Romero pitches a gem and Santos redeems himself with save as Jays win the game and series

Red Sox v Blue Jays. Game three and Series finale.

School day, thousands of school children here, the NOISE is LOUD !!! always a great atmosphere for the Jays, the only problem is that they do not always come through with a win. Today maybe a change. Rasmus and Lind rested today. We will see Ben Francisco as DH and Davis starting in centre.
Tough pitching matchup, Lester has owned Jays hitters for last three seasons going 9-2 in 13 starts.

Lineups: Red Sox: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, McDonald. Ross, Aviles, Shoppach and Lester pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Johnson, Bautista, Encarnacion, Francisco, Lawrie, Thames, Arencibia, Davis and Romero pitching. Rasmus and Lind getting a day off for lefty Lester.
Top 1st: Ellsbury, strikes out swinging, one down for Pedroia, fly ball to centre, Rajai Davis in for Rasmus today makes the catch at the wall, two down for Gonzalez, first pitch swinging, Thames makes the catch at the wall in left. Red Sox hitters swinging away here.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, first pitch swinging fly ball to right for McDonald to make the catch. Johnson, pops it up into left for Ross to make the catch, two quick outs for Bautista grounds it to short throw to first for third out. Jose hitless streak continues.

Top 2nd: Youkilis, grounds to Escobar, throw to Encarnacion playing at first today for Lind. One down for Ortiz. Pops it up to Escobar to make the catch in foul ground. With the shift on he has to cover it for Lawrie’s position. Darnell McDonald grounds to Lawrie playing back at third, throw to Encarnacion to end the inning. These two are streaking through this game.
Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion leading off, playing at first for Lind today, full count, strikes out swinging. Francisco, DH today. 2-2 count, grounds to Youkilis, throw to Gonzalez at first for the second out. Lawrie, grounds up the middle but throw by Pedroia beats him to first. Another three up and down for Lester.

Top 3rd: Ross leading off. 0-2 singles to Thames in right, there goes the no-hitter. Aviles, singles to Bautista in right, back to back hits on Romero. Shoppach, runner in scoring position, bunting and good one in front of mound, Arencibia throw gets him. One down for Ellsbury, Aviles at second in scoring position. Slices it the other way into left field corner, here comes Aviles to score. 1-0 Red Sox. Pedroia with two on. 2-2 count, great pitch strikes out swinging, two down for Gonzalez. Grounds first pitch to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion for third out. Romero gives up one but escapes major trouble.
Bottom 3rd: Jays fighting from behind and against a great pitcher. Thames, 1-2 count, singles into right centre, one on one down for Arencibia, ball gets away from Shoppach, Thames safe at second on the throw down, strikes out swinging, two down one on for Davis this should do t, slices first pitch the other way into right field corner, here comes Thames to score easily and Rajai all the way to third on the throw, speed. Love it. 1-1 game. Escobar, now can he cash in? This should do it, fly ball to right, Davis tags and scores as throw comes in. 2-1 Jays. Johnson, two down. Ball four, Johnson walks. Bautista with runner at first. Ball gets away from Shoppach, Johnson to second and in scoring position for Jose, BUT when was the last time you saw his batting average below 200. Now at .190 ouch. Hitless this series does not help. 2-2 count, grounds to first for the out. Jose leaves another out there in scoring position but Jays have taken back the lead for Romero.

Top 4th: Youkilis, grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Edwin at first, one down. Ortiz, pops up to Escobar for second out. McDonald, strikes out. Ricky back on track with quick inning.
Bottom 4th: Encarnacion leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to short, throw to first, one down for Francisco. Pops it up to Shoppach two down. Lawrie, full count, grounds to third, throw very close, but called out, that was really, really close. Lawrie in full gallop is going to beat out many such throws this season.

Top 5th: Ross, lines it to left, Lawrie makes an incredible diving catch, what a play, saved a hit for Romero there. The play seems to follow this guy around. Aviles grounds to Johnson, throw to first, two quick outs for Ricky. Shoppach, grounds to Lawrie at third, long throw to Edwin for third out.
Bottom 5th: Thames, grounds to Gonzalez at first, steps on the bag for the out. Arencibia, strikes out swinging, two down. Davis, strikes out.

Top 6th: Top of the order, Ellsbury, grounds to right, great defensive play going to his left by Johnson to make the play and throw to first to get Ellsbury. Pedroia, full count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Encarnacion to beat Pedroia. Two down for Gonzalez. High fly ball to right centre, Bautista makes fine running catch to get Gonzalez.
Bottom 6th: Top of the order. Escobar leading off. That hurts, fouls it off his toe, just below the foot guard. 2-2 count, pulls it to Youkilis at third, throw to first for the out. One down for Johnson. Bounces back to Lester, flips to Gonzalez at first for second out. Bautista takes strike three. His frustration showing as he hurls the bat and helmet away.

Top 7th: Youkilis leading off, 3-0 count, takes strike one, full count, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Encarnacion for the out. Ortiz, full count, grounds to Johnson throw to Encarnacion at first for the out, two down for McDonald full count. Fly ball to Thames for the third out.
Bottom 7th: Lester 87 pitch count. Encarnacion, fly ball to Ross in left. One down. Francisco, fly ball to centre for second out. Lawrie 0-2 today, 2-2 count, 100 pitches for Lester. Full count, Lawrie hanging tough here, fly ball to right, taken at the track for the out. Jays hitters hitting Lester hard this inning but nothing to show for it. 102 pitch count.

Top 8th: Ross, goes around for third strike, one down. The million $ question does Santos pitch the 9th? Aviles grounds first pitch to Lawrie throw to Encarnacion for second out. Shoppach, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. No way does Santos start the 9th. 90 pitches for Ricky. He wants to finish this one today.
Bottom 8th: Jays need a couple here. Lester still out there. Thames full count, strikes out swinging at ball four. Arencibia first pitch swinging grounds to second throw to first for second out. Davis, 3-1 count, low ball four. On for Escobar throw over but Davis was running and safe at second, in scoring position now for Escobar, singles up the middle and here comes Davis, speed kills every time. 3-1 Jays. Johnson, skies it to centre for the out but Jays have another run for Romero. Lester 117 pitch count.

Top 9th: Ricky out to close this one. Will have to do it the hard way though with top of Red Sox order. Ellsbury, 3-0 come on Ricky, put it in play. Santos warming up, ball four. Oh boy. Pedroia, been here before this series. Heart medication time. 3-1 count, ball four, ouch. Major decision for Farrell leaving Ricky in there. Gonzalez. 1-2 count, high fly ball to Rasmus in centre, makes the catch but both runners move up into scoring position. One down for Youkilis, Here comes Farrell. Standing ovation for Ricky. Santos, this will be his last chance as reliever if he blows this one. No room for error, single ties the game. Youkilis. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Huge strikeout, but not finished yet. Two down for Ortiz, grounds to Escobar, throw to Encarnacion and Jays win this one. Santos gets the save and Romero the win. John Farrell earned his salary with that decision to relieve Ricky and also to bring in Santos.

Tough one for Lester to lose but Romero was just that better today.
Jays now after first two series are 4-2. I think John Farrell will take that. Boston on the other hand fall to 1-5 in their first two series on the road to start the season and on their return to Fenway it does not get any easier facing Tampa, Texas and the Yankees in their first three series.

The very good: Romero, the win and 8 one run innings. Yes Santos with his save. Santos had incredible pressure today after blowing two and facing top of the Red Sox order and certainly not much fan support. Davis with his triple in the 3rd inning, plus his running game stealing second and creating that third insurance run in the 8th inning. Great defensive plays to help Ricky this afternoon. Lawrie, incredible catch in the 5th off Ross. Johnson to get Ellsbury in the 6th. Bautista catch to get Gonzalez in the 6th.

The good: Jays now revert to a four man rotation and all four have started well. The fans, three great crowds to open the home stand, sure Red Sox as opposition helps and the school day (25,285 attendance), but the atmosphere in Toronto is very different this season and it easy to see why when the younger players showcase their speed and talents. This team will definitely entertain the fans win or lose.

The not so good: Bautista hitless today and in the three game series, now .174 average. He will enjoy the day off tomorrow. On the plus side it is good to see others picking him up to win games.