Jays continue their slide as they lose home opener to Yankees

Yankees v Jays Game one of three. Jays are home after the 2-8 road trip. Ugh. Now all they have to do this week is play ALL 3 division leaders. East, Central and the West. Ugh. SEVEN new players here since the road trip started. WOW ! Big weekend for attendance as Yankees always bring out their fan base in Toronto area. Lineups: Yankees: Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira, Cano, Jones, Nix, Martin, Suzuki, McGehee and Garcia pitching. Jays: Davis, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Escobar, Cooper, Johnson, Vizquel, Mathis, Gose and Romero pitching. Vizquel at 3B giving Hech a break from the pressure at 3B, totally unfair on Hech playing him in a position he had never played on top of his start in the majors. Romero ?? who will we see tonight? Cooper DH. Surprised that Mathis is catching, he needs a break, give Gomes a few games. Ichiro hitting number eight shows the depth of the opposition this weekend, Jays depth on current form ends at number three Encarnacion. On paper this is not good news for Jays fans, BUT they still have to play the game friends and anything can and usually does happen. Top 1st: Jeter, full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Swisher, 1-2 count, grounds to third, Vizquel throw to Edwin for second out. Teixeira. Lines it to Davis in left and yes Rajai makes the out. Phew. Pitch count 13. Bottom 1st: Davis, grounds (first pitch) to Jeter, throw to first, one down. Rasmus, 0-2 count, singles into right, one on one down for Edwin. It will be interesting to see if Yankees pitch to Edwin. Everybody else is pitching around him to get to Escobar. 2-2 Edwin going after those borderline pitches, not good. Outside full count, there goes Colby, grounds to third, throw to first to get Edwin. No chance for double play. Two down for Escobar. Full count, strikes out swinging and leaves Rasmus at second. 16 pitch count. Top 2nd: Cano, full count, grounds back up the middle to Rasmus, one on for Andruw Jones, 3-1 count, low ball four, two on. Ex-Jay Nix, bunting or swinging? Bunting OH NO. Mathis throw to third and into the outfield Cano scores, terrible. Error to Mathis. 1-0 Yankees. Martin two on, nobody out, 3-0 count, Romero another mess tonight, cannot throw strikes. Loads the bases. Here comes Walton. And don’t look now but Ichiro is at bat. Nobody out, bases loaded, Bronx cheers for a first pitch strike. 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson to Escobar to Edwin not in time. Run scores 2-0 Yankees. Only one out. Two on, for McGehee. Takes strike three. Romero gets the number nine guy. Two down for top of the order Jeter. Grounds to Escobar, flip to Johnson for the out but Romero has given Yankees an early lead. Pitch count 37. Bottom 2nd: Cooper, 2-1 count, pops it up to Ichiro in centre. One down for Johnson, YES Kelly. Hammers this one to right and into the seats. 2-1. Good to see Johnson coming through, maybe he can hit in place of Escobar. Vizquel, 2-2 count, lines to Jones in left. Two down for Mathis. Chance to redeem his error, 0-2 count, swings at a ball halfway to first. Literally. Awful. This guy is either a zombie after all the catching duties or he is just plain bad. I tend to think the former, give him a day off John. Top 3rd: Swisher, full count, pulls it into left, one on for Teixeira. Grounds to Escobar, throw to first to get Teixeira, no chance for two because Johnson was backing up Escobar. Cano one down runner at second. Lines to Gose in right, throw is wild and runner scores. 3-1 Yankees and Cano goes to second on the throw home. Error to Gose on the throw, relax Anthony and everyone pray for Jose to return for bat and glove. Jones with two on and only one down. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Nix, pops it up to Gose in right to end the inning. Pitch count 55. Will he get to six? Bottom 3rd: Gose, 1-2 count, grounds to second, throw to first, one down. Davis, 2-1 count, pops it up to Jeter, two down for Rasmus. 1-2 count, drives it hard to centre but Ichiro makes the out. Pitch count 45. Top 4th: Martin, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Ichiro, same again, to Escobar throw to Edwin, two quick outs here. McGehee. 3-0 count, low ball four. Terrible , walk number three and number nine guy. Jeter, pulls it to Davis in left, two on two down for Swisher. 2-1 count, grounds to Vizquel, takes it himself to get McGehee. Pitch count 69. Bottom 4th: Encarnacion, fly ball to right for the out. One down for Escobar. Bunting again, this time he makes it as third base McGehee playing way back. Cooper, singles to right, Escobar at second. Two on one down for Johnson. Can the Jay get something going here? Yes this will do Kelly lines it into right, Escobar scores 3-2 Yankees. Cooper to third and Kelly to second. Vizquel with two in scoring position. Full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Mathis, grounds it weakly back to Garcia, throw to first. Jays get one back, but oh dear it could have should have been more. Pitch count 62. Top 5th: Can Romero shut them down here? Teixeira, 1-2 count, grounds to Vizquel, throw to Edwin, one down. Cano, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin, two down. Jones, first pitch pops it up to Johnson for the out, Three up and down on seven pitches, THAT is more like it Ricky. Pitch count 76. Bottom 5th: Gose leading off. Not having a happy major league start so far. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Davis. 1-2 count, lines it to left but right at Andruw Jones, two down for Rasmus. Lines it hard to right but straight at Cano for the out. Pitch count 74. Top 6th: Nix leading off. Full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Martin, first pitch fly ball to right but Gose makes the out. Two down for Ichiro, 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin. That’s more like it Ricky. 89 pitch count. Travis Snider has just hit a two run home run and has two hit game so far. Bottom 6th: Encarnacion, grounds first pitch to third, throw to first for the out. Escobar, NO, first pitch grounds to third, throw to first. Bonehead play by Escobar, two pitches two outs. Cooper, pops it up to second, FOUR pitches. That is disgusting. NO excuse for any of them. Edwin hitting the first strike he gets, Escobar his head not in the game, Cooper knows no better anyway. I hope Romero gives them his reaction. FOUR pitches. 78 pitch count. Top 7th: McGehee, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Jeter, 2-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin. Jeter had more pitches than the three Jays in the top of the inning. Swisher. Pops it up to shallow centre for Rasmus to make third out. 98 pitch count. Now if the offence can get a couple Ricky might be done for the night. Bottom 7th: Battle of the bullpens now. Boone Logan now pitching. Johnson, 2-2 night. 0-2 count, Pops it up to Ichiro in right centre. One down for pinch hitter Yan Gomes, scouting report hand delivered to Logan by the coach. Full count, takes strike three, not sure what he was looking for. Girardi out to change Logan. Joba Chamberlain now pitching. Mathis, 2-2 count, pops it up to Cano in shallow centre. Top 8th: Delabar now pitching.Teixeira, This one is OUT OF HERE. Hammers it to right and into the seats. 4-2 Yankees. Cano, pulls it to Johnson, throw to Edwin, one down. Jones full count, pulls it to Gomes now playing at 3B, throw to Edwin, two down. Nix, loops it into shallow right. One on two down for Martin. Oh boy, loops it into shallow centre and off the glove of Johnson. Error to Kelly. Runners at second and third. Ichiro. These two know each other from Mariners days. 3-1 count, hammers it back up the middle and off the glove of Delabar, two runs score. 6-2 Yankees, that will clear out the crowd. McGehee. 2-1 count, pops it up to Gose in right to end the inning. Bottom 8th: Everybody winning in the East tonight except Jays. Gose, will not have seen 97mph pitching in Vegas. 2-2 count, grounds back up the middle, Nice hitting Antony. Davis, please NO bunting here. Jays need baserunners not outs. That is it for Chamberlain, Girardi getting anxious ??? David Robertson now pitching. There goes Gose, first pitch and safe on the throw. Nice. Yankees will not have seen Gose before 1-1 count, there goes Gose again and safe at third on the throw. WHOA.... Nobody out. Full count, low ball four. Two on nobody out for Rasmus. Now Davis has to be careful here, don’t get out with Colby at bat. Rasmus, bounces up the middle to Jeter steps on the bag, throw to first double play ball, two down Gose scores. 6-3 Yankees. Two down nobody on for Edwin. Full count, pops it up to first for the out. Top 9th: Lots of empty seats. Sierra now in right for Gose who moves to centre for Rasmus. David Carpenter now pitching. Jeter singles to left. One on for Swisher, lines it to the wall in left, here comes Jeter to score 7-3 Yankees. Swisher at second, Teixeira, full count. Fly ball to Sierra in right, one down as Swisher to third. Cano, 3-0 count, putting him on. Two on for pinch hitter Ibanez. Yankees padding their stats here. Singles into right, Swisher scores. 8-3 Yankees. Walton out there. Nix, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Martin, 1-2 count, hits him on the shoulder. Ichiro. Bases loaded. That is it for Carpenter, rough start for him after Vegas but no worse than many others before him. Brad Lincoln, first time Jays fans have seen him pitch in Rogers Centre. Lines to left and guess who, Davis misses it, two runs score. Always Davis. 10-3 Yankees. Granderson, as if he needs more RBIs. Two in scoring position, two down. 2-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin. Bottom 9th: Clay Rapada now pitching. Escobar, 2-1 count, grounds back to Rapada throw to first, one down. Cooper, 2-2 count, singles into right. Johnson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Gomes, now a balk on Rapada, Cooper to second. 0-2 count, singles into left, Ibanez fumbles it but Cooper HOLDS at third, come on. Girardi getting worried here, that is it for Rapada. Cody Epley now pitching, to get one out. Mathis with two on the corners, full count, singles into centre, here comes Cooper finally, 10-4 Yankees. Gomes to third on the play. Mathis at first, Gose, great time for your first home run Antony. Girardi on phone to bullpen again, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. But Jays do not roll over in the ninth although that is one of the few pluses tonight. Jays kept it close for seven but this is a nine inning game. Jays bullpen weakens for the first time. Oh boy, Rasmus left the game with more tightness in that groin injury again. Sloppy: Mathis throw to third which sails into left, Gose errant throw to home. Cooper sloppy base running. Johnson dropped ball. Davis yet another dropped ball in left. How many more before Farrell does something about it? Problem is there is no one else for left. Travis who? The good: Johnson two hit night, home run and double. Romero much better but three walks and wild for several innings which prevented him from going into the eighth maybe and a better chance to comeback. Jays get nine hits but 3-8 with runners in scoring position. Gose 2 stolen bases. The not so good: Maybe loss of Rasmus yet again. Romero shaky start and wildness. Great crowd 41,000 but not what they hoped for.