Jays get good pitching but same old problem with runners in scoring position as they lose second game to the White Sox

Jays v White Sox. Game two of three.

Jays lose a close one last night that they could have and should have won. But when you only hit 1-10 with runners in scoring position you do not deserve to win. The biggest bugbear of this team throughout the season, the inability to get key hits. Forget the home runs, it is the singles that are far more important. Tell that to Encarnacion after his six impotent at bats with bases loaded in the last ten days. Tonight Henderson Alvarez pitching and he has been a great surprise for the Jays in the last month. However Jays have a tough pitcher against them in Buehrle. His last game of the contract and you know he wants to go out with bang tonight.

Line-ups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Molina, Johnson, Arencibia, Rasmus,Teahen and Alvarez pitching.
White Sox: Pierre, De Aza, Ramirez, Pierzynski, Flowers, Dunn, Viciedo, Morel, Beckham, and Buehrle pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy, full count, takes strike three. One down for Thames. Grounds to third, throw to first two down for Bautista, back in right field tonight. Pops it up but Ramirez drops it in foul ground, life for Jose. Singles next pitch into left. Lind, horrible night last night. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging at that high fast ball.
Bottom 1st: Pierre leading off, grounds to Lind, flip to Alvarez, just gets Pierre at first. De Aza, with one down, fly ball to Thames in left, two down. Ramirez, full count, strikes out swinging. Nice inning. 13 pitch count.

Top 2nd: Both Buehrle and Alvarez working fast. Molina, lines this one to left, stand up double, lead off guy in scoring position. Johnson, grounds to Beckham at second, throw to Dunn and Molina goes to third. Arencibia, pops up to Pierzynski, two down. Rasmus, strikes out. Leadoff doubles is wasted. Pitch count 35.
Bottom 2nd: Pierzynski, grounds to Teahen, throw to Lind, one down for Flowers, gets hold of this one, high fly ball to centre and over the fence at the 400ft mark, home run Flowers. His second against the Jays in two games. And White Sox have the early lead 1-0. Dunn, strikes out. Poor guy, listen to that crowd. Two down. Viciedo, grounds to Teahen at third long throw but Lind drops the ball. Morel, full count, strikes out swinging. Alvarez pitch count 34.

Top 3rd: Meantime Buehrle mowing down these Jays tonight, Teahen, oh he breaks his bat as he lifts it into left shallow left. Lucky guy. McCoy, bunting and a great bunt throw to first and Beckham covering drops the ball as McCoy slides under the tag anyway. Thames, oh no, come on Eric, grounds to Ramirez, steps on the bag at second throw to first double play. Teahen to third but two down. That was a horrible play after getting the first two on base with nobody out. You don’t get many chances with Buehrle. Bautista with Teahen at third. 2-0 count, pops it up into shallow left. 42 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Beckham singles into left, one on for Pierre, pops it up and great sliding catch by Teahen to make the play. Very nice play. One down for De Aza, there goes Beckham, Molina gets him with great throw to second, two down. De Aza singles to centre, that out by Beckham is huge now. Ramirez grounds to throw Lind makes great catch with foot on the bag for third out. 45 pitch count.

Top 4th: Lind leading off grounds first pitch to second throw to the bag, quick first pitch out. Molina, grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to Dunn for second out. Rasmus, again first pitch swinging, this time a single into centre. One on two down, Arencibia, full count, that was too close JP, not taking this one, strikes out swinging. 56 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Pierzynski, grounds to Lind, throw to Alvarez for the out. Flowers full count, grounds to Teahen at third, long throw to Lind but gets him. Two down for Dunn, 2-2 count, Dunn questioning the count, weird umpire now goes off the field, scoreboard is wrong? No, full count it is. Now Alvarez strikes him out, that was a long wait for him, more boos for Dunn.

Top 5th: Rasmus leading off. 2-2 count, strikes out looking. Teahen first pitch grounds off the glove of Buehrle up the middle to Beckham but throw beats him to the bag. Two down. Rain is here, lots of it. McCoy grounds to Beckham, throw to Dunn for third out. Jays are rushing this game and making quick outs. 65 pitch count for Buehrle.
Bottom 5th: Viciedo, pops it up to Lind for first out. Morel, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, two down. Beckham, pulls it to the wall in left, stand up double. Two down one in scoring position. Pierre, grounds to McCoy throw to Lind just gets Pierre, that guy can fly. 74 pitch count.

Top 6th: Thames leading off, strikes out. Bautista, singles into left centre, second hit tonight, problem is nobody is joining him. Lind, 2-1 count, grounds to Beckham, throw to Ramirez, over to Dunn, yet another double play and Edwin is not even in the line-up.
Bottom 6th: De Aza leading off. Lines it down the line past Lind into right, stand up double. Ramirez, pops it up to Johnson for the out. Pierzynski lines it to Bautista in right, throw beats De Aza but Molina not blocking the plate and De Aza scores 2-0 White Sox. Flowers with Pierzynski at first. 1-2 count, Flowers grounds to Teahen, throw to Johnson over to Lind, no chance for double play, but two down for Dunn. Flowers at first. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, third time tonight, poor guy listen to those boos. Pitch count 91.

Top 7th: Jays running out of time again tonight to get it going and I don’t think lightning will strike twice as with last night’s two run uprising in the 9th. Molina leading off, has the only extra base hit for the Jays tonight. Pops it up into shallow right and ball drops just inside the line Molina safe at first, Johnson, full count, bounces to Morel at third, throw to second but Beckham drops the ball, both runners safe. Error to Beckham. Arencibia soft pop up to Ramirez, one down. Runners hold. Rasmus, need a big one Colby. 90 pc grounds to Beckham throw to Ramirez gets Johnson but no chance to get Rasmus, two down two on for Teahen. 1-2 count, grounds to third, throw to Dunn for third out. Jays leave two more out there. Will Buehrle get the shutout? Pitch count 97.
Bottom 7th: Tough outing for Alvarez, has had no run support but pitched well enough for a win. Viciedo, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down, Morel, 1-2 count, grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind, two down, Beckham lines this hard to third but great play by Teahen and throw to Lind for third out. Nice quick inning for Alvarez. 102 pitch count.

Top 8th: That is it for Buehrle, may be his last game after twelve seasons. Now can the Jays hitters ruin it? Crain now pitching, McCoy leading off. 2-2 count, that’s the way Mikey, lines this onto the seats in left, home run McCoy, if he can do it the others can. 2-1 White Sox. Thames, full count, have to get on base Eric. Takes ball four inside. Bautista with one on, your time Jose. 1-2 count, crowd has gone quiet here, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down. Lind, that is it for Crain. Chris Sale lefty lefty matchup. Now Adam, time for you to come through here. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Awful at bat. Two down for Molina. 0-2 count, there goes Thames, throw down and out at second on the throw. Oh boy.
Bottom 8th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Pierre leading off. Grounds back to Janssen throw to Lind for the out. De Aza, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Two down, here comes Farrell, no, ah well. Camp now pitching. Ramirez, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging.

Top 9th: Jays last chance. Molina, Sale still pitching. 2-2 count, takes strike three, one down for Johnson. 0-2, strikes out swinging on three pitches, didn’t have a clue. Memo to Alex, we need switch hitters in this line-up. Arencibia, that will do JP lines it into left, Wise pinch running now for JP this is the tying run. Woodward for Rasmus, grounds to Morel, throw to Dunn for the out. Jays come close but this result was never in doubt.

Once again runners in scoring position, 0-8 tonight, how bad is that? Jays outhit the White Sox 8-7 but unable to make them count once again.

Jays ending the season on a sour note, trying to avoid the sweep tomorrow and with Morrow pitching you will not be placing any bets. With 80 wins they are at least 10 wins behind the team above them with one to play and 17 behind the Yankees. This team still has lots of work to do to think of competing in the East.

The very good: Has to be Alvarez, Molina with two hits, really have to wonder why they do not use him to pinch hit when he is not starting. McCoy with his home run to make it close.
Not so good: Thames the goat again tonight, he just has no baseball sense, lots of raw talent but never appears to use his head in situational hitting. Compare him to Lawrie and the way he approaches the game.

Jays make it close but poor hitting and even worse defensive plays ruin game for McGowan

Jays v White Sox. Game one of final regular season series.

Jays in their last series for 2011 after disappointing series in Tampa although they did spoil Rays chances for one at least. Not sure whether we should be happy helping the Red Sox though. Tonight we see last game for McGowan, the comeback story of the season surely. Good to see he has shaved off those sideburns, he blamed AJ Burnett for them but didn’t like them himself. Superstitious baseball players.

Line-ups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Johnson, Arencibia, Teahen playing at third base, Rasmus, Loewen and McGowan pitching. This is not a bad line-up considering all the injuries. Jose in the line-up tonight despite the knee and will be playing DH. No Encarnacion, thankfully. Lind back in the line-up after birth of his daughter.
White Sox: Pierre, Ramirez, Pierzynski, Viciedo, Dunn, Morel, De Aza, Flowers, Beckham, and Axelrod pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy leading off, pops it up to De Aza in shallow centre, one down for Thames, first pitch swinging, grounds to Beckham at second, throw to Flowers at first,. Bautista two down, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Nine pitch inning thanks to Thames, I wish he would be more disciplined but then that might not help Travis get back in the line-up.
Bottom 1st: Pierre lines it to left but right at Thames for the out. Ramirez, 2-2 count, pops it up to Thames in shallow left, two down. Pierzynski, lines it to right and Loewen overruns it, Pierzynski to second on the play. Error to Loewen. Viciedo, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging and Loewen breathes again. Pitch count 15.

Top 2nd: Lind leading off, perhaps he can celebrate big time in Chicago. 1-2 count, not this at bat, strikes out swinging. One down for Johnson, full count, singles to right. One on one down for Arencibia. 1-2 count, ouch, up and inside, hits him, two on one down for Teahen, ex White Sox, would love to get hold of one here. 3-1 count, outside ball four. Bases loaded for Rasmus, lines it to Flowers at first, throw to second but Arencibia safe, whoa. Loewen, chance to make up for that error. Bases still loaded on two down, Loewen lines it to left but Pierre with his speed no problem. Not good, Jays leave the bases loaded. Pitch count 36.
Bottom 2nd: Dunn, full count, high ball four. One on for Morel, pops it up to Lind, drops it, in the lights, throw to second to get Dunn, but could have gone to McGowan at first and then second for double play. Missed that chance. One down one on for DeAza, ouch hits him on the foot. McGowan a little wild here. Two on one down. Flowers, 0-2 count, gets hold of this one, this one is out of here, high fly ball into left centre and Sox go out ahead 3-0. Beckham, one down, 2-2 count, pops it up to Johnson, two down. Pierre, grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind for third out. Jays hitters have some work to do and before the storm rolls in. Pitch count 41, ugly inning Dustin but then Lind did not help you much.

Top 3rd: McCoy,1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Thames. Full count, grounds to Flowers at first throw to Axelrod to just beat out Thames, Two down for Bautista, just misses this one and pops it up to Pierzynski for third out. Pitch count 47.
Bottom 3rd: Ramirez, 3-1 count, inside ball four. One on for Pierzynski, grounds it up the middle, Johnson makes nice backhand play but McCoy drops the ball. Both runners safe instead of double play, poor Dustin. Viciedo, drives it to Loewen in right, great play and throws it back to hold runner at second, one down. Dunn, 2-2 count, ball gets away and both runners move up. Not good with one down as fly ball will score. Strikes out swinging, two down. Morel, 1-2 count, whoa strikes out swinging, very nice pitching Dustin escapes this time. Pitch count 59.

Top 4th: Jays hitters owe McGowan now. How about giving him a break here and get those bats going. Starting with this guy, Lind. Drives it to centre but wind blows it back in for DeAza to make the catch. Johnson, 1-2 count, grounds back to Axelrod, throw to Flowers, two down. Arencibia, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. 55 pitch count and finding Jays hitters easy pickings tonight.
Bottom 4th: De Aza pops it up to Thames in left centre, one down. Flowers first pitch high fly ball to Rasmus, two down. Beckham, 3-1 count, outside ball four, one on two down for Pierre, 1-1 count, grounds to first, Lind dives and deflects it past Johnson. Pierre safe at first, nothing going right tonight for McGowan. Two on for Ramirez, pops it up to Loewen in right to end the inning. 73 pitch count.

Top 5th: Teahen leading off, long, long overdue for anything even a hit will do here. You heard me Mark, singles it into right. One on for Rasmus, 1-2 count, pops it high to Flowers running in from first. One down for Loewen, lines into right field corner and safe at second for a double. Teahen to third, two in scoring position, one down. McCoy first pitch, man, pops it up to that was bush play Mikey. Come on. Even your bunting would have helped here to get this team on the board, but first pitch out ? Thames now two down. 2-1 count, rain starting. 2-2, Villanueva warming up in bullpen. Strikes out swinging. Awful, if this team works on anything in spring training it had better be clutch hitting. 0-4 tonight.
Bottom 5th: McGowan did not stand a chance tonight with that type of play behind him. Villanueva now pitching. Dustin was on a pitch count. Pierzysnki pops up to Rasmus for the out. One down for Viciedo, fly ball to Loewen in right centre. Two down, Sox want to get to the 6th inning for the win if rained out. Dunn, full count, strikes out swinging. Lots of boos for Dunn.

Top 6th: Bautista leading off. Inside almost hits Jose, full count, outside ball four. Lind, not a good night for Adam on his return, must have had some sleepless nights. Pops it up to Beckham at second, one down, Jose has to hold. Johnson, wow high fly ball to right, that was home run shot but wind is keeping it in and carrying way over to the fence for the out by Viciedo, that was weird to watch, two down, Arencibia. Strikes out swinging. Pitch count 90.
Bottom 6th: Morel, 2-2 count, fly ball to Loewen in right, one down for De Aza singles to Rasmus in centre, Flowers, one on one down, there goes De Aza and safe on the throw. Flowers pops it up to Loewen in right, De Aza holds at second. Two down for Beckham grounds to Teahen nice play in front of McCoy and throw to Lind for third out.

Top 7th: Jays hitters running out of chances now but have not looked like scoring all night. Teahen, lefty Will Ohman now pitching. No more Axelrod will that be enough. 0-2 count, strikes out, one down. Rasmus, why do the Jays not have more switch hitters? Grounds to Beckham at second throw to first for second out. Loewen, another lefty, third in a row this inning. 2-2 count, grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to first. Jays on their way to being shut out again tonight.
Bottom 7th: Kyle Drabek pitching. Pierre, 0-2 count, fly ball to Thames in left, one down. Ramirez, grounds to second past Drabek but Johnson gets ball stuck in glove and no chance to throw. Safe at first. Pierzynski, grounds up the middle McCoy throw to first to get the out. Two down, runner at second. Viciedo, 2-1 count, lines it over the head of Loewen to the wall in right, Ramirez scores 4-0 White Sox. Viciedo at second, Dunn, 3-1 count, ball four, two on two down for Morel. Walton out to settle Drabek down, to be fair he should have been out of the inning if Johnson had not messed up his play. 3-1 count, pitch away from loading the bases. Whoa, grounds to Teahen at third, bobbles the ball but recovers for throw to Lind to get Morel. Tough inning for Drabek but not all his fault.

Top 8th: Jesse Crain now pitching. McCoy, will want to forget his game tonight. Full count, ball four, where was this patience all game. Thames, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Bautista. 3-1 count, there goes McCoy as Jose has to swing at ball high to protect him, McCoy safe at second on the throw. Full count, high ball four. Two on, semi-intentional walk. Two on but that is it for Crain. Matt Thornton another lefty now pitching Lind, there goes the runners and both safe without a throw, but no good if Lind unable to bring them in. 1-2 count, finally grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to first to get Lind as McCoy scores, 4-1 Sox. Johnson, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Leaving yet another in scoring position.
Bottom 8th: Chad Beck now pitching. De Aza leading off. Grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind just gets De Aza. Flowers, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging on 96mph pitch. Two down Beckham, pops it high to Johnson as the wind makes it interesting.

Top 9th: Last chance for Jays. Arencibia, Teahen and Rasmus. One hit between the three of them, and that was Teahen, that type of night. Santos the closer in to finish them off. Arencibia, full count, JP trying at least. Inside ball four. Teahen, would love to get a hit here against his old team. There you go Mark, drives it into centre, Arencibia all the way to third. Rasmus, nobody out. Two on, one in scoring position. 2-2 count, called out on strikes, that was an iffy. One down for Loewen, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Maybe a pinch hitter would have been called for there. Now Cooper is pinch hitting for McCoy, two down two on, Teahen takes second, no throw. Full count, WHOA lines this one to the wall in left and here comes Arencibia, here comes Teahen, and Jay get two more, 4-3 game. Woodward pinch running for Cooper, Thames now with runner in scoring position. 2-1 count, 27 pitches. 2-2, way outside, full count. high ball four, two on two down for Bautista. Showdown at OK Corral time. Jose hitless tonight. wild pitch and Woodward moves up but Thames stays put !!! Not good at all Eric. 2-1 count. 3-1 count, full count. Jose thought it was ball four. Low ball four, how can he take that pitch, wow. Lind now with bases loaded. Wise pinch running for Bautista. 2-2 count, strikes out on inside pitch, and White Sox win. Lind leaves the bases loaded. Not an evening he will want to remember. Santos threw 44 pitches in that one inning.

The good: Teahen, his best game since he joined the Jays. Two hits a walk and a run, fired up against his old team but sadly not many others in his dugout tonight. Cooper a pinch hit two RBI double to get Jays within one in the 9th. Bautista with three walks. Chad Beck had nice relief inning as did Villanueva with two scoreless innings.
Not so good: Poor defensive plays hurt McGowan tonight. Loewen error, Lind drops the ball, and McCoy drops the ball and misses possible double play. McCoy pops up first pitch in the 5th with two in scoring position. Lack of clutch hitting all round. 1-10 with runners in scoring position says it all. Thames, representing the go ahead run brain spasm in the 9th not moving up into scoring position on the wild pitch.

Notes for next season: Both McCoy and Thames are not good enough for the team but will be good bench players, although if Johnny Mac is back McCoy will be in Vegas or traded.

Cecil another poor outing as Rays pound the long ball and Jays offence is missing.

Jays v Rays. Final game of series.

Rays once again a must win for them. Boston has already lost the first game of the double header in New York. Jays can afford to be loosy goosy, no pressure on them at all. Cecil is the one who has something to prove after his last three inning outing. He reckons he was pulled prematurely. Only one way to show that manager was wrong Brett.

Line-ups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Johnson, Encarnacion, Cooper, Arencibia, Loewen, Wise and Cecil pitching. Wise in for Rasmus a late scratch
Rays: Jennings, Upton, Longoria, Zobrist, Damon, Rodriguez, Kotchman, Guyer, Shoppach and Wade Davis pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy high pop up to Rodriguez at short, one down for Thames, 1-2 count, grounds to Rodriguez, throw to Kotchman, two down. Bautista strikes out swinging.
Bottom 1st: Jennings leading off. 2-2 count, fly ball to Bautista in right, one down. Upton, leaves this one up in the zone and Upton high fly ball into the seats in left, 1-0 Rays. Longoria, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper, two down. Zobrist, lines this hard to right field corner, Bautista up against the wall hard and down on the play, not good for Jose. Zobrist keeps on going all the way and scores as Wise comes over to retrieve the ball as Jose on the ground. This does not look good as trainer and Farrell out there to look at him. On his feet and seems ok is staying in there. 2-0 Rays. Damon pops up to McCoy but Cecil has given up two early and more importantly given the Rays the psychological edge in their must-win game.

Top 2nd: Johnson, full count, high ball four, good at bat by Kelly. Encarnacion, fly ball to Upton ion centre, at least it was not a double play ball. Cooper, drives it to the wall in left centre, here comes Johnson and Jays get one back, 2-1 Rays. Arencibia, one down, grounds to short, throw to Kotchman at first, two down for Loewen, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 2nd: Bautista back out there, that is good news. Rodriguez, full count, fly ball to Wise in centre, one down. Kotchman, another full count, grounds to Cooper, takes it himself, two down for Guyer, grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw to Cooper and Cecil has three up and down inning.

Top 3rd: Wise fly ball to Jennings in left, great running catch by Jennings to get Wise, one down. McCoy, full count, lines out hard to Zobrist at second, two down. Thames, lines high fly ball to Joyce in right centre, off the wall and here comes Thames, safe at third. Bautista two down and runner at third. Grounds to Longoria at third throw to Kotchman for third out.
Bottom 3rd: Shoppach leading off, grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw wide of Cooper, Shoppach safe at first. Jennings 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down one on. Upton pops it up to Cooper, two down. Longoria, gets hold of this one and out of here in left field seats. 4-1 Rays. Zobrist, 3-1 ball four. Damon, there goes Zobrist, throw bounces off McCoy, safe at second. 3-1 count, outside ball four to Damon. Two walks back to back. Cecil falling apart here. Here comes Bruce Walton. Rodriguez, ouch he hits him on the leg, loads the bases. Not good here Brett. Kotchman bases loaded and two down. Jays bullpen working. Pops it up to Kotchman in shallow right but Rays add two more.

Top 4th: Johnson pops it up to Zobrist at second. Encarnacion 0-2 count, strikes out looking. Two down for Cooper, grounds to Kotchman and throw to Wade for third out. Jays three up and down.
Bottom 4th: Guyer grounds to Encarnacion, throw to Cooper at first, one down. Shoppach, full count, singles to Thames in left, one on one down and here comes Farrell, that is it for Cecil, oh dear he is not very happy again, this is the second start in a row he has had early departure. Did not agree with being pulled the last time either. Litsch now to face Jennings, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down. Upton grounds slow roller to Encarnacion at third, no chance for throw on Upton speed, safe on the throw. Longoria 2-2 count, high fly ball to Wise for third out.

Top 5th: Arencibia pops up to Kotchman at first, one down. Loewen strikes out looking, Adam is totally lost out there. Wise, gets hold of this one, high fly ball into the seats in right, no doubt about that one, home run DeWayne and Jays get one back. 4-2 Rays. McCoy lines it back at Davis for third out.
Bottom 5th: Zobrist, strikes out swinging, one down for Damon, strikes out swinging, Litsch mowing them down here. Rodriguez two down, strikes out looking. Litsch strikes out the side.

Top 6th: Thames, ball four and leadoff walk. Teahen pinch hitting for Batista, makes sense, why risk that leg at this stage of the season with nothing at stake for the Jays. Strikes out looking. Teahen not having a good time with the Jays since he arrived. Johnson grounds to Longoria throw to Zobrist at second to get Thames, throw not in time for double play, Johnson safe at first. Encarnacion, first pitch, fly ball to Guyer in right to end the inning.
Bottom 6th: Teahen stays in right for Jose. Kotchman, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Cooper, one down. Joyce pinch hitting for Guyer, full count, fly ball to Wise in centre, two down. Shoppach, full count, gets hold of this one, high fly ball to left and into the seats another home run for the Rays. 5-2 Rays. That is it for Litsch, Camp now pitching. Jennings strikes out swinging. But Jays are up against it now and with depleted hitting line-up.

Top 7th: Cooper grounds back to Wade, throw to Kotchman, one down. Arencibia, grounds to Zobrist at second, throw to Kotchman two down. Loewen fly ball to Upton in centre runs it down for the catch.
Bottom 7th: Upton strikes out looking. One down for Longoria, fly ball to Teahen in right, nice running sliding catch by Teahen, two down. Zobrist, lines it to Teahen in right, single for Zobrist. That is it for Camp, Perez now pitching. Damon lines out to Cooper at first.

Top 8th: Wise leading off, grounds to Rodriguez at short, throw to Kotchman at first, one down for McCoy, full count, fly ball to Joyce in right, two down. Thames, another full count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 8th: Rodriguez, 2-2 count, grounds to McCoy, throw to Cooper at first just gets him. Kotchman, ouch hits him, right in the back, how many is that the Jays pitchers have hit here this weekend. Joyce, strikes out looking. That is it for Perez. Farquhar now pitching. Shoppach, strikes out swinging.

Top 9th: Last chance for the Jays but they have looked very anaemic today. Peralta now pitching. Teahen fly ball to Joyce in right. One down. Johnson fly ball to Jennings in left, two down final out Encarnacion, 0-2 count, grounds to Rodriguez at short, throw to Kotchman and Jays fold today very easily.

The good: Hmm. Not much here today. Without Lawrie, Escobar, Lind, Bautista, and Rasmus (and Davis of course), this line-up is not very good and no match for Wade. Wise home run and Cooper RBI. Nothing much else
The not so good: Cecil once again a terrible outing and much too short. Giving up two in the first inning put the Jays behind before many fans were in their seats. He must be a huge concern for management. 2012 rotation right now is looking like Romero, Morrow, McGowan, Alvarez and major question mark on the fifth spot. But spring will tell.

Cooper and McCoy ruin an excellent outing by Romero.

Jays v Rays. Game two of three.

Rays need this one, this is a must win again for them. Boston has already lost big to Yankees this afternoon, they will be watching this one. Jays have Romero tonight but he has to get run support.

Lineups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Johnson, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Cooper, Arencibia, Loewen, and Romero pitching. I like the move with Johnson, he has earned that cleanup position, great to see some who can hit behind Jose. He should now get some better pitches to look at.
Rays: Jennings, Upton, Longoria, Zobrist, Damon, Rodriguez, Kotchman, Joyce, Lobaton, and Niemann pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy, lines it to right, great running catch by Joyce to save at least a double. One down for Thames, 3-1 count, ball four. One on for Bautista, full count, gets hold of this one and lines it to left into the seats, home run number 43 for Jose and Jays go out 2-0. Encarnacion, another full count, ball four, two down one on for Rasmus, 2-0 count. Lines it into right field past the bull pen working, de la Rosa and Torres, how about that for Niemann to see? Double for Rasmus, as Edwin stops at third. Cooper with two in scoring position. 2-2 count, another full count, grounds up the middle to Rodriguez, not what Jays wanted from Cooper, he was the game killer for Niemann if he had singled. But Jays have 2-0 lead. Niemann on 38 pitch count for his first inning. Ouch.
Bottom 1st: Jennings, lines it very hard but right at McCoy for the out, one down for Upton, 3-0 count, come on Ricky, high pop up to first, Cooper drops it, this guy is not doing very well tonight, bat or glove. That is huge error. Full count and loops it into shallow right. One on one down. Longoria there goes Upton and safe on the throw, 2-2 count with runner at second. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Zobrist. Grounds to McCoy throw is wild at first and Upton scores. Zobrist to second. Cooper in the middle of all of this but error to McCoy. 2-1 Jays. Damon pops it up shallow centre and ball drops in front of Rasmus as he pulls up and Johnson does not even go for the ball. Wow what happened there? 2-2 game. Rodriguez, wild pitch and Damon to third. Full count, high fly ball to Rasmus for the out. Put this mess fair and square on Cooper at first. 26 pitch count.

Top 2nd: Jays hitters owe Romero here. Torres now pitching, Maddon not fooling around here this game means something to them. Arencibia leading off. 2-2 count, lines it hard to left centre but Upton runs it down. Loewen, DH tonight, 2-2 count, strikes out looking, two down. McCoy, lines it to Upton in centre.
Bottom 2nd: Kotchman lines first pitch to Thames in left, one down for Joyce, 2-2 count, great strike three, that was a Halladay curve ball strikes out looking, two down. Lobaton bounces back to Romero, throw to Cooper who manages to hold on to it. Ricky doing it himself here. Eight pitch inning. 34 pitch count.

Top 3rd: Thames leading off, fly ball to Jennings in left, one down, Bautista, 2-2 count. Grounds to Rodriguez long throw not in time. Johnson, there goes Jose and Johnson pulls it into right, Jose to third on the hit and run play. This is what we should have been seeing for a long time with someone behind Jose not Edwin. Now Encarnacion with two on. There goes Johnson and throw gets him two down. I think he was just trying to stay out of Edwin’s double plays. Intentional walk now ball four for Edwin. Two on two down. Rasmus, grounds to second, throw to first to get Rasmus. Jays leave two out there.
Bottom 3rd: Jennings, hits him on the leg, one on for Upton, pops it up Arencibia takes it away from Cooper at the wall behind home plate. Not sure why Cooper is over there. One down one on for Longoria, perfect grounds to McCoy throw to Johnson over to Cooper, double play ball to end this inning. Nice play. 40 pitch count. Perfect for Ricky.

Top 4th: Cooper not having a great game tonight. Lines it right at Longoria for the out. Arencibia, lines it over the head of Longoria to Jennings in left but, this is not very smart, out by a mile at second, have to watch the play JP, that was dumb play. Loewen, 2-2 strikes out swinging. Jays sloppy play here continues.
Bottom 4th: Zobrist, gets hold of this one and pulls it into left just over wall into the seats, home run Zobrist and Rays are out ahead 3-2. Damon, 3-1 count, ball four. Ricky rattled here. Rodriguez, grounds to McCoy, long throw to Cooper for the out, great play Mikey. One down for Kotchman, Damon at second. Full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Joyce, grounds back up the middle off the glove of Romero to McCoy throw to Cooper out on the play, Joyce is furious. So is Joe Maddon. 62 pitch count.

Top 5th: Jays need a big inning here to give Ricky some help. McCoy, full count, strikes out looking, one down for Thames. another full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Bautista, 1-2 count, ouch inside and hits him on the leg, payback for hit on Longoria last night ? Johnson, bounces to Zobrist at second, throw to Kotchman at first for the out.
Bottom 5th: Lobaton, lines this past a diving Cooper into right. One on for Jennings, full count, strikes out swinging, one down. Upton, grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw to Johnson over to Cooper no chance to double up Upton. Two down for Longoria, oh Romero has Upton picked off here, throw behind him and out on the tag, Upton goes down, did not like that tag, a little hard BJ ? Pitch count 74.

Top 6th: Let’s have some runs here Encarnacion leading off. Bounces to Zobrist at second throw to first, quick out, Rasmus, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down. Cooper, pops it up to Lobaton.
Bottom 6th: Longoria, grounds to McCoy at short, throw to Cooper, nice play Mikey, one down. Zobrist, grounds to McCoy throw to Cooper, two down. Damon, lines it right back at Romero almost beaned him single to Rasmus in centre. Rodriguez, there goes Damon and safe on the throw, full count. Strikes out swinging. 89 pitch count.

Top 7th: Jays running out of at bats to get it going. Gomes now pitching. Torres five shutout innings, that is called great relief pitching. Arencibia, 0-2 strikes out swinging. One down for Loewen 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Cooper and Loewen finding that the big leagues are a little different from Vegas. McCoy, 2-2 count, grounds to Longoria, throw to first to get McCoy.
Bottom 7th: Kotchman, ouch hits him on the arm. One on for Joyce, very nice, grounds to Johnson to McCoy over to Cooper double play ball. Like that. Lobaton, grounds to McCoy throw to Cooper for the out. Pitch count 96. Very nice.

Top 8th: Peralta now pitching. Thames leading off. High fly ball to Jennings in left. One down for Bautista, 2-1 count, grounds to Rodriguez, throw to first for the out, two down for Johnson. Pulls it over Kotchman at first to Joyce in right, stays at first, smart move Kelly. Encarnacion, pops up the first two pitches but both foul. Full count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 8th: Jennings, 2-2 count, grounds to Encarnacion at third, throw to Cooper, one down. Upton, full count, low ball four. One on one down for Longoria. Casey Janssen warming up in bullpen. there goes Upton, throw to Cooper much too slow to throw and Upton safe at second, awful. 2-0 count, grounds to McCoy no, he bobbles it. Romero cannot believe it. Here comes Farrell but Ricky says he wants to stay in. Zobrist, pops it up to shallow right centre, Bautista calls off Rasmus for the out. Both runners hold, two down for Damon, oh boy gets hold of this one, home run into right. 6-2 Rays. That`s it for Ricky, not his fault tonight, he already had three outs, but the defensive plays behind him by Cooper and McCoy were awful. Casey Janssen now pitching. Rodriguez, 1-2 count, lines it to first, finally Cooper contributes with a catch but he is the goat tonight.

Top 9th: Farnsworth closing this one out unless Jays can do something they have not done since the first inning. Rasmus, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Cooper, wished he had stayed in bed today. 2-2 count, grounds to Longoria, throw to first, two down. Arencibia, full count, strikes out swinging.

Jays lose 6-2 but the story tonight was terrible play by Cooper and McCoy. Cooper with bat and glove. Ruined a great performance by Romero. Jays have one more shot tomorrow with Cecil, let us hope he has more than the three innings he had last outing.

The excellent: Romero despite the loss had a great outing going in to the eighth. Bautista had given them a quick lead but then defensive nightmares ruined this one for the Jays. Two more hits for Johnson, finishing strongly.

The terrible: Cooper failure to get base hit in the first with two in scoring position and knock Niemann out of the game then drops an easy pop up. Then a terrible throw in the 8th. Two bobbled plays by McCoy. Rasmus and Johnson dropped fly ball. Jays sloppy base running by Arencibia and too many poor defensive plays tonight.

Morrow beats Price in Tampa with excellent outing and power support from Kelly Johnson

Jays v Tampa Rays. Game one of three.

Rays are flying high right now, they are within striking distance of Boston who has to play the Yankees this weekend and especially after that 15-8 drubbing of the Yankees last night, even though it was a team full of call-ups, it is always good to thrash the Yankees at home. This will be tough series for the Jays but they should be well relaxed and loose this weekend and can make a difference in that play-off race. Yankees- Boston rained out tonight and will play double header in Sunday, that is tough.

Lineups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Encarnacion, Johnson, Molina, Rasmus, Arencibia, Cooper and Morrow pitching.
Rays: Jennings, Upton, Longoria, Damon, Zobrist, Kotchman, Joyce, Rodriguez, Shoppach and Price pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy leading off, strikes out on three pitches didn’t even move his bat ??? come on Mikey have to swing at one of them. Thames, strikes out swinging at high ball. Bautista, with two down. Full count, high fly ball to Upton in centre for third out. Rays are not messing around with this series they need every win. Pitch count 12.
Bottom 1st: Jennings, 3-1 count, the other extreme from Price, ball four, here we go. One on for Upton, 2-2 count strikes out swinging one down for Longoria. Longoria, 2-2 count, there goes Jennings and safe on the throw. Full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Damon with runner at second. Full count, inside ball four. Already 24 pitches for Morrow. Zobrist, strikes out swinging and strikes out the side, but at what cost ? Pitch count 29.

Top 2nd: Encarnacion, first pitch swinging of course, fly ball to Joyce in right for easy out, Johnson, grounds to Kotchman at first on the first pitch, what is with these people? Two pitches two outs, I hate that, no excuse. Molina, full count, much better, at least make the guy work for the out. Grounds to Longoria throw to first for third out but that was one pathetic display by Jays hitters Encarnacion and Johnson. Pitch count 21.
Bottom 2nd: Kotchman, 2-2 strikes out looking, one down for Joyce, grounds to first, Morrow and Cooper mess this one up, Morrow left it for Cooper but Cooper not ready. Rodriguez with one on one down. 0-2 count. Strikes out swinging, number five for Morrow but.... Shoppach, two down one on. 0-2 count, ball gets away and Joyce goes to second. Full count, strikes out swinging but 48 pitch count for Morrow despite striking out the six hitters.

Top 3rd: Rasmus leading off. Grounds first pitch to Zobrist, out at first. One down for Arencibia. Loops this one to Joyce in right centre and drops the ball, should have had that one but Jays will accept it. No error given. Cooper he owes Morrow one, full count, grounds back to Price, throw to second and ball gets away, Arencibia was running on the pitch. Both runners safe. Error to Price. McCoy, drives it to Joyce in right, bases loaded one down for Thames. OH BOY, grounds it back to Price throw home gets away from the catcher and Arencibia safe and here comes Cooper 2-0 Jays. WOW. Second error to Price. Bautista with two in scoring position, Sorry Jose, intentional walk here. Bases loaded again and look who is here? His seventh try at getting a hit. Edwin Encarnacion and you know he is not hitting this one out. Bases loaded one down. Pops up first pitch but fortunately back into the crowd, 2-2 count, pops it up into shallow right for the out, the good news is that it was not Edwin’s usual double play. Two down for Johnson. 2-2 count, 50pc loops it into shallow centre here comes the run McCoy followed by Thames, no throw behind Bautista at second and he is out, that scrubs the fourth run. Man this team has so many poor base running errors and that was Bautista. Jays get three but could have, should have been more. 3-0 Jays. Pitch count 51 for Price. Boston will be happy in New York with this score so far. Pitch count 52. Long 31 pitch inning for Price.
Bottom 3rd: Morrow has Jennings, grounds to McCoy, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Upton, high fly ball to Rasmus for out number two, Longoria, ouch that would hurt, right on the ribs. One on for Damon, 1-2 count, grounds to McCoy bobbles it but throw in time to get Damon at first. Good inning for Morrow. Pitch count 60.

Top 4th: Can Jays continue the hits against Price? Molina, full count, strikes out swinging. One down for Rasmus, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, Rasmus still searching for a good hitting streak, his average is sinking fast. Arencibia, with two down. 2-2 count, drives it to Joyce in right for the third out. 68 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Zobrist, high pop up to Bautista in right, one down for Kotchman, 2-2 count, strikes out, two down for Joyce, high pop up to Arencibia, pitch count 70. A lot better than that first 29 pitch inning.

Top 5th: Cooper leading off. Grounds to Kotchman at first, one down. McCoy, full count, high ball four. Thames with one on one down. McCoy going and safe without a throw. Thames singles up the middle to Upton and McCoy all the way from second to score, 4-0 Jays. Bautista now 0-2 and strikes out on high fast ball. Two down for Encarnacion. 3-1 count, lines it right at Longoria for the out. 87 pitch count.
Bottom 5th: Rodriguez, full count, inside ball four. Shoppach, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down. Jennings, perfect, grounds to Johnson at second, steps on the bag himself throw to Cooper double play. First double play ball by Morrow in 30 starts. Pitch count 80.Take out that first inning with 29 pitches and this guy would be cruising.

Top 6th: Johnson, YES Kelly, gets hold of this one high into right field corner, this one is OUT of here. Wow. 5-0 Jays. Molina, 0-2 strikes out swinging, one down for Rasmus, come on Colby, your turn. Not this time pops it up to Longoria at third, two down. Arencibia, 2-2 count, Strikes out looking on pitch number 100.
Bottom 6th: Upton, fly ball to Bautista in right, one down. Longoria, high fly ball to Thames in left, two down. Damon, 2-2 count, grounds to Cooper at first, takes it himself for the out. Pitch count 92. Maybe another inning left in him ?

Top 7th: End of road for Price, Cesar Ramos now pitching another lefty. Cooper at bat. 1-2 count, bounces to Zobrist at second, throw to Kotchman beats out Cooper, McCoy, drives it to Upton in centre, two down. Thames, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 7th: Zobrist leading off, full count, strikes out, one down for Kotchman grounds back up the middle to Rasmus, one on one down. Joyce, grounds to Cooper, high throw to McCoy should have been double play. Cooper owes another to Morrow. Two down for Rodriguez, full count, ball four, two on two down. Shoppach, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Number nine for Morrow tonight. Cooper is breathing again.

Top 8th: Bautista leading off, Jose can help Morrow here, in fact all Jays hitters can. Dane de la Rosa now pitching. 2-2 count, knocks Jose down, watch out Dane. Grounds to Longoria, throw to Kotchman at first, one down. Encarnacion, lines it to Joyce in right. Two down for Johnson, full count, grounds to Zobrist, throw to Kotchman for third out.
Bottom 8th: Carreno now pitching. Top of the order Jennings. 2-2 count, grounds to McCoy throw to Cooper for the out. One down for Upton, 3-0 count, careful here, outside ball four, one on for Longoria, Carreno playing with fire. There goes Upton and Arencibia throw gets him. Great throw JP. Perfect. Upton does not agree, arguing and now thrown out of game. Two down, 1-2 count, strikes out looking to end the inning. Nice pitching once again by Carreno.

Top 9th: Molina leading off. It would be good to get a couple more here. J. P. Howell pitching another lefty. Ruggiano in for Upton in centre. 0-2 count, takes strike three. One down for Rasmus, grounds to Kotchman takes it himself for the out. Two down, Arencibia, full count, grounds it to left through the infield, one on two down for Cooper, he owes Morrow big-time. Pops it up to Longoria.
Bottom 9th: Perez now pitching. Damon leading off. 3-0 count, this is not what we need Luis. Full count, ball four. One on for Zobrist, 2-2 count, grounds to Perez flip to Cooper to get Zobrist, one down. Damon at second. Kotchman, 2-1 count, grounds to Cooper, takes it to the bag himself for second out as Damon goes to third. Two down for Joyce, full count, lifts it into centre for Rasmus, Damon scores 5-1 Jays. Joyce at first, Rodriguez, 1-2 count, grounds to Cooper, steps on the bag to end the game. Perez bent there but did not break.

Jays win big game here in context of the play-off spot. Rays had a chance to pick one up on the idle Red Sox and put more pressure on both them and the Angels. 5-1 Jays.

The excellent: Morrow after a horrible first inning lasted seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts. Jays 3-5 with runners in scoring position, a huge improvement.
The very good: Johnson home run and a two hit night. Arencibia two hit night and a great throw to get Upton in the 8th.
The not so good: Cooper two poor defensive plays. Bautsta caught off second going too far around the bag.

Romero pitches a gem but no decision as Jays win extra innings walk off.

Angels v Jays. Game one of four.

This afternoon Yankees win and Boston lose first of double header against Baltimore, poor Boston Jays fans crying crocodile tears for them. Jays will be catching them next. Tonight Angels in for four and they are also in playoff race and will be in no mood for gimmes given the situation happening in Boston. Plus you know that Wells will be out to send a message. But this Jays team is coming off a great series win over the Yankees and want to continue.

Line-ups: Angels: Izturis, Abreu, Kendrick, Hunter, Trumbo, Wells, Bourjos, and Jerome Williams pitching.
Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia and Romero pitching. Farrell still doesn’t get it re Encarnacion. I feel sorry for the guys hitting ahead of him, he has already cost them five runs in his last two games and that does not include his feeble attempt at a steal, yes Edwin trying to steal yesterday. Thanks for nothing Edwin.

Great to see Thames in the line-up after that nasty foul off the face yesterday.

Top 1st: Izturis, grounds first pitch to Lawrie, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Abreu, grounds up the middle to McCoy, nice play Mikey, throw to Encarnacion two down. Kendrick, 0-2 grounds to Lawrie, throw to Encarnacion. Nine pitches.
Bottom1st: McCoy, grounds to Izturis at third, throw to Trumbo, one down for Thames. Singles back up the middle. One on one down for Bautista. 0-2 count, singles to Bourjos in centre, two on for Lind. Grounds to Trumbo throw to Aybar at second, Aybar back to Williams at first, drops the ball. Lind safe at first. Two down Thames at third. Encarnacion, grounds to second, throw to first for the out. Encarnacion leaves another two on base. Pathetic. But you have to question the judgement now of Farrell. He is the one who puts this guy in the line-up with a host of other options sitting n the bench, this is September John. Give Cooper a shot at first. Pitch count 15.

Top 2nd: Hunter leading off, full count, whoa, gets hold of this one and drives it into centre, over the wall and Angels go out ahead 1-0. Trumbo, grounds first pitch to McCoy, throw to Encarnacion for the out. One down for Wells.1-2 count, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Encarnacion at first, two down. Bourjos, grounds first pitch to McCoy, great play and long throw to get him at first. Very nice play Mikey. Pitch count 23.
Bottom 2nd: Johnson, singles to Wells in left. Lawrie, there goes Johnson, that was very slow takeoff Kelly, must have been hit and run. One down. Fly ball to Hunter in right, two down for Rasmus strikes out swinging. 28 pitch count.

Top 3rd: Aybar, grounds to McCoy throw to Encarnacion, one down. Wilson, 2-2 count, grounds back to Romero, throw to Encarnacion, two down. Izturis 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Encarnacion, three up and down for Ricky. 34 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: Arencibia leading off. Lines it into left field corner, stand up double. McCoy, bunting ? yes. 0-2, sign is off, pitch outside and strikes out swinging. What a waste of an at bat. Thames. 2-2 count, looked high from here. Grounds to Aybar at short, throw to first for second out as Arencibia moves to third. Bautista, will they pitch to him? Outside ball one, outside ball two, outside but Jose swings at it, that was ball three. Outside even further, ball three. Outside ball four. Poor Jose. Guinness Book of records for intentional walks this season. Lind, 1-1 count, 3-1 count, Oh boy look who is on deck. Pops it up to Wilson for third out, they did not want Edwin with bases loaded. 50 pitch count.

Top 4th: Abreu, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Kendrick grounds to Lawrie, nice play as he throws to first for the second out. Hunter, two down. High fly ball to Rasmus in centre. 42 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Encarnacion leading off fortunately for everyone. He will probably hit a home run but most of his teammates will take that chance. Full count, ball four inside. Johnson, grounds back to Williams, great play to bare hand it but throw is wild at second both runners safe. Error to Williams. Two on nobody out for Lawrie, 3-0 count, ball four, all the pitches were way outside. Bases loaded nobody out for Rasmus. 1-0 count, grounds to Trumbo at first, throw home to get Encarnacion back to Trumbo to get Rasmus. Double play, ouch, not good. Arencibia with two in scoring position. That will do it, singles into right, here comes Johnson, with Lawrie breathing down his neck, 2-1 Jays. McCoy,2-2 count, there goes Arencibia but Williams had not thrown the pitch and picks him off at second for third out. Pitch count 73.

Top 5th: Trumbo, 1-2 count, this one is trouble, high fly ball to centre, keeps on carrying her and into the seats, 2-2 game. Wells, singles to Bautista in right. Bourjos, grounds to McCoy, flip to Johnson throw to Encarnacion double play ball. Nice play. Two down for Aybar, 1-2 count, bounces to McCoy throw is wild at first. Great play to get to it. Just off balance throw. Wilson, bounces to McCoy takes it to second himself to get Aybar. Pitch count 54.
Bottom 5th: Jays need to make better use of their chances than they have so far. McCoy lines first pitch at Izturis at third, great catch. One down. Thames, lines it into right, Thames going for two foolish on Hunter, thrown out at second. Two down. That was not good play by Thames he should realise this outfield three is one of the best in the league. Bautista 0-2 strikes out swinging on three pitches, some frustration there by Jose. Jays are wasting their opportunities. 82 pitch count.

Top 6th: Angels gradually getting on top here. Romero needs a good inning to shut them down. Izturis, grounds to Encarnacion throw to Romero to get the out at first, one down for Abreu, full count, singles back up the middle to Rasmus. Kendrick 2-0 count, Romero losing it here. Strikes out swinging, two down. Hunter first pitch grounds to Johnson takes it himself to the bag to get Abreu. 73 pitch count.

Bottom 6th: Lind, grounds to Trumbo throw to first, one down. Encarnacion grounds to Aybar at short, throw to Trumbo two down. Johnson first pitch high fly ball to Wells in left, three up and down. 88 pitch count for Williams.

Top 7th: Trumbo leading off, strikes out swinging. Wells, 3-1 count, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, two down. Bourjos, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, ball gets away, Arencibia throw to first for the out. 85 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Lawrie leading off pops up first pitch very high to Trumbo at the pitcher’s mound, Rasmus, one down, that is it for Williams. Change of pitchers, Takahashi now pitching. Rasmus lines first pitch to Kendrick at second two down. Arencibia, 1-2 count, pops up to Wells in left for third out. Jays go quietly here. Too much first pitch swinging for my liking.

Top 8th: Aybar, 1-1 grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind, Wilson 0-2, strikes out swinging, two down. Izturis, grounds first pitch back to Romero, throw to Encarnacion for third out. 93 pitch count.
Bottom 8th: McCoy, 2-2 count, strikes out looking, one down for Thames. Full count, outside ball four. Cassevah now pitching. One on one down for Bautista, 1-2 count, lines to second, great diving stop by Kendrick and throw to Aybar gets Thames at second, no chance for two but Kendrick arguing that Thames headfirst slide was interference. Out comes Scioscia, no joy. Bautista at first, two down for Lind, grounds to Trumbo at first, diving stop, another nice save and Trumbo steps on bag for third out. Some great defensive plays by both teams tonight.

Top 9th: Abreu leading off. Full count, bounces slowly to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Kendrick, 3-1 count, grounds to McCoy, long throw, gets him at first. two down. Hunter singles to Rasmus in centre, one on two down for Trumbo, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Great reception from the crowd for Ricky. Now can the hitters get one here?
Bottom 9th: Cassevah pitching. Encarnacion leading off. Singles into centre, that figures with Edwin there was nobody on base. Johnson and here comes ex-Jay Scott Downs. Look at ERA 1.29. Wise pinch running for Encarnacion. Bunting, PERFECT off the end of the bat slow roll up first base line, and stays fair, Downs was waiting for it to go foul. Two safe. Lawrie, bunting in front of home plate, and gets it down, nice bunt and runners at second and third, one down. Scioscia conference ever the strategist. Hunter now in a five man infield. Molina now pinch hitting. 1-2 count, strikes out looking. Jose thought that was high and outside, umpire disagrees. Arencibia, 2-3 tonight. Drives it to right but right at Hunter for third out. This is going to extra innings.

Top 10th: Wise stays in game in centre. Cooper in at first for Edwin. Casey Janssen now pitching. Wells leading off. 1-2 count. Drives this one off the wall in centre, stand up double for Vernon. Bourjos, bunting Janssen throw to Cooper at first, looks like he had chance for Wells at third but goes the sure out. One down for Aybar, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, wow great pitch. Two down for Callaspo, pinch hitting for Wilson. 2-1 count, here comes Bruce Walton to talk. Bounces to Lawrie, careful throw to Cooper for third out. Nice pitching Casey.
Bottom 10th: Jays get another shot at this. Top of the order. Downs still out there, McCoy, 2-2 count, grounds to Aybar at short, bobbles the ball and throw gets away at first, error on Aybar. McCoy safe at first. Thames, 2-3 tonight. Perfect, Thames singles into centre, two on for Bautista. Outside ball one, grounds to short, throw to Kendrick at second and drops the ball, Bautista safe at first, McCoy at third. One down for Lind. Hunter in again to five person infield. Lind 0-4 tonight. 2-0 count, grounds to first Hunter makes throw home, McCoy safe at home. Jays win 3-2. Great finish.
Once again Jays win extra innings game to keep perfect record at home in extra innings wins.

The excellent: Has to be the pitching tonight. Romero nine innings no decision, just two mistakes for the home runs. Janssen shutout inning to steal the win. Thames three hit night. Johnson and Arencibia both with two hits. JP with two RBIs. Defensive plays behind Romero, McCoy in particular had a great night.
The not so good: Encarnacion first inning leaves two on. Runners in scoring position 1-11. Thames in the fifth running against arm of Hunter perennial Gold Glove.

Morrow superb outing supported by Lind home run power

Yankees v Jays. Final game of the series.

Last game against Yankees for 2011 season, series tied one apiece, winner takes all today. Morrow pitching against Garcia. We never know with Morrow, this could be an ugly result based on his last few games. He has won only two of his last ten. Great weather today and looks like a good crowd not as many as yesterday but my guess probably 35,000. Looks and sounds as if many of the Yankees fans from Friday and Saturday have already left for home, they are very quiet with the introductions. First gripe of the day, the Fan appreciation day a giveaway for first 10,000 fans. Always happens when Boston and Yankees fans are here they get in early to see Batting practice and snap up the giveaways leaving the little kids who are Jays fans unlucky. Can you see a Yankee fan wearing a Jays shirt in NY? I remember the same with the Halladay bobble head a couple of years ago and then they appeared on eBay. Make the giveaway day’s midweek games.

Line-ups: Yankees: Gardner, Nunez, Cano, Rodriguez, Swisher, Chavez, Martin, Dickerson, Pena and Garcia pitching. No Jeter, Teixeira or Granderson but all three have had problems with Morrow so I can see the opportunity to give them a day off rather than embarrass them. Because there is no way Girardi is not mailing in a loss.
Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia and Morrow pitching. Why is Encarnacion back in the line-up and playing first? After the dismal showing on Friday and inability to get anything with bases loaded three times, he sat yesterday and I thought that was it for the season. Not so. Ok Manager knows best.

Top 1st: Gardner 2-2 count, grounds to McCoy, throw to Encarnacion at first, one down. Good to see the back of Gardner, Morrow does not want him on base today. Nunez, that foul off nearly felled the umpire, took it flush on the mask and rocked him 1-2 count, bounces a slow hopper to McCoy and beats the throw, one on for Cano, full count, ball four. Two on one down for Rodriguez, there goes Nunez there goes Cano, double steal Arencibia throw gets Cano at second, nice throw JP. Two down, A-Rod lines to right but Bautista makes nice catch. A little rage there by A-Rod as he slams his helmet to the turf. Probably didn’t like the boos either. These fans have long memories A-Rod.
Bottom 1st: McCoy, lines out to Pena at short, one down for Thames, a tapper back to Garcia, throw to Chavez at first, two down. Bautista, grounds to Chavez takes it himself for the out. None of those four pitches topped 82mph. Don’t wait for any fast ball today Jose. Three up and down for Garcia.

Top 2nd: Swisher fly ball to Thames in left, one down. Chavez, strikes out looking. Martin grounds back up the middle McCoy gives way to Johnson and Kelly unable to make the throw, looks as if McCoy had a better chance on that one as he was moving towards the first base side whereas Johnson was going the other way and would have had to throw across his body. Martin safe at first, two down one on for Dickerson, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 2nd: Lind, 1-2, high fly ball to right, going back and this one is just over the wall, that looked like a typical Lind lazy fly ball out but kept on carrying, and the crowd lets us know that is a home run, 1-0 Jays. Encarnacion, full count, high ball four, Jays have something going. Kelly Johnson, there goes Encarnacion and throw to second gets him, slides into the glove waiting for him. Edwin stealing a base ??? Edwin we have news for you. Johnson, just misses right foul pole with that one into second deck, nice swing. full count, and another ball four. How different would this situation be if Encarnacion had now given himself up? There would be two on base and nobody out after that home run. Lawrie, strikes out swinging, two down. Rasmus, there goes Johnson and safe at second, the difference Edwin is that Kelly has speed. Rasmus full count, good at bat here, fouling them off, pops up to A-Rod at third. Long inning for Garcia 33 pitches.

Top 3rd: Pena leading off, strikes out. One down for Gardner, strikes out swinging, Morrow is really mowing them down now. Nunez lines it to left, Thames makes a great diving catch but he broke late, may not have seen it off the bat, and has to go back and lunge at full stretch for this one. Morrow does not mind, three up and down.
Bottom 3rd: Arencibia, strikes out. McCoy 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Garcia, Thames grounds to Nunez at second, throw to Chavez at first for the out. Three up and down for Garcia also.

Top 4th: Cano fly ball to Thames in left, one down for A-Rod, fly ball to right to Bautista for the second time. Two down Swisher fly ball to Thames in left to end the inning, another good inning for Morrow.

Bottom 4th: Bautista leading off, pops it up to Pena at short. Lind, 2-2 count, oh ho Adam, no questions about this swing, hammers it to centre and over the fence, another home run for Lind, he is locked in with Garcia today, 2-0 Jays. Gardner made a great leap at the wall but this one was over his glove. Encarnacion singles back up the middle, where was that hit for the last four bases loaded situations? Johnson grounds to Nunez at second, throw to Chavez at first, two down, Edwin moves to second. Lawrie strikes out. But Jays have another.

Top 5th: Chavez grounds to Johnson at second throw to Encarnacion at first, one down. Martin strikes out. Dickerson two down, strikes out swinging.

Bottom 5th: Rasmus fly ball to Gardner in centre, one down. Arencibia full count, ball four, one on one down for McCoy bunts to third Garcia makes the play himself and throws it away at first, McCoy safe at first, Arencibia to second and on to third base. Error to Garcia. Two on for Thames, makes no doubt about this fly ball to Gardner at the wall in centre, here comes Arencibia, 3-0 Jays. Bautista singles to left, McCoy to second. And that is the end of Garcia for today. Laffey now pitching. Lefty lefty matchup. Lind full count, and ball four. McCoy to third, Bautista to second. Bases are loaded and look who is here? Encarnacion again. How does he manage to always be the guy with bases loaded this is the fourth time in his last two games, and so far he has come up empty each time to end the inning. Surely not a fourth time Edwin. Ayala now pitching. I do NOT believe it Encarnacion does it again, fly ball to Gardner in centre and for the FOURTH time in two games Encarnacion has left the bases loaded to end an inning without even a miserable single. That is some record Edwin.

Top 6th: Pena leading off, grounds back to Morrow throw to Encarnacion at first, one down. Gardner pops up to Thames in left, two down. Nunez lines to Bautista in right, OH YES Jose, he has Nunez picked off, he rounded first base too far and Jose throws behind him, Encarnacion to McCoy for third out. Wow, what a great heads up play by Bautista.

Bottom 6th: Ayala still out there. Johnson leading off, strikes out, one down. Lawrie lines this one hard but right at Pena at short, two down. Rasmus grounds to Nunez throw to Chavez at first.

Top 7th: Cano lines out to Bautista in right, one down. A-Rod fly ball to Rasmus in centre, two down. Swisher strikes out. Excellent inning for Morrow.

Bottom 7th: Proctor now pitching. Arencibia doubles to left. McCoy bunting, catcher Martin throws to Chavez at first. Arencibia to third. Thames ouch, that really hurt Thames, looks as if he fouled off the pitch into his face. Here comes the trainer and Farrell. That is the end of Eric’s game today, is able to walk off, but that looked really nasty. Cooper pinch-hitting for Thames on a full count. Takes one pitch ball four. Wise pinch-running for Cooper, wild pitch, Wise to second. Bautista intentional walk. Bases are loaded. Valdes now pitching. Lind, strikes out. Oh no, look who is here again? This has to be a conspiracy, how can one guy come to the plate five times in two games with the bases loaded. OK Edwin this time surely. GROAN !!! bigtime groan and weep. He does it again, grounds to A-Rod at third, steps on the bag to get the out. Wise out at third, Bautista to second. That has to be world record let alone a major league record. But some of the blame now has to rest with Farrell, surely on earth he could use a pinch hitter for Encarnacion, How about Loewen, Cooper or even Molina. And Alex if this guy is Jays uniform in Spring you will get a revolt from the people who pay his salary. Please put us out of our misery, it is so painful to watch him.

Top 8th: Wise in left field for Thames. Chavez fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down. Martin, grounds back to Morrow throw to Encarnacion at first. Dickerson grounds to Johnson, safe at first. Pena one on two down, strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Johnson grounds to Nunez throw to Chavez at first, one down. Lawrie singles to centre, one on one down for Rasmus, strikes out. Kontos now pitching. There goes Lawrie, Martin throw in time to get Lawrie at second and end the inning.

Top 9th: Francisco now pitching. He has been so much better since the All-Star break. Looks like a different guy out there. Gardner lines to McCoy at short, one down. Nunez doubles to centre. Cano fly ball to Rasmus. Two down, one on for Rodriguez, strikes out. How sweet is that ending. Jays win and the three game series.

Sorry Jim in New York. The better team won this weekend.

The excellent: Brandon Morrow although long overdue it was a pleasure to watch him in action this afternoon, he was a different pitcher from the last two months.
Lind with his two home runs. Thames with nice defensive play. Bautista with his defensive play to get Cano picked off.

The not so good: Today has to be Encarnacion and those two bases loaded situations. I think and hope he sent a loud message to Farrell.

Jays give one away to the Yankees but another good outing by Alvarez

Yankees v Jays. Game two of three.

Yankees in a mood for revenge, this is not what they expected in Toronto. An easy three wins to put some space between themselves and Boston. Colon v Alvarez today. Can the rookie Alvarez beat the experienced AL East leaders? Great crowd this afternoon, much larger than last night which was indeed just under the 30,000 that I guessed. Lots of noisy Yankee fans.

Line-ups: Yankees: Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira, Cano, Rodriguez, Swisher, Montero, Gardner, Romine and Colon pitching.
Jays: McCoy, Johnson, Bautista, Lind, Cooper, Rasmus, Lawrie, Molina, Loewen and Alvarez pitching. Three rookies in the line-up today plus Alvarez. A tough game ahead.

Top 1st: Jeter, grounds to McCoy throw to Lind, one down. Granderson, bunting up third base line, Alvarez throw wild and pulls Lind off the bag. One on for Teixeira. Perfect, grounds to Johnson, flip to McCoy at second over to Lind double play ball to end a quick first inning for Alvarez.
Bottom 1st: McCoy, fly ball to Granderson in centre, one down for Johnson, grounds to Cano at second, throw to Teixeira at first, two down. Bautista, high fly ball to Granderson in centre to end the inning.

Top 2nd: Cano, bunting back to Alvarez, quick throw to Lind for the out. Rodriguez, first game off thumb injury. Full count, singles to Loewen in left, one on one down for Swisher. Grounds to Johnson, throw to McCoy over to Lind another inning ending double play ball.
Bottom 2nd: Lind leading off, back in the cleanup position as we forecast last night. 2-2 count, singles to centre. One on for Cooper, DH today, singles to centre, Lind all the way to third. Two on nobody out. Rasmus, lines it to the wall in right, Lind scores 1-0 Jays. Rasmus stand up double as Cooper gets to third, still nobody out. Lawrie, 3-1 count, grounds to Jeter, just gets Lawrie at first, as Cooper scores, 2-0 Jays. One down and runner Rasmus at second for Loewen, full count, inside ball four, two on one down for last night’s hero Jose Molina, lifts it to into left, ball bounces over the fence, ground rule double, here comes Rasmus, 3-0 Jays. Loewen to third. McCoy sac bunt here, up first base line, Teixeira tags him out as Loewen comes in to score 4-0 Jays. Molina to second on the play Johnson, strikes out to end the inning. But Jays get to Colon in a big way sending weight hitters to the plate.

Top 3rd Montero leading off, bounces to short, Lawrie makes the play but has no grip on the ball to throw. Gardner with Montero at first, 2-2 count, looked like strike three, Alvarez thought so also, grounds to Lawrie throw to Johnson at second, to get Montero. Romine, catching today. 2-2 count, grounds to Lawrie in front of McCoy, throw to Lind for the out. Two down one on for Jeter, grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind for the out. Another good inning for Alvarez.
Bottom 3rd: Bautista, bounces to Jeter throw to Teixeira, one down for Lind, pops it up high to A-Rod at third, two down. Cooper, strikes out looking on three pitches to end the inning. Jays go quickly and quietly.

Top 4th: Granderson leading off, full count, ball four. One on for Teixeira, lines it to Rasmus in centre, Granderson to third. Double for Teixeira. Fly ball to Loewen, oh he drops the ball, here comes Granderson, Teixeira to third, Cano to second, 4-1 Jays. Error to Loewen. Two on for Cano, nobody out. Rodriguez, perfect, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind, one down. Swisher with two in scoring position. Fly ball to centre, oh wow, great running catch by Rasmus to his left and now Cano is off the base and rounding third and now Teixeira goes back to tag up but Cano has overtaken him, and out. Cano obviously thought that Rasmus would not get to that ball and he was also not watching the play in front of him. A crazy double play, WOW what an ending.
Bottom 4th: Can Jays capitalize on that? Rasmus, bunting down the third base line and A-Rod lets it roll but stays safe, one on for Lawrie, hit and run on singles to Granderson in centre, Rasmus to second. Nobody out and two on for Loewen, strikes out, not Adam’s day today. Molina, lines to left but at Gardner for the out. Runners hold. Two down for McCoy, drives this one hard opposite field to right, this will do it, off the wall, here comes Rasmus and Lawrie right behind him, two more runs. 6-1 Jays. Romine drops the ball but throws to A-Rod McCoy safe at third on the play. Johnson, pops up to A-Rod at third but Jays get two more.

Top 5th: Montero leading off, strikes out looking. One down for Gardner, lines this to left Loewen made a dive for it but gets past him to the wall, not his day today at all. Gardner is speeding and safe at third. Romine pops it up to Johnson, no chance for Gardner to score, two down. Jeter, grounds to McCoy throw to Lind for third out. Nice pitching by Alvarez to get the two with Gardner at third. 86 pitches but his strike to ball ratio 63-23 is excellent.
Bottom 5th: Colon is out of the game. Scott Proctor now pitching. Bautista, full count, outside ball four. Lind, grounds to Jeter, throw to Cano at second, over to Teixeira double play ball. Cooper, strikes out.

Top 6th: Alvarez still out there. Granderson, 1-2 count, here we go lines to right, bounces over the wall in the corner, ground rule double. One on for Teixeira, singles to Rasmus in centre, fumbles it and throw to second but Granderson comes home on the error, two on nobody out. 6-2 Jays. Teixeira to second. Wild pitch by Alvarez, Teixeira to third. Still nobody out. 1-2 count, ouch Cano hit on the hip, that would hurt. Rodriguez, oh no, first pitch, gets hold of this one, into left and just over the fence, three run home run 6-5 Jays and this game is totally different. Villanueva warming up in bullpen. Swisher, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind for the first out. Montero first pitch fly ball to Rasmus for the second out. Gardner, singles to left, one on two down for Romine, bounces one to McCoy throw to Lind for third out but Yankees are back in this one bigtime.
Bottom 6th: Laffey now pitching. Rasmus leading off pops up to A-Rod, one down for Lawrie fly ball to Granderson in centre, two down. Loewen grounds to Cano throw to Teixeira. Three up and down for the Jays.

Top 7th: Villanueva now pitching, Jeter grounds to McCoy throw not in time. Granderson, 2-2 with a walk today, 2-2 count, ouch Molina hurt on that foul off, 10 pitch at bat here, fouling them off, there he goes, drives this one to centre and over the fence, two run home run and Yankees take the lead 7-6. Twelve pitches in that at bat. Still nobody out. Teixeira grounds to Lawrie throw to Lind, one down. Cano grounds to Lind steps on the bag himself for the out, two down. A-Rod, not this time, grounds to Lawrie throw to Lind for third out. Yankees go quietly here.
Bottom 7th: Noesi now pitching. Teahen pinch hitting for Molina. Strikes out, not much help there Mark, one down. McCoy grounds to Jeter, throw to Teixeira two down. Johnson, full count, fly ball to Swisher in right.


Top 8th: Thames in for Loewen in left, Loewen did not have a great day today. Arencibia in for Molina. Drabek now pitching, gradually getting him back into this line-up. Swisher first pitch fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down for Montero, full count, strikes him out swinging. Gardner, grounds to Johnson throw to Lind and Drabek gets a nice three up and down inning. Everyone is happy to see that.
Bottom 8th: Soriano in to protect this one run lead for Rivera next inning. Dickerson now in right. Bautista, 2-2 count, strikes out, one down for Lind, strikes out, swinging, two down. Cooper, full count, strikes out, Soriano did his job second day in a row striking out the side.

Top 9th: Drabek still out there. Chavez pinch hitting for Romine, strikes out. One down for Jeter, strikes out, Granderson full count, ball four, one on two down for Teixeira, fly ball to Bautista right. Another good inning for Drabek but can the hitters get one?

Bottom 9th: Martin now catching. Rivera pitching. Rasmus, 2-2 count, strikes out looking, one down. Lawrie, 2-2 count, grounds to Teixeira, beats Lawrie to the bag for the out. Thames, two down, fly ball to Granderson in centre. Save number 601 for Rivera to tie the major league record. Jays lose a close one 7-6 and set up tomorrow’s game for the series. Morrow pitching, he has to pitch his best game of the season.

Jays were not disgraced or embarrassed today and to lose a close one run game is no disgrace, however they gave aup a five run lead and that is something else.

The very good: Alvarez pitched another fine outing. We sometimes forget that this is a young kid of 21 and has only been in the majors for the last month. He has not disgraced himself at all. Drabek also a fine two scoreless innings of relief. Defense three double plays. Great defensive play by Rasmus in centre to start the crazy double play in the 4th inning.

The not so good: 3-8 with runners in scoring position, not as bad as last night but still not good and in a one run ballgame crucial.

Jays beat Yankees with Molina walk off run

Yankees v Jays. Game one of three.

Cecil not pitching, cut himself cleaning a blender ? in Boston. What is wrong with this guy and blades? Was this not the same guy who cut himself cooking chicken in Spring training in Dunedin? And he is a pitcher. So McGowan is now pitching, let us all pray that he has better outing than his last time. BUT it is incredible story just to see him out there so we should be thankful for that. Tough matchup with Sabathia going for his win number 20. You know that the Yankees want some easy wins to clinch the division and there will be no easy games this weekend for the Jays. Colby Rasmus back in the line-up. Good crowd here tonight, should be over 30,000 judging from where the security is positioned in the fifth deck.

Line-ups: Yankees: Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira, Cano, Swisher, Chavez, Posada, Martin, Gardner and Sabathia pitching. No A-Rod.
Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind, Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia, Johnson and McGowan pitching. I like this line-up. Good to see Rasmus back. Interesting, Lind is moved out of clean-up spot for Encarnacion. Adam you need to start hitting more consistently.

Top 1st: Jeter leading off, not sure why he is getting all these boos, but with A-Rod no-one else to boo I guess. Ah well wait until Burnett pitches, if he does. Jeter grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind. One out for Granderson, strikes out, crowd loves that. Teixeira grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind and McGowan has clean three up and down inning.
Bottom 1st: McCoy leading off, Escobar still nursing that elbow injury. That will do Mikey, singles past Sabathia into centre. Thames, strikes out. One on one down for Bautista, singles into to right, McCoy all the way to third. Jays have something going early. Two on for Encarnacion, grounds to Chavez at third, throws to Cano at second but Bautista all over him and no chance for double play as McCoy comes home 1-0 Jays. Lind with Edwin at first, there goes Edwin and safe at second. Lind strikes out to strand Edwin but Jays have taken the early lead off Sabathia which is the important fact here.

Top 2nd: Cano leading off, lines it into the right field corner, going for two, here comes the throw by Jose, and he gets him, a bullet one bouncer to McCoy for the out. Great play, they never seem to learn about running on Jose. Swisher, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind for the final out. Another good inning for McGowan.
Bottom 2nd: Lawrie leading off, grounds to Cano, throw to Teixeira, one down for Rasmus. Colby’s first at bat since his return. Strikes out, two down for Arencibia, pops it up a mile high, Jeter makes the catch for third out. If JP had flattened that one out it would still be going west.

Top 3rd: Posada, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Lind for the out. Martin, strikes him out, nice pitch Dustin. Gardner, this is a guy like Scutaro who has given the Jays so many headaches this season with bat, glove and his stolen bases. 3-0 count, ball four. This is the last guy you want to walk Dustin. One on two down for Jeter. There goes Gardner, not wasting any time and safe at second on the throw. There he goes again and safe at third without a throw. Back to Jeter Dustin, that’s better strikes out looking. Captain Jeter does not like the call and stays in the box discussing it with umpire. No change to the call.
Bottom 3rd: Johnson, singles to left. McCoy running bunt I think that was what is was, but if you have seen McCoy in action you know what I mean, up the first base line, Teixeira not in time as McCoy slides into first. Looks as if Teixeira was in two minds there whether to throw to second or go to first and by the time he turned the speedy McCoy was past him. Two on as Johnson reaches second. Thames, fly ball to Granderson in centre, Johnson tags and moves to third. One down for Bautista, pitching around Jose here, ball four and bases loaded, Sabathia taking his chances with Edwin. Ok Edwin, just a base hit here.NO, the very worst, grounds back to Sabathia, throws to Martin over to Teixeira, double play to end this one. Major opportunity lost there and I don’t think they will get many against Sabathia, you have to take them.

Top 4th: Yankees with a life. Granderson, full count, ball four, leadoff walk. Teixeira with one on grounds to Lawrie, throw to McCoy to get Granderson. No chance for two. Cano grounds to Lind, throw to McCoy to get Teixeira, no chance for two. McGowan trying hard with the ground balls. Swisher, lines it to centre, this is trouble, Cano scores 1-1 game. Chavez, OH NO, gets hold of this pitch and hammers it to centre and over the wall, here comes Swisher, here comes Chavez and Yankees go out ahead 3-1. Posada fly ball to centre Rasmus makes the third out but Yankees storm back and all with two outs.
Bottom 4th: Sabathia with the lead now, good luck to the Jays hitters. Lind leading off, good start as he singles into centre. Lawrie with one on, strikes out. One on one down for Rasmus, strikes out. Two down for Arencibia, gets hold of this one, high fly ball to left, but great leaping catch at the wall by Gardner. That was very close but we have seen this before from Gardner. Arencibia has had two very hard hit at bats.

Top 5th: Martin leading off, grounds to McCoy, throw to Lind, one down. Gardner, grounds to Johnson throw to Lind, two down for Jeter. Strikes out for second time. Excellent inning for McGowan especially after giving up the lead last inning.
Bottom 5th: Johnson leading off, singles to centre, 2-2 today. McCoy strikes out. Bautista one on one down, once again they are not pitching to him, full count, ball four. Sabathia not giving him the chance. Encarnacion, ball four to load the bases. One down for Lind, there we go Adam, lines this one to left, here comes Johnson, here comes Bautista, here comes Encarnacion three runs score and Jays take back the lead, 4-3. Lind two hits today. Lawrie, grounds to Jeter, and beats out the throw, great speed by Lawrie, no way are they getting him. Lawrie at first for Rasmus, grounds back to Sabathia throw to Teixeira for the out. But Jays get to Sabathia.

Top 6th: Jesse Litsch now pitching. A very good five innings work by McGowan. He is some comeback story. Granderson, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Lind. One down for Teixeira, fly ball to Thames in left. Cano, lines it to Bautista in right, and safe on the throw to second. Swisher, with runner in scoring position, does not miss this chance, lines to Thames on left, here comes Cano and this game is all tied up again. Shortlived lead. This is the Yankees. Chavez grounds to McCoy steps on the bag at second to get Swisher.
Bottom 6th: Arencibia leading off, grounds to Jeter, throw to Teixeira. One down for Johnson, singles to centre, 3-3 day for Kelly. McCoy, he singles to right, two on for Thames, strikes out. Two down for Bautista, full count and ball four, semi-intentional walk but bases are loaded again for Encarnacion, time for redemption here Edwin. That is it for Sabathia, Ayala now pitching. NO I don’t believe it, Edwin does it again lines to Grandnerson in centre for the out. Leaves the bases loaded for the second time. Edwin you are supposed to be hitting cleanup tonight.

Top 7th: Posada, grounds to Lind, steps on the bag himself for the first out. Martin grounds to Lawrie, throw to Lind. Two down for Gardner, fly ball to Rasmus in centre. Three up and down for Litsch.
Bottom 7th: Soriano now pitching, setting up the ducks for Rivera. Lind, leading off, strikes out. Lawrie, strikes out, two down for Rasmus, strikes out. Soriano does his job strikes out the side.

Top 8th: Janssen now pitching. Jeter grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Linbd. One down. Granderson pops up to McCoy, two down. Teixeira, strikes out. Janssen as good as Soriano. Great inning.
Bottom 8th: Robertson now pitching. Arencibia leading off, this will do it JP lines it to left, stand up double for JP, he has been hitting ball hard all night. Wise pinch running for JP, this is a huge run. Johnson, ball four, nice at bat Kelly. Two on for McCoy, silly sac bunting here, strikes out. You could see that coming, McCoy was all at sea with that at bat. Thames grounds to Cano, throw to Jeter to get Johnson at second as Wise moves to third. Bautista two on, no pretence this time intentional walk. There is no way that Jose is going to get at bats. Hard to be MVP if he never gets a bat eh Mr. Girardi. That makes it four tonight, ridiculous. Bases loaded once again and look who is here? Encarnacion, does it again fly ball to Swisher in right. Lightning does strike three times at least with Edwin.

Top 9th: Molina now catching. Janssen still pitching. Cano fly ball to Rasmus, one down. Swisher grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind, two outs. Chavez grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind for third out. Great inning by Casey. He has been tremendous all season. Now can the Jays do it here? Advantage to them as Encarnacion will not be hitting.
Bottom 9th: Boone Logan now pitching. Lind, there we go Adam, lines it to right, stand up double for Adam. Just think where the Jays would be tonight with Adam hitting clean up instead of Encarnacion? Loewen the winning run now pinch running at second. Lawrie, intentional walk. Two on for Rasmus, grounds back to Logan throw toChavez at third to get Loewen. Lawrie to second in scoring position. Wade now pitching. Molina hitting. There is a loud mouthed idiot behind us name calling Jose and his weight. HA !!! Jose there we go, lines it to right centre, this one is going to score Lawrie no question and Jays win this one, Molina about to get mobbed by the dugout lead by Lawrie who keeps on running after home plate.

Jays win this one 5-4 and New York Jim is crying in his beer. I can’t see the loud mouth behind me.
Jays outhit the Yankees throughout and not only deserve the win but could have made it much bigger score but for Encarnacion.

The excellent: Has to be Jose Molina with the walk off winning run. Casey Janssen shutting them down for two innings. McGowan definitely a whole lot better than last time but put it in context, this guy should not even be pitching let alone in the majors after what he has been through. Let’s not forget Bautista with his walks and one RBI hit. Plus his bullet throw to get Cano.

The not so good: The Great Big Goat tonight has to be Encarnacion. Bases loaded THREE times and unable to get even one measly base hit and worse still inning ending at bats, leaving them all out there. Whereas Lind, has a great game. Coincidence ? I don’t think so and look to see Lind back in clean-up tomorrow.
Lastly in the not so good category. The constant timewasting by the Yankees, continual trips to the mound, throughout the game.

Jays come from behind win to give Romero win number 15

Jays v Red Sox Game two of two.

Boston now in full flight and can smell that play off after last night’s breakout and end of their mini slump. Tampa lost so Red Sox gained one back. Today however Romero is or should be tougher than Morrow was last night. Bottom line Red Sox really need this win as they head for series with Tampa and crucial games that could decide their play-off hopes. First they want another easy win.

Lineups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Lind, Encarnacion, Johnson, Lawrie, Arencibia, Loewen and Romero pitching.
Red Sox: Ellsbury, Scutaro, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Youkilis, Lavarnway, Crawford, Varitek, McDonald and Lackey pitching.

Top 1st: McCoy, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Thames. Singles to McDonald in right. Bautista, outside, outside, outside, Jose does not even bother taking bat off shoulder, outside ball four. Two on for Lind. 2-2 count, mound conference, lines to Ellsbury in centre, two down. Encarnacion, 0-2 count, singles to left centre, here comes Thames 1-0 Jays. Johnson with Bautista at second, two down. 2-1 count, lines it to shallow left centre drops in here comes Bautista to score 2-0 Jays, Encarnacion at third. Lawrie two down two on. 2-1 count, grounds to short, throw to first to end the inning. 31 pitch count.
Bottom 1st: Ellsbury, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Lind, one down. Scutaro, full count, lines it off the wall in left, stand up double for Scutaro. Gonzalez, WHOA, great play, lines it back up the middle to McCoy to make the catch and dives to the bag at second to get Scutaro off the bag for inning ending double play, WOW.... DEFENSE. Pitch count 13. Ricky loves that.

Top 2nd: Arencibia, pops it up to Gonzalez at first. Loewen, singles to right. McCoy, 0-2 count, drives to right centre for Thames, two down. Strikes out swinging. Pitch count 48.
Bottom 2nd: Pedroia, singles to Thames in left. Youkilis, 1-2 count, singles to left, Loewen overruns it and fumbles it and Pedroia to third on the play, not good Adam. Lavarnway, with two on and nobody out. Romero in trouble here. Oh boy bounces it to Lawrie he over runs it and messes it up, had his eye on an out before he had the ball. All runners safe as Pedroia scores. 2-1 Jays. More sloppy defense. Crawford with runners at first and second. Wild pitch bounces away, both runners move up, Jays are giving this to the Red Sox. Pretty bad baseball here. 2-2 strikes out, first out of the inning, two more to go without chance of double play, you have to do it yourself here Ricky. Varitek, 2-0 you might as well walk him to try to get the double play. Bounces to Johnson, throw to Lind two down and run scores, this game is all tied up just like that. Runner to third. McDonald, grounds to Lawrie throw to Lind for third out BUT Jays sloppy defensive play by Loewen, Lawrie and Arencibia have cost them two runs. Pitch count 32.

Top 3rd: Jays hitters once again have to get to Lackey. Bautista leading off, grounds back to Lackey, throw to Gonzalez for the out. One down for Lind, pops it up to Youkilis, two quick outs. Encarnacion, 2-2 count, grounds to short, Scutaro long throw not in time. Edwin safe at first. Johnson, one on two down. Full count, strikes out swinging on ball four. 62 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: Ellsbury, 2-2 count, lines it in to right field corner, stand up triple. Scutaro, 3-1 count, lines it to Thames in left for the out, Ellsbury tags and scores 3-2 Boston. Gonzalez, 2-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Lind, two down for Pedroia, 2-1 count, pops it up to Bautista in right field for the out but so far Jays outclassed by the Red Sox in every department. Pitch count 51. Looks as if Romero will not last six either. Just not sharp at all today, falling behind most of the hitters so far.

Top 4th: Lawrie, looking for redemption now after that defensive goof. 2-2 count, grounds to Scutaro, throw to Gonzalez at first, one down. Arencibia, full count. Grounds to Scutaro, oh he fumbles the ball, error to Scutaro, that was a real mess up of an easy out. Arencibia safe at first. JP will take that. Loewen, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for McCoy, grounds to Scutaro, easy out at second, not sure where Arencibia was but far too late to the bag. No hustle there. 78 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Can Romero get back on track here? Youkilis leading off, strikes out swinging, one down for Lavarnway. Grounds to third, Lawrie once again over-runs the ball and Lavarnway safe at first, should have been an out. Lawrie’s second error already today in less than four innings. Crawford, 2-2 count, strikes out looking, two down. Varitek grounds to Lawrie throw to second to get Lavarnway. No damage done on the error apart from extra pitches for Romero. 63 pitch count.

Top 5th: Thames leading off, 1-2 count, grounds to Pedroia, throw to Lackey covering the bag, one down for Bautista. 2-2 count, lifts it over the head of Pedroia into shallow right centre. Lind with one on and one down. Not sure where Lind has been since the All-Star break but definitely absent. However with young Cooper here now he may start to wake up before he loses his spot, full count, Jose doing wind sprints out there as Lind keeps fouling off pitches. Perfect, there we go lines it into right, Bautista all the way to third and safe as the throw bounces away. Two on one down for Encarnacion. Lines it hard to Crawford in left, Bautista has to hold at third as throw comes in. No aggressive play here by the Jays but they have long stopped doing that, not sure whether it is Butterfield hesitancy or the player. I suspect the former. That may have to change in 2012, this team needs every advantage they can get. Johnson, grounds to Gonzalez at first, steps on the bag and once again Jays unable to bring a guy in.103 pitch count.
Bottom 5th: McDonald singles back up the middle over the mound, Ellsbury with one on. Pops it up to Arencibia, one down. Scutaro, 2-1 count, that will do grounds to Johnson, steps on the bag and throw to Lind for the double play. Pitch count 72.

Top 6th: Jays have been shut down since the first inning. Lackey still out there. Lawrie who is having a miserable game with bat and glove, his worst since he came up from Vegas. Is he running out of steam? 1-2 count, Lackey hits him in the back, Brett will take it anyway he can to get on base right now. One on for Arencibia, let’s see some aggressive base running here now from Lawrie at first. There he goes, and throw wild in to centre, Lawrie to third on throw. Good things happen when you force the play. 1-2 count on Arencibia, now he can swing away. 113 pitches for Lackey, not sure why Francona does this to his pitchers. Bullpen is bursting. Full count. Fly ball to Ellsbury in centre, Lawrie held at third, what is this? He is the fastest runner in the ballpark. That is the end of Lackey though 115 pitch count. Loewen, pressure on him to bring in Lawrie. Morales now pitching. Lefty lefty matchup. 2-2 count, grounds to Pedroia, throw home as Lawrie bowls Varitek over, out at the plate, that was a little over the top Brett. Loewen to first, two down. McCoy, oh boy they pick off Loewen at first. What a fiasco. Why did they send Lawrie on that play when they held the previous one which had much better chance? Poor all round this afternoon on and off the field.
Bottom 6th: I feel sorry for Romero he has to fight his own team’s errors and poor calls as well as pitching. Gonzalez first pitch there she goes home run into Boston bullpen to right centre, 4-2 Boston. Pedroia grounds to third throw to Lind one down. Youkilis, 3-1 count, ball four. One on one down for Lavarnway first pitch fly ball to Bautista for the out. Crawford very nice play grounds back to Romero, fumbles it but has the presence of mind to shovel it to second to get Youkilis. Nice play Ricky. 84 pitch count.

Top 7th: Uphill struggle now for the Jays who are incapable of scoring with runner at third two innings in a row. Anderson in for Gonzalez, getting ready for Tampa series. McCoy facing Aceves. Setting up for Bard and Papelbon now. Jays had their chances earlier. McCoy full count, lines it to Ellsbury in centre, one down. Thames, grounds to Anderson throw to Aceves for the out. Bautista, I wonder if there will be payback here on Bautista for Lawrie hit on Varitek? down and away, outside, down and away, 3-0 count, familiar chorus for Jose this season. Takes it all the way, strike one. Down and away ball four. Ho hum. One more walk for Jose. Lind now will he make them pay here? I will not be wagering on it, first pitch (!) fly ball to Ellsbury for the out. Time to sit Lind for the season Manager Farrell and leave young Cooper in there.
Bottom 7th: Varitek, Teahen now at third for Lawrie, Interesting move by Farrell. Isd Lawrie injured on that play on Varitek or benched for the play and his glove errors today. Grounds to Teahen throw to Lind for the out. McDonald, lines to Bautista in right. Two down for Ellsbury. Fly ball to Thames in left, three up and down but Red Sox have plans. 93 pitch count.

Top 8th: Crowd leaving already. Bard now pitching. Encarnacion leading off, 3-1 count, ball four. One on for Johnson. 2-0 here we go Boston slowing this one down as meeting on the mound did not do much good, 3-0 count, outside ball four. Bard feeling sorry for the Jays here. Two on and nobody out. Teahen, bunting of course, good bunt but throw it away at first, all runners safe, bases loaded and nobody out. Interesting but no guarantee at all that they will do anything with this chance. Arencibia, grounds to Youkilis at third drops the ball but throw to first to get Arencibia as runs scores 4-3 game. Both runners move up into scoring position. Loewen now a chance to redeem his errors. 2-2 count, finally lines it up the middle both Jonhson and Teahen score not held up this time. Butterfield has learned the hard way this afternoon. Jays take the lead 5-4. McCoy with Loewen at first one down. Grounds to Pedroia, throw to Anderson at first throw to Youkilis to get Loewen stretching it out. Double play ball but Jays have the lead.
Bottom 8th: Scutaro, pops up to Johnson at second. Anderson, 1-2 strikes out, two down. Pedroia, fly ball to Loewen in centre for third out. Great inning for Romero. 102 pitch count. You know that he will want to start the 9th if the score warrants.

Top 9th: Papelbon now pitching fifth Boston pitcher today. Not what Francona wanted with the Tampa series coming up. Thames leading off grounds to Anderson at first, takes it himself for the out. Bautista, power versus power. 0-2 count, takes strike three. Two down for Lind, time this guy earned his money. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 9th: No not Ricky, Francisco now pitching for the save. Hmm. Youkilis leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down, Reddick pinch hitting for Lavarnway, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Crawford. Full count, lines it to Thames in left. Jays win this come from behind win for Romero, win number 14 career high.

The excellent: Romero lasted eight innings after a rough start and held Boston. A couple of good defensive plays by McCoy, and Romero. Let’s not forget Francisco with save number 15. Oft maligned this season he has been pitching well the last month. Jays outhit Red Sox 8-6. Come from behind win and at Fenway.


The not so good: More sloppy defense. Loewen, Lawrie (2) errors both avoidable and Arencibia passed ball. BUT the worst has to be the 3-10 with runners in scoring position. This is numero uno for Spring training. I would also add the very conservative approach by Butterfield at third holding the runners.

Jays pitching lead by Morrow, Perez and Farquhar woefully poor as they blow this one twice.

Jays v Red Sox in Boston. Game one of two,
Red Sox nation in mourning as their team has dropped out of the division lead that they held September 1st now in a September swoon. This is a must win for them tonight. This is all mind games tonight, get on the Red Sox early but Jays have their second team out there tonight, it will be difficult for them to beat this Red Sox team. Plus Wakefield going for that win # 200 at home. Morrow for the Jays, who knows what he will bring, he has been so maddeningly inconsistent all season long and raises many questions about 2012 rotation.

Line-ups: Jays: McCoy, Thames, Bautista, Encarnacion, Cooper, Lawrie, Arencibia, Loewen, Woodward and Morrow pitching. No Escobar, Lind, Rasmus or Johnson.
Red Sox: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Lowrie, Youkilis, Reddick, Crawford, Scutaro, Saltalamacchia and Wakefield pitching. Red Sox at full strength, this one is too important for them to experiment with rookies.

Top 1st: McCoy, first pitch, grounds to Scutaro at short, throw to Gonzalez at first, one down. Thames, Wakefield hits him, one on one down for Bautista, 2-2 strikes out on pitch way outside. Two down for Encarnacion, pops it up Reddick in shallow right.

Bottom 1st: Ellsbury leading off, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Cooper playing at first. One down for Pedroia, two pitches to the backstop, Morrow wild already here, lines it to the wall in left centre Loewen, stand up double. Gonzalez, 3-0 count, ball four. Lowrie pinch-hitting for Ortiz. Strikes out. Two down. Youkilis with two on, inside and hits him, bases loaded. Pedroia to third, Gonzalez to second. Reddick, 2-2 count, grounds to Cooper, throw to Morrow, off his glove, here comes Pedroia and Gonzalez, 2-0 Boston. Error to Cooper. Youkilis at third. Crawford grounds to Woodward at second throw to Cooper. Morrow three wild pitches, hit batsman definitely not a good start.

Top 2nd: Cooper leading off lines it high off the wall to left, Crawford throw wide and not in time. As Cooper makes up for the error with a leadoff double. doubled to left. Lawrie grounds to Scutaro and beats out the throw. Speed. Two on for Arencibia, nobody out. Lines first pitch high to left off the top of the wall, no they are calling home run, Francona wants a review. Home run stands, three run home run for Arencibia, Jays go out ahead 3-2. Loewen grounds first pitch to Pedroia throw to Gonzalez at first, one down for Woodward, strikes out swinging. McCoy, full cont, fly ball to Reddick in right but Jays are off and running.
Bottom 2nd: Scutaro full count, singles to right. Saltalamacchia, wild pitch and Scutaro to second. Saltalamacchia grounds to Cooper at first as Scutaro to third, that could have been a double play ball. One down. Ellsbury lines it off the wall in left and Scutaro scores, 3-3 game. Ellsbury to second. Pedroia, runner in scoring position. 0-2 count and balk called, as Ellsbury takes third, this is pretty sloppy baseball by the Jays here this inning. Lines it to left to Thames to make the catch and Ellsbury scores from third. Just like that. 4-3 Boston. Gonzalez, 2-2 count, grounds to Cooper at first to end this very, very sloppy inning by Morrow, it is easy to see which team is going to the playoffs. 43 pitch count after two innings. That is not good enough.

Top 3rd: Thames, 0-2 count, singles into right. Bautista, 1-2 count, Wild pitch and Thames to second. There she goes, high into left and hits the foul pole right at the top, wow, two run home run 5-4 Jays. Encarnacion, 3-1 count, high ball four. Edwin on base and still nobody out. Boston bullpen working. Cooper, 2-1 count, drives this one high to centre but the deepest part of the ballpark to Ellsbury, one down. Lawrie, one on one down. Lines it to Youkilis at third, knocks it down but no chance to get Lawrie at first, speed kills. Two on, one down for Arencibia, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging this time. Two down two on for Loewen, strikes out swinging for third out. Pitch count at 61.
Bottom 3rd: Lowrie, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Youkilis, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Cooper two down. Reddick, loops it just over leaping Woodward at second into shallow right for a single. Crawford, full count, oh wow lines this one high to the right centre here but Loewen stays with it and slams up against the Boston bullpen wall with the ball in his glove, wow highlight reel catch to rescue Morrow there from two run home run. That one was out of here. Pitch count 65 for three innings is something else however.

Top 4th: Woodward pops it up to Ellsbury in left centre. One down. McCoy, full count, pops up to Gonzalez at first, two down. Thames first pitch swinging lines it to Reddick in right. Three very quick outs for Wakefield. 70 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro leading off. Fly ball to Bautista, one down. Always good to get Scutaro out without damage, Saltalamacchia, grounds first pitch to Woodward at second, throw to Cooper two down. Ellsbury, oh boy, drives this one to left over the wall, home run and 5-5 game. Pedroia, same again, high fly ball over the wall, 6-5 Boston. Morrow is throwing batting practice out there tonight. Gonzalez, full count, grounds to Woodward throw to Cooper for third out but damage done. 84 pitches.
Top 5th: Bautista leading off. Ball four. Encarnacion with Jose on first base. Singles into left, two on for Cooper, Aceves working in Boston bullpen. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Lawrie with two on and one down. Loops it to Ellsbury into shallow centre two down. Arencibia, wild pitch and both runners move up into scoring position. 2-2 count, lines it to left but Crawford makes the catch.
Bottom 5th: Can Morrow get a decent inning here? Lowrie leading off. Pops up to McCoy at short, one down for Youkilis, grounds to McCoy throw to Cooper two down. Reddick, lines it to left, Thames makes great running sliding catch to the wall for third out. Another highlight reel catch. Morrow’s defence helping him out there. Pitch count 92.

Top 6th: Loewen, 2-2 strikes out swinging, one down. Woodward, pops it up to Ellsbury in centre, two down. McCoy pops it up to Pedroia at second. Three quick outs for Wakefield.
Bottom 6th: Crawford lines it off the wall in left centre, Thames gets it in quickly to hold Crawford at second. Scutaro, Perez warming up in bullpen. None too soon. Bunts to Lawrie, throw to Cooper for first out. Crawford to third. Finally here comes the Manager and that is the end of Morrow, once again a disaster out there tonight. Perez now pitching. Saltalamacchia runner at third, 3-0 count, singles to Thames in left, Crawford scores 7-5 Boston. One on one down for top of the order. Ellsbury. Singles to Bautista in right, two on. Pedroia, lines first pitch over the wall in left, 10-5 Boston. If you are sitting on a first pitch fast ball then the pitcher had better adjust. Gonzalez, 3-1 count, singles to Loewen in centre, short night for Perez. Nine pitches, four hits, one out which was a sac bunt. Carreno now pitching. Well at least Wakefield finally has his win number 200. Lowrie, grounds to Woodward at second, throw to McCoy over to Cooper double play ball. Easy. But not for Morrow and Perez tonight.

Top 7th: Aceves now pitching, Thames leading off. Lines it to Crawford in left for the out, One down for Bautista, inside, knocks him down, that will get Jose mad. 2-0 count, pops it up to Reddick in shallow right. Two down. Encarnacion, grounds to Youkilis, throw to first for the out. three up and down, Jays go meekly and quickly.
Bottom 7th: Youkilis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Reddick, grounds first pitch to Woodward, throw to Cooper, two down, Crawford, singles to Thames in left. One on two down for Scutaro, 2-2 count, lines it high into the left field corner, Crawford scores 11-5 Boston, Scutaro to second. Saltalamacchia grounds to Lawrie, throw to Cooper for the out.

Top 8th: Do Jays have any fight left in them tonight? Must be depressing to have the lead twice and for the pitchers to give it back up each time. Cooper leading off, Aviles in for Youkilis. Singles to left. Second hit tonight, Jays are not losing much without Lind’s bat tonight. Lawrie, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Arencibia, perfect, grounds back up the middle Scutaro makes the stop but his throw is wild and Cooper safe. That was double play chance. Two on one down for Loewen, high fly ball to Ellsbury in centre two down. Cooper stays put at second. Teahen pinch hitting for Woodward. Grounds first pitch to Pedroia at second throw to Gonzalez at first for the out. That was worth waiting for Mark.
Bottom 8th: Brad Mills now pitching, why not. Cannot do worse than Morrow or Perez. Kelly Johnson at second. Ellsbury leading off. 3-0 count, ball four. Not a good start for Mills. Pedroia, 2-0 count, six balls in a row. 3-0, there’s a strike on the eighth pitch. Lines it off the wall in left. Ellsbury to third, Pedroia at second. Maybe Mills can be worse than Morrow and Perez. Gonzalez, 2-0 count, singles it back up the middle, here comes Ellsbury.12-5 Boston, Pedroia stops at third, and that is it thankfully for Mills. Not a memorable outing. Danny Farquhar, poor guy coming in this situation. Jackson, pinch hitting for Lowrie. 0-2 count. Fly ball to Thames and Pedroia scores 13-5 Boston. One down, lines it just over the head of McCoy at short. Two on one down for Reddick. 2-2 count, pops it up to Johnson at second, two down for Saltalamacchia. Crawford, with two on base. Pops it up just bounces off the wall, that was catchable by Lawrie but he overran it. 3-1 count, ball four to load the bases. Scutaro of course. 3-1 count, outside ball four. Run scores 14-5, bases still loaded. Saltalamacchia, 1-2 count, lines it to the wall in left centre, three runs score, 17- 5. Ellsbury for the second time in the inning, 0-2 count singles over the head of McCoy into left, 18-5 Boston. Pedroia. That is it for Farquhar. Chad Beck now pitching. Fly ball to Loewen in left centre for the out.

Top 9th: Do the Jays have anything here? Playing for some self- respect I hope and that is about it. One awful performance by the pitching and the bullpen apart from Carreno. Junichi Tazawa pitching. McCoy leading off, full count, fouls off ball four. Fly ball to Crawford in left, one down for Thames. First pitch swinging lines it off the wall in left for an easy stand up double. One on for Bautista. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Encarnacion, full count, inside ball four, two on two down for Cooper, 3-1 count, lines it off the wall in left centre, here comes Thames, 18-6 game, Cooper at second, his third hit of the game, Encarnacion at third, Lawrie, 0-2 count, strikes out looking. Ouch Brett. Yes it looked high but maybe you should be swinging.

Jays pitching staff embarrassed as Boston won the game they had to win to avoid losing six in a row.
The excellen
t: Bautista home run 42 and his 100th RBI. Arencibia number 23, great defense by Loewen and Thames. Have to recognise Cooper three hits tonight, two doubles and making a very strong case for first base in 2012. They could do worse than play him there for the rest of the season. Let Lind take a few pinch hits off the bench or DH.

The lousy: The pitching by Morrow, Perez and Farquhar. Jays hitter wirh runnesr in scoring positiopn 4-13 tonight. That IS awful.

Back to the drawing board for Morrow. Will Morrow even be in the rotation next season? Far too many other good arms waiting for their turn. Morrow has had two seasons and unable to do it consistently. No good having “the best stuff in the franchise” if he is unable to pitch in a game situation.