Final posting

Well friends finally the plebicolajays has written the last blog, After five years and more than 923 posts (including spring training games) it is time to call an end. I thank my sons for encouragng me to start the blog way back in 2007, probably mindful of the many games we all sat through at Exhibition Stadium in Section 42 and for my daughter who now shares my season tickets. But for the many friends and readers who have sent comments over the years thank you. And especially to those in Europe who have to get scores in local newspapers days after the games. I hope you have enjoyed the fuller commentary and posted as close to the game as possible. In September the first blogs included Matt Stairs, Frank Thomas, Reed Johnson, Wells, Rios, Johnny Mac, Lind, Glaus, Overbay, Hill, Greg Zaun. Pitchers: Burnett, Towers, Marcum, Downs. Accardo, Frasor. League. Casey Janssen, McGowan, LItsch, Tallet, BJ Ryan and of course Halladay. John Gibbons Managing and of course the JP Ricciardi. I have enjoyed the ride but may welcome no more west coast blogs at 2.00am. Go Jays Go all the way in 2013

Jays win big in series finale 6-4 with power,speed, defense and pitching

Orioles v Jays. Final game of the series. Orioles going for the sweep tonight and the way Jays have played the first two games this should be no problem. Jays have not scored a run in 18 innings, Orioles meantime have 16.. Even if Morrow pitches a no-hitter they will still not win until this team starts hitting. Very frustrating as we are not talking about the rookies lack of production, we are highlighting the older players, Davis, Rasmus, Lind, Johnson, Escobar, not a single one of these players is producing. Edwin is the ONLY consistent player producing but now other managers are giving intentional walks to Edwin to get to the others for the easy outs. The other fallout of course is that extra pressure is being placed on the pitching staff which leads to errors by the pitchers. Probably this team will win another game this month but for now it does not seem very likely with these players. Forget playing for pride, how about playing. There will be no mercy given by these Orioles, they want a playoff spot and right now they are leading the division. The Jays to them right now are three wins in the column and then off to NY to play tough meaningful games. At least no problem with rain in the stadium tonight, the embarrassing photographs and video have been widespread across the continent already. I wonder how that played in Rogers Boardrooms today. Lineups: Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Jones, Wieters, Davis, Reynolds, Quintanilla, Machado and Gonzalez pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Gose, Torrealba, Hechavarria, and Morrow pitching. So much for blowing up this lineup to get some life into them, stand firm everyone. Two changes Torrealba catching and Gose back in right field. Top 1st: Jays fans are voting with their feet again, this looks a very empty stadium. Last night 13,000 (before the rain) which was bad enough. Tonight way under that total. No fans no revenue. Markakis leading off. 2-1 count, bounces to Edwin at first, awkward throw to Morrow but makes the out. One down for Hardy. High pop up behind the mound, all the infield converge, Escobar makes the out. Two down McLouth. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Pitch count 10. Bottom 1st: Davis, 1-2 count, fly ball to Markakis in right, one down. Rasmus, not sure what to think of Colby these days. 0-2 count, opposite field fly ball to McLouth in left for the out. Two down for Edwin. What will they throw at him tonight? Hammers this one high to left, McLouth waits for it, to end the inning, just underneath it Edwin. 11 pitch count Top 2nd: Jones, 2-1 count, hammers this one high to left and into the seats, no doubt about that one. 1-0 Orioles. Wieters, full count, inside ball four. Davis with one on and nobody out. This guy has seven home runs against the Jays this season. 3-1 count, pops it up, Escobar cannot make the catch as it drops foul. Difficult catch but catchable. When nothing goes right, everything can and does go wrong. Full count, inside ball four. Not a bad decision anyway with Davis. Two on nobody out for Reynolds. 0-2 count, waves at strike three, that was a horrible wave. One down two on for Quintanilla, 3-0 count, low ball four, to load the bases. One down for Machado. Here comes Bruce Walton. Tell him you are fed up with lack of any run support Brandon. Bounces to Johnson, throw to Edwin for the second out as another run scores. 2-0 Orioles. Markakis with two in scoring position. 2-1 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin for third out. Morrow escapes here with only one run after loading the bases, Manager Showalter will not be happy with that. But Orioles in the driver’s seat early against a team that has not scored ANY runs in the last 19 (ouch) innings. Pitch count ugly at 40. Bottom 2nd: Lind, 1-2 count, grounds softly up the middle, misplayed by Quintanilla and Lind safe at first, throw is way up the line. Orioles getting sloppy here. Escobar, lines it to Markakis in right, one down. Johnson, lines this one to centre and Lind chugging (literally) around the bases, here comes the throw and wow Jays have scored a RUN friends... after a run of 19 scoreless innings. 2-1 game, stand up double for Johnson. Torrealba, grounds to Hardy, Kelly caught out there, and now goes back as throw to first gets Torrealba. Two down for Hechavarria, full count, Kelly will be running. Grounds to Machado, throw to first to get Hech but he battled at least for nine pitches. Jays are on the board, we have to say that because we have not been able to all week. Pitch count 27. Top 3rd: Hardy, lines to centre for Rasmus to make the out. One down for McLouth. Fly ball to Rasmus in centre for the out. Two down, Jones, 1-2 count, strikes out looking to end the inning. Very nice Brandon, three up and down. Nine pitch inning. Pitch count 49. Bottom 3rd: Quick inning by Morrow gets Gonzalez back out there, now can the hitters do some damage? Gose leading off. Bunting but foul. Fly ball to left but McLouth drops the ball as he slides into the wall. Gose, 1-2 count, taps it in front of the mound and look at that hustle, we have not seen much of that recently. The throw to first just gets him. One down for top of the order Davis, hammers this one to left and this one is OUT OF HERE into the Jays bullpen, home run for the Jays, 2-2 game, let’s go Blue Jays. Rasmus, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Edwin. Pops it up to Markakis in shallow right. Pitch count 38. But Jays have found some bats tonight. Top 4th: Wieters, 2-1 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin, one down. Davis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, nice pitching. Two down for Reynolds, 0-1 count. Checked swing tapper in front of the mound, Torrealba throw to Edwin to end the inning. Pitch count 60. Bottom 4th: Lind who got it all going tonight. Full count, low takes strike three. Adam was about to walk. Escobar, 0-2 count, grounds to Quintanilla at second, throw to first for the out. Two down for Johnson. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Pitch count 54. Top 5th: Quintanilla, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, number five for Brandon tonight, one down for Machado. 3-1 count, lines to left and fan interferes, ground rule double, that could have made a triple. Markakis, full count, pops it up to Davis in left, nine pitch at bat by Markakis. Two down for Hardy. 2-1 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin for the out. Pitch count climbing though, 83 through five. He needs a quick 10 pitch inning. Bottom 5th: Jays bats can help Morrow here. Bottom of the order though. Torrealba leading off. 0-2 count, grounds to Quintanilla at second, throw to first to get Torrealba. One down for Hech. 2-2 count, takes strike three, two down for Gose. Full count, this is trouble, lines it into the left field corner and there he goes stand up triple, speed wow. Davis bring him in Rajai. Grounds to short, Gose scores but throw to first gets Davis. Pitch count 70. Top 6th: McLouth, full count, strikes out swinging but six pitches to do it and he does not have many left in the bank. Jones, one down. Singles to Davis in left. One on one down for Wieters. Perfect, grounds to Johnson throw to Escobar, takes his time but throw to Edwin is there for double play ball. Just what the doctor ordered for Morrow’s pitch count. 92 pitch count. Bottom 6th: Rasmus, 0-2 night, lines it to right centre where Jones makes great running catch to rob Colby of a double. Edwin, 0-1 count Edwin cannot believe it, looked outside to him. High fly ball to Jones in centre for the out. A lot of frustration on that swing and Edwin hammers his bat into the ground. Two down for Lind. Full count, grounds to third, throw to first to end the inning. Pitch count 80 for Gonzalez. Top 7th: End of the night for Morrow, Steve Delabar now pitching. Davis, careful Steve with this guy. 1-2 count, takes strike three, great pitch. One down. Reynolds, 2-2 count, strikes out, umpire does not agree Torrealba had it, strikes out swinging. Two down. Quintanilla, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, Very nice inning by Delabar. Bottom 7th: Escobar, this will do Yunel, lines it into left field corner and motors around for double to beat the throw. Johnson now with runner in scoring position, please no bunting, hit away Kelly. Bunts it foul, does it this time oh throw is late at first, Johnson beats it out. Runners at the corners. Nobody out, Torrealba, another bunt? Mound conference... they are expecting the bunt. Low ball one, full count, high pop up to first, one down for Hechavarria, 0-2 tonight, low ball one, YES he does it, bunts and here comes Escobar to score as Gonzalez tries to flip the ball but goes wide of Wieters and runners now at the first and second. Perfect suicide squeeze as Yunel was halfway down the line before Hech put it down. 3-2 Jays. They will be cheering that score in New York. That is it for Gonzalez. Luis Ayala now pitching, Gose, would love that triple right now. 1-2 count, lines it to short and off Hardy’s glove, bases loaded. One down for Davis, this will do as he lines it up the middle, here comes Johnson, here comes Hech and right behind him is speedster Gose. Jones throw to third gets away and three runs score, 6-2 Jays. WOW Yankees crowd will love that even better. Davis all the way to third. Brian Matusz now pitching. Rasmus with Rajai at 3rd. 0-2 count, oh boy strikes out swinging on three pitches. Edwin two down with Davis at 3rd. Showalter takes the bat out of hands of Edwin, intentional walk. Wait until Bautista is back next season, Edwin will get some pitches to swing at. Yet another mound conference, Orioles getting as bad as Yankees and Red Sox in delaying the game. Lind, way high and inside, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Top 8th: Delabar still out there. Machado leading off, 1-1 count, singles back up the middle. That is it for Delabar. Darren Oliver to face top of the order Markakis. Jays are not out of this one yet. High fly ball to Davis in left to make the out. One down one on for Hardy. 3-1 count, high ball four, come on guys. Two on one down for Lew Ford pinch hitting for McLouth, 2-1 count, umpire not giving Oliver the strikes, full count, Oliver does not want to put the tie run at the plate. Break there with foul ball into left. Pops this one up but just foul. Oh my, Ford grounds to Hech at third, over to Johnson on to Edwin double play ball to end this threat, great pitch and play by the defense. Now one more inning. Bottom 8th: Tommy Hunter now pitching. Escobar leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Machado, throw to first, one down, Johnson. 2-3 night with double and a single. 0-2 count, grounds to second, throw to first two down for Torrealba. Hitless tonight. 2-2 count, bounces up the middle Hunter jumps to make the play, throw to first for the out. Top 9th: Casey Janssen in now. Not a close situation. Needs the work. Jones leading off. 3-1 count, low ball four. Wieters, grounds to Johnson, throw to Escobar, throw to Edwin is wide, one down and Wieters at first. Davis, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, great pitch. Reynolds, two down one on. Whoa, hammers this to centre and this one is out of here, two run home run to Reynolds, 6-4 Jays. Quintanilla, 2-2 count, crowd on their feet, first time this week !! takes strike three and Jays ruin Orioles attempt to get top spot in the division, not in our house friends. Yankees also beating the Rays 6-4 but not over yet. The excellent tonight: Firstly and most importantly Jays did not roll over tonight. Speed, defense, hitting and great pitching, all came together for the excellent win. Morrow to keep this team in the game for six. Hech with his glove and bat. Gose with his speed tonight I think was the spark that got these guys going, energy and speed into the lineup. Makes us realise how we have missed Lawrie with his hustling. Nine hits, six runs, 4-10 RISP, two double plays. Two hits each for Davis, Johnson, and Gose. The first team comes through but with some help from the rookies. Jays did it without the big bats tonight, Rasmus, Edwin and Lind 1-11. Maybe Fenway is just what these guys need to hammer the doubles off the wall and for Colby to get them down that short right field pole. Now everyone heads to Boston for the off day but on Friday we may see both Lawrie and Arencibia back.

Jays continue their downward spiral and embarrass thenselves with another listless shutout performance. Don't even mention the RAIN in the Rogers Centre.

Orioles v Jays. Game two of three. Jays need someone to step up and show some leadership. Give Escobar his due yesterday at least he hustled his butt. Maybe his dive into first has to be amongst the Top 10 worst but at least the guy was hustling down the line and for him that is a major change. These games count bigtime and Jays should be playing to this. Orioles are out to tie the Yankees tonight so Jays need to bring 110% to the ballpark. Lineups: Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Jones, Wieters, Davis, Reynolds, Machado, Andino and Britton pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Sierra, Mathis, Hechavarria and Villanueva pitching. Where is everybody? Can you blame them ? Jays are not attractive entertainment right now. However this could be the smallest crowd of the season regardless of back to school day. Lots of fans have given up on this team and not because of the injuries. Top 1st: Markakis,1-2 strikes out swinging, one down. Hardy, full count, takes strike three. Two down for McLouth, 3-1 count, fly ball to Sierra for third out. Nice start for Carlos 14 pitch inning. Bottom 1st: Davis, high bouncer to Hardy at short, safe at 1st. Rasmus, bunting but right back to Britton, throw to Hardy to get Davis at 2nd. Lousy bunt by Rasmus. One down one on for Encarnacion. 2-1 count, fly ball to Markakis right, two down for Lind. Full count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 17. Top 2nd: Jones 0-2 grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, one down. Wieters, fly ball to Rasmus, two down. Davis, full count, takes strike three, Davis does not agree, keep walking guy. Pitch count 25. Yankees take early 2-1 lead against the Rays in Tampa. Cano two run home run helps. Bottom 2nd: Escobar, full count, singles into right. One on for Johnson, this is one guy who has been huge disappointment this year. 14 home runs but never seems to get key hits. 1-2 count, takes strike three looking. Ugh. One down. Sierra, bounces to Machado at 3rd, throw to 1st to get Sierra as Escobar moves to 2nd. Two down for Mathis, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Much too easy for Britton. Pitch count 32. Top 3rd: Reynolds, shatters his bat as he singles into centre, one on for Machado, hammers this to 3rd Hech makes great save, throw to Johnson over to Lind double play ball. Great play by Hech. Andino, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Pitch count 33. First pitch double plays really help a guy’s pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Hechavarria leading off. Singles back up the middle. Davis, one on, 1-1 count, off the end of his bat in front of home plate, and Davis out at 1st as Hech moves into scoring position, one down. 2-2 count, pops it up to Andino at second, no chance for Hech to run. Two down for Edwin. Intentional walk. Ok Lind, make them pay for it. But I doubt it. The university students in fifth deck making up for lack of people. 1-2 count, pops it up to Hardy for third out. Lind back to his pre-injury form. Maybe expendable in 2013. Pitch count 50 which is the only plus so far for the Jays besides Carlos. Top 4th: Markakis leading off, fly ball to Sierra in right, one down. Hardy, lines it to Escobar, throw to Lind, two down. McLouth, 2-1 count, pops it up to Lind for third out. Pitch count 42. Bottom 4th: Escobar leading off, with one of the three Jays hits tonight. Full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Johnson. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging at high pitch out of the zone, just totally lost these days. Two down for Sierra. 1-1 count, lines this one to the right centre wall, stand up double for Sierra, problem is there are two outs. Mathis, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to 1st for the third out. 66 pitch count. Top 5th: Why did they open the roof tonight? it has not stopped raining all day, now the umbrellas going up. Weird. Jones, lines it into right field corner, bounces into the front row. Ground rule double. Carlos in trouble for first time tonight. I don’t think they will messing up their RBI chances. Wieters, lines to Sierra, throw to Escobar steps on the bag but no time to tag out Jones. That could have been double play. wow. Davis, 3-1 count. Low ball four, base was open anyway. Reynolds, one down two on. Oh dear, this is trouble, high fly ball to left and into the Jays bullpen three run home run. 3-0 Orioles. Machado, grounds to Hech, throw to Lind, two out. Andino.1-2 count, lines it to left but Davis makes the out. Pitch count 62. Bottom 5th: Jays have not scored a run against the Orioles in the first 13 innings. That says it all. Hechavarria leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to Reynolds at first for the out. Top of the order, Davis. Full count, lines it to Jones in centre, two down. Rasmus, 0-2 tonight. 0-2 count, grounds to Andino, throw to Reynolds at first to end the inning. Just awful performance by Jays hitters so far tonight. Pitch count 79. Top 6th: Markakis, leading off. Singles to right. Hardy, 2-2 count, pulls it into left for stand p double, Markakis to 3rd. Two on nobody out, McLouth, fly ball to Rasmus or the out as Markakis tags and scores, 4-0 one down. Hardy moves to 3rd. Rain is heavy now, roof is jammed, this is embarrassing for Jays and Rogers. Somebody will be looking for a job tomorrow. Jones, 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging, two down. Wieters, 1-2 count, fly ball to shallow right for Sierra to make the out. Pitch count 82, but Villanueva was pitching in the rain with nothing to clean his cleats, and just getting soaked out there in the clay. Bottom 6th: Now what for the grounds crew. They have no equipment to cover anything up. Showalter will not be happy, there he is moaning to the umpire. But this turf is not funny for the players and Orioles have playoffs to worry about re possible injuries. Jays 14 scoreless innings and counting. Encarnacion leading off, they have to pitch him but watch for the pitches down and away. Britton now having to deal with the same conditions Villanueva had. Full count, Takes strike three. Edwin does not agree. Lind, first pitch drives this one to right but Markakis makes the out. Now the fire alarm is going what a fiasco at Rogers Center tonight ! Escobar, 2-2 count, grounds to Hardy, throw to Reynolds at first to end the inning. Pitch count 91. Top 7th: Davis, singles first pitch into centre. One on for Reynolds. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, that was one horrible swing, totally misjudged that one. Lucky he did not pull a muscle on that swing. Machado, lines it to the wall in left centre, Davis to third. Machado stand up double. Andino, one down two in scoring position. Fly ball to Davis in left, run scores two down. 5-0 Orioles. That is it for Carlos. Rough ending for him but no run support once again for Jays starters. Loup now pitching to Markakis with runner at 3rd. No, balk called and Machado comes into score. 6-0 Orioles. Markakis lines it into left for stand up double. Hardy, lines it up the middle and here comes the throw right on target but bounces off the wet turf over the glove of Mathis and run scores 7-0. McLouth, full count, fly ball to Davis in left. Bottom 7th: Jays in a hopeless position. Not having scored in 15 innings they face scoring 7 in three. Hmm. Let’s see how they approach it. Bottom of the order hardly the big boppers. Johnson 0-2 tonight. Full count, takes ball four, Bronx cheers from the crowd as Jays get a base runner. One on for Sierra. Here comes pitching coach. Come on the guy has a seven run lead. Grounds to Andino at second, throw to Reynolds, one down with Johnson in scoring position for Mathis. 2-2 count, down and away strikes out swinging. Jays hitters have been going after that strikeout pitch all night long. Nobody taking any notice? Hechavarria. 1-2 count, down and away, strikes him out. Pathetic hitting by Jays hitters tonight. Top 8th: Loup still out there. Jones, singles back up the middle. Hit number 10. One on for Wieters. Singles first pitch to Davis in left, two on and nobody out and the beat continues. Walters out there to calm Loup down. Beck warming up in the Jays bullpen. Davis, not the guy Loup wants to see here. 3-1 count, doubles to left, Jones scores 8-0 and still nobody out. Not Loup’s night tonight. Orioles taking batting practice off him tonight. Definitely his worst outing of the season. Beck now pitching. Nobody out and two in scoring position. Reynolds, 2-1 count, singles to right, run number 9. Still nobody out and two on for Machado. 0-2 count, singles to right, 10-0 Orioles, still nobody out and two on. Andino, pops it up to Lind, big jeers for the first out. Markakis, lines it into left and bounces into the seats, ground rule double, run scores 11-0 Orioles with two more in scoring position. Hardy, 2-2 count, I don’t believe it bounces back to Beck who fumbles it, runner safe, bases loaded. Error on Beck. Wow. What a circus. McLouth, 1-2 count. Singles to Sierra in right, another run scores 12-0. Walton out there a little too late Bruce this kid has nothing tonight. He is shell shocked. Lyon warming up. Jones, That’s better grounds to Hech to Johnson to Lind double play to rescue Beck here but he is obviously not ready for the bigtime with that inning. Bottom 8th: Jays still have to go through two innings. Let’s see how they do. Ex-Jay Gregg now pitching. Gose now pinch hitting for Davis, pops it up to shallow left for the out, one down. Rasmus, this guy needs a hit, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Encarnacion. Grounds first pitch to short, throw to first. Seven pitch inning and that friends is what your team thinks of this game. 17 yes 17 scoreless innings. That is totally unacceptable in any league. What will they do about it? Top 9th: Brandon Lyon now pitching, Teagarden pinch hitting for Wieters, full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind, one down. Davis, singles to right. Betemit pinch hitting for Reynolds, 2-0 count, fly ball to Gose in left for second out. Machado, 2-0 count, singles to left. Andino, two on two down. Fly ball to Rasmus for the third out. Major jeers and rightly so, this team has embarrassed themselves tonight. Bottom 9th: Can Jays hitters get a run and break the two game scoreless drought. Seven pitches last inning. Lind leading off. Zach Phillips called up today, with a 27.0 ERA he will love this inning to get that down. No not Lind, Torrealba getting an at bat. Full count. Strikes out swinging. Escobar, grounds first pitch to Flaherty at second. Last at bat for Jays to end our agony tonight. Kelly Johnson. 2-2 count, making a fight at least fouling them off, grounds to Flaherty at second, throw to first to end this one. Jays lose again to Orioles.This time 12-0. I don’t think Beck will be pitching much in the next week or so. The good: Hech at 3rd, great play in the third inning to start the double play. And I give Villanueva full credit for shutting out Baltimore for four innings hoping that his offense would give him some support. The university students chants all game long providing the only life signs by Toronto. The very bad: Jays hitters all night long going after the pitch down and away for strike three by Britton. Loup balk with runner at 3rd. Loup 1/3 of an inning, five hits four runs. Beck easy out fumble. One inning four hits two runs. Loup and Beck between them give up six runs in 1.1 inning.That is NOT good at all. The embarrassing: Along with the starting lineup, Rogers Centre gets a black eye for public relations with the roof open for the rain. This is on a day when it has hardly stopped raining buckets in the area. And then unable to close it. The grounds crew without anything to cover the infield anyway. Nothing for the pitchers to get the clay out of their cleats. Then the fire alarm! Mickey Mouse evening in Toronto tonight. And you know those pictures of rain in a dome stadium are going to be shown over and over again, you can’t buy that type of publicity, the problem is that I don’t quite think it is the type that Rogers wants. The very smart: The many thousands who stayed away tonight.

Jays provide no offense for Happ as they lose the opener to the O's

Orioles v Jays. Game one of three. Post-Romero blues today, everyone unhappy with what could have been, even with all the injuries we feel a huge letdown by Romero. Major chance to step up and boost the pitching rotation and the team with some outstanding performances whilst the lineup was decimated. Instead a loud fizzle, dud, whatever he wants to call it. Anything, but please not five (yes five more) starts from this guy. Cecil and Frasor back in the bullpen. Lineups: Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, Jones, Wieters, Reynolds, Machado, McLouth, Andino, Ford and Saunders pitching. Jays : Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Sierra, Mathis, Hech and Happ pitching. WHERE IS EVERYBODY??? Terrible crowd for holiday Monday afternoon. Wow. There should be 40,000 but I doubt 15,000. Not good for Rogers. Not good for anyone. Fans are voting with their feet friends. Top 1st: Markakis leading off, strike one, a pitcher who can throw strikes. Ouch, hits him on the arm, here comes Showalter, ok heads on down to 1st. One on for Hardy. 0-1 count, fly ball to Sierra in right, this is trouble, shading his eyes, but makes the catch, one down one on for Jones. Strikes out swinging, two down. Wieters, full count, low ball four, two on two down for Reynolds. full count, strikes out looking. Bottom 1st: Saunders pitching. Davis, pops up to Andino at second, one down for Rasmus. Grounds to Hardy at short, throw to Reynolds at first, two down for Encarnacion. 2-2 count, grounds back to Saunders, throw to Reynolds to end the three up and down inning. Top 2nd: Machado high fly ball to Sierra in right, loses it in the sun yet again and ball gets away into the right field corner, that was catchable. Error to Sierra. Machado to 3rd. McLouth, suicide squeeze first pitch to Happ throw to first to get him for first out, run scores 1-0 Orioles. Ford grounds to Edwin steps on the bag, two down. Andino, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Bottom 2nd: Lind lines it right at Andino at second for the first out. Escobar, bunting to Machado at 3rd, throw to Reynolds, as Yunel dives into first base; problem was he started his dive half way to the bag but for Yunel that was hustle all the way, so credit to him. Reynolds had to bare hand the play and throw only just beat out Yunel, two down. Johnson, pops it up to Machado at 3rd to end the inning. Another three up and down for Saunders, much too easy. Top 3rd: Markakis, grounds to Edwin flip to Happ for the out, just beats Markakis to the bag. Hardy pops it up to Edwin two down. Jones singles to Davis in left. Reynolds, full count, lucky there as Edwin drops a foul pop, got him, strikes out swinging for second time today, he is no happy camper but Happ is happy. Bottom 3rd: Sierra, fly ball to Jones in centre, one down. Mathis fly ball to McLouth in left, two down. Hechavarria fly ball to Jones in centre. Yet another three up and down for Saunders. Nine up and down. Top 4th: Machado, grounds to Edwin and oh dear me an error on the throw to Happ, throw is away from Happ on the bag, error on the play. McLouth 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down. Ford, 0-1 count, oh dear. They have Machado picked off at 1st, great throw by Mathis erases Machado way off the bag, two down and that erases the error. Ford strikes out swinging. Happ is pitching well, it is the lack of offense that is the issue here once again. Bottom 4th: Davis 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, Rasmus one down fly ball, opposite field to McClouth in left, you don’t often see that from Rasmus. Encarnacion, fly ball to Jones in centre to end the inning. Jays remain hitless here against Saunders in an attempt to jinx him and a no-hitter. 12 up and down. Top 5th: Andino, full count, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on for Markakis, full count, lines to Davis in left, this is trouble, just fading into the corner, here comes Andino and Markakis has a stand up double. 2-0 Orioles. Hardy, pulls it down the line to Davis in left, right into the corner again, here comes Markakis to score, 3-0 Orioles, Hardy stand up double. Here comes Bruce Walton. Jones, singles to Rasmus in centre. Hardy to 3rd. Still nobody out. Wieters, 1-2 count, here we go strikes out swinging, one down. Reynolds, 1-2 count, there goes Jones and safe at second, no throw. Trouble here, two more in scoring position and only one down. YES, Reynolds, strikes out swinging, third time today already, way to go Jay Happ, two down for Machado, strikes out swinging. Great stuff by Happ, strikes out the side to leave two out there in scoring position. Bottom 5th: Lind, full count, fly ball to Jones in centre, one down. Escobar, same again, fly ball to Jones in centre. Two down Johnson fly ball to Jones in centre. Jays once again go meekly and quietly. Top 6th: McLouth doubles to Sierra in right. That is it for Happ today. 95 pitches but just not enough offense for him today to come away with a win. Brad Lincoln now pitching, getting a little overworked this weekend, I think. Ford with one on, ball four, to take first base. Not exactly what you are in there for Brad. Andino, bunting back to Lincoln throw to Johnson for the out as runners move up. Markakis, intentional walk, ball four, bases loaded for Hardy. 2-2 count, Perfect grounds to Hech at third, over to Johnson, on to Edwin, double play ball, very nice and just what the doctor ordered. Bottom 6th: Sierra leading off, first pitch, fly ball to Jones in centre, this guy is getting a lot of work today. Mathis, grounds to Andino at second, throw to first for the out. Two down for Hech. There we go, singles to Jones in centre, and there goes the no-hitter. Can Jays do something with it though. Davis, 3-0 count, struggling here, ball four, another guy on base, two on for Rasmus, two down. No, strikes out swinging. Jays getting to Saunders but need more than this. Top 7th: Delabar now in for Lincoln. Jones, fouls it off his foot, that hurts trainer and Showalter out there but is carrying on, grounds to Hech, throw to Edwin for the out. One down for Wieters, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, great catch by Colby at the wall, two down. Reynolds, ball four and gets on base for first time today. Machado, grounds to Hech. Throw to Johnson to get Reynolds at second. Nice inning from Delabar. Bottom 7th: Edwin leading off, full count, down and away, ball four. Walk but maybe semi-intentional. Lind, here we go, singles to Markakis in right, two on, do Jays have something going finally? Escobar, oh boy, grounds to Machado at third and Edwin is out at the bag. One down two on. Johnson, singles to Markakis in right, bases loaded with one down. Sierra, that’s it for Saunders, Ayala now pitching. 3-0 count, trouble finding he zone which is fine with everyone at the ballpark. now full count, strikes out swinging, maybe John a pinch hitter for Sierra would have been a good idea, Sierra is outclassed in these situations. Two down for Mathis, gets hold of this one but high fly ball to Jones in centre. Jays just unable to get a big inning going, had their chances. Top 8th: Looks who is out there Brett Cecil makes his return, he was one of the few not injured earlier in the season but sent down for poor performance, he probably did not know many out there in the Jays bullpen !!! McLouth, oh boy, great start Cecil hits him. Looked like the shirt but he is on base regardless. Ford, pops up to Escobar, one down. Andino, ball four, hit batsman and a walk, not a great start here for Cecil. Markakis, fly ball to Davis in left, two down, runners hold. Hardy, singles to Rasmus in centre, here comes McLouth to score 4-0 Orioles. Jones, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin for third out. Not an inspiring return by Cecil. He may not be out there again until Jays are in a blowout and it will not be the Jays hitting he had to face. Bottom 8th: Jays running out of at bats now to make a difference. Pedro Strop now pitching for Ayala. Hech, takes strike three, one down. Davis, takes strike three, two down. Rasmus, grounds to Andino at second throw to Reynolds. Three up and down for Strop. Top 9th: Cecil out there again. Wieters, singles to Davis in left, one on for Reynolds, fly ball to right, this time Sierra makes the out, one down. Machado pops up to Edwin, two down. McLouth singles to Sierra in right, Wieters to second on the play. Two on two down for Ford, ball four, loads the bases, not what Delabar wanted. Here comes Bruce Walton, one more out Steve. Andino fly ball to Rasmus in centre, relax Bruce. Bottom 9th: Jim Johnson now pitching, Edwin leading off, strikes out swinging, one down. Lind, fly ball to McLouth in left, Jays down to their last out. Escobar, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to Reynolds at first to end this one. Jays are shut out 4-0. Not much to praise today. Happ nine strikeouts, I thought he had a great outing but no support. If Sierra had made the catch he would also have gone to the 5th inning before a run. I think most of us would rather see him out there right now. The not so good: Two errors, one could have been prevented by Sierra. RISP 1-5 today. Just not good enough. Cecil two innings but two walks and three hits not what we have grown accustomed to with the new bullpen. Sierra and his fielding in the sun, someone has to work with this guy and hang the clip on shades around his neck. Maybe a more experienced pinch hitter for Sierra with bases loaded would have produced netter resuly.. The crowd this weekend not good at all but as we said before maybe many of them knew what was coming

Romero sinks to the bottom with one inning performance as Jays lose this one despite excellent relief from Jenkins and Laffey

. Rays v Jays. Game series finale. Jays will not lose the series but they have a chance although slim against Price (16-5) to win the series. Unless Romero is lights out today this will be a very tough one to win. Very small crowd do they know something today? Lineups: Rays: Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Longoria, Keppinger, Francisco, Pena, Roberts, Molina and Price pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Torrealba, Sierra, McCoy, Hechavarria and Romero pitching. Top 1st: Jennings, 2-2 count, singles into left. Upton, bunting and McCoy make great flip to Lind for the out. That was a great bunt. Zobrist runner in scoring position. There goes Jennings and throw not in time. Jennings at 3B. Romero in early trouble, Rays are running today. Full count, fly ball to Sierra, whoa. Jennings tags but goes back. Reputation for Moises, another life Ricky. Two down for Longoria. Lines it to the wall in left, Davis waves at it, RBI double for Longoria. 1-0 Rays. Joyce, 1-1 count, grounds to Escobar, great throw by Yunel to Lind to rescue Romero, but one run may be all that Price needs today going for win number 17 today. Pitch count 18 for Romero. Bottom 1st: Davis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging after being 2-0 in the count. One down for Rasmus. This is the guy Jays needs today I think. Pops it up to Pena two down. Encarnacion, 2-2 count, fly ball to right for the out. Three up and down for Price. Bad news for the Jays this guy is on today. Pitch count 13. Top 2nd: Ex-Jay Ben Francisco, 1-2 count, Goodbye to this one, hammers it high to left and into the Jays bullpen. No doubt about that one. 2-0 Rays. Pena, full count, way outside ball four, and hits the umpire on the foot, good luck Ricky on close calls. Umpire in pain here. One on nobody out for Roberts. 2-1 count, high pop up to left, Davis hesitates and Roberts to second, Pena to 3B. Two more in scoring position and still nobody out, Romero in deep here now. Molina, outside. 2-2 count, singles to Rasmus in centre, 3-0 Rays as Pena scores. Molina at 1B with Roberts at 3B. Chance now for double play. Top of three order Jennings. Singles first pitch into centre, here comes the boos, 4-0 Jays. Her comes pitching coach, not sure what Pete Walker can do, we have seen Romero like this all season, nothing evidently works with him apart from replacement, Farrell obviously agrees. Now the bullpen already working. Upton fly ball to Sierra cannot see in the sun, and drops the ball, error, and Molina to 3B. Bases loaded. Zobrist, singles into left, two more runs, 6-0 Rays and that is it for Romero. One inning wow, that is rock bottom for Romero. Loads of boos and who can blame them. You can’t put your offense in this situation against someone like Price as well. Chad Jenkins now pitching. Still nobody out and two on base. Longoria, first pitch fly ball to Davis, makes the out but runners move up. One down for Keppinger, two in scoring position, grounds to Hech at 3B throw to Lind for the second out as run scores, 7-0 Rays. Francisco started this inning with that home run. 0-2 count, there we go, strikes out looking, three pitches for Jenkins. At least Jenkins stops the flood. Bottom 2nd: Lind, takes ball four, one on for Escobar, Yunel takes ball four. Back to back walks by Price, must be unsettled with such a big lead. Torrealba with two on and nobody out, fly ball to Jennings in left, both runners hold. One down two on for Sierra, grounds to Longoria, throw to Pena to get Sierra as both runners move up and into scoring position. Jays get something going here. McCoy, ball to load them up. Maybe a little intentional there to get to Hech. High bouncer to Zobrist at short, throw to Pena. Jays leave bases loaded and two in scoring position. They cannot afford to do this against Price and such a huge lead, they have to take their opportunities. Top 3rd: Pena leading off, first pitch gets hold of this one, line drive to centre and say goodbye to this one, home run Pena to make it 8-0 Rays. Roberts, grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind one down. Molina, grounds to Hech, throw to Lind, two down. Top of the order again, Jennings. Pops it up to McCoy at second to end the inning but Rays add one more. Bottom 3rd: Davis, takes strike three. Rasmus, hits him on the shirt, that is always such a weird call to me at least. One on one down for Edwin. Lines it to left but Jennings makes the out. Two down for Lind, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Top 4th: Upton, strikes out swinging, one down. Zobrist, grounds back to Jenkins, nice grab and throw to Lind, two down. Longoria, 2-2 count, lines this one to left and fan touches it, ground rule double called. Farrell out to argue but no good, may have been arguing whether it was fair when it crossed the bag. Keppinger, grounds to Escobar ranging to his left and throw not in time, good play though Yunel to get to it. Longoria to 3rd as Keppinger safe at first. Francisco, hammering these pitches to left, finally hammers this one to right centre over Rasmus and bounces over the wall another ground rule double and here comes Longoria, Francisco using Jays pitchers as batting practice here. 9-0 Rays, the beat goes on. Jenkins, intentional walk to Pena. Two on Roberts, pops it up to McCoy covering behind Lind in foul ground to finally end this one, when he had Longoria at 2-2 count. . Rays get another. Bottom 4th: Escobar leading off fouls this off Molina and he is down, looked like his right collar bone, that really hurt him Trainer out carrying on. Lines next pitch off his mask, Escobar pats him on the head in sympathy, takes strike three. One down for Torrealba, singles to Francisco in right. Sierra fly ball to Francisco, one down one on. McCoy, lines this one to left stand up double as Torrealba gets to 3rd on the play. Oh for more speed. Hech, grounds to Roberts throw to Pena for third out. Jays strand yet another. They are getting to Price but unable to finish it off with runs. Top 5th: Molina, grounds to Hech throw to Lind, one down. Jennings singles to Rasmus, one on for Upton grounds to Hech throw to McCoy at 2nd to get Jennings, Upton safe at 1st. Zobrist singles to Davis in left, Upton stops at 2nd. Longoria two on two down, pops it up to Escobar to end the inning. Rays do not score this inning, that is something to celebrate today. Bottom 5th: Davis grounds back to Price, throw to Pena one down. Rasmus, pops it up to Zobrist at short. Edwin strikes out swinging to end the three up and down inning. Top 6th: Here come the subs. Scott pinch hitting for Keppinger, strikes out swinging, one down. Francisco, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, two down. Pena, singles to Davis in left. Roberts fly ball to Rasmus to end the inning. Bottom 6th: More subs, in fact most of the bench. Thompson in left. Fuld in centre. Elliot Johnson playing at third base. Price remains in there, chance to lower that ERA. Lind, pops it up to Pena at first. Escobar, singles to Francisco in right. Torrealba, grounds back to Price, throw to Pena for the out but Escobar moves up to 2nd. Sierra grounds to Brignac, throw to Pena to end the inning. Top 7th: Laffey replacing Jenkins who did superb job holding them to only two more runs after the 1st inning, wow. That is excellent Chad. Not your fault the hitters have not come through for you today. Molina, ball four leadoff walk for Laffey. Fuld, fly ball to Davis in left, one down. Johnson, wild pitch and Molina moves up a base to 2nd. Grounds to Escobar, throw to third to get the (very) slow Molina. Two down for Thompson, singles to Davis in left. Johnson to 2nd. Brignac strikes out swinging. Bottom 7th: McCoy pops it up to Pena, one down. Hech grounds to Johnson at third base, off his glove and throw is high Hech safe at 1st. One on one down for Davis, 3-1 count, outside ball four, two on one down. Rasmus, pops a soft fly ball to Brignac, and Colby safe at 1st. Bases loaded for Edwin. 1-2 count, this will do, pops it up behind first base line, Pena makes the catch but horrible offline throw with four bounces to the catcher. Hech tags and scores, finally Jays get one, 9-1, that ruins the shutout and ERA for Price. Davis at 3rd. Lind, 0-2 count, grounds high bouncing ball to short, Price and Brignac collide, back to Price, here comes Rajai to score, 9-2 rays Colby to 3rd on the play and bases stay loaded. That was not pretty play, Price should have left that to Brignac. Here comes Maddon to rescue him, with bases still loaded, pitching change before a potential grand slam and six runs against his record. Badenhop now pitching. Escobar, grounds to Brignac at short, throw to Roberts for third out at second base. Jays get two but strand three, the story of the game today for the offensive bats. Price may be wishing Maddon had rescued him before the two runs ruined his ERA. Top 8th: Scott, pops up to Torrealba for the out. One down for Francisco, ball four, one on one down for Pena, takes strike three, two down. Roberts, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Bottom 8th: Giminez now catching for Molina. Torrealba, grounds to Brignac at short, throw to Pena at first, one down. Sierra, strikes out swinging, two down. McCoy grounds to Elliot Johnson at third, throw to Pena to end the inning. Three up and down. Top 9th: Gimenez, singles to Davis in left, one on for Fuld, another single to left, two on nobody out. Elliot Johnson, full count, fly ball to Sierra for the out as Giminez tags and goes to 3rd. Thompson, perfect grounds to Escobar, takes it himself to the bag and throw to Lind for double play ball to end the inning. Bottom 9th: Cesar Ramos now pitching for Badenhop. Hech leading off, grounds to Johnson at 3B, throw to Pena at first. One down. Davis, grounds to Roberts at second, throws to Pena at first, two down for Rasmus, goes the opposite way and singles to Thompson in left. One on two down for Edwin, this one is up, high fly ball to left and out of here, home run for Edwin, number 37 and Jays get two back, 9-4 game. Lind, goes after his pitch and high fly ball to Flud in centre at the wall for the out. Almost but not quite. Jays lose big 9-4 but post Romero, they beat the Rays 4-2. Point to show the difference Romero is making on this team. Something has to be done or will they send him out for his last five starts? Tough choice, but I don’t see many buying tickets for a Romero game right now. $ may dictate the decision regardless of hurting Romero’s feelings, when did emotion ever dictate business decisions? The excellent: Start with Jenkins, five relief innings with Rays in full flow and basically ties them down to only 2 runs in five innings. 57 pitches with 42 strikes. Laffey three scoreless innings 53 pitches. In fact in the 8 relief innings Rays scored twice whilst Jays replied with four. Excellent relief. And puts the Romero outing in a different perspective. The not so good: RISP for the Jays today a horrible 2 for 8. Half of them would have made this score very close. They get six hits and four walks off Price but only two runs. Price was not dominant today but Jays could not take advantage. The Sierra error also cost them two runs. Has to have his shades down in this sun. The awful, terrible, very worst of all: Ricky Romero. One inning, eight hits and seven runs on 43 pitches. What is the answer? Does he go out again and keep on going out for his last five starts this month and to the end of the season? I say no way, but Farrell will say yes way. Pitcher’s manager. Maybe Alex will have his say.

Jays give this one away with misplays and lack of judgement

Rays v Jays. Game three of four. Jays cannot lose the series but it would be real nice to win. They need one from the last two. Today Alvarez may not be the best chance. Lineups: Rays: Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Longoria, Joyce, Keppinger, Pena, Roberts, Lobaton, and Niemann pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Torrealba, Johnson, Sierra, Vizquel, Hechavarria and Henderson Alvarez pitching. Top 1st: Jennings, bounces to Hechavarria throw to Edwin. Upton, first pitch high fly ball to Rasmus. Three pitches two down for Zobrist, 3-0 count, grounds to Vizquel throw to Edwin 9 pitch inning. Bottom 1st: Jeff Niemann pitching. Davis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Rasmus, hammers this one hard to Jennings in left but out at the wall. Close but not enough. Two down for Edwin, full count, grounds to Zobrist, throw to Pena to end the inning. Top 2nd: Longoria, 3-1 count, inside ball four. Joyce 2-2 count. Strike three looking, one down one on for Keppinger, perfect, grounds to Hech, flip to Johnson, over to Edwin, double play ball to end the inning. Very nice play. Bottom 2nd: Lind leading off. Full count, grounds to Roberts at second, throw to Pena, one down for Torrealba, full count, takes strike three. Two down for Johnson. 1-2 strikes out swinging to end the inning. Top 3rd: Pena leading off, 3-1 count, bounces to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin one down. Roberts, 0-2 count, oh boy, big mistake here, lines it over the wall in left, 1-0 Rays. BUT that was major mistake by Alvarez. Torrealba called for that one down and away and he left it up and in the middle of the plate. Lobaton, full count. Ball four. One on one one down for Jennings. Singles to left. Two on for Upton. 1-1 count. Grounds to Hech, throw to Johnson over to Edwin, throw high and Upton safe at first. Two down for Zobrist. 1-1 count, lines to Sierra in right, here comes one run, Upton held at 3B as Zobrist has a double. 2-0 Rays. Longoria with two in scoring position. 3-0 count, low ball four to load the bases. Joyce, lines it to Rasmus in centre, two more runs score, 4-0 Rays and Alvarez all over the place with location. Two more in scoring position for Keppinger. Two down. Jenkins warming up in the bullpen. Full count, grounds to Hech at short long throw to Edwin for the out but Alvarez has given Rays a huge lead after only three innings. Bottom 3rd: Sierra leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging for Vizquel, singles to right. One on one down for Hechavarria. Grounds back to Niemann throw to second over to Pena for double play ball. Top 4th: Pena grounds first pitch to Edwin, takes it himself for the out. One down for Roberts, 2-1 count, grounds to Hech, throw to Edwin, two down. Lobaton. Full count, strikes out looking. Bottom 4th: Davis, 2-2 count, fly ball to Joyce in right, one down. Rasmus, problem with Niemann here, here comes Maddon and the trainer. That is it for Niemann. JP Howell now pitching. Rasmus, 3-1 count, outside ball four. One on for Edwin. Full count, there goes Rasmus, THERE SHE GOES as Edwin launches a rocket to left centre, huge rocket, high off the facing by the hotel windows. 4-2 Rays. Lind grounds to Pena takes it himself. Torrealba, 2-1 count, Wade Davis warming up in the Rays bullpen. 2-2 count, singles to left. Johnson, here comes Hickey the pitching coach. 3-0 count, low ball four. Two on two down and that is it for Howell, here comes Joe Maddon. Wade Davis now pitching. Rajai Davis now hitting with two on and two down. Grounds to second, throw to Pena to end the inning. Top 5th: Top of the lineup, Jennings leading off. 1-1 count, grounds to Hech, throw to Edwin, one down. Upton, 1-2 count, goes the other way into right field corner, stand up double. One on, one down for Zobrist. Pick off almost gets Upton. 3-1 count, Loup warming up in Jays bullpen. Low ball four, two on one down for Longoria. 0-2 count, perfect, grounds to Vizquel, over to Johnson, on to Edwin double play ball to end this problem for Alvarez. Bottom 5th: Vizquel, fly ball to Upton in centre, one down. Hechavarria, same again, high fly ball to Upton at the wall, two down. Davis, 2-2 count, almost hit him inside. Full count, ball four inside. Davis walks Davis, have wanted to write that for a three days. Rasmus, will Rajai steal ? Will it be Sunday tomorrow. 1-2 count, there he goes, no throw and steal number 40 for Rajai. 2-2 count, will he go to 3B ? Single here Colby will bring him in. Full count. Swing or take? Low ball four. Two on two down for Edwin. Will Rajai go ? Not much point as a base hit will score him. Low ball one. 1-1, that was ball two Edwin. There he goes NO NO NO what was Rasmus doing ???? Throw gets him way off the bag at second as he takes off in double steal. What was the point ???? Even if he had made it they would have walked Edwin with the base open. Plus they took the bat out of Edwin’s hands by the move. With two outs. Someone and it looks as if Rasmus did it himself really made a bonehead play. Top 6th: Aaron Loup now pitching. Joyce leading off, 0-2 count, drives this to shallow left centre and Rasmus makes a nice running catch. One down for Keppinger. Grounds to Hech at short, knocks it down but no chance for a throw. One on one down for Pena. 2-2 count, strikes out swing as his bat ends up in the 1B photographers bay. Two down for Roberts. Full count, grounds to Vizquel at 3B long throw to Edwin to end the inning. Loup does another good job but Jays are running out of time. Bottom 6th: Edwin leading off. Lines first pitch to Upton in centre. Lind, lines to secnd, throw to Pena two down. Torrealba, grounds to second, throw to Pena, Jays go quietly, three up and down. Top 7th: Loup still out there to pitch to Lobaton. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Jennings. 2-2 count, great pitch takes strike three. Two down for Upton. Here comes Farrell. That is it for Loup today. Lincoln now pitching. Upton singles to Sierra in right. Zobrist. There goes Upton and throw is dropped at second by Hech. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, great curve to get him to end the inning. Bottom 7th: Jake McGee now pitching. Johnson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Sierra, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Vizquel, 1-2 count, grounds to Keppinger at 3B throw to Pena at first for the out. Jays go quietly and time is running out against Rays bullpen. They had their best chance in the 5th. Top 8th: Lincoln still out there. Longoria, grounds to Vizquel, throw to Edwin, one down. Joyce, first pitch this is trouble high fly ball to right and into second deck seats, 5-2 Rays. Keppinger, fly ball to right but Sierra makes the out, two down for Pena, full count, strikes out swinging, waves at ball off the plate Bottom 8th: Peralta now pitching. Rays locking this one up now. Hechavarria leading off. 0-2 count, hammers this one to left and off the wall, stand up double for Hech. Davis now top of the order. 0-2 count, lines it up the middle, Roberts makes nice play to knock it down and Hech stops at 3B. Maybe could have scored. No aggression here. Runners on the corners, Rasmus chance to make up for the bonehead move last at bat. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, terrible at bat by Rasmus. one down. Edwin, full count, a double will do Edwin, no need for a home run. Outside ball four, semi intentional Peralta had a base available. Bases loaded for Lind. Again a double will do Adam. This will also do, singles back up the middle, here comes Hech here comes Davis, 5-4 Rays. Edwin at 3B. Lind at 1B. One down for Escobar. That is it for Peralta, now Rodney the closer will have to pitch five outs. But the right decision I think as game could be over. McCoy pinch running for Lind. Torrealba, 3-1 count, outside ball four, bases loaded again. McCoy the go ahead run. Johnson, inside ball one. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging at pitch outside. Two down for Sierra, 2-2, strikes out swinging. Sierra overpowered, not used to seeing 98mph pitching. Learning opportunity. Jays get two back but they needed three. 15 pitches for Rodney however, still has another inning to go. Top 9th: Brandon Lyon now pitching. Roberts leading off. Pops it up to Johnson, one down. Ex-Jay Ben Francisco pinch hitting. Pops it up to Edwin, two down. Top of the order Jennings. 1-2 count, lines it to left field corner but Davis runs it down for third out. Bottom 9th: Last chance for the Jays. Jose Molina now catching. Vizquel leading off. 3-1 count, outside ball four. One on for Hechavarria. Showing bunt. Outside ball one. Good bunt to Rodney and Vizquel to second as throw to first to get Hech. Davis, no pinch runner for Vizquel ? had better not be thrown out at the plate. 2-1 count, fly ball to left for the out. Vizquel has to hold. Rasmus gets another chance to redeem himself. High ball one, lines this one into centre and here comes the throw, out at the plate, Molina blocks the plate and Vizquel could not go around him. Would a faster runner have down it? Of course, another poor call by Farrrell, surely, surely on this squad there is someone who can run faster than Vizquel. Jays give this game away. The very good: Edwin as always, today with another home run bomb to score two. The bad: Alvarez ignoring Torrealba in the 3rd and giving up a home run to Roberts, that run counted in the end. Rasmus ill advised steal attempt, and Farrell no pinch runner for Vizquel with tie run at second. Jays seven hits but nobody with multi hit game today. RISP 3-8 but some wonderful opportunities missed.

Mathis anchors amazing win by Jays for Morrow, Sierra, Davis and Edwin combine to support 2-1 win over the Rays

Rays v Jays. Game two of four. Looking forward to seeing Morrow pitching after the great win by Villanueva last night. However I hope the bats give him a bit more support than they did last night. Without that first inning we could still be watching the game. One eye tonight on NY and the Orioles series. Chance for the Orioles to close the gap and then come in to Toronto for major meaningful series starting on Monday. Yankees will be pumped also after losing the last series to the Jays. In Toronto though we are hoping for another win to continue the win streak. Email from our friends in Moscow about why am I so hard on Escobar. The major reason is what he has been showing this week. This guy has loads of talent but sometimes, far too many times in my book he does not appear to hustle his butt whether it be in the field or on the bases and that is what bothers me about him. I am delighted when he breaks out as he did this week in New York but look at the play last night with bouncer to him and chance for double play and yet unable to even make a throw, sure he double clutched or did not have a grip on the ball but these are excuses that we hear from Yunel far too many times. Double plays follow him in his at bats, his amble down to first base drives me mad. YET friends I really do like his talent when he shows it. Lineups: Rays: Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Longoria, Joyce, Keppinger, Scott, Roberts, Molina and Hellickson pitching. Changes Roberts and Molina playing tonight. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Sierra, Mathis, McCoy and Morrow pitching. Changes McCoy in for Hechavarria. Top 1st: Jennings leading off, 0-2 count, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down for Upton. Singles back up the middle. One on one down for Zobrist. Grounds to McCoy at 3b, bobbles it but throw gets Zobrist, that was double play ball. Two down for Longoria, Upton to second. Grounds to McCoy throw to Lind for the third out, redeems himself. Pitch count 13. Bottom 1st: Davis leading off. 1-2 count, fly ball to Upton in centre, one down for Rasmus. Colby still struggling. Hitless last night but a lefty, tonight a righty. 1-2 count, takes strike three. Advance scouts are doing a good job on Colby. Two down for Edwin. Connects on this one but vertical as opposed to horizontal and fly ball to left for Jennings to make the catch. 11 pitch count, a little too easy for Hellickson. Top 2nd: Joyce, 3-1 count, high ball four. Lead off walk. One on for Keppinger. Singles to Rasmus in centre, two on nobody out for Scott. 2-1 count, pops it up to Davis in left for first out. Roberts, lines to left, Davis throw to the plate and gets him, Joyce out at the plate, Good throw by Rajai. Two down. ex-Jay Jose Molina, full count, strikes out swinging, excellent pitching by Morrow after getting into big trouble with two on and nobody out. Pitch count climbing though. 34. Orioles beating Yankees 3-0 early 2nd inning. Bottom 2nd: Lind leading off. Full count, drives it to centre but right at Upton, one down. Escobar, fly ball to Jennings in left, two down for Johnson. 1-2 count, hammers this one to the wall but Upton makes the catch Three up and down for the Jays, hitting Hellickson hard but not hard enough. Pitch count 25. Top 3rd: Top of the order Jennings. High fly ball keeps on carrying over Rasmus this one is out of here, into front row right centre and Rays get their first run of the series, 1-0 Rays. Upton, singles into left. One on for Zobrist. Pops it up to McCoy behind 3B. One down one on for Longoria. High very high pop up to Mathis at the plate, two down. Joyce, bunting, strange play, Morrow throw to Lind for the out. Strange play with two down. 47 Bottom 3rd: Sierra, hammers this one to centre and this one is OUT OF HERE, wow. Great hit home run all the way 1-1 game. Mathis lines it hard but right at Zobrist dives for the catch, one down. McCoy. 1-2 count, grounds to Longoria at 3B. Long bouncing throw to first just gets McCoy. Two down for Davis. Pulls it to Zobrist, throw to first to end the inning but this one is all tied up for Morrow. Pitch count low 36. Top 4th: Keppinger, 3-1 count, high fly ball to Rasmus for first out. Scott, 2-2 count, nice pitch strikes out swinging, two down for Roberts. 1-2 count, lines it to centre but over Rasmus to the wall, stand up double. Molina, not many first pitch outs by these Rays team. Jays should note. Pops it up to Lind for third out. Problem is the Morrow pitch count is high, bullpen will be needed soon if this keeps up. Pitch count 63. Bottom 4th: Rasmus leading off. Pops it up to Jennings in left, one down for Edwin. Very quiet for him lately. Not this time though, a moon shot to centre and this one is in the second deck seats. Home run Edwin number 35. 2-1 Jays. Lind, full count, singles opposite field hit into left. One on one down for Escobar. That’s what I mean about Yunel, grounds to Zobrist over to second on to first another double play by Escobar to end the inning. Just as Hellickson looked in trouble for the first time in the game. Pitch count 48. Top 5th: Top of the order Jennings. 3-1 count, gets under this one, high fly ball to Davis in left for the first out. Upton, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Zobrist, grounds to Johnson, nice backhand play and throw to Lind for the out. Pitch count 78, maybe one more for Morrow. That’s the problem with a patient hitting team they can wait one out. Bottom 5th: Johnson leading off. 3-1 count, outside ball four, leadoff walk. Sierra, Johnson caught off base but gets back, looks like Sierra missed the hit and run sign. Molina threw to second not first. They could have had him. Grounds to Zobrist steps on the bag and throw to first double play ball. Two down for Mathis. Grounds to first steps on the bag, yet another quick inning for Hellickson aided by impatient Jays hitters. Pitch count 57. Nine pitch inning. Hellickson will be able to pitch tomorrow at this rate. Top 6th: Meantime Morrow on a pitch count following his injury. May be his last inning. Longoria leading off. Pops it up to Rasmus in shallow centre, one down. Joyce, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Keppinger. Lines it to left but Davis dives and misses it and ball all the way to the wall for Rasmus as Keppinger stand up double. Scott, 2-2 count, wow, strikes out swinging, huge pitch to end the inning. Pitch count 90. Will he or won’t he come out again? Maybe not. Bottom 6th: It would be nice if the hitters could give Morrow some breathing room here. McCoy and no bunting Mike. First pitch just as bad, fly ball to right for the out. Davis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Rasmus, come on Colby you are overdue this series. Turns on this one wow hits the fifth deck facing, but foul. That is the Colby home run swing though. Full count, high pop up to Longoria for third out. Pitch count only 70 !!! Top 7th: In NY also in the 7th Orioles winning 4-0. Hardy and Reynolds with the home runs off Kuroda. Gonzalez pitching shutout for the Orioles so far at least. Morrow out there again. Roberts, grounds to Lind, throw to Morrow for the out. One down. Molina, Bullpen warming up. Steve Delabar. 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind two down. Jennings top of the order. Full count, lines it into left, past a diving McCoy. Stand up double. That is it for Brandon 102 pitch count, Delabar now pitching but no room for error with tie runner at second. Upton, grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind and everyone breathes again. Bottom 7th: Surely Jays can get a couple here to give some breathing room. Edwin leading off which means Maddon will pitch around him. No they are pitching to him, 1-2 count, lines this to Jennings in left. Second hit tonight for Edwin, he has 2 of the 4 Jays hits tonight. Leadoff guy on base. That is it for Hellickson. Interesting with only 73 pitch count and seemingly well in control, it was his hitters who did not come through for him. Jake McGee for Lind lefty lefty matchup. But Lind has been hitting lefties well this year. 2-2 count, takes strike three. One down for Escobar. 1-1 count, fly ball to Joyce in right for second out. Johnson another lefty lefty matchup. Grounds to Zobrist at short, throw to first to end the inning. McGee did his job. Top 8th: Delabar still out there. Zobrist leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Longoria, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down. Darren Oliver warming up in Jays bullpen. Joyce, full count, does it, blows it past Joyce great pitch, strikes out swinging. Delabar strikes out the side. Bottom 8th: Kyle Farnsworth now pitching. Sierra, full count, fly ball to Joyce in right. One down for Mathis. 0-2 count, pops it up to Zobrist at short, two down for McCoy. Bounces to Harnsworth, throw to first to end the inning. Top 9th: Casey Janssen for second night. Keppinger, 2-1 count, lines it to Davis in left, long single, one on for Scott. Pinch runner Eliot Johnson for Keppinger. High fly ball to left, Rajai makes the great catch almost at the wall but Johnson tags and gets to second. One down Roberts, but runner in scoring position. 0-2 count, takes strike three, wow what a pitch. Roberts disagrees but no joy with the umpire. Two down for Carlos Pena. Pinch hitting for Molina. Strike one, outside ball one, YES YES YES, lines it to Sierra in right, here comes Johnson, Sierra throws a bullet to Mathis and he gets him at the plate as Johnson barrels into Mathis. WOW what an ending. Mathis is a rock out there. Took the hit full on and held on to the ball. Johnson looks as if he has been hit by a bus, his face is all beaten up. But I think he may have hit the ground with his face on the collision. Wow what an ending. Sierra almost over ran that line drive and that could have been disaster going all the way to the wall but he didn’t and made an incredible play. Jays win 2-1. And despite being outhit 10-4 by the Rays. Morrow gets the win, Janssen the save. And don’t forget the bullpen once again. Delabar tonight with his perfect inning. The excellent: Edwin his game winning home run. Mathis two great outs at the plate and Sierra the MVP tonight with his home run and game saving throw. Sierra grin fills his face. Davis with his throw to the plate. Great defensive plays by the Jays. The not so good: Not tonight friends, let’s enjoy this one and the fact that Jays cannot lose the series and have two chances to win the series.

Villanueva gem and the bullpen enough to beat the Rays 2-0

Rays v Jays. Game one of four. Big series for the Rays not so much the Jays apart from the spoiler aspect. But they would like to continue the one game win streak two of the last three that they started in NY. Plus of course Rays have owned the Jays this season so it is time for payback to start and where it hurts the Rays most in the wild card scramble. Orioles have already won this afternoon so that puts even more pressure on the Rays to keep pace with Baltimore for the wild card. Especially as the Orioles go into NY tomorrow for huge series. If Yankees sweep then Rays have great chance to move back into the position, if Orioles sweep NY, then Rays have to keep pace but it will also mean that Yankees will be right back with the Orioles. Should be a great start to September and the Jays will be in the thick of it acting as spoiler. Tonight Moore winner of his last four outings and hot, Villanueva always solid. Should be a great game. Looks like a good crowd from my seat although one can never tell with the fifth deck crowd behind us, how deep it is but I would say at least 25,000 tonight. Lineups: Rays: Jennings, Upton, Zobrist, Longoria, Joyce, Keppinger, Scott, Lobaton, Fuld and Moore pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Sierra, Mathis, Hechavarria and Villanueva pitching. Top 1st: Jennings leading off, first pitch HIGH, very high pop up to Escobar, Upton fly ball to Davis, two down for Zobrist, ball four. Longoria one on two down, there goes Zobrist, throw gets him. Nice throw Jeff. Bottom 1st: Davis leading off, takes strike three. Rasmus, grounds back to Moore throw to Scott at first, two down. Encarnacion ball four, pitching Edwin away, I think that will be the mantra this weekend, sorry Edwin. Lind, goes opposite way singles to Jennings in left, Escobar, ball four to load the bases, Johnson with two down, there we go singles to Fuld right. Here comers two, 2-0 Jays. Escobar to 3B, Johnson stand up double. Sierra takes strike three, have to swing at that one Moises. Top 2nd: Longoria, singles to Davis in left, Joyce singles to Sierra in right, Keppinger bunting to Hech at 3B and moves them both up. Two in scoring position and only one down. Scott, pops up to Mathis behind the plate, two down for Lobaton, takes strike three. Whoa. Bottom 2nd Mathis leading off, strikes out swinging, Hech fly ball to Fuld in right, two down Davis, singles to Upton in centre, Rasmus two down, fly ball to Upton in centre for third out. Top 3rd Fuld strikes out swinging, Jennings takes strike three, Upton takes strike three. Strikes out the side, and four in a row. Nice pitching. Bottom 3rd Edwin strikes out swinging, Lind, fly ball to Jennings in left, 2 down. Escobar grounds to Zobrist at short, safe at first. Johnson, singles to Jennings in left, Escobar to 3B on the play, Sierra grounds to Longoria at 3B, throw to second to get Johnson. Top 4th Zobrist takes strike three, 5 in a row for Villanueva, Carlos on a roll here. Longoria strikes out swinging, number six. Joyce fly ball to Davis in left for the third out. Breaks the string of strikeouts but Carlos will not mind, it was an out. Bottom 4th Mathis fly ball to Upton in centre, one down. Hech strikes out swinging, two down. Davis fly ball to Flud in right and Jays go three up and down. Moore also settling in but he is the one behind in the score. Top 5th Keppinger singles to Sierra in right, one on for Scott strikes out swinging, one down one on for Lobaton, bounces slowly to Escobar, no throw, not sure about that one Yunel. Maybe not a good grip no the ball but from where we were sitting looked a possible double play. Meantime two on one down for Flud, fly ball to Davis in left, runners hold, two down. Jennings same again fly ball to Davis in left to end the inning. Pitch count mounting but they are off the scoreboard so far. Bottom 5th Rasmus strikes out swinging, Edwin fly ball to Upton in centre, gave it a ride but out at the wall, just not far enough, two down. Lind, grounds to Keppinger at second, throw to Scott for the out at first. Top 6th Upton fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down for Zobrist, singles to Sierra in right, one on one down for Longoria. Perfect, grounds to Escobar, over to Johnson on to Edwin double play to end this inning. Maybe the end of Villanueva over 90 pitch count. They have not been stretching him out so far this season mindful of last year when his arm broke down with over use. The last they think they need is for this guy to go down. Bottom 6th Escobar leading off, strikes out swinging, one down for Johnson grounds to Keppinger at second over to Scott. Two down for Sierra, keeps it going, singles to Jennings in left. Mathis ball four, two on here comes the pitching coach. Hech grounds to Zobrist at short, throw to Scott for third out, Jays leave two more out there. Top 7th That is it for Carlos tonight, over to the bullpen and why not, Darren Oliver now pitching. Ryan Roberts pinch hitting for Joyce, strikes out swinging, not happy, neither is his manager I assume. Keppinger, fly ball to Rasmus, two down. Scott, strikes out swinging. Oliver does his usual excellent stuff. Bottom 7th Wade Davis replaces Moore. Davis to Davis, ha, strikes out swinging, one down, Rasmus now the right hander to face, maybe his luck will change, no pops up to Scott at first, two down for Edwin. Strikes out swinging. Moore’s four game winning streak ends. Top 8th Lincoln in for Oliver, setting up for Casey. Lobaton strikes out swinging, one down for Fuld, fly ball to Sierra in right, two down for Jennings, grounds to Johnson at second; throw to Edwin for third out. Bullpen so far doing their job and well. Bottom 8th JP Howell replacing Davis, lefty match up with Lind, pops it up to Keppinger at short, one down. Escobar singles to Fuld in right, his second hit of the night and six in the last two games. Not complaining here. Johnson, Escobar running and Kelly singles to right, but looks as if the ball hit Escobar as something deflected it right to Keppinger, now the umpires are conferring, waving Maddon off as he storms out of the dugout below. Yes they are calling Yunel out, interference as the ball hit him although it bounced right to Keppinger. If it had not hit him that would have been at least a single with Yunel to third. The baseball gods. Sierra, now Maddon comes out again. Pitching change this time, Badenhop for Howell. These managers are getting more and more like the time wasters in NY and Boston. Ball four, that did not help Maddon much. Two on two down for Mathis, takes strike three, ouch Jeff. Top 9th Last hurrah for the Rays. Casey Janssen out to try for save number 18, wow can you imagine that. Upton, strikes out swinging, one down for Zobrist, fly ball to Sierra, two down, on our feet, Longoria, ball one, fly ball to Sierra and the game is over. Jays win another huge victory 2-0.Three of the last four. Rays are fighting hard to get that wild card and every game is crucial for them especially against so called:”weaker sub-.500 teams at the bottom of the division. But Jays deserved this one. Great shutout pitching by Villanueva and the bullpen. The excellent: Has to be Villanueva with his performance, at one stage six strikeouts in a row which set the tone but also the rest of the bullpen. Oliver, Lincoln and Janssen one shutout inning each. Kelly Johnson tonight's unlikely hitting hero with the two RBIs but also his 3/4 hit night. Escobar and Johnson 5 of the 8 hits by the Jays tonight, weird. 4 walks by Jays tonight. showing some patience at the plate. 1-5 RISP. That could have been better. 9 scoreless innings to help everyone’s ERA but they earned it. Not good: The poor lady who was hit by the ball and had to leave the game, you can’t ignore those foul balls hit behind you, you have to watch the bounce because so many times it comes back off the seats and also the concrete levels, and then can go anywhere, but you have to turn around friends for those balls. That being said I hope you are ok, it did not look too serious as you were walking.

Jays beat Yankees 8-5 to win series behind MVP Escobar 5RBI day and great pitching by Happ and bullpen

Jays v Yankees. Series finale. Just the leading team in the division and their best pitcher to worry about today, no Rasmus in the lineup. Lefty Sabathia the reason. Lineups: Jays: Davis, McCoy, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Sierra, Mathis, Hechavarria and Happ pitching. Yankees: Jeter, Swisher, Cano, Jones, Granderson, Pearce, Nix, Suzuki, Stewart and Sabathia pitching. Top 1st: Davis, first pitch grounds to Jeter throw to first, one down give me a break. McCoy. Grounds to Swisher, takes it himself, three pitches two outs, great start. Edwin, on a 0-7 slump, hitless in New York. Grounds to Jeter but off his glove into left. Error ?? Yes indeed. However that could have been a five pitch inning. One on two down for Lind. Wild pitch and Edwin to second. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Nine pitch inning. Bottom 1st: Happ starts with one hand behind his back, just has to ignore his team’s hitting issues and work on his own problems. Jeter leading off. 0-2 count, singles to left. Swisher, full count, inside ball four, two on nobody out for Cano. 2-2 count, grounds to Lind, looks at second but no chance and throw to Happ for the out. One down runners in scoring position. Jones, 2-2 count, singles back up the middle, here comes Jeter, Swisher holds at third, 1-0 Yankees. Granderson, oh boy, grounds to Johnson, to Escobar who throws a very high throw which takes Lind off the bag. Run scores and only one out instead of double play ball. Thanks Escobar. Pearce pops it up to Johnson to end this but Escobar owes Happ one already. Pitch count 23. Top 2nd: Escobar, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. His bat hits Stewart and knocks the mask off, umpire calls interference. Interesting Farrell is giving Escobar an animated talk as he walks off. Johnson, first pitch, fly ball to Ichiro. Pretty bad hitting by the Jays so far today. Sierra, 1-1 count, grounds to Cano at second, throw to Jeter for the out. All too easy for Sabathia today. 19 pitch count. Bottom 2nd: Oh no.... Farrell and trainer out to Happ on the mound, but Happ staying out there. Not sure what that is all about. Nix, 1-2 count, takes strike three. One down for Ichiro, 2-2 count, goes around, two down for Stewart. Full count, strikes out swinging. Nice inning for Happ, strikes out the side. Pitch count 40. Top 3rd: Mathis leading off. That’s better, grounds back at Sabathia and off his glove into left. Mathis at first. That usually happens to Jays pitchers. Hechavarria, one on, grounds to Nix who fumbles it and no chance for throw. Two on for Davis. Bunting? Yes but foul. Can anyone bunt on this team? 1-2 count, that’s better, loops it into right. Mathis holds before running so only gets to third. Bases loaded for Rasmus, ooops sorry McCoy. Wishful thinking. Crowd is quiet. Grounds to third, Nix steps on third, throws home double play. The very worst outcome. Encarnacion, two down, Davis at second, 3-0 count. There goes Davis and Edwin loops it into left, here comes Davis to score, McCoy to third. 2-1 Game. Edwin at first. Lind, 2-1 count, perfect loops it into right, here comes McCoy, 2-2 game. Edwin to third. Escobar, chance for Yunel to redeem himself. Yes he does, doubles it into left, here comes Edwin 3-2 Jays. Johnson, two in scoring position. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Terrible. 44 pitch count, I like that. Jays get back in this one and give Happ a lead. Bottom 3rd: Jeter leading off, 1-1 count, Lines it to Escobar at short, one down for Swisher. 3-0 count, outside ball four. Cano, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down one on for Jones. 3-0 count, high ball four. Two on two down for Granderson. Wild pitch !! to the wall and both runners move up. Full count, fly ball t left and Davis totally misplays this and to the wall, two runs score. 4-3 Yankees. Thank you Rajai. Pearce, 1-2 count, grounds back to Happ, throw to Lind for the out. Happ has to do it himself. On the off-season shopping list has to be a left fielder who can field. They had two but traded them. Pitch count 67. Top 4th: Back to square one. Jays hitters need to make it up to Happ. Sierra, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Mathis. 2-1 count. Fly ball to Ichiro in left, he has no problem making the catch, two down for Hechavarria, grounds to Jeter, throw to Swisher for the out. 8 pitch inning. 52 pitch count. I don’t think Jays are going to get any more chances from Sabathia, they had their chances last inning. Bottom 4th: Happ back out there, hardly sat down. Nix leading off. Full count, high ball four. One on for Ichiro. 1-2 count, lines it into right, both runners in scoring position. Stewart with nobody out. Not good. This is good, pops it up to Mathis for first out. Jeter, intentional walk to load them up. Swisher. 1-2 count, whoa, great pitch, strikes out swinging. Two down. Not out of it though, it gets tougher. Cano, takes strike one. 1-1 count, 1-2 count, OHHHHH, strikes out swinging, tremendous pitching by Happ. Pitch count however is 92 !! Bullpen will be working soon. Top 5th: Davis now, maybe make up for the missed 2RBIs catch. No lines it to Jeter for the first out. McCoy, groan bunting first pitch, to Cano and throw gets him, three pitches two outs. Encarnacion, Steve Delabar now warming up. 2-2 count. strikes out swinging. 61 pitch count, five innings That is what (overly) aggressive play does for the opposing pitcher. Bottom 5th: Happ out there to at least start this one. Jones leading off. Pops up to Escobar, one down for Granderson, pops it up to McCoy in shallow centre, two down. Pearce, 1-1 count, grounds to Escobar, knocks it down and throw to Edwin for final out. Great pitching by Happ. 100 pitches for Happ. Top 6th: Lind lines it to Jones in right, makes a dive for the ball and rolls over. Umpire says no catch. One on for Escobar, bunting ??? Does it again 2-0, and again and takes a strike, wow. does it again and fouls it off. 2-2 count, Full count. I don’t get it, WHOA Yunel, drives this one HIGH to left centre and into the seats, Escobar, YES the Yunel Escobar, hits this one out of here, second deck in left centre, two run home and Jays go out ahead 5-4. Johnson, still nobody out. 1-2 count, singles into right. One on for Sierra, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, first out of the inning. Mathis 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging two down. Hechavarria, 1-1 count, loops it into left centre, two on. Two down for Davis, strikes out swinging. 91 pitch count for Sabathia. Bottom 6th: Delabar now pitching to try and hold the lead for Happ. Bottom of the order, Nix. Full count, lines it to the wall in left, Davis bobbles the ball and Nix to second. Ichiro, ex-teammate of Delabar. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down. Stewart. Chavez pinch hitting for Stewart grounds to Lind, throw to Delabar for second out. Nix to third. Jeter, two down. 2-2 count, Jeter disagrees. Strikes out swinging, great pitching by Delabar after the leadoff double. Top 7th: Martin now catching, Chavez to 3B. McCoy leading off, grounds to Chavez, throw to Swisher, one down for Encarnacion. 2-2 count, high fly ball to left, Ichiro makes the out. Two down for Lind. Lines this one high to left centre and Ichiro takes away a double from Lind, great running catch to end the inning. 99 pitch count for Sabathia. Bottom 7th: Delabar still pitching. Swisher, first pitch high fly ball to centre, McCoy makes the catch, one down. Cano, lines it into right, stand up double for Cano. Loup warming up. Jones, one down one on. Full count, strikes out swinging, great pitch. Two down for Granderson, that is it for Delabar. Aaron Loup now pitching. Takes strike one. Strike two. Grounds to Lind, throw to Loup for the out. Great pitching by Delabar and Loup. Top 8th: Derek Lowe now pitching. Escobar, 2-3 today. One man wrecking crew with 3RBIs. 3-4 as he lines it into left, and just beats the throw to second. Double for Yunel. Great day for him. 3 extra base hits !!! Johnson bunting and past Lowe. Johnson safe at first. Escobar to 3B. Rasmus pinch hitting for Sierra. Two on and nobody out. Delay going on there, stalling for Boone Logan, now he is ready here comes Girardi, Logan to now pitch to Colby. Lefty lefty match up. Full count, how could he take that pitch. Strikes out swinging. One down for Mathis. Here comes Girardi. Eppley now pitching. One down two on. PERFECT safety squeeze, bunts up the 3B line and here comes Escobar to score, throw to first gets Mathis but he did the job. 6-4 Jays and Johnson to second. Two down for Hech. Pops it up to Swisher in foul ground. Bottom 8th: Brandon Lyon now pitching. Ibanez pinch hitting for Pearce, 1-1 count, lines it to the wall in centre, over the head of Rasmus, lead off double. Martin, 2-2 count, no, grounds to third and it hits the bag !!! and bounces over the head of Hech into left. Here comes the run 6-5 Jays. That was such a flukey hit. Martin to second. Ichiro, bunting, 0-2 count, lines it into shallow centre and a brilliant running diving catch by Colby wow. One down runner holds at second. Chavez, full count, whoa, strikes out swinging, great pitching. Two down but here comes trouble. Jeter now with two down and runner in scoring position. Full count, fly ball to McCoy in right to end this one, great pitching by Lyon. Martin was on second with nobody out and could not score, that is pressure pitching by Lyon. Top 9th: Top of the Jays order Davis, another run would be good here. Eppley still pitching. 2-1 count, bounces to Chavez at 3B throw to Swisher for the out. One down for McCoy. 1-2 count, bounces to Chavez at 3B and off his glove and McCoy going to second, safe on the throw. Edwin now, has not had a great series in New York. Intentional walk. Lind with two on. Here comes Girardi, Rapada for Eppley, lefty lefty match up. One down two on. Full count, Yankees crowd is VERY quiet. There goes McCoy but inside ball four to load up the bases. Here comes Girardi. Chamberlain to face Escobar. 3-4 today but an important at bat right here. 2-2 count, YES lines it into right, and ball is dropped in right by Jones, here comes McCoy and Edwin, two to score 8-5. 5 RBIs for Yunel. WOW and other double. Johnson now with two in scoring position, Ouch, HITS him to load the bases again, still only one out. Rasmus with bases loaded. Come on Colby. Any hit will do. NOT that, pops it up to Martin behind home plate, two down. Mathis, two down bases loaded. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Bottom 9th: Casey Janssen now in to try to save this one. AND chance to win a most unlikely series. It will be tough facing top of the lineup. Swisher, hammers it to Lind at 1B knocks it down and throw to Casey for the out. One down for Cano, 0-2 count, wow strikes out swinging on three pitches. Two down for Jones, 3-1 count, pops it up to Escobar for the out. AMAZING, Jays win the series in New York. First series win in NY in two years, first series win in the last seven. They came in to NY on a seven game losing streak and win 2 of 3. I am the biggest critic of Escobar but today he was numero uno. The excellent: Today has to be Yunel Escobar, 4 extra base hits, 5RBIs. BUT also the great pitching today. Happ gets a well deserved win despite the injured right ankle. The bullpen once again perfect. RISP 6-14... amazing for this team. The very good: Mathis safety squeeze for the run number 6. Lind and Johnson with two hits each. Jays outhit the Yankees 12-8. The not so good: Only one gripe today the 2RBIs double over Davis in left, should have been caught although no error given.

Jays fall short as Romero pitches a gem and Hech hits his first ML home run run.

Jays v Yankees. Game two of three. Jays coming off one of the, if not the best win of the season. Beating NY in Yankee Stadium which they had not done since May 2011. And in extra innings and after coming back several times to finally win the thing. Jose news, surgery on the wrist which means no more Jose this season. Jays beat the number one team without Jose last night and they have to keep winning for the rest of the season without him. Marcus Stroman suspended, that is not good he was on many lists for September call ups. Tonight Romero. A perfect chance for Ricky to bounce back and give a complete game shutout, but we dream. Lineups: Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, McCoy, Torrealba, Sierra, Hechavarria and Romero pitching. Yankees: Jeter, Swisher, Cano, Pearce, Martin, Granderson, Jones, Nix, Suzuki, and Hughes pitching. Correction to Teixeira injury, it is his calf and not his toe as mentioned last night. Top 1st: Davis, full count, outside ball four, an eight pitch at bat for Rajai, that is how I like the leadoff. Rasmus, 1-2 count, Davis there he goes and the throw beats him, waiting for that one. Colby strikes out, two down. Edwin, hitless last night, grounds to 3B throw to first to end the inning. Pitch count 16. Bottom 1st: Jeter, singles to left, one on for Swisher. Full count, strikes out swinging and they have Jeter picked off, Edwin tags him out in rundown. Cano two down. Lines it right at McCoy at second for the out. Pitch count 11. Top 2nd: Lind leading off, full count, Pops it up to Swisher at 1B.. One down. Escobar, 0-2 count grounds to Nix at 3B, throw to 1B, two down. Torrealba, full count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 35. Bottom 2nd: Pearce, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, nice pitch Ricky. Martin, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Granderson, 1-2 count, pops it up to Rasmus in shallow centre for the out. Three up and down, nice inning for Ricky. Pitch count 23 with 16 strikes, long may this continue. Top 3rd: Can Jays mess up the no hitter for Hughes? Bottom of the order. McCoy, pops it up to Ichiro in left for the out. Sierra, there we go, singles into left. Way to go Moises. One on one down for Hechavarria. Strikes out swinging. Two down. Davis, 1-1 count, OUCH, hits him. What’s with these Yankee pitchers? unable to throw straight. Rasmus, two on two down, make him pay Colby. 0-2 count, pitch number six, pops it up for Nix to make the out. Hughes bends but does not break, pitch count 53. Bottom 3rd: Jones, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Nix, 2-2 count, singles into left, one on one down for Ichiro. 1-2 count, grounds to Hech at 3b looks at second then too late to throw Ichiro out. Bang bang play Hech with Ichiro. That was huge mistake. Two on now. Jeter, 1-2 count, pops it up to Rasmus in centre for the out. Jones tags on the throw and to 3B. Swisher, two on. Two down. 2-2 count, singles into shallow centre, here comes Jones. 1-0 Yankees, Hechavarria mistake costs. Cano with two on. 2-0 count, VERY nice play by McCoy, dives to his right to get this one and throw to Escobar at second to end the inning, saved a run here for Ricky. Pitch count however at 51 after three. Top 4th: Encarnacion, hitless in NY. High fly ball to centre but Granderson makes the out. Edwin now 0-7. One down for Lind, pops it up to Nix at 3B. Escobar, 1-1 count, hammers this one to left and this one is off the wall, almost out, stand up double. Torrealba, full count, takes strike three, come on guy. Pitch count 66. Bottom 4th: Pearce leading off. 3-0 count, come on Ricky. That’s better, 3-1, full count, what was that, high and outside ball four. One that got away. One on for Martin, 1-2 count, Pearce running but Torrealba cannot get hand on the ball. And Pearce safe at second. Grounds to McCoy throw to Edwin for the out, but Pearce to 3B. Granderson, hammers it to Rasmus in centre, here comes Pearce, 2-0 Yankees. Two down for Jones. 1-2 count, bounces to Hech at 3B throw to Edwin for the out. But Yankees have taken 2-0 lead. Pitch count 68. Top 5th: McCoy, NO Mike, first pitch pop up to Nix. Come on. One down for Sierra, 2-2 count, lines it to right centre for Jones to make running catch, two down. Hechavarria, 0-2 count, NO WAY Hech.. lines this one to right and this one is carrying out of here home run Hech, his first major league home run, 2-1 Yankees. Davis pops it up to Jones. Pitch count 81 despite McCoy’s first pitch out. Way to go Hech. Great Home run. Bottom 5th: Nix, lines it into left. One on for Ichiro. 0-2 count, pops it up to Hech behind the mound, one down. Jeter, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Ichiro was going but no chance to get him. Two down for Swisher. 3-1 count, inside ball four, two on for Cano, not good Ricky. 2-0 count, break his bat as he grounds to McCoy at second and throw to Edwin to ends the inning and strand two as the broken bat sails into foul ground behind Edwin. Pitch count 84. Top 6th: Rasmus, turn on this one but high, high in foul land, almost Colby. Full count, high ball four. Lead off walk that’s what we like to see. Pressure on Hughes. Edwin still hitless, your time Edwin. 3-0 count, takes it all the way, 3-1, outside ball four. Two on nobody out for Lind, will Farrell send the runners and force the issue? 0-2 count, high and long into right, almost out of here but Jones gets it right in the corner, one down as Colby tags and gets to 3B. Escobar, with two on. One down. Lines it to Cano at second throw to 3B and Colby caught off the bag, oh dear. Double play to end this one. Pitch count 97 for Hughes. Bottom 6th: Pearce, pops it up to Rasmus in shallow centre. Martin one down. Same again and Colby makes the out. First pitch out. Granderson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, great inning for Ricky on six pitches. 91 pitch count. Top 7th: Torreallba, grounds to Jeter, throw to first, one down. McCoy, full count, fly ball to Ichiro in left, two down for Sierra. Singles to Granderson in centre. Second hit tonight. Hechavarria,1-2 count, there goes Sierra but Hech strikes out swinging. 110 pitch count for Hughes but will turn it over to the closer duo of Robertson and Soriano. Bottom 7th: Jones leading off, full count, pops it up to left of the mound but Escobar makes the out. Calls off McCoy and Edwin. One down for Nix. 2-2 count, high fly ball to left, Davis backs off as does Colby but then Colby makes the last minute grab. Two down for Ichiro. Soft pop up to Escobar for third out. Great outing Ricky. Pitch count 106. Of which 69 were strikes. That’s the Ricky we have been waiting for. Top 8th: Robertson now pitching. Top of the order. Davis leading off. Grounds first pitch to Swisher at 1B. Rasmus, gets under it and pops it up to Granderson in shallow centre. Two down for Edwin who has been hitless in two games here so far at least. Last chance Edwin. Check swing and off the end of his bat to Swisher at first. Not good. Bottom 8th: Brandon Lyon in to keep them quiet. Jeter leading off. Full count, Fly ball to right but Sierra makes nice running catch. One down. Swisher. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Cano, 1-1 count, pops it up to Davis in shallow left. Top 9th: Last chance for the Jays tonight. Lind leading off. Soriano again, will lightning strike twice? 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Escobar. 2-0 count, bounces to Jeter, throw to first, two down for Torrealba, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Not tonight Jays friends. Despite great outing by Romero, Jays lose one run game. Jays best chance was in the 6th with Colby at 3B and one down but caught off the bag on the end of a double play. Tomorrow chance to win the series. Happ pitching. The excellent: Romero surely deserves the gold star tonight. Great outing and kept this Yankees lineup to two runs. 7 innings, 106 pitches and what I liked the high strike ratio. 69 strikes. Hechavarria first home run and a great hit it was. Two hits for Sierra, he only other hit was a double by Escobar. Good defensive dive by McCoy to save a run. Not so good. Rasmus getting caught out at 3B on end of double play. Top four in the order held hitless tonight. Second game in a row for Edwin. Hechavarria 3rd inning play on Ichiro, hesitation cost him and Jays the first run and as it happens the winning run margin.

Jays power appears in NY for 8-7 amazing win by Jays in extra innings.

Jays v Yankees. Game one of three. Jays stumble in to New York, fortunate to leave Baltimore with only two losses and reprieve for later in September for the final game when we assume and hope that this team will be a lot stronger than they are now. Lots of rain in the area with Isaac making its way north. Could be more rain outs in this series which will also be fine in one respect. And that is to get the injured back in the lineup. Tonight one more is back, Adam Lind. DH tonight to take some pressure off the back. On paper Jays will end this series on 10 game losing streak. Right now just not in the same league as the Yankees. But as always the game still has to be played on the field not on paper. Lineups: Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Torrealba, Sierra, Hechavarria and Alvarez pitching. Only two rookies in the lineup tonight but without Jose, Lawrie, Arencibia, and Cooper. Yankees: Jeter, Swisher, Cano, Teixeira, Granderson, Chavez, Martin, Ibanez, Suzuki, and David Phelps pitching. Not a bad guy to have in number nine spot. Ichiro. Top 1st: Davis, fly ball to Granderson in centre, one down for Rasmus. No more cornrows. 1-2 count, takes strike three, two down. Encarnacion, lazy fly ball to Granderson to end the inning. Three up and down. 8 pitches, ho hum. Bottom 1st: Jeter, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Yunel showing some life and energy on that play, is that a message? Swisher, grounds to Edwin takes it himself Swisher thinks it a foul ball, sorry, two down. Cano, 3-1 count, this one is trouble, hammers it to centre and this one is over the fence and into the bullpen, 1-0 Yankees. Teixeira, fly ball to Davis in left for the out. Pitch count 17. Top 2nd: Lind, long time since we had that name in the lineup. WOWEEEEEE Adam lines this one to centre, and into the same bullpen as Cano, just like that. HOME RUN Jays. 1-1 game. WOW !! Escobar, first pitch lines it to centre for the out, one down. Johnson, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Torrealba. 1-2 count, goes around for the strikeout. Pitch count 20. Bottom 2nd: Granderson, full count, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin, one down for Chavez. Grounds to Alvarez, knocks it off his pitching hand, ouch bounces to Hech no chance for throw and Chavez to first. Should have let it go through Henderson. Escobar was right behind him. Trainer and Farrell out, but ok. Martin, now you need ground ball Henderson, lines first pitch hard to Sierra in right two down. Ibanez, shift right on. Hech to shallow right. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging wow on three pitches, great pitch. Pitch count 28. Top 3rd: Sierra leading off. Full count, grounds back to Phelps, throw to Teixeira at first, one down. Hechavarria, 2-2 count, nice, grounds it up the middle and Cano no chance for throw. One on one down for top of the order. Davis, 0-2 count, grounds to Cano to Jeter but no chance to get Davis for the out, not even close. One on two down for Rasmus, will Davis go? that’s the swing Colby, but not this time as it goes foul to right, but that great swing is what we want to see from Colby. 1-2 count, whoa great eye on that one, very close 2-2 count. Not this time strikes out inside. Pitch count 40. Bottom 3rd: Ichiro leading off, not bad for number nine. Jays would love that luxury. Lines it to right but right at Sierra for the first out. Jeter, first pitch pop up to Rasmus in shallow centre. Two down for Swisher. 2-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin. 8 pitch inning, very nice Henderson. Pitch count 36 after three innings. Top 4th: Encarnacion leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Cano at second, throw to Teixeira, one down for Lind. 3-1 count, goes the other way to left with this but Ibanez makes the second out. Escobar. Grounds first pitch to Chavez at third, throw to Teixeira at first, very close and almost beats it out, Yunel is hustling tonight, good to see. 50 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Cano, 2-2 count, gets hold of this one, hammers to right, this one is out of here, home run number two. 2-1 Yankees. Teixeira, hits that one off his foot and that really hurts. 3-1 count, outside ball four. Teixeira still worried about that foot or toe. Granderson, 1-2 count, fly ball to center for Rasmus to make the out. One down for Chavez. 2-1 count, lines to Davis in left. Two on for Martin. 2-1 count, oh boy, lines it off left leg of Alvarez, this one bounces to Sierra into shallow right, Teixeira scores 3-1. Here comes trainer and Farrell. No, he is out of the game. Yet another injured Jays pitcher. Laffey to pitch. Ibanez, runners at the corners. Chavez at 3B. This could be the game right here. Grounds to Johnson, throw to Escobar for the out, no chance for double play as Chavez scores. 4-1 Yankees. Ichiro. 0-2 count, grounds to Hech at 3B throw gets Ichiro at first to end the inning. Nice throw Hech. Top 5th: Jays have another uphill fight, but they should be used to those by now, every game recently. Teixeira out of the game now with the injured toe. Nix at 3B and Chavez to 1B. Johnson, 3-0 count, outside ball four, leadoff walk, Phelps has been sitting a long time with at last inning. Torrealba, low ball one, 2-0, six in a row, I like Torrealba taking them, situational hitting. 2-1 count, YES YES YES, YORVIT the man, drives it hard to right and Ichiro watches it fly over his head, into the seats, here comes Kelly here comes Yorvit Torrealba and 4-3 game now. Love it. Sierra, bounces it up the middle to Cano, throw to Chavez at first for the out. Nice defensive play. Hechavarria, one down. 0-2 strikes out swinging. Top of the order, Davis, two down. 1-1 count, grounds to Jeter, throw to Chavez at first to end the inning but Jays have made it more interesting. 66 pitch count. Bottom 5th: Laffey has to hold them here. Top of the order Jeter. full count, inside ball four. One on for Swisher. 2-1 count, Oh no, hammers this one high to left and over a leaping Davis at the wall into the seats, 6-3 Yankees. Cano already with two, not this time grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin for the out, Cano not exactly hustling down the line, interesting. One down. Nix, full count, high ball four. How many times have we seen this from Jays pitchers, unable to close it down when they get runs back. Granderson, one on one down, first pitch swinging, high fly ball to Rasmus for the out. Chavez, 3-1 count, high ball four, two on for Martin. Laffey not long for this game pitching like this. Walton agrees here he comes. Two on two down Martin. High ball one, outside ball two, there’s a strike, fly ball to Sierra in right to make the out. Top 6th: Jays have to come back for a third time. BUT they have been trying to do it for the last month now so nothing new and one night they will. Rasmus leading off. There we go Colby, lines it into right, easy isn’t it? Edwin one on, Yankees crowd gone very quiet. 1-1 count, wow almost beaned Butterfield as he dives to the ground to avoid that bullet from Edwin. 1-2 strikes out. One down. Lind, 2-0 count, lines it to centre but Granderson makes the second out, Escobar. Can he move Colby over? 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 80. Bottom 6th: Jones pinch hitting for Ibanez, high fly ball to right, Rasmus and Sierra, and Sierra dives at last minute to make the out, almost a nasty error. Ichiro, grounds it back to Laffey, nice stab with the glove and throw to Edwin for the out, nice play by Laffey. Two down for Jeter. Full count, OUCH, yet another line drive back at the pitcher, off his foot, this time he recovers and throws Jeter out. Laffey doing it himself here, much better inning for him but is it too late. Top 7th: Jones now in right field. Ichiro moves to left. Johnson leading off. 1-2 count, whoa that looked like a strike from here, right down the middle, not so says the ump. 2-2 count, grounds to Chavez at first, takes it himself, one down. Torrealba, nice, singles into right, two hit night for Yorvit. That is the end of line for Phelps. Sierra one down. Cody Eppley now pitching to get the two rookies. 1-2 count, grounds back to Eppley, fumbles it and throw to first, no chance for a double play as Torrealba makes it to second on the fumble by Eppley. Hechavarria, with runner at second in scoring position. VERY NICE HECH, lines it to Ichiro into left, here comes Torrealba to score. Great at bat by Hech, 6-4 game. Davis now, Yankees bullpen working fast. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging but the Jays will be pleased with Hech two hit night. Bottom 7th: Steve Delabar now pitching. Swisher, full count, great pitch inside strikes out swinging. One down for Cano, full count, outside ball four, semi-intentional walk there. One on one down for Nix, 0-2 count, fly ball to Sierra in right, two down. Here comes Farrell. Sorry Steve. Aaron Loup now pitching to Granderson. lefty lefty matchup. 0-1 count, fly ball to left for Rasmus to make the out as Davis also converges. Need a traffic cop out there tonight. Top 8th: Big bats for the Jays but can they come through here? Colby has a hit but not Edwin. Rasmus leading off. David Robertson the setup guy now pitching. Drives it hard to centre but Granderson is there for the out., One down for Edwin. 0-3 tonight, high fly ball to centre for Granderson two down. Lind, singles into left, opposite field hit, two hit night for Adam. Escobar, two down one on, he singles in to left, nice at bat Yunel. Two on two down for Johnson, go ahead run !!!! wow. Nice to say at least. No pinch runner for Adam at second. 1-2 count, inside 2-2, up high, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Bottom 8th: Chavez 2-2 count, what is this with Yankees, lines it right back at Loup, hits and bounces away to Escobar, no chance for a throw, here comes Farrell and Loup is out of the game, third time tonight a Jays pitcher has been hit. Brad Lincoln now pitching. Martin, bunts to Lincoln, high throw but Edwin makes the out, one down. Chavez at second. Jones, 3-1 count, grounds back to Lincoln, throw to first, two down. Chavez to third. Ichiro. 1-1 count, perfect, grounds to Escobar, long throw to Edwin for the third out. Yankees unable also to bring in the leadoff runner, moral victory to Jays pitchers. Top 9th: Unfortunately not the part of the order you want but then again who ever knows with this team. Soriano now pitching. Only two blown saves out of 35. Torrealba, full count, strikes out swinging. One down for Sierra, lines it back up the middle, rookies have no fear of reputations. One on for Hech. Two hit night tonight. Pops this one up to Cano at second. Two down for top of the order, can Davis get on now? 0-4 tonight. 0-2 count, YES Rajai, singles into left, Sierra all the way to 3B. Rasmus now with two on. Davis now giving Soriano something to worry about,. WWWWWWWOOOOOWWWWEEEEE Colby, love it. Huge swing to right This one is OUT OIF HERE watch it all the way, Colby, way back in the second deck. Wowee. Jays fans love it. Listen to them. Going crazy.7-6 Jays, Edwin now, full count, strikes out swinging but Jays fans LOUD and Soriano blows his third save of the season to the bottom club of the division. WOW, you never know in this game. Bottom 9th: Casey Janssen, has not pitched in a long time, and facing top of the order. Jeter, OH BOY, drives this to right and this one is out of here, home run Jeter and ties the game up 7-7. Both closers blow saves. Swisher. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Cano. Grounds to Edwin. Nix strikes out swinging. Problem with Janssen is that with seven straight losses he had not been pitching and it showed. Did not get the job done though tonight. Top 10th: Rapada now pitching, Lind, strikes out, one down. Lowe now pitching. Escobar grounds to Jeter, throw to first, two down. Johnson, 1-2 fly ball to Ichiro, Jays go meekly and quietly here they are very deflated after that blown save, from high to low in five minutes. Bottom 10th: Darren Oliver now pitching. Granderson, full count, strikes out swinging, going for the fences as they say, not tonight Curtis. one down for Chavez, takes strike three, two down for Martin, 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, off the bag but Edwin tags Martin on the arm for the out. Oliver did his job but the cards are stacked now against the Jays. Bullpen is getting very thin and Jenkins had a lousy outing in Baltimore. Top 11th: Bottom of the order for Jays. Lowe pitching. Walton tapping Ricky Romero, will he be pitching if necessary ? Torrealba, does it again, singles in to left. Third hit of the night, wow. Sierra now, he has power. McCoy pinch running for Torrealba. OH wow, throw over gets away and McCoy all the way to 3B. Wow. Jays have to make this one count. 90 feet away, and nobody out, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Hechavarria, one down. Perfect, grounds to third McCoy holds, throw to first, and now here comes McCoy on the throw to first, and slides and beats the throw from 1B, 8-7 Jays, two down for Davis. Pops it up to Nix at 3B for the out but Jays have the lead again. Bottom 11th: Mathis catching Oliver still out there. Pops it up to right and Sierra makes great catch at the wall and overbalances falling over but the first out and that is all that counts. Ichiro, ball four, loses him. Jeter one down, 0-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Escobar to get Ichiro, no chance for two. Two down for Swisher. Jeter at 1B. Strike one, 1-1 count, strike two, 2-2 count, full count, STRIKE THREE Jays win !!!!! Look at those Jays players. Long time since we saw the outfield celebration jump. The losing streak is over and Jays have beaten numero uno in Yankee Stadium coming back all night to win this one. This has to be THE very best win of the season for the Jays. Nobody would have given them much chance tonight and falling behind 4-1 and 6-3 and then the Jeter home run to tie it up when they had gone ahead for the first time. This one is what they call character building friends. Without any contributions from Jose or Edwin they score 8. How do you account for that? The baseball gods smiled at last on the Jays. Note: Teixeira injury now decsrbed as a calf injury and will go on the DL> The excellent: Colby Rasmus, since his injury, much maligned by everyone deep in hitting slump, striking out time after time, unable to swing to the right, tonight an emphatic three run blast to right and off ace closer Soriano, to put the Jays ahead once more. Lind first at bat after DL the home run. Torrealba two run home run to get Jays back in it. Hechavarria two hit night and important run to get Jays within two. And let’s not forget pinch runner McCoy run to win this thing, kept his head, and came home when it counted. And of course let’s not forget Darren Oliver. Two shutout innings for the win. But tonight the whole team, well maybe not Casey Janssen who chose a bad time to blow save number three, but again he had not pitched in save situation for a very long time. Jays outhit the Yankees but it was the distribution that I liked. Zilch for Edwin, ditto Johnson, BUT Torrealba 3, Lind 2, Hech 2, Rasmus 2, and Sierra 1. That is great contribution. Home run power from Lind, Torrealba and Rasmus three run shot and off Soriano no less. Delabar, Loup, Lincoln, Oliver, 5 shutout innings between them. Not so good: Yet another injury, this time to Alvarez.