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.

Jays get HUGE break, rain postponed game.

Jays v Orioles. Series finale. Trouble in Paradise. Not only on the field but off the field. Let’s start with off the field. Evidently Farrell announced that Jose was back on the DL BEFORE letting Jose know. Plus he also lambasted the lack of effort. And sloppy play, well about time you noticed that John. The fans could have told you this was not an overnight occurrence. Meantime on the field ??? what a mess last night’s game, poor base running, three players thrown out, McCoy, Vizquel (yes Vizquel, someone should tell the guy he is 45 and maybe not have the same speed he had 20 years ago) and Davis; poor fielding Escobar the major culprit but not unnoticed was Escobar calling off Vizquel on a pop up to 3B. Try doing that when Lawrie gets back Yunel. Also noted the slow speed of Vizquel at 3B to miss a few grounders that Lawrie would have gobbled up, maybe another reason why Hech is recalled and playing 3B this afternoon. Poor hitting? take your pick in the lineup. Catcher? another wild pitch to lead to a score. Another poor throw into the outfield. On their own these things are manageable; put together it adds to slop and Farrell called them out. Maybe today we will see a difference? No Rasmus in the lineup and I agree the guy needs a head break, would have happened last night but for Jose injury. I still believe in Colby, far more than most of the others. He has to be part of the top of the lineup behind Lawrie and in front of Jose and Edwin. Reinforcements for Jose and Cooper. Hech gets off the plane in Seattle and takes the next one back, the red eye flight. I don’t think that will help him much with the mental sharpness he needs. The other welcome replacement is Adam Lind, rehab cut short by six games, that says it all. But these are hairy times and an unfit Lind is better than the alternatives evidently. Pitching today Henderson Alvarez. Anything can and usually does happen with Henderson. Hammered last outing by the Rangers bats which is not a disgrace but time for a better pouting today. This guy could pitch a complete game or be sitting in three. And Isaac also giving them headaches today as the hurricane nears the Gulf coast with the rain ahead of it. Baltimore getting the edges now and could impact the game. That will be fine for the Jays, any games that are pushed later into the schedule will help get the injured warriors back in the lineup. Rain delay at 1.30pm. Jays off to New York later today but that series could also be affected by Isaac. Jays can but hope for the weather to help out. Evidently travelling by train to help the team bonding Maybe a little late in the season for that but a great idea. Lineups: Jays: Davis, McCoy, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Torealba, Sierra, Hechavarria and Alvarez pitching. Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Jones, Wieters, Davis, Reynolds, Quintanila, Machado and Tilman pitching. Top 1st: Rain delay. No. Game postponed. Jays get a big break finally.... bullpen will be fresh for New York. And everyone gets another day to mend their wounds. First game tomorrow Romero pitching. Complete game Ricky ???

Another comedy of errors by the hapless Jays, lead by McCoy and Escobar as Jays lose yet another series

Jays v Orioles Game two of three. Morrow back for the first time almost 2.5 months. He has been missed big-time. But I hope the fans give him a break if he is not as sharp as he was earlier in the season. It is a lot to expect him to carry on from where he left off. The point tonight should be will he get any run support? Five or six runs would be a good start. Lineups: Jays: Davis, McCoy, Bautista, Encarnacion, Johnson, Escobar, Sierra, Vizquel, Mathis and Morrow pitching. No Rasmus, and not a bad idea, give him a day off to clear his head. He is really pressing. Nice cornrows though Colby. Escobar also back, he definitely was not missed but he should be fired up as a new father. Hech has gone back down to Vegas. Hurry back. Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Jones, Wieters, Davis, Reynolds, Flaherty, Machado and Steve Johnson pitching. Top 1st: Davis leading off, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to first, one down. McCoy singles to left, Bautista one on one down. 3-1 count. There goes McCoy and throw gets him, oh boy. Why do they do that with Jose on deck? Full count, ball four because first base is open. Thank you Mike McCoy. Took the bat out of his hands. Instead of two on and one down. Edwin, one on two down. 2-2 count, YES Edwin, hammers this one deep to left and this one is in the seats. Here comes Jose, here comes Edwin. 2-0 Jays but McCoy must be feeling very guilty. He had better hope that the one run does not count in the result. Johnson, 2-1 count, lines it to Jones in centre for third out. Pitch count 24. Bottom 1st: Look who is pitching out there. Welcome back Brandon. Markakis leading off. 2-2 count, pops it up to Vizquel at 3B. One down for Hardy, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for McLouth.1-2 count, strikes out looking. Nice inning for Brandon. Pitch count 13 with 10 strikes. Tampa has already lost and both Yankees and poor Boston are losing. Top 2nd: Escobar leading off. Full count, strikes out swinging. One down for Sierra, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Vizquel. 2-2 count, fly ball to left. Quick three up and down for Johnson. Pitch count 37. Bottom 2nd: Heart of the order here for Morrow. Jones leading off. Pops up first pitch to Escobar, one down for Wieters. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for last night’s hero, Davis. Full count, ouch, hits him on the back foot. That’s fine. One on two down for Reynolds, singles past a diving Vizquel into left, two on two down for Flaherty. Full count, inside ball four. Bases loaded for Machado. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. No damage done. 39 pitch count, Top 3rd: Mathis, Jays need runs. 0-2 count, grounds to 3B, throw to first, one down. Top of three order Davis. 1-1 count, singles to right centre. One on for McCoy now give him a couple of pitches to give him chance to run. 0-1, there he goes and thrown out at second. Two down full count, pops it up to Jones in centre to end the inning. 49 pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Oh no, Jose is out of the game, Rasmus now playing for him. Not good. Markakis, singles to right. Hardy, 2-2 count, bounces back Morrow knocks it down should have let it go through to the fielders, throw to late both runners safe, instead of double play. McLouth, 1-1 count, pops it up to Mathis, one down. Jones, I don’t believe it, bounces to Escobar and he misses it !!!!! here comes the run, instead of another double play. Error to Escobar. Wieters, fly ball to Rasmus, 2-2 game and Davis, one on two down. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Thank you Escobar. Pitiful for a major league short stop. Pitch count 56. Top 4th: Rasmus for Jose. 2-2 count, takes strike three. Encarnacion, 3-1 count, outside ball four. Johnson one on one down. 2-2, high fly ball to right but a long out, two down for Escobar, first pitch of course fly ball to centre for the out. What a player. One error and one pitch, some contribution. 65 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Reynolds leading off, full count, fly ball to Rasmus, Flaherty, Fly ball to Rasmus, two down. Machado, hello Colby again fly ball to Colby for third out. Busy guy for a night off. Pitch count 67. Top 5th: Sierra leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down. Vizquel, 2-2 count, lines it into right, stays at first. Smart decision, long single. Mathis, 2-1 count, I don’t believe it, Vizquel running and picked off, missed signal hit and run. Two down. Mathis strikes out swinging. What a comedy of errors by this Jays team. The list goes on and on. Morrow must wish he were still on the DL. Johnson pitch count 81. Bottom 5th: Markakis. 3-1 count, singles to right, one on for Hardy. 0-1 count, fly ball to right and off the wall. Review and the double stands but runners at second and third and nobody out. Big trouble for Morrow. McLouth, 2-2 count, Jays bullpen working Jenkins. Strikes out swinging, one down but not out of trouble. Jones. 0-2 count, loops it into shallow left, both runners score, 4-2 Orioles. Wieters, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging two down. Davis, oh dear Farrell changing pitchers, always trouble, plus Morrow had handled Davis twice already. 88 pitch count for Brandon. Farrell rolling the dice again. Loup now, lefty lefty, 1-1 count, Davis singles to left, two on. Here he comes, sorry Aaron you were only in for the one guy. Chad Jenkins now pitching. Reynolds, two on two down. 3-1 count, inside ball four, nowhere near, Jenkins wild to load the bases. Flaherty, pops it up to Vizquel for the third out, but this team is painful to watch. Now they have to try to score runs. Top 6th: Top of the order. Davis, 1-2 count, fly ball to left. One down for McCoy, just get on base McCoy, no funny stuff. 1-2 count, trying to bunt, oh boy. 2-2 count, takes strike three, pitiful but then by all rights he should be in Vegas not in Baltimore but for the injuries. Rasmus, full count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 6th: Machado, 1-1 count, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on for top of the order Markakis. Wild pitch to the wall, the obligatory wild pitch with runner on, Machado to second. Fly ball to Davis for the out. One down for Hardy. 2-1 count, fly ball and into the crowd in left, Davis goes up, make nice try but not high enough for this one, 6-2 Orioles. McLouth, 3-0 count, low ball four. Throw out the white flag someone. Jones with runner on first. Fly ball this one stays in, to Rasmus in centre two down. Wieters, I don’t believe it, Jones stealing and Mathis throw into centrefield, this is ridiculous. Jones to 3B. 1-2 count, lines it to centre, Coby dives for it but no way was e going to get it, run scores 7-2 Orioles. Davis, I think they had better walk this guy. No pitching to him, fly ball to left and Davis makes the out at the wall, but Jays are finding new ways to throw this one away every inning. Top 7th: No white flag on the field but this team is playing like it. Every error in the book tonight. Encarnacion, even he cannot score 5 in one swing. Luis Ayala now pitching. 2-1 count, grounds back to Ayala, throw to first, one down. Johnson, grounds to short, throw to first, two down. Escobar, lines it to the wall in right centre. Stand up double but much too little too late Yunel. Sierra, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 7th: Jenkins out there to take it for the bullpen and eat up the innings because he is certainly not pitching well tonight, Reynolds grounds it into left. Flaherty, pulls it into right, OH throw by McCoy to second gets him, greedy Flaherty. One down runner at 3B. Machado. 2-2 count, singles to centre, run scores 8-2 Orioles. Markakis, with runner at first. One down. Pops it up to Escobar for second out, Hardy. 2-1 count, umpire gives him that strike, that was HIGH. 2-2 count, grounds to Vizquel at third and a great play and throw to second to get the surprised Machado to end the inning. That was highlight reel play. Top 8th: Vizquel to lead it off, that is fitting after that great play. Ayala still pitching. Lines it into left centre and a stand up double, lucky the throw was off. Mathis, did it yesterday can he do it again? No, pops it up to second, one down for Davis. Grounds first pitch to short, throw to first, two down. McCoy, full count, grounds to short, throw to first, three players unable to move a lead off guy one base. That sums up Jays hitting right now. Bottom 8th: The good news is that this is their last at bats for the Orioles. Jenkins has the honour, McLouth lines to Rasmus in centre for the out. Jones pops up the first pitch to Escobar, two down. Wieters, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Three up and down. Orioles want on the town to celebrate. Top 9th: Rasmus leading off. Can he at least get something out of this debacle. Ex Jay Kevin Gregg now pitching. This should be interesting. Colby, 1-2 count, strikes out, third time tonight, four last night. Edwin, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Johnson, 2-2 count, takes strike three, well that about sums up this one. Jays lose big 8-2 and yet another series and the losing streak gets longer and longer. Rough outing for Jose who may be out yet again with that wrist, not looking good right now for this team. Missed signs, poor fielding, poor base running, lousy hitting, wild pitches, wild throws, what more could this team do to lose a game? The good: Morrow? Yes, he did but was sandbagged by his defense behind him. Not least Escobar. Vizquel two hits and a defensive gem. Edwin for his two run home run. And that was it. The not so good: McCoy in the 1st inning, with Jose on deck. Took the bat out of his hands. Instead of two on and one down, and then with Edwin home run took at least one run away. Escobar gave up another run. Three Jays caught stealing. Jenkins, just didn’t have it but had to stay in and soak it up for the team, a lousy outing. 53 pitches in his 3.1 innings and the four runs put this out of reach. Six hits for the Jays tonight Vizquel had two of them, that is how bad this team was tonight. Runners in scoring position? 0-4.

Jays fight back but fall short in the 9th to lose 6-4

Jays v Orioles. Game one of three. The news of course is return of Jose to the lineup after 34 games on the DL. Last night in rehab for New Hampshire, two home runs including grand slam. No slow return for Jose. Nobody expects him to do it tonight, it will take him a while to get back to the speed of the pitching, but just the threat of his bat is enough for the Jays and to avoid Edwin getting the walks. It should also give the whole team a boost. Jays start the six man rotation and with Morrow returning tomorrow for first time since June 11th this team is starting to look like a major league team. Still a few more to return including Lawrie, Arencibia and Lind but Torrealba at least is whole lot better than Gomes and that gives Mathis some relief. Lineups: Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Bautista, Encarnacion, Johnson, Sierra, McCoy, Mathis, Hechavarria and Villanueva pitching. McCoy at 3B and Hech at short. Sierra DH. Orioles: Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Jones, Wieters, Davis, Reynolds, Flaherty, Machado and Zach Britton pitching. Top 1st: Davis leading off. 2-2 count, bounces to Hardy at short, high throw to first but Davis out. One down for Rasmus, 1-2 count, strikes out, two down for Bautista.2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 15. Bottom 1st: Markakis leading off. 2-2 count, pops it up to Jose in right, one down for Hardy. Lines it high to centre and over head of Rasmus playing shallow centre, and bounces over the wall. Ground rule double. McLouth, 2-2 count, takes strike three, great pitch, two down for Jones. Full count, outside ball four. Carlos struggling here. Wieters with two on. 2-2 count fly ball to shallow left but Davis makes great running catch. However huge 29 pitch count for Villanueva that is definitely not good. His hitters need to help him out here. Top 2nd: Encarnacion leading off. 3-1 count, hammers this one to the wall in left centre, stand up double to lead the inning off. Johnson, 2-0 count, this will do lines it the other way into left here comes Edwin, 1-0 Jays. Good hit by Kelly. Sierra, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for McCoy. 1-1 count, there goes Kelly and McCoy grounds to Machado at 3B, throw to first to get McCoy but no chance for double play, Kelly safe at second. Mathis, runner in scoring position. Full count, high ball four, two on two down for Hechavarria. Pops it up to Markakis in right to end the inning. Don’t look now but that was Kelly Johnson who scored the RBI. Good to see. Pitch count 39 for Britton. Yankees, Boston and Tampa all winning, how come Boston gets Kansas ? Bottom 2nd: Davis, first pitch launches a rocket to right centre and this game is tied up 1-1. That woke up the crowd. Reynolds, full count, pops it up to Hechavarria. Flaherty, first pitch high fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Machado, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging to end the inning. 41 pitch count. 12 pitch inning even with the home run. Top 3rd: Top of the order for second time. Davis, 2-1 count, bounces to Flaherty at second, good throw just gets Davis at first. One down for Rasmus, 0-2 count, takes strike three, ouch. Two down for Jose. 2-1 count, high fly ball to left for the out, just under it and he knows it. But good swing Jose. Pitch count 49. Kansas now tied with Boston, go Royals. Bottom 3rd: Top of the order, Markakis. Grounds first pitch to Johnson, throw to Edwin, one down. Hardy, full count, grounds to McCoy at third, long throw for the second out. McLouth, 2-1 count, bounces up the middle to Hech on first base side of the bag !! throw to Edwin for the out. Pitch count 54 for Carlos. Much better. Top 4th: Can Jays hitters get some run support for Carlos now. Edwin leading off. Hits him first pitch. One on for Johnson, 1-1 count, grounds up the middle, great diving save by Hardy and flip to second for the out but no chance for two. Sierra one on one down. Bounces to second Flaherty throw to first to get Sierra but Johnson at second in scoring position for McCoy. Bring him in Mike. Way high over the catcher to the wall and Johnson to 3B. 3-1 count, bounces up the middle but Flaherty makes the throw to first. Jays leave another out there. Pitch count 60. Tampa now losing. Boston tied up 2-2, and Yankees winning. Bottom 4th: Jones leading off. 2-2 count, takes strike three, nice pitch. One down for Wieters, bounces first pitch to Edwin for the second out. Davis two down, 2-2 count, this one is high and deep to right and second home run for Davis. wow. 2-1 Orioles. Reynolds, full count, lines out to short, great catch by Hechavarria. Pitch count 72. Not good. Top 5th: Bottom of the order Mathis leading off. Jays need a big inning. Bounces to Flaherty at second, throw to first, one down for Hechavarria. Full count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Davis. Pops it up to Flaherty, three up and down very quietly. Jays have to do much better than this. Pitch count 71. Bottom 5th: Flaherty grounds to Edwin throw to Villanueva for the out. Machado, 2-2 count, takes strike three inside curve great pitch, two down for Markakis. Fly ball to Rasmus for the third out. Pitch count 83. Top 6th: Jays hitters seem to think that now Jose is back they can shirk. Not so friends. Get hitting. Rasmus leading off, two strikeouts tonight for Colby. All at sea right now. Bounces to Flaherty at second, throw to first, one down. Bautista, 1-2 count, bounces to short, throw to first, two down for Edwin. Lines it into left for a single despite the shift left he gets it through. One on two down for Johnson. Grounds to second, throw to first for the out. Pitch count 83. Bottom 6th: Hardy leading off, full count, pops it up to first Edwin makes the catch leaning into front row of the crowd. One down for McLouth, 2-1 count, singles to Jose in right, one on one down for Jones. 2-0 count, lines it to the wall in left for a double, McLouth to 3B. Two in scoring position for Wieters. Bruce Walton out there, Delabar warming up. 2-1 count, fly ball to Rasmus, throw is up the line, run scores 3-1 Orioles, two down one on for Davis and that is it for Villanueva, disappointing outing by Villanueva, that first inning set the tone tonight. Now Jays have to scramble to get back into this one. Davis facing Delabar, NO I don’t believe it, goes the other way into left over the wall, home run number three, and Orioles 5-1. Reynolds, full count, strikes out swinging but Jays facing another loss. They have not scored six runs for a very long time and so far have not looked like scoring two let alone six. Top 7th: Bottom of the order for Britton to boost his ERA and finish his outing tonight. On 83 pitches. Sierra full count, grounds to short, throw to first, one down. McCoy, another full count, outside ball four, one on for Mathis, 1-2 count, way outside, strikes out swinging. Two down for Hechavarria. Lines it to the wall in left, long single, McCoy stops at 3B. Top of the order, Davis. 1-0 count, here comes Showalter, not risking Britton blowing this one. That is it for Britton, just could not get it done against the bottom of the order, but those guys on base are his responsibility if they score. Darren O’Day sidearmer now pitching to rescue Britton here,, 2-1 count, VERY nice Rajai, lines it down the line into left, here comes McCoy to score, 5-2 game. Hech stops at third Davis at second. Two in scoring position now for Rasmus. Ooops that is it for O’Day, hmm. Ok. Brian Matusz now pitching. Lefty lefty match up. Just a base hit Colby. 0-2 count, takes strike three, whoa froze him, not even a swing. Colby, that was one awful at bat. Jays get one back but bullpen has to hold the Orioles now.... Bottom 7th: Delabar still out there. Flaherty leading off. 1-2 count, bounces into right centre. One on for Machado, Andino pinch running for Flaherty. Wild pitch of course to the wall and Andino moves to second, how many times have we seen this from Jays pitchers this season, far too many. 1-2 count, grounds to Hech, throw to Edwin for the out. One out for top of the order Markakis. Fly ball to Rasmus for the out as run tags and scores 6-2. Just terrible. That wild pitch costs big-time. Hardy, two down lines to Rasmus in right centre, Orioles not finished yet. McLouth, here comes Walton. This is by far the worst outing so far from Delabar. Not sure why he is still out there. Full count, ball four hardly reached the plate, two on for Jones. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, but too little too late for Delabar tonight. Three runs have put this one away. Delabar 31 pitches, ouch. Top 8th: Bautista leading off. Pedro Strop to close this out for Orioles. Look at this ERA of 1.46. 0-1 Jose does not like the call.1-2 count, takes strike three. Edwin, one down. 2-2 count, pops it up but Reynolds drops it whoa, not good. He had it in the glove. Edwin has a life. Full count, grounds to third, throw to first for the out. Two down for Johnson, 3-1 count, high ball four, Strop a little wild here. Sierra, 1-2 count, strikes out looking, Jays hitters are now swinging at that pitch and he is calling high strike. Bottom 8th: Lincoln now pitching. Wieters leading off. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Davis, do you pitch to him or walk him? Strike one, strike two, ball one, strike three,. Lincoln set him up well. Two down, Reynolds, 3-1 count, low ball four. One on two down for Andino. 3-0, Lincoln lost the zone here. 3-1, outside ball four. Two on for Machado, here comes Walton. Fly ball to Rasmus in left centre. Top 9th: Bottom of the order for the Jays. Will they mail it in or fight? McCoy leading off. Matt Lindstrom now pitching, 2-1 count, bunting and a great bunt to second no chance for a throw. Safe at first. One on for Mathis, 2-1 count, here comes pitching coach, getting worried here ?? inside 3-1 count, almost hit him, takes strike two, full count, YES YES JEFFFFFFF, hammers this one to right centre and keeps on carrying out of here into the seats, here comes McCoy, here comes Mathis, two run home run, wow. 6-4 game and that is it for Lindstrom. Hechavarria still nobody out. Top of the order will get a chance. Here comes Jim Johnson he of the 38/41 saves, this is THE man. Hech, 1-2 count, takes strike three. Poor Hech has not seen this type of pitching in Vegas but he is learning. Davis now one down. 3-1 count, grounds to second, throw to first to get Rajai. Rasmus two down, 0-2 count. strikes out swinging for the fourth time tonight. Oh dear Colby. Jays give it their best and make it close to shock the Orioles but not enough tonight. The good: Definitely Jeff Mathis two run home run to get them within two in the 9th. Edwin, the RBI to take the early lead and on base three times tonight. Great catch by Davis in left. McCoy hustle to get things going in the 9th. Not so good: Villanueva just had horrible 29 pitch start in first inning. Hard to recover from that and shortened his outing by an inning. The terrible: Delabar definitely his worst game in Jays uniform. Rasmus, what more can we say, since that groin injury Colby has been struggling and tonight four strikeouts. He will come through it, maybe needs a break lower down the lineup. Or Farrell may even sit him for a game to clear his head.

Jays lose a heartbreaker as bullpen changes ruin a great Happ gem

Jays v Tigers. Series finale. Has John Farrell lost it? Is he cracking under the pressure of the Jays situation? Surely no other explanation for last night’s decisions. I have received more emails from blog readers on the decision to send Vizquel with the game on the line than any other for a very long time. Our Jays fan in Moscow said Farrell is always talking about percentages and yet what was the percentage situation with Vizquel stealing against Davis hitting? Of course he is absolutely correct. Insane move with a 45 year old guy, and did anybody tell Davis? as he made no attempt to swing at it and obstruct Avila. (hat tip to Paris Jay) He had a clear throw to second as Davis pulled his bat back. Yet another emailed and said surely with the top of the order at bat the odds of a hit were better than a steal but Vizquel. I agree. But Farrell maintained he had to try something as the hits were not coming. Back to today. Will this be another complete game shutout for Verlander? Against a rookie filled lineup? What are the percentages John? I don’t think many Jays fans will expect anything else today. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Johnson, Sierra, Vizquel, Mathis, Hechavarria, Gose and Happ pitching. Tigers: Jackson, Infante, Cabrera, Fielder, Peralta, Young, Baker, Dirks, Avila and Verlander pitching. Top 1st: Davis, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, three pitches. Rasmus 0-26 streak. 3-0 count, low ball four, that is great sign for Colby as he has been swinging at balls outside. Taking four today to start, good sign. Encarnacion, first pitch pop up to left, that was not a good at bat by Edwin, come on he has just walked a guy on four pitches. Two down one on for Johnson. First pitch, fly ball to centre for the out. Looks as if Edwin and Kelly want the bus out as fast as they can. They leave Colby out there not even able to steal a base. 9 pitches. Bottom 1st: Jackson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Infante, fly ball to Gose in right for the out, two down for Cabrera, fly ball to right centre, no problem as Gose accelerates and dives full length to make highlight reel catch. Speed kills. Pitch count 9. Very nice inning by Happ. Top 2nd: Sierra, 1-1 count, high fly ball to centre but Jackson makes the out. Vizquel, playing at 3B today. Pops it up to Fielder, two down. So far only Rasmus looks as if he has come to play. Now a problem with Cabrera, here comes Leyland and Cabrera leaving the game with some sort of injury. Santiago now fielding at 3B, Mathis, two down. Pops it up to Avila, seven pitch inning, pretty bad hitting by the Jays so far. They haven’t a clue what to do with Verlander apart from Rasmus. Happ as an unenviable job today, he is on his own out there. Tigers without one their big bats but no sympathy from the other side, how about losing Fielder and Cabrera then add in three more starters, then add in Verlander. And a couple more starters. Bottom 2nd: Fielder, strikes out swinging. Peralta, full count, outside ball four. One on for Young, very nice, grounds to Hechavarria, over to Johnson, on to Edwin double play ball to end the inning. Nice. Pitch count 22. Top 3rd: Hechavarria leading off, 0-2 count, takes strike three but at least he had one more pitch than Edwin and Johnson combined. Gose, one down. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Davis. First pitch fly ball to right. There is aggressive play and bonehead hitting. Jays are with the latter right now. Nine pitch inning. Bottom 3rd: Jays hitters are really putting tremendous pressure on Happ. The way they are swinging at Verlander every first pitch he will be around for a complete game. Baker, strikes out on three pitches. One down for Dirks, full count, hammers it right back at Happ who has to duck to avoid this one. Single to Rasmus, one on one down for Avila, 2-0 count, fly ball to left and Davis makes great running catch at the wall. Two down for Jackson. 2-2 count, Dirks doing windsprints to second. Strikes out swinging. Happ is doing his part, very well. Pitch count 42, but then he is not facing wild free-swinging hitters. Top 4th: Rasmus, there we go Colby, pulls it into right and ruins Verlander's day and no hitter. And the 0-28 streak. Whew !!! Edwin now with runner on, give him chance to steal here Edwin. 1-2 count, lets one go there that was right down the middle. At least Colby is distracting Verlander. YES, Edwin connects on this one, and it is high and out of here in left centre, way back, here comes Colby, we have to mention that as he has not done that crossing home plate for a very long time. And here comes Edwin, 2-0 Jays. Johnson, first pitch, fly ball to right,. First out of the inning, one pitch, awful. Sierra, grounds to Santiago at 3B, throw to Fielder for second out. Vizquel, 2-1 count, pops it up to Jackson in shallow right for third out. Jays go out ahead of the maestro Verlander. Pitch count 39. Bottom 4th: Infante, 2-2 count, singles into right One on for Santiago, OH WOW, pops it up to Edwin in foul ground and throw to Johnson covering at first, they get him. Infante had gone too far to second on the pop up, wowee great double play. Fielder, 1-2 count, grounds to second and a great fielding play by Hechavarria to take the ball on first base side of the bag throw to Edwin to get Fielder. Great coverage by Hech. 55 pitch count. Happ is getting some great defense today. Top 5th: Mathis leading off. 0-2 count, strikes out, ball gets away from Avila but throw to first gets Mathis. One down for Hechavarria. Lines it to right for the out. Gose. 2-0 count, drives it into centre but Jackson makes nice running catch to rob Gose of a hit. Pitch count 47 !!! thanks to the free swingers. Bottom 5th: Peralta, 1-2 count, lines it to left but very nice catch by Davis, good catch. Young lines it through Johnson into right centre, he backed up too far, no error given, one on one down for Baker. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Dirks. Pops it up to Mathis at the wall. Nice basket catch to end the inning. Pitch count 65. Top 6th: Top of the order Davis leading off. Just foul down the 3B line. 2-2 count, just foul again down the line. Hits him on the hand, that hurt him. Here comes the trainer and Farrell. Rasmus, on base twice today, Rajai can disrupt Verlander here. 2-0 count, there he goes and throw is there, 3-0 count, ball four, second walk for Colby and third time on base, very nice. Encarnacion, 0-2 count, takes strike three, Edwin does not agree. Johnson, two down one on, does NOT swing at first pitch progress. Full count, Verlander arguing with the home plate umpire, tough. Kelly fouling several off here. Takes strike three, Kelly arguing. Now Farrell now Leyland everyone unhappy. Pitch count 68. 21 pitch inning for Verlander, not used to that. Who says one has to be first pitch aggressive? Jays are achieving more by NOT swinging at that pitch. Bottom 6th: Avila pops it up to Davis in shallow left. One down for Jackson, full count. Inside ball four. May be time to get bullpen working Farrell, someone looks tired. Infante, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down one on for Santiago. Grounds to Hechavarria, throw to Johnson to get Jackson to end the inning. Pitch count at 80 which is close to his limit. Top 7th: Jays would love to add one or two more. Sierra leading off. 2-2 count. Way inside and high, full count. Strikes out swinging. One down. Vizquel, 0-2 count, strikes out. Mathis two down, 1-2 count, takes strike three. Pitch count 82. Bottom 7th: Fielder leading off. Will Farrell use the bullpen to close this one down? Leave Happ on a high note. 2-1 count, high fly ball to Davis in left for the out. One down for Peralta. Loops it into shallow centre for a single. One on one down for Young. Pops it up to Edwin at first, two down. Brandon Lyon working in bullpen. Baker, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging to end the inning. Excellent seven innings by Happ. 93 pitch count. Top 8th: Hechavarria leading off. 0-2 count, singles back up the middle, way to go Hech. Gose now, bunting? Yes but foul, 2-2 count, way outside, full count, takes strike three inside. Ouch. That was a god at bat until that pitch. One down for top of the order. Davis, singles into left, Hech to second, Deja vu last night.. They should have let Davis hit. Rasmus, now has he solved Verlander today? 1-1 count, showing bunt and takes strike two. Strikes out swinging. First time out today for Colby, he will take it. Edwin two on and two down. 1-1 count, grounds to short, throw to second for third out. 101 pitch count. Not sure about Colby trying to bunt in that situation. Even if he did it and was out at first that left the base open to walk for Encarnacion. Plus Colby had shown that he could handle Verlander with on base three times in first three at bats. Would be interesting to see who called that at bat. Bottom 8th: Happ out there again. Dirks leading off lefty, lefty match up. Full count, three balls in a row, goes after ball four and fly ball to Davis. Happ lucky there. One down for Avila. Full count, high ball four. That is it for Happ Farrell out of the dugout. Brandon Lyon now pitching. Great ovation from the Detroit crowd as he leaves. Jackson, singles first pitch to left centre. Two on one down for Infante. Fly ball to Rasmus in centre, two down. Boesch pinch hitting for Santiago. Oliver now pitching, lefty lefty matchup. Two on two down. Grounds it up the middle, past a diving Hechavarria, here comes the run and here comes trouble Fielder with two on and two down. OH BOY, wild pitch. Can you believe it? Run scores and this game is tied up 2-2. Crazy. 3-0 count, put him on, outside and they do it. Peralta, Walton now out to talk about matchups. Oliver stays there. Two on two down. 0-2 count, grounds to Vizquel at third steps on the bag. That is one awful way for Happ to get no decision. Top 9th: Not looking good here with the top of the order last inning. If Jays are going to win this they have to get something from Johnson, Sierra and Vizquel. Odds are back with Detroit and Verlander. Johnson, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Sierra, 2-2 count, fly ball to Boesch in right centre, two down for Vizquel, grounds to Infante at second, throw to first for the out. Bottom 9th: I guess the good is that Jays take Tigers to the bottom of the 9th for the first time in the series but this is a real downer after Happ pitched so very well. For the second game a wild pitch by the Jays had a hand in the result. Brad Lincoln now pitching. Young, 2-2 count. Grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin for the out. Baker fly ball to Gose, two down. Dirks, NO, here comes Farrell again, leave Lincoln in there. Now Loup, lefty lefty matchup. Sometimes Farrell over manages. Let us hope this is not one time. Pops it up to Rasmus for the out. Extra innings game. Top 10th: Jays get another chance to get a run. Dotel now pitching. Mathis, 2-1 count, this will do singles into centre. Good start. Hechavarria, bunting but no good. This time he does it and Mathis to second. One down. McCoy pinch running. Gose, lines it to right center Jackson makes great running diving catch to rob Gose and the Jays of the run. Davis, 1-2 count, there goes McCoy and safe at 3B. Lines it to right and Boesch makes the catch to rob Davis and the Jays yet again. Bottom 10th: Bullpen has to come through again. Avila, Loup still out there.1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Jackson. Bounces to short, but no chance for a throw. Infield single. One on one down for Infante. Singles to Rasmus, two on for Boesch. Full count, takes strike three, great pitch. Boesch unhappy and so he should be, should have swung at it. Two down for Fielder. 0-1 count, perfect grounds up to Hechavarria steps on the bag for the third out. Great pitching by young Aaron Loup. Top 11th: Rasmus leading off. Your time Colby. Phil Coke now pitching, lefty lefty matchup. Full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Edwin, Leyland now out to change pitchers. Joaquin Benoit now pitching. One down. 2-2 count, pops it up to Peralta. Two down for Johnson. 0-4 today. 0-2 count, grounds to Infante, throw to Fielder at first to end the inning. Bottom 11th: Chad Jenkins now pitching. Peralta, 2-2 count, singles to Davis in left, one on for Young. Grounds to Vizquel, over to Johnson over to Edwin not in time. One down for Baker, pinch runner Berry for Young. 1-0 count, there goes Berry and safe on throw to second. 3-0 count, ball four to put him on, two on one down for Dirks. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches, wow. Two down for Avila. Lines to Gose in right, here comes the throw here comes the runner to score. Jays lose a heartbreaker 3-2. The very good. Excellent seven innings by Happ. Rasmus two walks and a hit, in first 3 at bats, breaking that hitless drought and looking a whole lot better. Edwin home run. Excellent defensive plays from Gose and Davis. Loup in the 10th getting Fielder with two on base. Not so good. Far too many Jays out on first pitches which enabled Verlander to go deep in the game. Farrell strategy backfired as the only guys who got on base were those who did not get out swinging early. Farrell use of the bullpen also backfired with Oliver when Lyon was looking good with the first two outs. Percentages ??? how about the game situation. Jays fly off to Baltimore to reunite with their leaders. Bautista and Morrow, maybe catalysts for good things for the rest of the season. Look at those Mariners, bottom of the west, have won 8 in a row. There’s hope for the Jays

Laffey pitches well but poor baserunning decisions cost Jays

Jays v Tigers. Game two Lots of angst about Romero today but in my mind he was not the reason for the loss last night. Lousy defense and poor hitting was just as crucial in the loss. Tonight Laffey, he had better be on his game against this lineup. Escobar, on paternity leave. Well we wish them all well but his loss is not as major and Hechavarria playing short is what most fans have been waiting for. Maybe when Escobar returns he will be a different player. The good news is that Jose Bautista will rejoin the team in Baltimore and along with Morrow very definitely the morale boost this sinking team needs. Jays have beaten Sanchez earlier this season when they played the Marlins. Lineups: Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Cooper, Sierra, Torrealba, Johnson, McCoy, Hechavarria and Laffey pitching. Our first look at Torrealba. Hechavarria playing at short. McCoy for Vizquel a good trade-off after last night’s performance. Tigers: Jackson, Infante, Cabrera, Fielder, Peralta, Young, Dirks, Baker, Avila and Sanchez pitching. Top 1st: Davis leading off. Grounds to second, bobbles it but recovery and throw in time to get Davis. Rasmus, one down, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Encarnacion. 2-2 count, high fly ball to left for the out. Pitch count 15. Bottom 1st: Jackson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Infante, 1-2 count, grounds to McCoy at third, throw to Cooper, two down. Cabrera, bounces to McCoy, nice play on the half volley, throw to Cooper to end the inning. Pitch count 12. Top 2nd: Cooper, 3-1 count, grounds to Fielder, throw to Sanchez for the out. One down for Sierra. Pulls it to left, off the wall in left field corner, stand up double nice hit. One on one down for newbie Yorvit Torrealba. Full count, outside ball four. Two on one down for Johnson. Fly ball to Jackson in shallow centre, two down for McCoy. Full count, grounds to short, throw to first gets McCoy. Pitch count 36 but Jays should be bringing them in. Same old issue with runners in scoring position. Bottom 2nd: Fielder, first pitch high pop up to Davis is left. One down, Peralta, 2-0 grounds to Hechavarria, throw to Cooper, high but Cooper makes the out. Nice play. Two down for Young. 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper to end the inning. Eight pitch inning. 20 pitch count. No complaints from here. Top 3rd: Hechavarria leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Sanchez, throw to Fielder at first, one down. Top of the order Davis. Lines it to right for the out. Two down for Rasmus. First pitch grounds to second, flip to Fielder for the out. Nine pitch inning. 45 pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Dirks, 3-1 count, high ball four. One on for Baker. Grounds to Laffey throw to Hechavarria at second over to Cooper, double play, nice play by Hech. Avila, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Another excellent inning by Laffey. 31 pitch count. Top 4th: Quick game here so far. 45 minutes for three innings. Edwin, 0-2 count, pops it up to Baker in right, one down for Cooper. Lines this hard to the wall in right just misses going out and throw back in he has to dive back in to avoid the out. Long single for David. Sierra hammers this to the left up against the wall for the catch, robbed there. Two hard hot balls there and only a single, could have been back to back home runs. Two down for Torrealba. Grounds to short, throw to second for the out. 54 pitch count for Sanchez. Bottom 4th: Jackson leading off. 0-2 count, grounds to McCoy at 3B, nice running throw to Cooper to get Jackson. One down for Infante, 2-2 count, lines this one hard to left centre, Davis bobbles the ball, Rasmus throw to McCoy on line but Infante just beats the ball. Triple for Infante. Cabrera, one down, one on. 0-2 count, wild pitch but Infante holds halfway down the line. 2-2 count, another wild pitch, bounces it in, and this time to the wall and Infante scores. 1-0 Tigers. Full count, high ball four. Laffey a little wild here. Fielder, perfect, grounds to Johnson, over to Hechavarria on to Cooper, another double play to get out of this one. Tough for Laffey to give up the run that way. Pitch count 50. Top 5th: Johnson, 2-2 count, fly ball to Dirks in left for the out. One down for McCoy. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Hechavarria. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. 69 pitch count. Bottom 5th: Peralta , 3-1 fly ball to Davis one down for Young. Lines it to right, Sierra has it and holds Young to a single. Dirks, 1-0 count, hit and run, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper, two down. Baker with runner at second. Full count, singles to Sierra, throw up the line and Baker to second on the throw. Young scores 2-0 Tigers. Avila grounds first pitch to Cooper throw to Laffey for the out. Don’t blame the pitchers here, the hitters are pitiful. Pitch count 67. Top 6th: Top of the order which has been 0-6 tonight. Not good at all. Davis, 3-0 count, low ball four. One on for Rasmus, come on Colby time you connected. 0-2 count, there goes Davis and safe on the throw as Colby strikes out protecting Davis. One down for Encarnacion. OH pickoff throw sails into center and Rajai missed it as he dived back in, now he goes and safe to third., wow. 3-0 count, nothing for you to hit again Edwin. This will do as he drives it to left and Dirks drops the ball and Davis scores 2-1.Error to Dirks. Edwin to second and throw gets away. Edwin at second Mathis pinch hitting for Cooper, oh dear, hope no problem with Cooper. ??? Pops it up to Avila, two down. Sierra, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Jays get one back but, surely should have been more.... pitch count 86. Bottom 6th: Mathis now catching, Torrealba at first for Cooper. Does not look good for Cooper and his back. Jackson leading off. Full count, grounds to short, Hechavarria bobbles it, error to Hech. Throw to first late. Jackson safe at first. Infante, bunts to Laffey, looks at second. Throw to first to get Infante as Jackson to second. Cabrera, intentional walk, first base is open. Two on for Fielder. 2-1 count, lines it to left, Davis throw there but bounces out of the glove. Run scores. 3-1 Tigers. Peralta, two on. 2-2 count, grounds to Hech, over to Johnson, on to Torrealba not in time. Two down. Runner at first. Young, grounds to McCoy throw to Torrealba. Pitch count. 89. Top 7th: Torrealba leading off. There we go, loops it into shallow centre. One on for Johnson, once again hitless. Not long for this team, I fear Jays looking for a second baseman off season. 1-2 strikes out swinging. Just awful. McCoy, 1-1 count, hit and run and McCoy drives it past Fielder, does not even try to get it, come on Fielder at least make an attempt at a dive.. Torrealba to third. Two on for Hechavarria. There goes McCoy, safe on the throw. Two in scoring position now. 2-2 count, nice lines it to right centre, sac fly, here comes the run, 3-2 game. McCoy also to third on the play. Here comes Leyland, Jays have knocked Sanchez out of the game. Top of the Jays order now. Davis. New pitcher Brayan Villarreal. Single will do Rajai. No, grounds to Infante throw to first to end the inning but Jays have pulled a little closer. Bottom 7th: Laffey still out there. Dirks, bunting up third base line and safe at first. That is it for Laffey. Here comes Farrell. Delabar now pitching, great outing by Laffey, not supported by his offense but that is a familiar story these days with this makeshift lineup. Berry pinch hitting for Baker. Bunting. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Avila, full count, ball four. Two on for top of the order. Jackson, 0-2 count, srikes out swinging on three pitches. Wow. Infante, two down two on, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Amazing pitching by Delabar. Top 8th: Joaquin Benoit pitching. Rasmus, having a horrible time these days. 0-25 wow. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Encarnacion. 3-1 count, high ball four, one on one down for Mathis. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Sierra. 2-2 count, singles into shallow right, Edwin to third, now Sierra goes to second on the throw back in. Edwin could have scored. Two in scoring position. Gose pinch running for Sierra at second. Torrealba, two in scoring position. Lines it hard to centre, Jackson makes the out. Edwin not running has cost the Jay. Bottom 8th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Cabrera leading off, pops it up to Gose in right, one down for Fielder. 3-1 count, inside ball four, that’s ok. Peralta, 2-2 count, who slow curve ball, strikes out swinging, great pitch Casey. Two down for Young. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on another slow curve. Top 9th: Valverde again, Mr Invincible. Jays send the bottom of the order and nobody left on the bench to pinch hit. (Apart from Vizquel.) Johnson leading off, showing bunt, ball one, 1-2 count, lines it to right for the out. One down for McCoy, pops it up to Infante at second for the out, two down for Vizquel, the last guy on the bench pinch hitting for Hechavarria. 2-2 count, singles to left, go figure. Funny game baseball sometimes. One on two down for top of the order Davis. almost hit him, come on Rajai take one for the team here. There goes Vizquel, throw down gets him, can you believe that ? surely not his call. But I doubt very much whether Farrell would have sent him. That was one crazy decision by Vizquel. Jays give another to the Tigers. Tomorrow with Verlander pitching they will be very lucky to avoid the sweep. The baseball gods are angry with the Jays: Two of the Tigers runs, one on wild pitch, one on dropped ball by catcher. Cooper injured. And in the 8th Encarnacion not going all the way home. In the 9th, who knows what Vizquel was doing try to steal with two down. The good: Has to be Laffey, that was one excellent outing against a tough hitting lineup and one in a playoff battle. Torrealba fIrst start for the Jays and also major league start at first base. The bad: Start with the last out by Vizquel in a one run game, that is the very worst and totally unforgivable. Cooper out yet again. Rasmus 0-26. Not much worse than that. Let’s end with the very good news as the cavalry reinforcements return. Jose Bautista and Brandon Morrow return on Friday, the best news.