leading off. There we go Kelly, singles to left. His first hit as a Jay. Arencibia, FINALLY he contributes something, lines it over the fence in left centre, a golf swing, two run home run. 5-2 game. Long overdue for some offence from Arencibia but he chose the right time to get a hit. McCoy, perhaps even he can get a hit here. 1-2 count, singles to left, Kelly Johnson has woken everybody up here, even McCoy. Three consecutive hits. And that is it for Francis. Gets a good hand from Jays crowd who would definitely trade for him right now. Greg Holland now pitching. Top of the order Escobar, 0-3 tonight. hitless along with Lind and Encarnacion tonight and that is NOT good. McCoy making him throw over several times here. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar at short throw to second on to first Escobar safe at first. Major escape there. Sometimes Yunel can hustle. Thames, one down one on. Wild pitch and Escobar to second. 2-2 count. Another wild pitch but this time is blocked. Full count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Bautista, will they walk him? No, they are pitching to him. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Jays get two but can they get more?

Top 8th: Camp still pitching, Maier leading off. Lines it to the wall in centre, McCoy nowhere near it. We forget how easy Vernon made those plays. Maier stand up triple. Escobar, 0-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind, Maier holds at third. One down for Giavotella, 2-0 count, grounds to Johnson a bullet back to Arencibia and tags Maier for second out. Great play. Cabrera, 2-1 count, singles to McCoy in centre, two on two down for Butler, 3-4 tonight and not the guy you want to see here. Doubles to the wall in left over the head of Thames. That was catchable, but not by Thames. Two runs score. 7-2 Royals and that clears the crowd out here. Butler 4-5 night. Rommie Lewis now pitching. Two down and runner at second. Hosmer, 1-2 count, grounds back to Lewis, throw to Lind for the out but this game may be out of reach.
Bottom 8th: Unless the Jays hitters can have their biggest inning of the series then this game is over. Jays need five again. Holland still out there. Encarnacion, hitless tonight and for far too long. full count, finally a hit for Edwin, lines it to the wall in centre, leadoff double. Now Lind also hitless tonight the only one without a hit. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging and Lind continues his own futility at bat. Lawrie, lines it to Francouer, bounces away from Francouer, Lawrie motoring all the way to third, wow Lawrie has speed, and run scores 7-3. If that had bounced further away from Francouer Lawrie would have had in the park home run. I can see one of those happening soon if Lawrie keeps this up. One down. Johnson with Lawrie at third. Full count, ball four, nice at bat Kelly. Two on one down for Arencibia, this will do fly ball to centre, Lawrie tags and comes home 7-4 Johnson also tags and safe at second. McCoy with Johnson in scoring position. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. That is the problem, Jays bench does not have anyone to replace McCoy.

Top 9th: Lewis still out there. Francouer, ouch Lewis hits him on the shinbone. That hurts. Toughing it out and staying in the game. Moustakas, full count, pops it up to Arencibia. oh no, he drops it, wow, error on Arencibia. Doubles to the wall in right centre and Francouer scores, 8-4 Royals, that error hurts bigtime JP. End of Rommie Lewis, one inning too much. Jesse Litsch now, nobody out yet. Runner at second for Perez. Wild pitch gets away from Arencibia. Runner to third. Perez strikes out, one down for Maier, full count, fouling them off here, ten pitch at bat, lines it to right, over head of Bautista but great over the head catch two down but Moustakas tags and run scores. 9-4 Royals. Escobar drives it to McCoy in centre for third out.
Bottom 9th: Top of Jays order, it will be interesting to see how they do here. They need five ! Soria the closer in to finish it off. Escobar, hitless 0-4 tonight. Full count, fly ball to Maier in right, Escobar 0-5 night. one down for Thames. Strikes out swinging, two down for Bautista. Two walks and a double tonight, 1-2 count, singles into left. One on two down for Encarnacion, I don’t believe it lines to right corner and just creeps over the fence, two run home run, 9-6 game. Lind now hitless tonight. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging and his miserable night comes to an end.

Jays lose a home series to the second worst team in the majors after Baltimore. They have lost to the Astros, Oakland, Seattle and now Kansas. What does it take to get this team hitting? Maybe a new hitting coach. This team is still missing some parts and that is an understatement.
Tampa must be licking their lips to get here for the four games series. This could be one miserable weekend for Jays fans as Rays could sweep this team the way they are playing.
Interesting also to see how much defence plays a part both McCoy and Thames missed chances and the popup that Arencibia dropped.

The good: Kelly Johnson made nice debut, on base three times with single and two walks and a run, and a couple of solid defensive plays. One mix up with Bautista in right but that will improve once they get used to each other. Encarnacion with two hits double and home run showed signs of coming out of his latest slump. Lawrie what more can this kid do. Two hit night with the triple that was almost a in the park home run. Lawrie did everything he could and should with bat and glove. Bautista two hits and two walks, showed his leadership but not many followers tonight.

The very bad: Mike McCoy will he ever get over this silly lead off bunting attempts? Everyone is ready for it with him and he is never successful. We have been seeing this futility from McCoy since Dunedin in March, get real Mike this is the big leagues. Jays 2 for10 with runners in scoring position BUT Royals were even worse going 7 for 21.
Defence: Thames and McCoy missing outfield chances and then Arencibia dropping a pop up, should never happen at this level. McCoy issue will be solved with Rasmus return but left field is still an issue. Thames does not have the glove.

Jays power from Lawrie and Bautista rescue Romero tonight

Royals v Jays. Game two of three.

Rasmus out for a few days with that wrist injury from last night. Mastroianni has been recalled from Vegas and will play tonight. Jays bench is awfully weak right now and must be some concern for Alex. In a week the September call-ups will be here but for now a very weak support. Romero pitching tonight but Jays need two major performances (tonight and tomorrow) from their bats to get some respect back here, fans are getting tired of them underperforming against teams they should be sweeping away such as Seattle, Oakland, Houston and Kansas.

Line-ups: Royals: Gordon, Cabrera, Butler, Hosmer, Francouer, Giavotella, Perez, Moustakas, Escobar and Hochevar pitching.
Jays: McCoy, Escobar, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Thames, Lawrie, Arencibia, Mastroianni, and Romero pitching.

Top 1st: Gordon, that’s great, Romero hits him on the first pitch. Cabrera with Gordon at first, bunting, pops it up, Lind maybe had a play if he reacted a little more alertly. 2-2 count. strikes out swinging. Gordon running on the pitch and safe on the throw wide of second, not a good throw at all by Arencibia. Jays are sloppy here early on. Butler, full count, this is trouble, lines it to the wall right centre, here comes Gordon and Royals go out ahead 1-0. Hosmer with runner in scoring position, Grounds to Lind takes it himself, for second out. Francouer with runner at third, grounds to McCoy throw to Lind for the out but Royals are already on the board early and neither Romero or the Jays are very sharp tonight.
Bottom 1st: McCoy, strikes out swinging, McCoy really not a major league calibre player I am surprised he is leading off. Escobar, 0-2 count, grounds to second, throw to first two down for Bautista. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, Jays go quickly and quietly.

Top 2nd: Giavotella, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, one down. Perez, singles back up the middle. Moustakas, singles to centre, Romero not fooling many tonight, two on one down for Escobar, that’s better, Romero helps himself here as Escobar grounds right back at him throw to second on to Lind double play to get out of the mess without damage but Romero definitely not pitching to his ability for whatever reason.
Bottom 2nd: Lind leading off, grounds to second, throw to first, one down for Encarnacion. Edwin drives high fly ball to left but out at the wall. Two down for Thames, fly ball to left for third out. Jays bats continue to search for a hit, any hit.

Top 3rd: Gordon, full count, ball four, not good Romero had him at 1-2 count, he is really struggling here tonight, one on for Cabrera, bounces ball to Lawrie on the line, quick throw to Lind to get Cabrera, very nice play Brett. One down as Gordon goes to second. Butler singles to Thames in left, here comes Gordon for his second run tonight and Royals are ahead 2-0. Hosmer, full count, high pop up to Mastroianni in centre for second out. Francouer, wild pitch and runner moves to second, how many times have we seen that this season. 2-2 count. takes strike three but Romero has a hill to climb tonight.
Bottom 3rd: Jays still without even a hit, they have been in the deep slump for almost a week now. Not sure what the answer is. Meantime Hochevar cruising along. Lawrie 1-2 count, grounds to short, throw to first, one down for Arencibia, 3-1 count, ball four, first guy on base but Hochevar wants to get at the rookie Mastroianni, and this is why, first pitch pop up to shallow right, that was wasted at bat two down. McCoy 2-2 count, fly ball to centre for the out. Jays go quietly once again.

Top 4th: Can Romero find his good stuff here. Giavotella, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Perez, full count, ball four. Romero yet to pitch an inning without putting someone on. Moustakas pops it up, three players Thames, Lawrie and Escobar all converge and Escobar drops the ball. This is yet another awful display by the Jays, it looked as if Lawrie would have made the catch but Escobar called them both off. Two on one down for Escobar, grounds to Escobar steps on second and throw to Lind double play ball. Escobar redeems himself here.
Bottom 4th: Escobar leading off, still a no hitter for Hochevar. Hits him, Escobar does not like that and responds to Hochevar, umpire breaks it up. Escobar thinks it was deliberate. I don’t think so Yunel he is on a no hitter. Bautista. finally, Jose gets hold of this one, no doubt about this, hammers it high into left off the third deck facing, 2-2 game. Bautista nice glare at Hochevar after that hit. As the pitch before had been very close inside on Jose. We have seen that before this season when he is knocked down with a pitch or does not like one close in on him, gets mad. Home run number 37. Lind grounds to second, nice stop and throw to first for the out. One down for Encarnacion, 2-2 count, singles back up the middle. Thames first pitch pop up to Escobar at short. Two down for Lawrie. Full count, hammers this one to the wall, here comes Encarnacion 3-0 Jays and Lawrie all the way to third. Wow, speed. That breaks Lawrie’s 0-10 streak. Arencibia, 2-2 count, lines it to centre, Cabrera robs him of a double, with great running catch but Jays have got to Hochevar.
Top 5th: New game now for Ricky, Gordon leading off. Oh boy, this is trouble lines it to right over the head of Bautista, home run Gordon, and 3-3 game. Cabrera, grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind, one down. Butler first pitch pop up to McCoy behind Lind, two down. Hosmer singles back up the middle, just misses Ricky. Francouer, 3-0 count, same again grounds back up the middle. Two on two down for Giavotella, lines first pitch to McCoy at second for the out.

Bottom 5th: Mastroianni, 0-2 count. strikes out on three pitches, two more than last at bat. McCoy, 2-2 count, takes strike three, two down for Escobar. This should be interesting at bat. Grounds to third, Moustakas bobbles the ball and throw late at first, Escobar safe. Bautista, full count, pops up to Hosmer at first to end the inning.

Top 6th: Perez leading off, pops up to McCoy at second, one down for Moustakas, ball four and another walk from Romero, he is not on his game tonight, Escobar, lines to centre for Mastroianni to make the out, Gordon, 3-1 count, Jess Litsch warming up in bullpen, ball four, walk number four. Moustakas moves up to second. Here comes Bruce Walton, 105 pitch count. Cabrera, grounds to Lawrie steps on the bag to get Moustakas.
Bottom 6th: Lind fly ball to Cabrera in centre, one down. Encarnacion pops up to catcher Perez, two down. Thames strikes out swinging.

Top 7th: Litsch now pitching. Romero will not get the win. Butler leading off drives it to centre Mastroianni dove for the ball but off his glove to the wall, Butler a double. His third hit of the night, doubles to Mastroianni in centre. Hosmer grounds first pitch to Lind, throw to Litsch for the out but Butler goes to third on the play. Francoeur with only one down strikes out looking nice pitching Jesse, one more. Giavotella fly ball to Bautista in right. Nice inning Jesse.

Bottom 7th: Louis Coleman now pitching. Lawrie leading off. 2-2 count, there she goes, a cannon into left field seats, another home run for Lawrie. 4-3 game. Arencibia, grounds to third, throw to first and off his glove, error to Moustakas. Arencibia safe at first on Moustakas' error. Mastroianni with one on, bunting and gets it down as Arencibia to second on the sacrifice. McCoy, grounds to third and bounces off his glove, another error to Moustakas, wow, two in an inning. McCoy safe at first on Moustakas' error. Escobar now with two on and only one down. 2-2 count. Oh no, grounds to Alcides Escobar, nice diving stop and flip to Giavotella at second throw to Hosmer, double play ball to end this rally.

Top 8th: Casey Janssen now in for the 8th, this is the role that Manager Farrell wants Casey to fill. Perez leading off, 0-2 count, strikes out looking. One down for Moustakas, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Escobar full count, ball four. One on two down for the ever dangerous Gordon, not this time as he pops up to Escobar to end the inning. Nice pitching Casey.
Bottom 8th: Blake Wood now pitching, Bautista leading off, full count, lines to right for the out. Lind, pops it up to Perez behind the plate, two down for Encarnacion. 2-0 count, grounds to third, throw to first to end the inning.

Top 9th: Francisco now pitching to try to save this one. Cabrera leading off. Full count, ball four, oh boy. Here we go. Butler, with one on. Lines out to Escobar at short, I think that is the first hit Butler has not had outside the infield in two days. One down one on for Hosmer, there goes Cabrera, and safe at second, Hosmer strikes out, two down. Francouer with runner in scoring position, lines it to right, Bautista runs it down for third out and Jays win 4-3.

Jays win and it is a W in the column but not a pretty win and truly Jays are making the Royals look like Boston out there in the first two games. Kansas outhit them tonight but were 3/14 with runners in scoring position and that tells it all as Jays fans can testify. The Jays should not be having so much trouble with them if they reckon to be a better team. I hope that tomorrow they can have an emphatic win.

The excellent signs: Lawrie and Bautista providing all the sparks tonight. Lawrie with a triple and a game winning home run had a great game and Bautista with the two run home run as well as the final out which was by no means easy and could have been the tying run, Lawrie just continues to impress. Manger Farrell in an interview today was talking about how Lawrie had adjusted to the pitchers pitching him inside after pitching him away when he first arrived in the big leagues. If he can continue that play tonight it will make it even more difficult for the pitchers to adjust and will make Lawrie a very good at bat. I like the energy he brings to every at bat and in the field which makes Encarnacion and Lind look so pedestrian and stolid, which they both are but Lawrie magnifies that laid back slowness with his energised play at all times.

The good: Have to put Romero in this category tonight as he was definitely not his usual dominance. But to be fair to him he has been so dominant over his last five games that we have taken that to be his norm every outing and that is not fair on him. With a few more runs support it would not matter if he were not perfect but with few runs he has little margin of error.
Add in Litsch, Janssen and Francisco here who kept the Royals scoreless.

The not so good: Where are Lind, Encarnacion, and Arencibia ? They have to step up their game now that the rookies are filling in the gaps, they have to pick up Mastroianni, Thames and McCoy.

Morrow has a terrible outing and Jays fall 6-4 to Kansas

Royals v Jays. Game one of three.

The day is hijacked already by the trade news. Hill and McDonald to Arizona for Kelly Johnson at second base. Not surprising to see Hill traded but everyone is sad to see Johnny Mc. BUT I like this trade. Alex A. Made it very clear that the door is still open for both payers to return to the Jays in the off-season. Meantime it gives Hill a chance to get his stroke back to where it should be and for Johnny Mc to get some playing time with a contender for the playoffs. This is or could be a win win for everybody.
My own theory about Hill is that he has been trying to hit opposite field and centre all season long when he is clearly a pull hitter to left and indeed the majority of his home runs creep over that fence into the Jays bullpen when at the Rogers centre. An interesting comment from Greg Zaun today about hitting coaches and sometimes they have conflicts with players. He was careful not to say that Hill and Dwayne Murphy are differing but someone must be telling Aaron to go the other way and not pull to left. We will see. And if truth were told majority of Jays fans want Aaron to do well. And if both players can get playoff experience to bring back to Toronto for the younger players in 2012, that would be great. Of course we now have to hope that Kelly Johnson produces.

Tonight’s game and series opener against Kansas. In the series in Kansas Jays split the four game series. Morrow pitching tonight but his last two starts have been totally different. Who knows what will happen tonight but his inconsistency is his major fault right now. The game against the Angels on August 12th, Morrow had tremendous issues with the pitch count and had 57 pitches after three innings. The start against Seattle he pitched deep into the game.

Line-ups: Royals: Gordon, Cabrera, Butler, Hosmer, Francouer, Giavotella, Perez, Moustakas, Escobar and Chen pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Lawrie, Molina, McCoy and Romero pitching.

Nice walk up crowd tonight, definitely a positive buzz around this team and that was before the trade was announced today. We would all love to see this team make some noise over the last five weeks. We are sitting in different location tonight. It will be interesting to compare.

Top 1st: Gordon leading off, strikes out swinging. One down for Melky Cabrera grounds to McCoy play at second throw to Lind at first, two down for Butler, fly ball to Bautista in right. Good first inning for Morrow.
Bottom 1st: Escobar returned from his two day vacation. Fly ball to Francoeur in right. Thames grounds to Giavotella at second, throw to Hosmer two down. Bautista pops to the other Escobar also at short.

Top 2nd: Hosmer leading off, Jessica Jay tells me that Hosmer has cooled off, he hammers this one to centre, this one is in the second deck, home run Hosmer and Royals strike first, 1-0. So much for the cooling off. Francoeur, doubles to centre. Giavotella, singles to centre, Francoeur to third. Ball gets away from Rasmus and Francouer scores 2-0 Royals. Giavotella at second. Still nobody out, Perez another hit, singles to centre, here comes Giavotella 3-0 Royals. Morrow is in a real mess out here and piling up the pitch count, this game could be out of reach before the end of the second inning. Moustakas, ball four, first walk by Morrow. Perez to second. But still nobody out here. Escobar, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, there we go Brandon, one down runners hold. Top of the order again Gordon, strikes out swinging. Two down for Melky Cabrera strikes out and this is what infuriates Jays fans with Morrow, one moment he is high school pitching, the next he is unhittable. If he could only put it together for nine innings for more than one game, he would be unbeatable.
Bottom 2nd: Lind 0-2 and strikes out on three pitches. Encarnacion strikes out. Rasmus strikes out. Chen strikes out the side but helped by Lind swinging at all three pitches (and missing)

Top 3rd: Butler leading off, high fly ball to Rasmus. Colby makes the catch, one down for Hosmer. Singles to right. 2-2 tonight and only the third inning. So much for cooling off. Francoeur singles to left, Hosmer to second. Giavotella fly ball to Bautista in right. Two down for Perez, grounds to Escobar throw to McCoy at second to get Francoeur. Morrow manages to hold them here.
Bottom 3rd: Lawrie leading off, strikes out. One down for Molina, pops it up Hosmer at first, McCoy with two down, strikes out.

Top 4th: Moustakas singles to left, OH what a great throw by Thames in the corner to nail him at second, that gets the crowd roused here, it is like doom and gloom night. One down for Escobar, grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Lind. Two down for top of the order again, Gordon. Strikes out. Morrow holds them again. But his pitch count is 80.
Bottom 4th: Escobar singles to centre and there goes the perfect game for Chen. But more importantly can they bring in Escobar. Thames, Oh NO.... grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Giavotella at second, over to Hosmer at first, Escobar out. Double play ball. Two down for Bautista, strikes out.

Top 5th: Cabrera leading off, pops up to Escobar at short, one down. Butler, there she goes and another home run. Butler hits these so hard even the fly ball outs. But this one in to the left field seats, 4-0 Royals. Hosmer grounds to Lind and safe at first, infield single. Francoeur with two down strikes out. Giavotella, there goes Hosmer and Molina throw not in time. Hosmer safe at second. Giavotella doubles to the wall in centre, here comes Hosmer, 5-0 Royals. Perez, this one is trouble, lines it to the wall in centre, Rasmus dives for the ball but misses it and Jose is backing up. Giavotella scores. 6-0 Royals. Triple for Perez. That is it for Morrow, just did not have it tonight. Ledezma now pitching. Moustakas pops it up to Lawrie at third to end the inning.
Bottom 5th: Lind first pitch grounds to Giavotella, throw to Hosmer at first, four pitches for his first two at bats. One down for Encarnacion, strikes out. Rasmus, grounds out to Hosmer at first, takes it himself to the bag to end the inning.

Top 6th: Ledezma pitching. Escobar leading off, grounds to McCoy at second throw to Lind at first, one down. Gordon, singles to left. One on one down for Cabrera, strikes out, and that is it for Ledezma. Carreno now pitching and making his major league debut. Butler, fly ball to Thames in left to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Lawrie leading off, fly ball to right fielder Francoeur. One down for Molina, singles to left. McCoy grounds to third, safe at first and Molina moves to second on the play. Jays have something going here. Escobar with two on, gets hold of this one, no doubt about where this one is going, second deck in that centre field. 6-3 game. Thames lines out to left fielder Gordon. Two down for Joey bats, Bautista strikes out to end the inning.

Top 7th: Hosmer leading off, grounds to McCoy at second, throw to Lind at first for out number one and a heavy out as well in Hosmer. Francoeur doubles to left. Giavotella, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, Francouer tags on the throw and safe at third. Perez grounds to Lawrie at third and throw to Lind.
Bottom 7th: Lind leading off, his first two at bats lasted exactly four pitches, strikes out for the second time, I think Chen has his number. Encarnacion one down fly ball to Gordon in left, two down for Rasmus, fly ball to Francoeur in right to end the inning.

Top 8th: Coreano pitching. Moustakas leading off, singles to Thames in left. One on for Escobar, fly ball to Thames in left to make the catch. Gordon strikes out. Melky Cabrera, grounds to Lind at first, safe on throw. Moustakas to second. Butler strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Getz in defensively at second base. Lawrie leading off, fly ball to Francoeur in right, one down. Molina grounds back off Chen who recovers and throw to Hosmer at first, two down for McCoy, ball four. That is it for Chen. Holland now pitching. Escobar and top of the order. There goes McCoy and safe at second. Might as well go, Jays offence is so bad here tonight. Escobar grounds to Moustakas at third, throw to Hosmer at first to end the inning.

Top 9th; Carreno still out there and why not, he has been excellent so far. Hosmer leading off, grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind at first, one down. Francoeur singles to centre. One on for Getz, fly ball to Rasmus. Two down. Perez, fly ball to Rasmus in centre to end the inning and hold the Royals to the four runs.
Bottom 9th: Soria now pitching. 22 saves but has blown five so jays may have chance to get back in this one. Thames leading off, there we go Eric, doubles to right. Runner in scoring position for Bautista, strikes out. 0-4 tonight. Someone will pay and hopefully it will be Kansas. Lind, also hitless tonight and not a very good return but now facing a right hander, maybe that will help him. Singles to left and here comes Thames to score 6-4 game with one down, the tying run in Encarnacion comes to the plate, Edwin in one of his slumps right now, maybe this at bat will help him. Encarnacion pops up to Escobar at short, two down for Teahen pinch hitting for Rasmus, this is a strange switch. Not sure why this is with game on the line. Strikes out to end the game. Jays lose 6-4.

Five Kansas players with multi hit game and Francouer with four hits in a sixteen hit attack tonight on Jays pitchers but mostly against Morrow,
Jays get multi hit game from Escobar, but the middle of the order hitless tonight.
Tomorrow another day but Jays as a team appear unable to beat up on the teams at the bottom whether it be Seattle, Oakland, Houston or now the Royals. There record would look so very much better if they could beat teams under .500.

The very good: Young Carreno making his major league debut, 3 innings of scoreless relief of Morrow. And we cannot forget Ledezma also scoreless inning of work.Escobar three hit game include the three run home run to get Jays within distance. Attendance at 20,000 which is good for a Tuesday. Lets see how it goes tomorrow with Romero pitching.

The not so good: Morrow one of his worst outings of the season and with pitch count of 50 after two innings it was not difficult to see that he did not have it tonight. Perhaps Jays have to get used to a 10 game winner for the season with wins on alternate games. The rest of the Jays line-up who just could not get to Chen apart from one inning. Jays loss of power continues with the big bats silent yet again. Jays pitchers throw 60 more pitches tonight than did the Royals. Jays were also lucky that Royals hit 4-13 with runners in scoring position.