Jays win big with comeback power and awesome bullpen

Opening Day 2012. Here we go. Game one in Cleveland.

Starting lineups: Jays: Escobar, Johnson, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Lawrie, Thames, Arencibia, Rasmus and Romero pitching.
Indians: Brantley, Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo, Santana, Hafner, Duncan, Kotchman, Hannahan. Masterson pitching.

Great crowd here today, many Jays fans, this is like the good old days when hundreds of fans from Ontario would drive the few hours west for Cleveland series. The start of Jays-Nation.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, strikes out swinging. One down for Kelly Johnson, strikes out swinging. Bautista, what will his season be like? strikes out swinging. Masterson in good form to start.
Bottom 1st. Brantley leading off, strikes out swinging. Cabrera, pops up to Johnson at second. Two down for Shin-Soo Choo, grounds back to Romero throw to Lind for third out.
Top 2nd: Lind doubles Brantley in centre field. Encarnacion, can he bring him in? pops it up to Kotchman at first, one down. Lawrie grounds to Kotchman throw Masterson covering. He gets Lind to third but with two outs. Thames, all eyes on him this month to see if he can get going early and keep Travis in Vegas. Grounds back to Masterson throw to Kotchman at first, leaving Lawrie at third.
Bottom 2nd: Santana leading off, ball four. Hafner, strikes out swinging. One down. Duncan doubles to Thames in left, he misjudged that one, playing much too shallow and had to turn and ball over his head. Santana to 3rd. Kotchman grounds out to Lind at first, here comes Santana 1-0 Indians and Ricky still in trouble. Duncan to 3rd. Kipnis, ball four, second walk of the inning. Here comes the coach. Hannahan, gets hold of this one and this is out of here, home run to Hannahan, 4-0 Indians. Brantley doubles to Thames in left field. Bullpen working. Cabrera, grounds out to Lawrie at third to end Ricky’s misery. But Indians go out ahead.
Top 3rd: Arencibia takes strike three looking. Rasmus grounds back to pitcher Masterson, throw to Kotchman at first. Escobar two down, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 3: Choo, ouch Ricky hits him. Santana, ball four, two on and nobody out. Choo at 2nd. Hafner, that’s better, grounds to Johnson, on to Escobar to get Santana on to Lind to get Hafner. Duncan with Choo at third, pitch gets away, here comes Choo, Arencibia dives back to block the late and tag Choo to end this one. Romero escapes damage but not looking very strong here in the last two innings
Top 4: Johnson leading off, strikes out swinging. Bautista, one down, gets hold of this one, there it goes, classis Jose, high into left field corner, home run number one for Jose. 4-1 Indians. Lind grounds to Hannahan at third, throw to Kotchman to get Lind. Two down for Encarnacion, strikes out swinging. But Jays get one back at least.
Bottom 4: Duncan left at home plate with Choo out in last inning, strikes out here. Kotchman grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Lind, two down. Kipnis grounds back to Romero throw to Lind for third out.
Top 5th: Lawrie grounds out to Cabrera at short, throw Kotchman. Thame, same play grounds to short Cabrera on to Kotchman, two down. Arencibia, another ground ball, to Kotchman flip to Masterson covering. Jays go quietly. Masterson so far pitching a gem.
Bottom 5: Hannahan lines Rasmus in right centre great running diving catch by Colby, his bat may be cold but his glove is fine. That was highlight reel catch that robs Hannahan of a double. Brantley grounds to Johnson on to Lind. Cabrera strikes out swinging. Romero settling down now but maybe too late to go much further with his high pitch count.
Top 6th: Rasmus grounds Kipnis at second over to Kotchman. Escobar, same play, grounds to second Kipnis on to first Kotchman. Masterson getting his pitches down for these ground balls.Two down for Johnson, lines out to short Cabrera.
Bottom 6: That is it for Romero, not the outing he was hoping for. Frasor now pitching. Choo, ball four. Santana takes third strike. One down one on. Hafner flies out to Rasmus in centre. Duncan, there goes Choo the throw gets him, nice throw by Arencibia to Johnson. That’s the second time Choo has left Duncan at the plate.
Top 7. Bautista, all four, not giving Jose much there. Lind, oh boy, grounds back to Masterson to Cabrera to Kotchman, double play ball. Encarnacion strikes out swinging. Jays running out of at bats.
Bottom 7: Duncan ball four, Pinch runner Cunningham for Duncan. That is it for Frasor. Darren Oliver now pitching. Kotchman grounds Escobar on to Lind at first, double play ball. Kipnis takrs strike three. Godo start for Olliver.
Top 8: Cunningham stays in game at the left field. Lawrie leading off, strikes out swinging. Thames fly ball to Cunningham, two down. Arencibia strikes out swinging on wild pitch Arencibia makes it to 1st. Rasmus lines out to right field Choo.
Bottom 8: Casey Janssen replaces Darren Oliver, Casey had such a great spring. Hannahan grounds to Johnson at second, over to Lind. One down. Brantley, grounds out to Lind. Cabrera singles to Rasmus. Choo singles on a line drive to Bautista. Cabrera to 3rd. Santana strikes out swinging. Casey gets out of his jam.
Top 9: Jays down to their last chances here. Chris Perez replaces Masterson. Escobar singles to Brantley in centre. Jays need base runners. Johnson singles to Brantley in centre. Escobar to 3rd. Bautista, this will do it, high to Brantley in centre, more than enough for Escobar to score. 4-2. Johnson moves up to 2nd. Lind, ball four. Pinch runner Rajai Davis replaces Lind. Edwin Encarnacion, gets hold of this one, into left field off the wall, here Johnson, here comes Davis scores. This game is all tied up at 4-4. Masterson’s great effort wasted. Lawrie grounds to Chris Perez over to Hannahan Encarnacion out at 3rd. Thames, ball four. Lawrie to 2nd. That is it for Perez. Vinnie Pestanonow pitching. Arencibia grounds to Hannahan at 3rd, throw to Kotchman at first t end the inning but Perez has allowed Jays to get back into this one when all seemed lost today.
Bottom 9: Bautista now playing at first. Davis remains in the game in right field. Cordero replaces Casey Janssen. Hafner singles to left. Pinch runner Donald replaces Hafner. Cunningham out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Jose Bautista to second baseman Kelly Johnson. Donald to 3rd. Kotchman grounds out to first base Bautista. Kipnis grounds to Johnson throw to Bautista to send this one into extra innings.
Top 10: Rasmus pops out to second base Kipnis. Escobar strikes out swinging. Two down. Johnson hit by pitch. Bautista singles to right field Choo. Kelly Johnson to 2nd. Rajai Davis pops up to short Cabrera.
Bottom 10: Villanueva replaces Cordero. Hannahan takes strike three. Brantley grounds out, to Johnson at second, over to Bautista at first, two down. Cabrera grounds to Johnson over to first base Bautista.
Top 11: Smith now pitching replacing Pestano. Encarnacion singles to Brantley in centre field. Lawrie grounds to Cabrera on to Kipnis. Encarnacion out at 2nd. Lawrie to 1st. Thames grounds to Kipnis on to shortstop Cabrera, throw to Kotchman at first double play ball.
Bottom 11: Choo leading off, fly ball to Thames in left. Santana lines out to Escobar at short, two down. Donald, ball four and another walk. Cunningham fly ball to Rasmus in centre to end the inning.
Top 12: Arencibia leading off, strikes out swinging. Rasmus fly ball to Cunningham in left. Two down. Escobar doubles to Brantley in centre. Sipp replaces Joe Smith. Johnson all four. Sipp intentional walks to Bautista. Escobar to 3rd. Kelly Johnson to 2nd. Rajai Davis flies out to left fielder Aaron Cunningham.
Bottom 12: Kotchman leading off, strikes out swinging. Kipnis, ball four, yet another walk. Hannahan singles to right field Rajai Davis. Kipnis to 3rd. This could be big trouble. Pitching change. Perez replaces Villanueva. Brantley, ball four. Hannahan to 2nd. Omar Vizquel replaces left field Thames playing left field. Five infielders and only two in the outfield. Any hit will win the game. Cabrera, perfect, grounds to Escobar over to Johnson at 2nd over to first base Jose Bautista. Brantley out at 2nd.
Top 13: Edwin Encarnacion strikes out swinging. Brett Lawrie strikes out swinging. Omar Vizquel grounds out, third baseman Jack Hannahan to first baseman Casey Kotchman. Nobody wants to win this thing. The crowd has long diminished but Jays hardy fans remain.
Bottom 13th: Switch back from first base to right for Jose Bautista. Defensive switch from right field to left field for Rajai Davis. Defensive switch from left field to first base for Omar Vizquel. Choo lines out to left field Davis. Santana ball four. You sense that if Jays lose this it will be to a walk. Donald strikes out swinging. Cunningham pops up to Escobar. Yet another lucky escape.
Top 14: Asencio replaces Tony Sipp. Arencibia, flies out to left field Cunningham. Rasmus strikes out swinging. Two down for Escobar grounds out, to Cabrera over to Kotchman at first to end the inning. The MLB record for Opening Day innings is 15.
Bottom 14: Kotchman pops up to Johnson at second. Kipnis strikes out swinging. Hannahan strikes out swinging. Perez still pitching well.
Top 15: Johnson ball four, leadoff walk. Bautista singles on a line drive to centre field Brantley. Johnson to 2nd. Davis bunting, oh no, pops it in the air to Hannahan but stays put in the box as the Indians throw to Kipnis at second and on to first to get Davis who froze as his bunt fell harmlessly. That was an unecessary out, especially with the speed that Davis has. Double play ball. Encarnacion, grounds out, to Hannahan at 3rd, throw to Casey Kotchman at first to end that promising start.
Bottom 15. Brantley grounds out to Lawrie at third, throw to Omar Vizquel at first, did you ever think you would hear those words? Vizquel had a great reception at the beginning of this game from the Indians fans. Cabrera flies out to right fielder Jose Bautista. Choo, ouch, Perez hits him for the second time this game and Choo does not like it, moves towards the pitcher Perez. Here comes the two dugouts. There is no way that was intentional with the game on the line. Santana flies out to Bautista in right to end this one.
Top 16: Now officially the longest ever MLB Opening day game. Lawrie walks. Vizquel grounds back to pitcher, hit and run on and Lawrie safe at second, back to forst but Vizquel safe. reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by pitcher Jairo Asencio. Brett Lawrie to 2nd. Arencibia with two on, THERE she goes, home run for JP deep to left field. Here comes Lawrie, here comes Vizquel and here comes JP for the third run, 7-4 Jays and that must be a heartbreaker for Masterson. Still no one out. Rasmus pops up to Hannahan at third, one down. Escobar lines out to Cabrera at short. Johnson, takes strike three. Jays have three more and the lead for first time today. Is it enough.
Bottom 16: No Santos, he came out on the field but is waved back by the dugout. Farrell continues with Perez. Donald grounds out, to Johnson at second, on to Omar Vizquel. Two down, here comes Farrell this time. Santos time: replaces Perez after his excellent pitching performance. Aaron Cunningham walks. Kotchman grounds back to Santos throw to first base Omar Vizquel. Cunningham moves into scoring position at 2nd. Kipnis grounds to Johnson over to first base Omar Vizquel. And this game is finally over. Farrell has no one left in the bullpen. This was a team effort and Indians fans will argue this was a steal by the Jays with Cleveland leading all the game until the 9th.
The good: The managing of Farrell today-night but especially with the bullpen and the five man infield to finish the double play and threat of the Indians in the 15th. Arencibia and Bautista ome runs. Great diving catch by Rasmus. The whole bullpen.
The bad: Romero early in the game and never looked sharp.
The ugly: Rajah Davis bunt attempt in the 14th witth two on and nobody out and failure to run resulting in a double play. Lousy concentration.

Bottom line: Jays win big in Cleveland and this one is in the W column towards that playoff number, so that is good.