Final posting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jays give this one away with misplays and lack of judgement

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

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

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