Jays v Orioles Game two of three.
Major excitement in Jays Nation. Adam Lind returns, poor guy, lots of pressure on him tonight but it will be very difficult if not impossible for him to carry on where he left off before the DL. Timing is everything as both Nix and Hill are finding out. However all things considered, far better to have Adam in the line-up than Edwin. Jays would love to continue from last night and their current torrid hitting. Averaging over twelve hits per game over the last seven. But already Tampa and Boston have won this afternoon. Jays need to stay with them. Right now Jays have tied Tampa. Yankees playing later tonight on the west coast.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, (DH tonight just concentrate on the hitting Adam), Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Davis, McCoy (until Lawrie is fit) and Romero pitching.
Orioles: Andino, Markakis, Jones, Guerrero, Lee, Wieters, Hardy, Reynolds, Reimold, and Arrieta pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off. Fly ball to Markakis in right, one down. Patterson, WHOA Corey, no question about this one. Over the scoreboard in right centre up to the warehouse, home run Patterson, every nice Corey love that swing.1-0 Jays. Bautista, one down, grounds to short, throw to first, two down. Lind, welcome back Adam we missed you bigtime. 2-2 count, grounds to second throw to first for third out. Jays go out ahead. What I really like is that it is now becoming a different player every night, that has to take the pressure off Jose.
Bottom 1st: Andino,1-2 count, grounds to Hill, throw Rivera, one down. Markakis, full count, grounds to Rivera, takes it himself for second out. Jones, first pitch pulls it to left great barehanded play by Patterson and throw to second to hold Jones at first, nice play Corey. Guerrero, grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera for third out.
Top 2nd: Rivera leading off, 2-2 count, grounds to short, unable to come up with the ball and Rivera safe at first. Arencibia, last night’s hero. 3-1 count, oh Arrieta throws it away at first, Rivera to second. Error to Arrieta. Full count, ball four. Hill, starting to get closer to that left field wall.1-2 count, that will do a nubber off the end of the bat down first base line, Hill out at first but both runners move up, one down for Davis both runners in scoring position. Two chances now to bring them in. This will do for one as lines it to centre for the out, here comes Rivera 2-0 Jays and Arencibia stays at second on the throw. McCoy big chance here Mikey. 3-0 count, takes ball four, that will do. Escobar now with two on and two down. Oh boy, first pitch grounds to short, throw to second for the force on McCoy, come on Escobar, take a couple, he has just walked a guy on four pitches, you can see Arrieta rattled here. That would drive me mad if I were a Manager.
Bottom 2nd: Romero now has two run lead. Lee, singles to Davis in centre. Wieters, whoa, fly ball to left and ball bounces into the crowd, that saved a run there but with ground rule double both runners in scoring position and nobody out. Ricky in trouble early here. Hardy, grounds to short, long high throw but gets Hardy as Lee scores 2-1 Baltimore. Reynolds with runner at second one down. 2-0 Romero getting untracked here. 2-2 strikes out swinging, two down. Reimold, 3-1 count, ball four. Top of the order again, Andino with two on two down. Hammers it to third, great catch by McCoy to rescue Romero here.
Top 3rd: Patterson, great play, bunts up third base line, throw pulls first off the line, Patterson safe at first for Bautista. 3-1 but all four have been balls, Jose swung at one, not giving him much to hit here. Outside ball four, semi intentional. Two on nobody out for Lind. 3-1 count, love his patience, Escobar are you watching this? Ball four, two successive walks to load the bases with nobody out. Rivera, swinging away now, Simon warming up in bullpen, oh the very worst, grounds to third, throw home gets him and throw to first for double play, ouch that hurts, all the speed in the team and it has to be Rivera on backend of that play. Two down. Arencibia with two in scoring position.2-2 count, full count, lines out to Markakis in right and Jays fail to score with bases loaded and nobody out. Whoa, ouch and ouch again. That hurts.
Bottom 3rd: Markakis leading off. Singles to Davis in centre, one on for Jones, lines it right at Hill at second, no chance for two. Guerrero, one down one on. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, ball down and away in the dirt, not even Vladdy could get that one but he tried, two down. Lee, they have Markakis picked off, throw to Hill gets him sliding to end the inning.
Top 4th: Jays have had their chances to pile up the runs already, perhaps this inning. Hill leading off. Grounds back to Arrieta wild throw over the head of first base but Hill unable to advance, that could have been extra base. Davis, grounds back Arrieta throw to second to get Hill no chance to get Davis on return throw, way too late, definitely not Rivera running there, McCoy, now will Davis run? Arrieta thinks so throwing over, for the third time. There he goes throw off the mark and Davis slides in safe. Now for third ? there he goes first pitch and good throw but not in time. Number 18 for Rajai. McCoy meantime waiting to hit. 3-0 count, full count, singles past short, here comes Davis. 3-1 Jays. McCoy at first, Escobar, there goes McCoy, thinks he is Davis, throw is good and McCoy easily out at second two down. Hmm not sure that was the most brilliant move Mikey. Grounds to short, throw to first to get Escobar.
Bottom 4th: Lee leading off. Strikes out looking, one down for Wieters, 2-2 count, strikes out, two down, Hardy, singles to Davis in centre, one on two down for Reynolds, bounces to Escobar throw to Hill to get Hardy for third out.
Top 5th: Patterson, 2-2 tonight, grounds to Lee at first off his glove but recovers to throw to Arrieta at first for the out. Bautista, 2-0 count, 3-0, nowhere near the plate for Jose. High fly ball to right carries all the way to Markakis at the wall. Lind, first pitch grounds to second throw to first for third out. Jays go quietly this inning.
Bottom 5th: Reimold ? Andino high fly ball but Davis outruns it in left centre, two down. Markakis, singles back up the middle to Davis. One on two down for Jones grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar to get Markakis at second.
Top 6th: Rivera, grounds to third, dives full length to get and from his knees makes the throw to first for the out, he had loads of time for Rivera, lack of speed again hurts him. Arencibia, takes strike three looking, two down for Hill. Pops up to second for third out. Jays bats have gone quiet. They had so many chances earlier. I hope it does not hurt them.
Bottom 6th: Guerrero singles first pitch past diving Hill into right centre, Lee, singles to Bautista in right, two on nobody out, this is why those earlier chances were so important. Wieters, singles to left, Romero a mess right now. Bases loaded nobody out. Hardy, grounds to McCoy, throw home gets Guerrero no chance for double play here. One down. Reynolds, This one no doubt is out of here, grand slam and Baltimore takes the lead 5-3. A little bit of attitude there by Reynolds, thinks he is A-Rod standing there before moving off. Reimold, Grounds first pitch to Rivera, great diving stop and throw to Romero for second out. Andino singles into centre, Romero has nothing anymore. Bullpen call. Markakis grounds to Escobar throw to first for third out to end a horrible inning by Romero.
Top 7th: Jim Johnson now pitching for Arrieta. Davis, grounds to Hardy at short, throw to first for the out. McCoy, same play. Two down. Escobar, first pitch ! grounds to first, for third out, talk about momentum. But I don’t think Escobar is a thinking player.
Bottom 7th: Romero out again, not sure this is a good idea. Pitching in anger never a good idea. Too late to get that last meltdown back. Jones grounds first pitch to Hill, throw to first, one down. Guerrero, fly ball to Davis, two down for Lee, grounds back to Romero throw to first, three quick outs but I think Baltimore players want out on the town tonight to celebrate this. Too little too late Ricky.
Top 8th: I wonder if we will see ex-Jay closer Kevin Gregg. Uehara now pitching for Johnson. Patterson, another great bunt up third line, Reynolds wild throw anyway but Corey safe. No error to Reynolds. Bautista, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Lind, 2-2 count, takes strike three, Adam finding it tough getting back in the saddle. Rivera, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging.
Bottom 8th: Jays up against the wall now. Romero still out there. Wieters, pops up first pitch to Hill. Hardy, 3-0, ball four and this is why Romero should be sitting. Reynolds good luck Ricky. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Reimold, another 3-0 count, ball four, two walks in the inning. Top of the order again. Here comes the boss, not a good game tonight for Romero. Dotel now pitching, Andino with two on, both Romero’s responsibility. Pie pinch running at first. 2-2 count, strikes out looking.
Top 9th: Last chances for Jays tonight but they had many more earlier and could not take advantage of them. Gregg it is. This should be interesting. Arencibia leading off. Strikes out looking for second time tonight. Hill, 1-2 count, singles into centre that pitch was about six inches off the ground. One on one down for Davis, 3-1 count. Singles into left. Two on one down but look who is at bat. Edwin pinch hitting for McCoy, gets his big chance. Make me a believer Edwin. 2-2 count, takes !!! third strike, ah well it could have been a double play. Escobar, last chance here. Pops it up to first for final out.
A game to forget for both Escobar and Romero tonight.
The very good: Patterson home run in the first, and two great bunt singles. Rajai Davis two stolen bases. The good I guess was the resting of the bullpen as Romero went eight.
The not so good: Romero ??? one lousy inning with the four runs but he was not sharp in earlier innings. Escobar in the second, with two on grounds out on first pitch after Arrieta had walked previous hitter on four pitches.
Third inning Jays fail to score with bases loaded and nobody out.
Fourth inning, McCoy thrown out at second, with Escobar at the plate, not good decision.
Jays had loads of chances to win this one in the second, third, fourth and ninth innings. One of those games that Jays heads were not in the game.
Is Encarnacion the best pinch hitter on the bench? I think Molina is better and with game on the line, he would be my choice.
Why does Farrell keep giving him a chance ? Probably law of averages, one day he will get a hit, meantime agonize each at bat and look forward to Lawrie,(one day).
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Jays bounce back to win big in Baltimore 8-4 behind Villanueva and Arencibia grand slam
Jays v Orioles. Game one of three.
Jays limp into Baltimore after that embarrassing game on Wednesday. Yes they had the tie run to the plate but this one was not a fairy tale. It was humiliation in three innings for Drabek. Still with the club, but another outing like that one and he may be seeing the Vegas club. No Lawrie or Lind, promises, promises. Maybe, maybe. Lind palying tonight in Dunedin and Lawrie with that hand injury. Edwin in the line-up will probably go 4-4 tonight with four grand slams. But far too late now with the Lawrie and Lind call-ups. It should mean that DH will be shared between Rivera and Lind. Love this ballpark, the last time I was there was the weekend before 9/11 when Ripken was still playing and the ground was sold out all weekend. Times are a changing.
Line-ups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Encarnacion, Davis, Nix and Villanueva pitching.
Orioles: Pie, Jones, Markakis, Guerrero, Wieters, Hardy, Scott, Reynolds, Andino, and Zach Britton pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar fly ball to Jones in centre, one down for Patterson. Grounds to first, two down. Bautista, grounds to third, throw to first to end this one. Easy first inning for Britton threw nothing but strikes.
Bottom 1st: Pie, pops up to Patterson in shallow left, one down for Jones, hits him on the shoulder, one on one down for Markakis. Perfect, hammer back to Villanueva, throw to Escobar, over to Rivera, easy double play.
Top 2nd: Rivera leading off, singles to Jones in centre, one on for Arencibia, 2-2 count, JP more patient than usual, pulls it into left, Rivera to second. Error to Reynolds at third. Hill with two on, lines it into right, here comes Rivera 1-0 Jays. Encarnacion with two on and nobody out. Edwin does his usual, grounds to second, steps on to the bag, throw over to first double play ball. I can’t wait until he is on the bench period. Arencibia to third. Two down for Davis, ball gets away and here comes JP, 2-0 Jays. Davis doubles into right, speed on the bases. Nix now with runner in scoring position. Your chances are diminishing now Jayson with Lawrie hanging around. Pops it up to first for third out but Jays get going early here.
Bottom 2nd: Guerrero leading off. Lines it to Bautista in right, one down for Wieters catching tonight, grounds hard to Rivera at first, two down. Short stop Hardy, 1-2 count, lines it to Davis in centre, three up and down for Villanueva.
Top 3rd: Escobar, doubles to the wall in left centre, nice hit Yunel. Patterson, bunting to first, Escobar to third, Patterson out at first. Bautista, one down, Yunel at third. Intentional walk, here we go. Bautista ball four. Two on for Rivera. One down. That will do Rivera drives to Markakis in right, here comes Escobar 3-0 Jays and Bautista moves up to second on the throw. Arencibia now with runner at second, first pitch grounds to short, throw to first for third out. His first at bat was much better.
Bottom 3rd: Luke Scott leading off. 2-2 count, grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera, one down. Reynolds, 3-0 count, ball four. One on one down for Andino, fly ball to Davis, two down. Pie, grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar for third out.
Top 4th: Can Jays hitters add on here? Hill leading off. Lines it very hard to the wall in left centre but right at the fielder, one down. Encarnacion, no double play this time Edwin. Grounds to Hardy at short, throw to first, two down. Davis, takes strike three looking to end the inning.
Bottom 4th: Jones leading off, grounds back at Villanueva, throw to Rivera, one down. Markakis, grounds it to Hill, throw to Rivera, two down for Guerrero. Ouch, hits him. One on two down for Wieters. Full count, pops up to Rivera.
Top 5th: Nix, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, Britton really pitching fast here, one down for Escobar. Full count, ball four. Patterson, with one on base one down. Takes strike three, two down for Bautista. Britton will be pitching to him this time. Drives it into left. Escobar to second, two on. Rivera, 3-1 count, ball gets away and both runners move up. Ball four to load the bases. Arencibia, please no first pitch swinging here. Bullpen working. 71 pitch count. 2-2 count, WOW, goes down for this one and almost golfs it out of here, that was about a foot off the ground, power big-time, grand slam JP. His first in the majors. 7-0 Jays. Great at bat JP. Hill. Bounces one to short, throw to first to end the inning but JP has broken this one open. Now has nine home runs on the season.
Bottom 5th: Hardy, singles to Davis in centre. First base hit for Baltimore. Scott, grounds to Hill, no chance for two throw to Rivera to get Scott. Reynolds, high fly ball to Patterson in left, two down, runner holds at second. Andino, full count, singles to left, Patterson throw too high and runner scores 7-1 Jays. Patterson should probably have gone to cut off and held runner at second. Andino goes to second. Pie. Oh boy, grounds to third, ball hits the bag ! bounces away and no chance for Nix for a play. That was a freaky play. Runners at first and third. Jones, singles to left, here comes the second run. 7-2 Jays. Markakis, fly ball to Davis in centre.
Top 6th: Can Jays get those runs back? Encarnacion leading off. 0-2 tonight. Ex-Jay Jeremy Accardo now pitching. Strikes out swinging. One down for Davis, doubles the other way to left. One down one on for Nix, hitless tonight. Will Rajai take third? Upsetting Accardo here, jumping around at second, 2-2 count, there he goes and steals third as Nix strikes out on high ball. Escobar with runner at third, two down. Singles into left centre, here comes Davis from third, 8-2 Jays. That stolen base counted big-time. I don’t think he would have scored from second. Patterson, two down one on, fly ball to centre for third out. Jays get one back.
Bottom 6th: Guerrero leading off. Singles into left. Wieters, lines it to Patterson in left, one down for Hardy, pops up to shallow right centre, NO !!! Hill drops it in front of Davis and Bautista that was Jose’s play running in from right, oh boy, Hill blew that one big-time, two on for Scott. That’s it for poor Villanueva. 90 pitches, but he did well to keep Jays in this one. Luis Perez now pitching. Scott, 0-2 count, pitch gets away from Arencibia, both runners move up. Strikes out swinging, two down. Reynolds, full count, ball four bases loaded. Andino. 2-2 count, very nice grounds up the middle but Escobar makes nice backhand play and throw to Hill for third out. No one breathes a bigger sigh of relief than Aaron Hill.
Top 7th: Bautista leading off. Accardo still out there. Full count, fouling them off here, ball four, Rivera, takes strike three, one down for Arencibia, 2-2, fly ball to right centre, two down for Hill. Aaron needs some redemption for that dropped ball last inning. Well he tried, drives it to the wall in left centre, out on the track, almost there as he has been for the last couple of weeks. I think he is getting closer to that home run swing into left but he does not seem to be pulling the ball to left the way he used to, he is driving it more to left centre.
Bottom 7th: Pie grounds to Escobar at short, throw to first, one down. Jones, 3-1 count, Perez getting a little wild here. Full count, bounces one through infield into left, Markakis. 0-2 count, nice pitch inside strikes him out looking. Two down for Guerrero, whoa..... drives this one to the wall in centre, Davis runs it down to make the catch up against the wall. That was trouble. Perez escapes.
Top 8th: Encarnacion leading off. Will this be his last at bat for a long time? Jakobauskas now pitching. Lines it out to centre, that was quick first pitch, one down. Davis, whoa, grounds to short and beats out the throw to first, wow what speed. Nix, 0-3 tonight. 2-2 count, ball gets away, Davis easily takes second. Full count, Jayson at least trying here. Lines it into left but hangs up for the out. Escobar, with runner in scoring position, two down. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging this time.
Bottom 8th: Frasor now pitching. Wieters leading off. Drives it past Hill into right centre, one on for Hardy, 2-2 count. Oh boy, drives this one out of here into left field seats and Orioles get two more 8-4 Jays. They had a 7-0 lead at one time in this game. Scott still with nobody out. 2-2 count, Rzepczynski warming up in bullpen. Grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera, one down. Reynolds, pops up to Bautista in right, two down for Andino. 3-0 count, come on Jason, number nine guy. 3-1, bounces to Escobar, throw to Rivera for third out but Orioles have two more.
Top 9th: Patterson leading off, has to get on for Jose. I want to see if Showalter will pitch to Jose. 1-2 count, pops up to Reynolds at third, one down. Bautista single and two walks. Full count, gets under it and high fly ball to centre, two down. Rivera last chance singles back up the middle, two hit night. Arencibia, 1-2 count, takes strike three.
Bottom 9th: Top of the order for Baltimore. Rzepczynski pitching. Ryan Adams pinch hitting for Pie. 2-1 count. Singles into centre. Jones, 2-1 count, very nice, grounds back up the middle, Hill flip to Escobar throw to Rivera double play ball, two down. Markakis 0-2 count, that will do it, grounds to Escobar, throw to Rivera for final out. Jays win big here 8-4.
The very good: Grand slam for Arencibia. I think Villanueva deserves a gold star tonight, he pitched very well into the sixth and that is all the manager could ask for from a guy who is not in the rotation and supposed to be long relief. Great all round game for Davis, great catch in the seventh at the wall to save a run off Guerrero, his ninth steal of third, and three hit night. Bautista on base three times. Escobar and Rivera both with two hits.
Not so good: Hill dropped ball. Encarnacion 0-3 night. Nix 0-3 night. But things are a changing in the line-up friends very, very soon. Lind back tomorrow and Lawrie next after his hand heals.
Jays limp into Baltimore after that embarrassing game on Wednesday. Yes they had the tie run to the plate but this one was not a fairy tale. It was humiliation in three innings for Drabek. Still with the club, but another outing like that one and he may be seeing the Vegas club. No Lawrie or Lind, promises, promises. Maybe, maybe. Lind palying tonight in Dunedin and Lawrie with that hand injury. Edwin in the line-up will probably go 4-4 tonight with four grand slams. But far too late now with the Lawrie and Lind call-ups. It should mean that DH will be shared between Rivera and Lind. Love this ballpark, the last time I was there was the weekend before 9/11 when Ripken was still playing and the ground was sold out all weekend. Times are a changing.
Line-ups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Encarnacion, Davis, Nix and Villanueva pitching.
Orioles: Pie, Jones, Markakis, Guerrero, Wieters, Hardy, Scott, Reynolds, Andino, and Zach Britton pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar fly ball to Jones in centre, one down for Patterson. Grounds to first, two down. Bautista, grounds to third, throw to first to end this one. Easy first inning for Britton threw nothing but strikes.
Bottom 1st: Pie, pops up to Patterson in shallow left, one down for Jones, hits him on the shoulder, one on one down for Markakis. Perfect, hammer back to Villanueva, throw to Escobar, over to Rivera, easy double play.
Top 2nd: Rivera leading off, singles to Jones in centre, one on for Arencibia, 2-2 count, JP more patient than usual, pulls it into left, Rivera to second. Error to Reynolds at third. Hill with two on, lines it into right, here comes Rivera 1-0 Jays. Encarnacion with two on and nobody out. Edwin does his usual, grounds to second, steps on to the bag, throw over to first double play ball. I can’t wait until he is on the bench period. Arencibia to third. Two down for Davis, ball gets away and here comes JP, 2-0 Jays. Davis doubles into right, speed on the bases. Nix now with runner in scoring position. Your chances are diminishing now Jayson with Lawrie hanging around. Pops it up to first for third out but Jays get going early here.
Bottom 2nd: Guerrero leading off. Lines it to Bautista in right, one down for Wieters catching tonight, grounds hard to Rivera at first, two down. Short stop Hardy, 1-2 count, lines it to Davis in centre, three up and down for Villanueva.
Top 3rd: Escobar, doubles to the wall in left centre, nice hit Yunel. Patterson, bunting to first, Escobar to third, Patterson out at first. Bautista, one down, Yunel at third. Intentional walk, here we go. Bautista ball four. Two on for Rivera. One down. That will do Rivera drives to Markakis in right, here comes Escobar 3-0 Jays and Bautista moves up to second on the throw. Arencibia now with runner at second, first pitch grounds to short, throw to first for third out. His first at bat was much better.
Bottom 3rd: Luke Scott leading off. 2-2 count, grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera, one down. Reynolds, 3-0 count, ball four. One on one down for Andino, fly ball to Davis, two down. Pie, grounds to Hill, throw to Escobar for third out.
Top 4th: Can Jays hitters add on here? Hill leading off. Lines it very hard to the wall in left centre but right at the fielder, one down. Encarnacion, no double play this time Edwin. Grounds to Hardy at short, throw to first, two down. Davis, takes strike three looking to end the inning.
Bottom 4th: Jones leading off, grounds back at Villanueva, throw to Rivera, one down. Markakis, grounds it to Hill, throw to Rivera, two down for Guerrero. Ouch, hits him. One on two down for Wieters. Full count, pops up to Rivera.
Top 5th: Nix, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, Britton really pitching fast here, one down for Escobar. Full count, ball four. Patterson, with one on base one down. Takes strike three, two down for Bautista. Britton will be pitching to him this time. Drives it into left. Escobar to second, two on. Rivera, 3-1 count, ball gets away and both runners move up. Ball four to load the bases. Arencibia, please no first pitch swinging here. Bullpen working. 71 pitch count. 2-2 count, WOW, goes down for this one and almost golfs it out of here, that was about a foot off the ground, power big-time, grand slam JP. His first in the majors. 7-0 Jays. Great at bat JP. Hill. Bounces one to short, throw to first to end the inning but JP has broken this one open. Now has nine home runs on the season.
Bottom 5th: Hardy, singles to Davis in centre. First base hit for Baltimore. Scott, grounds to Hill, no chance for two throw to Rivera to get Scott. Reynolds, high fly ball to Patterson in left, two down, runner holds at second. Andino, full count, singles to left, Patterson throw too high and runner scores 7-1 Jays. Patterson should probably have gone to cut off and held runner at second. Andino goes to second. Pie. Oh boy, grounds to third, ball hits the bag ! bounces away and no chance for Nix for a play. That was a freaky play. Runners at first and third. Jones, singles to left, here comes the second run. 7-2 Jays. Markakis, fly ball to Davis in centre.
Top 6th: Can Jays get those runs back? Encarnacion leading off. 0-2 tonight. Ex-Jay Jeremy Accardo now pitching. Strikes out swinging. One down for Davis, doubles the other way to left. One down one on for Nix, hitless tonight. Will Rajai take third? Upsetting Accardo here, jumping around at second, 2-2 count, there he goes and steals third as Nix strikes out on high ball. Escobar with runner at third, two down. Singles into left centre, here comes Davis from third, 8-2 Jays. That stolen base counted big-time. I don’t think he would have scored from second. Patterson, two down one on, fly ball to centre for third out. Jays get one back.
Bottom 6th: Guerrero leading off. Singles into left. Wieters, lines it to Patterson in left, one down for Hardy, pops up to shallow right centre, NO !!! Hill drops it in front of Davis and Bautista that was Jose’s play running in from right, oh boy, Hill blew that one big-time, two on for Scott. That’s it for poor Villanueva. 90 pitches, but he did well to keep Jays in this one. Luis Perez now pitching. Scott, 0-2 count, pitch gets away from Arencibia, both runners move up. Strikes out swinging, two down. Reynolds, full count, ball four bases loaded. Andino. 2-2 count, very nice grounds up the middle but Escobar makes nice backhand play and throw to Hill for third out. No one breathes a bigger sigh of relief than Aaron Hill.
Top 7th: Bautista leading off. Accardo still out there. Full count, fouling them off here, ball four, Rivera, takes strike three, one down for Arencibia, 2-2, fly ball to right centre, two down for Hill. Aaron needs some redemption for that dropped ball last inning. Well he tried, drives it to the wall in left centre, out on the track, almost there as he has been for the last couple of weeks. I think he is getting closer to that home run swing into left but he does not seem to be pulling the ball to left the way he used to, he is driving it more to left centre.
Bottom 7th: Pie grounds to Escobar at short, throw to first, one down. Jones, 3-1 count, Perez getting a little wild here. Full count, bounces one through infield into left, Markakis. 0-2 count, nice pitch inside strikes him out looking. Two down for Guerrero, whoa..... drives this one to the wall in centre, Davis runs it down to make the catch up against the wall. That was trouble. Perez escapes.
Top 8th: Encarnacion leading off. Will this be his last at bat for a long time? Jakobauskas now pitching. Lines it out to centre, that was quick first pitch, one down. Davis, whoa, grounds to short and beats out the throw to first, wow what speed. Nix, 0-3 tonight. 2-2 count, ball gets away, Davis easily takes second. Full count, Jayson at least trying here. Lines it into left but hangs up for the out. Escobar, with runner in scoring position, two down. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging this time.
Bottom 8th: Frasor now pitching. Wieters leading off. Drives it past Hill into right centre, one on for Hardy, 2-2 count. Oh boy, drives this one out of here into left field seats and Orioles get two more 8-4 Jays. They had a 7-0 lead at one time in this game. Scott still with nobody out. 2-2 count, Rzepczynski warming up in bullpen. Grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera, one down. Reynolds, pops up to Bautista in right, two down for Andino. 3-0 count, come on Jason, number nine guy. 3-1, bounces to Escobar, throw to Rivera for third out but Orioles have two more.
Top 9th: Patterson leading off, has to get on for Jose. I want to see if Showalter will pitch to Jose. 1-2 count, pops up to Reynolds at third, one down. Bautista single and two walks. Full count, gets under it and high fly ball to centre, two down. Rivera last chance singles back up the middle, two hit night. Arencibia, 1-2 count, takes strike three.
Bottom 9th: Top of the order for Baltimore. Rzepczynski pitching. Ryan Adams pinch hitting for Pie. 2-1 count. Singles into centre. Jones, 2-1 count, very nice, grounds back up the middle, Hill flip to Escobar throw to Rivera double play ball, two down. Markakis 0-2 count, that will do it, grounds to Escobar, throw to Rivera for final out. Jays win big here 8-4.
The very good: Grand slam for Arencibia. I think Villanueva deserves a gold star tonight, he pitched very well into the sixth and that is all the manager could ask for from a guy who is not in the rotation and supposed to be long relief. Great all round game for Davis, great catch in the seventh at the wall to save a run off Guerrero, his ninth steal of third, and three hit night. Bautista on base three times. Escobar and Rivera both with two hits.
Not so good: Hill dropped ball. Encarnacion 0-3 night. Nix 0-3 night. But things are a changing in the line-up friends very, very soon. Lind back tomorrow and Lawrie next after his hand heals.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Jays humiliated as the Indians thrash Drabek and Camp early and often
Indians v Jays. Series finale.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, Cabrera, Choo, Buck, Santana, Sizemore, LaPorta, Hannahan, Everett, and Tomlin pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Drabek pitching.
Jays humiliated by Indians 12-0 after three. This was one of the worst games this team has played for a very long time. They made some effort to get back in, and there will be many who will point to that “fight back” but the hole was far too big and Indians were on cruise control by the bottom of the third inning tonight. NO way were they going to lose this one.. Farrell will say they showed spirit to the end getting the runners on base to win it but this is a team that is unable to bring them in all season. Tonight 5-12 which is very good for the Jays and certainly a lot better than the Indians 5-17.
But the painful truth is that this team was not only outplayed with pitching and hitting but the two incredible fielding errors by Davis and Patterson dropping back to back balls!!! poor Frasor would have been out of the inning, when did that ever happen? BUT when your starting pitcher is unable to get out of the first inning and unable to throw strikes in the first inning, then everything else follows south as well.
Which of course brings this one back to the question of Drabek. Is he even ready for the big leagues? Are we expecting too much of the kid? Should he spend another year in AAA Vegas? I say no, yes and yes to those questions. Jerry Howarth and Allan Abel raised a very interesting question about Drabek’s actual readiness for the first inning. Was he ready tonight? Did he need to spend more time in the bullpen before coming out? Was he throwing strikes in the bullpen and something happened on his walk to the dugout. BUT the spotlight will now be on rookie bullpen coach Pat Hentgen. It is his responsibility to make sure that they are indeed ready. Does Farrell give Drabek another shot or cut their losses now and look at Mills again?
Jays hitting some interesting results, with five hits from Thames and Davis, but the top two of the order were missing tonight, Arencibia did his usual first swing out.
Another weird statistic tonight three triples, in the same inning back to back to back by bottom of the order Thames, Davis and Nix. When did that ever happen? Jays two players with multihit game, Indians had six….. and there’s the difference.
Cleveland is a good team and their results show that. BUT when JoJo Reyes can hold them to one run and win, and Morrow and Drabek lose big, then you have to think about this one. Was the intensity of the series opener missing tonight? Very definitely, sloppy fielding matched the early pitching. Did the younger players learn from it ?
The smart Jays fans tonight were watching the Stanley Cup.
Jays head out of town licking their considerable wounds, and will be fighting the Orioles for bottom place this weekend. I wonder who will be on the bus to Vegas. Will we see both Lind and Lawrie at the weekend?
An interesting sidebar about McGowan, throwing 95mph this week in his rehab… and may be ready sooner than later. Question will be in what capacity, bullpen, or set-up or even closer. That would be one incredible comeback story to see him out there at the Rogers Centre this season.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, Cabrera, Choo, Buck, Santana, Sizemore, LaPorta, Hannahan, Everett, and Tomlin pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Drabek pitching.
Jays humiliated by Indians 12-0 after three. This was one of the worst games this team has played for a very long time. They made some effort to get back in, and there will be many who will point to that “fight back” but the hole was far too big and Indians were on cruise control by the bottom of the third inning tonight. NO way were they going to lose this one.. Farrell will say they showed spirit to the end getting the runners on base to win it but this is a team that is unable to bring them in all season. Tonight 5-12 which is very good for the Jays and certainly a lot better than the Indians 5-17.
But the painful truth is that this team was not only outplayed with pitching and hitting but the two incredible fielding errors by Davis and Patterson dropping back to back balls!!! poor Frasor would have been out of the inning, when did that ever happen? BUT when your starting pitcher is unable to get out of the first inning and unable to throw strikes in the first inning, then everything else follows south as well.
Which of course brings this one back to the question of Drabek. Is he even ready for the big leagues? Are we expecting too much of the kid? Should he spend another year in AAA Vegas? I say no, yes and yes to those questions. Jerry Howarth and Allan Abel raised a very interesting question about Drabek’s actual readiness for the first inning. Was he ready tonight? Did he need to spend more time in the bullpen before coming out? Was he throwing strikes in the bullpen and something happened on his walk to the dugout. BUT the spotlight will now be on rookie bullpen coach Pat Hentgen. It is his responsibility to make sure that they are indeed ready. Does Farrell give Drabek another shot or cut their losses now and look at Mills again?
Jays hitting some interesting results, with five hits from Thames and Davis, but the top two of the order were missing tonight, Arencibia did his usual first swing out.
Another weird statistic tonight three triples, in the same inning back to back to back by bottom of the order Thames, Davis and Nix. When did that ever happen? Jays two players with multihit game, Indians had six….. and there’s the difference.
Cleveland is a good team and their results show that. BUT when JoJo Reyes can hold them to one run and win, and Morrow and Drabek lose big, then you have to think about this one. Was the intensity of the series opener missing tonight? Very definitely, sloppy fielding matched the early pitching. Did the younger players learn from it ?
The smart Jays fans tonight were watching the Stanley Cup.
Jays head out of town licking their considerable wounds, and will be fighting the Orioles for bottom place this weekend. I wonder who will be on the bus to Vegas. Will we see both Lind and Lawrie at the weekend?
An interesting sidebar about McGowan, throwing 95mph this week in his rehab… and may be ready sooner than later. Question will be in what capacity, bullpen, or set-up or even closer. That would be one incredible comeback story to see him out there at the Rogers Centre this season.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Jays win streak ends at four with lethargic performance and 6-3 loss
Indians v Jays. Game two of three.
Morrow v Talbot.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, A. Cabrera, Choo, Buck, Santana, Sizemore, O. Cabrera, LaPorta, Hannahan and Talbot pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Morrow pitching.
Jays lose this one 6-3 and the score flatters them as they were losing 6-0 until the last few innings.
Brantley and Santana both had three hits as Indians hit twelve. But they included six doubles and a triple in that listing and no wonder it always seemed that someone was in scoring position, they were !
Jays themselves had ten hits, but not successfully in scoring position (2-7), as they did so well in the series opener. Bautista with three hits but all singles tonight and all to right field, Escobar and Hill each had two. Escobar includes his home run in that total along with three walks which in itself is good to see for his leadoff position.
This was one horrible game for a variety of reasons. There was no life at all, Jays players sleepwalking through the first few innings but by then it was all over.
Yes Escobar did get on base all night but it was the two plays that he didn’t do that stick in my mind. One the failure to go to second for the throw by Arencibia. JP had to wait until Escobar realised he had a play and by then it was too late.
Another play in the fifth inning when he was on first and the ball bounces away from the catcher, he hardly moved let alone try to take second. Most players are already set up on the grass before the pitch and ready to go on a wild pitch, not Yunel. Two plays later and a double play ends the inning. Does not get my star tonight.
Ditto Arencibia and the hitting let alone the defensive dropped ball on relay that had the runner dead halfway down from third. That was huge as it lead to run scoring here and the difference in the game tonight. On his hitting he had a clueless night, first pitch out and two call strikeouts, unable to select he right pitch. Yes his first year in the majors but they were still poor plays.
For the rest, Bautista does his usual and what I liked with his three singles tonight was that they were all to opposite field. Still far too much pressure on the guy to win every game for the team. Others have to pick up the slack and on a consistent basis not just one or two games.
The other weird play, to many fans at the game at least, pinch hitting by Encarnacion in the ninth of all people. Sure matchups and patterns but this is Encarnacion we are talking about, predictably the fly ball out even though it went to the wall, the objective was to get on base and move Bautista over.
It was a very hot and humid day on Toronto today and the mugginess obviously transferred to Jays as lethargic is the only word to describe their performances’ tonight. They seemed to forget that this was Cleveland and one only had to look at the line-up on the score board to see the six players with more than 20 RBIs and the homerun production by every single player I the starting line-up. His is not a team to take lightly and I fear Jays did just that to start with and by the third it was too late to wake up, Despite getting three back, the fifth inning three runs for Indians were the key.
Morrow nine strikeouts, on the stats column look good but they hid the first three hits two doubles and a home run. He was hit around big time tonight despite the nine strikeouts, and of course with the strikeouts came deep counts and he was gone by the sixth.
No energy and it showed the total lack of attempted stolen bases let alone succeeding. If you have speed on the bases surely it should be used.
Along with the miserable night at Rogers Center was that no sooner had the news been heard that long awaited call-up Brett Lawrie would be with big team in Baltimore on Friday than he was hit on the left hand in the first inning of the game in Vegas and taken out of the game.
At the time of writing this, the latest is a tweet from Lawrie “pls be bruised”. Jays have long history of hand injuries and the lengthy rehab time, it would be so very cruel to deny Lawrie his chance after he has worked so hard for it.
Evidently Adam Lind is also scheduled for return on the road in Baltimore. Fans are for an interesting weekend.
Morrow v Talbot.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, A. Cabrera, Choo, Buck, Santana, Sizemore, O. Cabrera, LaPorta, Hannahan and Talbot pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Morrow pitching.
Jays lose this one 6-3 and the score flatters them as they were losing 6-0 until the last few innings.
Brantley and Santana both had three hits as Indians hit twelve. But they included six doubles and a triple in that listing and no wonder it always seemed that someone was in scoring position, they were !
Jays themselves had ten hits, but not successfully in scoring position (2-7), as they did so well in the series opener. Bautista with three hits but all singles tonight and all to right field, Escobar and Hill each had two. Escobar includes his home run in that total along with three walks which in itself is good to see for his leadoff position.
This was one horrible game for a variety of reasons. There was no life at all, Jays players sleepwalking through the first few innings but by then it was all over.
Yes Escobar did get on base all night but it was the two plays that he didn’t do that stick in my mind. One the failure to go to second for the throw by Arencibia. JP had to wait until Escobar realised he had a play and by then it was too late.
Another play in the fifth inning when he was on first and the ball bounces away from the catcher, he hardly moved let alone try to take second. Most players are already set up on the grass before the pitch and ready to go on a wild pitch, not Yunel. Two plays later and a double play ends the inning. Does not get my star tonight.
Ditto Arencibia and the hitting let alone the defensive dropped ball on relay that had the runner dead halfway down from third. That was huge as it lead to run scoring here and the difference in the game tonight. On his hitting he had a clueless night, first pitch out and two call strikeouts, unable to select he right pitch. Yes his first year in the majors but they were still poor plays.
For the rest, Bautista does his usual and what I liked with his three singles tonight was that they were all to opposite field. Still far too much pressure on the guy to win every game for the team. Others have to pick up the slack and on a consistent basis not just one or two games.
The other weird play, to many fans at the game at least, pinch hitting by Encarnacion in the ninth of all people. Sure matchups and patterns but this is Encarnacion we are talking about, predictably the fly ball out even though it went to the wall, the objective was to get on base and move Bautista over.
It was a very hot and humid day on Toronto today and the mugginess obviously transferred to Jays as lethargic is the only word to describe their performances’ tonight. They seemed to forget that this was Cleveland and one only had to look at the line-up on the score board to see the six players with more than 20 RBIs and the homerun production by every single player I the starting line-up. His is not a team to take lightly and I fear Jays did just that to start with and by the third it was too late to wake up, Despite getting three back, the fifth inning three runs for Indians were the key.
Morrow nine strikeouts, on the stats column look good but they hid the first three hits two doubles and a home run. He was hit around big time tonight despite the nine strikeouts, and of course with the strikeouts came deep counts and he was gone by the sixth.
No energy and it showed the total lack of attempted stolen bases let alone succeeding. If you have speed on the bases surely it should be used.
Along with the miserable night at Rogers Center was that no sooner had the news been heard that long awaited call-up Brett Lawrie would be with big team in Baltimore on Friday than he was hit on the left hand in the first inning of the game in Vegas and taken out of the game.
At the time of writing this, the latest is a tweet from Lawrie “pls be bruised”. Jays have long history of hand injuries and the lengthy rehab time, it would be so very cruel to deny Lawrie his chance after he has worked so hard for it.
Evidently Adam Lind is also scheduled for return on the road in Baltimore. Fans are for an interesting weekend.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Reyes wins Jays first complete game this season behind power hitting
Indians v Jays. Game one of three.
Very tough series for the Jays 31 -19 Indians. Very tough game for Reyes, this could be a blow out for JoJo. However what I really liked about yesterday’s blowout against the White Sox was the contribution by Hill, Encarnacion and Nix who had provided little to date for the team. Great to see someone and especially all three of them take some pressure off Bautista for a change. Tonight Reyes needs all of them to help him, this is one tough opponent.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, Asdrubel Cabrera, Choo, Duncan, Orlando Cabrera, Santana, LaPorta, Kearns, Hannahan and Carmona pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Reyes pitching.
Top 1st: Brantley, singles to Patterson in left, Asdrubel Cabrera, perfect grounds to Nix, throw to Hill over to Rivera, double play ball. Nice. Choo, grounds to Hill throw to Rivera, for third out. Five pitches. Very nice. It is time that the Jays team gave JoJo some help after blowing four of his quality starts. And they know that. He needs their help.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, fly ball to centre, one down. Patterson, powers it to second, great catch by Cabrera, robs Corey of a hit there. Bautista, two down. Lines it back up the middle. One on two down. Rivera, strikes out swinging.
Top 2nd: Duncan, grounds to Nix at third, tough throw by Nix, to Rivera not in time. Runner safe. Orlando Cabrera, singles back up the middle past diving Escobar. Two on for Santana, fly ball to Davis in centre, one down. LaPorta, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down, Duncan moves to third on play. Kearns, two down two on. 1-2 count, very nice JoJo strikes him out to end this one.
Bottom 2nd: Jays need to give Reyes some run support here. It is fine giving Romero a six spot, he probably does not need it but Reyes definitely does. Arencibia, strikes out swinging, one down for Hill, grounds to third, throw to first, two down for Thames. (First pitch) grounds to first for the out. Nine pitch inning for Carmona. Thames has to be far more patient.
Top 3rd: Hannahan, 2-2 count, pops up to Patterson to left, one down for Brantley, 3-1 ball four, one on one down for Asdrubel Cabrera, grounds back to Reyes, throw to Hill on to Rivera, another double play. Second started by Cabrera but Reyes does not mind.
Bottom 3rd: Davis hammers this on at third off the glove for a leadoff double, Nix. Will Davis steal? 2-0 count, 2-2 Nix just misses home run to left. BUT no doubt about this one, hammers it into left second deck home run, 2-0 Jays. Escobar singles into right, Patterson, grounds to short to the bag over to first double play ball. Bautista now with nobody on, and two down. 3-0 count, keeping it away from Jose. Ball four, another walk for Jose number 46 in 51 games. Rivera, 2-2 count, grounds to short, throw to second to get Bautista.
Top 4th: Choo, strikes out looking, nice pitch JoJo. One down for Duncan, WOW gets hold of this one, into fifth deck, bounces back into the field. 2-1 Jays. Cabrera, 2-2 lines it to Patterson in left, two down. Santana, 3-0 count, ball four. LaPorta pops up to Rivera coming across in front of the mound for third out.
Bottom 4th: Arencibia singles into left. Hill, 3-1 count, full count, hits Hill on elbow. Two on for Thames nobody out. Is he bunting? No. 2-0, way outside. Pitching coach out there. Singles in to left, Arencibia held at third. Bases loaded for Davis. Perfect, Rajai doubles into left corner, here comes Arencibia, here comes Hill, 4-1 Jays. Nix with two in scoring position, nobody out. Strikes out swinging. Top of the order one down. Escobar 2-0 count, way outside 3-1. Full count, ball four to load the bases. Patterson, Ohhhhhh grounds to Cabrera at second, here comes one Thames, Cabrera bobbles the ball and here comes Davis never stopped running 6-1 Jays. SPEED. Should have been double play. Bautista with two on one down. 2-2 count. Full count. WHOA!!!! Jose doubles to opposite field here comes Escobar, here comes Patterson, 8-1 Jays. Rivera grounds to third, throw to first Rivera out, Bautista going to third safe on Arencibia drives to left wall here comes Bautista, 9-1 Jays. Hill with runner at second, grounds to third throw to first for third out.
Top 5th: Kearns, full count, outside, ball four. One on for Hannahan singles to centre, two on but nobody out, come on Jo Jo. Brantley, 2-0 count, perfect grounds to Hill to Escobar over to Rivera, double play ball. Two down one on. Cabrera, bounces to Escobar throw to Rivera for third out.
Bottom 5th: New pitcher for Indians Chad Durbin, Thames singles into centre. Davis, Perfect, grounds off Durbin and both runners safe. Love it. Nix, pops up to first, one own. Escobar, 2-2 count, wow even broken bat brings in a run, singles into right, here comes Thames 10-1 Jays. Two on for Patterson. Davis at third. Fly ball to Kearns in left, here comes Davis, 11-1 Jays. Bautista two down one on, grounds to second throw to bag for third out.
Top 6th: Choo singles into right. Duncan, fly ball to Bautista, one down. Cabrera, pops up to Patterson in shallow left two down. Santana, grounds to Nix throw to second to get Choo and final out.
Bottom 6th: Rivera, lines to Kearns in left, one down. Arencibia, fly ball to Choo in right, two down. Hill, grounds to third, throw to first to end the inning. Three up and down for Jays.
Top 7th: LaPorta, pops up to Arencibia, Kearns, strikes out swinging, two down. Hannahan lines it to Davis in centre.
Bottom 7th: Rafael Perez now pitching. Thames leading off. Bounces to Cabrera at second throw to first to get Thames. Davis, pops up to first, two down. Nix, doubles to the wall in left. Good to see Jayson on fire again. Escobar now can he bring him in? Grounds to short, throw to first to tag Escobar as he goes by.
Top 8th: Brantley, 3-0 count, ball four, JoJo tiring here. Cabrera, fly ball to Patterson in left. Choo, grounds to Rivera at first tags runner out, two down. Duncan, 2-2 count, lines to Patterson in left for third out.
Bottom 8th: Patterson, grounds back to Perez, throw to first one down McCoy pinch hitting for Bautista, pops up to right, two down. Rivera the only starter without a hit tonight. Pops up to shallow centre for third out.
Top 9th: Cabrera grounds to Nix, long throw to Rivera tags him out, one down for Santana, full count, grounds to Nix long throw not in time one on, one down for LaPorta, pops up to Arencibia, two down. Kearns, singles to right, two on two down. Hannahan 115 pitch count. 0-2 count, strikes out, well deserved win for JoJo. This could have gone the other way 11-1 and not many fans would have been surprised.
Awesome: JoJo Reyes, not that he won, but that he beat the Indians a team with 31-19 record. Yes he had run support, but he still kept the Indians with the best record in the AL to one run tonight. That IS awesome pitching. And not least he broke that awful run of 28 games without a win but many of those were no-decisions which could have been his wins without the bullpen ruining it for him.
The very good; Jayson Nix home run, Bautista hits in the first to get it going back up the middle and especially the one to opposite field to bring in two. Jose does it all even without hitting the home runs. The bottom of the order, Davis heads up running. But this was an all-round team effort to support Reyes, a well deserved win.
The not so good: Are you kidding, not tonight.
Noteworthy: Green Jay wins the Budweiser baseball trivia contest on Sunday at Rogers Centre, way to go Jessica.
Did anybody note that ex-Jays Brandon League has 14 ??? saves for the Mariners... wow, we miss you Brandon
Very tough series for the Jays 31 -19 Indians. Very tough game for Reyes, this could be a blow out for JoJo. However what I really liked about yesterday’s blowout against the White Sox was the contribution by Hill, Encarnacion and Nix who had provided little to date for the team. Great to see someone and especially all three of them take some pressure off Bautista for a change. Tonight Reyes needs all of them to help him, this is one tough opponent.
Line-ups: Indians: Brantley, Asdrubel Cabrera, Choo, Duncan, Orlando Cabrera, Santana, LaPorta, Kearns, Hannahan and Carmona pitching.
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Thames, Davis, Nix and Reyes pitching.
Top 1st: Brantley, singles to Patterson in left, Asdrubel Cabrera, perfect grounds to Nix, throw to Hill over to Rivera, double play ball. Nice. Choo, grounds to Hill throw to Rivera, for third out. Five pitches. Very nice. It is time that the Jays team gave JoJo some help after blowing four of his quality starts. And they know that. He needs their help.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, fly ball to centre, one down. Patterson, powers it to second, great catch by Cabrera, robs Corey of a hit there. Bautista, two down. Lines it back up the middle. One on two down. Rivera, strikes out swinging.
Top 2nd: Duncan, grounds to Nix at third, tough throw by Nix, to Rivera not in time. Runner safe. Orlando Cabrera, singles back up the middle past diving Escobar. Two on for Santana, fly ball to Davis in centre, one down. LaPorta, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down, Duncan moves to third on play. Kearns, two down two on. 1-2 count, very nice JoJo strikes him out to end this one.
Bottom 2nd: Jays need to give Reyes some run support here. It is fine giving Romero a six spot, he probably does not need it but Reyes definitely does. Arencibia, strikes out swinging, one down for Hill, grounds to third, throw to first, two down for Thames. (First pitch) grounds to first for the out. Nine pitch inning for Carmona. Thames has to be far more patient.
Top 3rd: Hannahan, 2-2 count, pops up to Patterson to left, one down for Brantley, 3-1 ball four, one on one down for Asdrubel Cabrera, grounds back to Reyes, throw to Hill on to Rivera, another double play. Second started by Cabrera but Reyes does not mind.
Bottom 3rd: Davis hammers this on at third off the glove for a leadoff double, Nix. Will Davis steal? 2-0 count, 2-2 Nix just misses home run to left. BUT no doubt about this one, hammers it into left second deck home run, 2-0 Jays. Escobar singles into right, Patterson, grounds to short to the bag over to first double play ball. Bautista now with nobody on, and two down. 3-0 count, keeping it away from Jose. Ball four, another walk for Jose number 46 in 51 games. Rivera, 2-2 count, grounds to short, throw to second to get Bautista.
Top 4th: Choo, strikes out looking, nice pitch JoJo. One down for Duncan, WOW gets hold of this one, into fifth deck, bounces back into the field. 2-1 Jays. Cabrera, 2-2 lines it to Patterson in left, two down. Santana, 3-0 count, ball four. LaPorta pops up to Rivera coming across in front of the mound for third out.
Bottom 4th: Arencibia singles into left. Hill, 3-1 count, full count, hits Hill on elbow. Two on for Thames nobody out. Is he bunting? No. 2-0, way outside. Pitching coach out there. Singles in to left, Arencibia held at third. Bases loaded for Davis. Perfect, Rajai doubles into left corner, here comes Arencibia, here comes Hill, 4-1 Jays. Nix with two in scoring position, nobody out. Strikes out swinging. Top of the order one down. Escobar 2-0 count, way outside 3-1. Full count, ball four to load the bases. Patterson, Ohhhhhh grounds to Cabrera at second, here comes one Thames, Cabrera bobbles the ball and here comes Davis never stopped running 6-1 Jays. SPEED. Should have been double play. Bautista with two on one down. 2-2 count. Full count. WHOA!!!! Jose doubles to opposite field here comes Escobar, here comes Patterson, 8-1 Jays. Rivera grounds to third, throw to first Rivera out, Bautista going to third safe on Arencibia drives to left wall here comes Bautista, 9-1 Jays. Hill with runner at second, grounds to third throw to first for third out.
Top 5th: Kearns, full count, outside, ball four. One on for Hannahan singles to centre, two on but nobody out, come on Jo Jo. Brantley, 2-0 count, perfect grounds to Hill to Escobar over to Rivera, double play ball. Two down one on. Cabrera, bounces to Escobar throw to Rivera for third out.
Bottom 5th: New pitcher for Indians Chad Durbin, Thames singles into centre. Davis, Perfect, grounds off Durbin and both runners safe. Love it. Nix, pops up to first, one own. Escobar, 2-2 count, wow even broken bat brings in a run, singles into right, here comes Thames 10-1 Jays. Two on for Patterson. Davis at third. Fly ball to Kearns in left, here comes Davis, 11-1 Jays. Bautista two down one on, grounds to second throw to bag for third out.
Top 6th: Choo singles into right. Duncan, fly ball to Bautista, one down. Cabrera, pops up to Patterson in shallow left two down. Santana, grounds to Nix throw to second to get Choo and final out.
Bottom 6th: Rivera, lines to Kearns in left, one down. Arencibia, fly ball to Choo in right, two down. Hill, grounds to third, throw to first to end the inning. Three up and down for Jays.
Top 7th: LaPorta, pops up to Arencibia, Kearns, strikes out swinging, two down. Hannahan lines it to Davis in centre.
Bottom 7th: Rafael Perez now pitching. Thames leading off. Bounces to Cabrera at second throw to first to get Thames. Davis, pops up to first, two down. Nix, doubles to the wall in left. Good to see Jayson on fire again. Escobar now can he bring him in? Grounds to short, throw to first to tag Escobar as he goes by.
Top 8th: Brantley, 3-0 count, ball four, JoJo tiring here. Cabrera, fly ball to Patterson in left. Choo, grounds to Rivera at first tags runner out, two down. Duncan, 2-2 count, lines to Patterson in left for third out.
Bottom 8th: Patterson, grounds back to Perez, throw to first one down McCoy pinch hitting for Bautista, pops up to right, two down. Rivera the only starter without a hit tonight. Pops up to shallow centre for third out.
Top 9th: Cabrera grounds to Nix, long throw to Rivera tags him out, one down for Santana, full count, grounds to Nix long throw not in time one on, one down for LaPorta, pops up to Arencibia, two down. Kearns, singles to right, two on two down. Hannahan 115 pitch count. 0-2 count, strikes out, well deserved win for JoJo. This could have gone the other way 11-1 and not many fans would have been surprised.
Awesome: JoJo Reyes, not that he won, but that he beat the Indians a team with 31-19 record. Yes he had run support, but he still kept the Indians with the best record in the AL to one run tonight. That IS awesome pitching. And not least he broke that awful run of 28 games without a win but many of those were no-decisions which could have been his wins without the bullpen ruining it for him.
The very good; Jayson Nix home run, Bautista hits in the first to get it going back up the middle and especially the one to opposite field to bring in two. Jose does it all even without hitting the home runs. The bottom of the order, Davis heads up running. But this was an all-round team effort to support Reyes, a well deserved win.
The not so good: Are you kidding, not tonight.
Noteworthy: Green Jay wins the Budweiser baseball trivia contest on Sunday at Rogers Centre, way to go Jessica.
Did anybody note that ex-Jays Brandon League has 14 ??? saves for the Mariners... wow, we miss you Brandon
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Jays hammer White Sox with Hill and Encarnacion home runs behind great outing by Romero.
White Sox v Jays, Game four series final game four.
Jays going for series win after long 14 inning game yesterday.
White Sox: Pierre, Ramirez, Quentin, Konerko, Rios, Dunn, Castro, Lillibridge, Morel and Danks pitching.
Jays line-up: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Encarnacion, Davis, Nix and Romero pitching.
Top 1st: Pierre leading off ball to fly ball to Patterson in left. Ramirez, hammers it to left but great diving catch by Nix. Off his feet great catch, saves a double. Quentin. OH no, hammer s this one to left home run to hits the second deck concrete, 1-0 White Sox. Konerko, full count, come on Ricky. Grounds to Escobar throw to Rivera tags Konerko for third out.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, 2-2 count, singles back up the middle. Patterson five hit day yesterday, singles to right, Escobar to third, déjà vu again??? Bautista. Chin music first pitch. That will do Jose singles into left, here comes Escobar, 1-1 game. Runners at first and second still nobody out. Rivera, hanging in here fouling them off, strikes out swinging but great at bat. Arencibia, full count pitch number 31 already. Ball four. Bases loaded for Hill. Here comes the pitching coach, no doubt about that message, one way speech there. Now Aaron big chance here, THERE we go Aaron hammers this into left field over the fence, 5-1 Jays, his first career grand slam. And first for Jays this season. Encarnacion, 3-1 and this one is out of here into left, crazy game. His first of the season, long overdue first of the season, back to back. 6-1 Jays. Davis grounds to third, throw to first two down. Nix he needs a hit now. 0-22 right now. That will do Jayson, singles into centre, crowd like this they know he has been hitless. Escobar again, grounds to short, throw to second to finally end the inning. 51 pitch inning wow. How come Jo Jo Reyes never gets this type of run support?
Top 2nd: Rios pops up to Bautista in right, crowd loves that as well. Dunn, shift right, full count, ball four low and away he didn’t bite, Castro, singles into right, two on for Lillibridge, not the guy Romero needs at the plate. Hammers this to the wall, and Davis tremendous great over the shoulder catch. Two down for Morel. Fly ball to Patterson for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Patterson lines to Rios in centre, one down. Bautista, gets under this fly ball to left, two down. Rivera, 3-1 count, hammers it to left, Pierre makes the mistake going for it gets away to the wall Rivera risking three and out on the relay throw that was definitely a dumb play. He is by no stretch a fast runner. Take the double Juan.
Top 3rd: Pierre singles into left. Ramirez, there goes Pierre no throw by Arencibia, strikes out. One down for Quentin. 3-0 count. full count, grounds to Escobar, Pierre goes back and throw to Rivera for second out. Konerko, singles into left here comes Pierre, 6-2 Jays. Rios, two down runner at first. Fly ball to right centre, Davis makes the catch in front of Bautista. Whoa.
Bottom 3rd: Arencibia, full count fly ball to left, one down for Hill, first pitch fly ball to Pierre, two quick outs, these guys never learn. Encarnacion second pitch fly ball to right. I rest my case. Danks should be shell-shocked after the first, don’t let him settle with this undisciplined hitting. Take him all the way every at bat and get into the bullpen early.
Top 4th: Dunn, strikes out swinging. Castro, strikes out swinging, two down. Lillibridge, strikes out swinging. Ricky best inning so far.
Bottom 4th: Let’s hope Jays hitters can do some more damage now. Davis, ouch hits him on the hip, that will hurt, however Danks you will be paid back now. Nix, grounds to third, Davis to second, he will be stealing third. Escobar, there he goes first pitch, take that Mr. Danks. Don’t hit me again. Steal of third number seven for Rajai. Still only one out. 2-2 count, singles into right, 7-2 game, don’t hit me Mr. Danks. Patterson, WHOA good bye ball, drives it over the right field fence, home run Patterson,9-2 Jays. Bautista. 3-1 not getting anything to hit here. There’s a strike full count, Pops it up a mile high to short. Two down. Jose has some words with Danks as he runs. What is that about? Rivera, pops up to Konerko for third out.
Top 5th: Morel lines it to wall in left, Paterson off the wall great throw to keep Morel at first. Pierre first pitch fly ball to Patterson in left, one down for Ramirez. GREAT play drives it to Hill, leaping catch and throw to first double play ball, Nice play Aaron.
Bottom 5th: No more Danks. Lucas Harrell now pitching. Arencibia, strikes out looking, one down for Hill, bounces to short, throw to first, two down. Encarnacion, loops it over short into left. Davis, bounces to third, Davis outruns the throw. Speed. Nix, singles into left, here comes Encarnacion and right behind him speedster Davis can that guy fly. 11-2 Jays and even better, a second hit for Nix plus two RBIs, let’s hope he is back in the groove. After that long drought. Nix at second on the throw. Escobar, 3-1 count, ball four, two on for Patterson. 2-0 count, singles to right, here comes Nix, 12-2 Jays. Bautista with two on. 2-2 count, full count, will he pitch to him or walk. Chases ball four. A little too eager there Jose. Leaves two on.
Top 6th: Thames now in right for Bautista, give Jose a rest. Quentin leading off. Full count, ball four. One on for Konerko, singles to right centre, two on for Rios and nobody out.0-2 count, pops up to Hill in shallow right. One down for Dunn, strikes out swinging, strikeout number five, two down. Castro grounds up the middle but great stop by Escobar turns and throw to Hill to get Konerko and rescue Romero.
Bottom 6th: Rivera lines to left, safe at second. Arencibia singles to centre, Rivera scores 13-2. Hill, grounds to second, throw to first to get Hill. One down. Runner move up. Encarnacion, singles to left, Arencibia at third. Davis, grounds to second throw to Ramirez on to first and get Davis in double play.
Top 7th: McCoy in for Escobar at shirt, Lillibridge first pitch fly ball to Patterson in left, one down for Morel. First pitch grounds to McCoy throw to Rivera, two down. Pierre, grounds to Rivera, slides into the bag to beat Pierre. 107 pitch count for Romero, could be his last inning.
Bottom 7th: Nix lines first pitch to Pierre in left, one down. McCoy, grounds to third, throw to first, two down. Patterson, singles to right centre, Thames, full count, drives it to Pierre in left to end the inning.
Top 8th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Ramirez leading off. Strikes out looking, does not like the call. Quentin, full count, drives it to Thames in right. McPherson for Konerko, strikes out swinging. Nice job Casey.
Bottom 8th: Rivera lines it to Quentin on right, great catch by Quentin sliding into the wall. All-out effort there despite the runaway score. Arencibia singles first pitch back up the middle. Hill pops up to second first pitch, two down. Encarnacion, grounds to third, throw to second to get Arencibia.
Top 9th: Camp to finish this one off. Rios hopefully for the last time, doubles into left, Dunn, 3-0 count, come on Shawn, full count, grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera with Rios to third on the play. One down one on for Castro, first pitch into left field seats 13-4 game. White Sox going down fighting. Lillibridge, doubles first pitch into left, Camp rough outing here. Morel pops up first pitch to Rivera, two down for Pierre. Lines it to Patterson for third out. Jays win big.
The very good: Hill first home run of season, grand slam and his career first. Edwin finally a home run. And Nix his first hit since the DL. Great first inning. Great defence by Nix and Davis both saving runs. Hill fielding double play in fifth. Jays season high 17 hit game.
Not so good: Running error by Rivera trying to stretch double into a triple. Delusion on his own speed. Still too many wild swings but picky, picky today, lets celebrate win number three in a row.
Can they give JoJo Reyes lots of runs tomorrow and help him get his first win?
Jays going for series win after long 14 inning game yesterday.
White Sox: Pierre, Ramirez, Quentin, Konerko, Rios, Dunn, Castro, Lillibridge, Morel and Danks pitching.
Jays line-up: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Arencibia, Hill, Encarnacion, Davis, Nix and Romero pitching.
Top 1st: Pierre leading off ball to fly ball to Patterson in left. Ramirez, hammers it to left but great diving catch by Nix. Off his feet great catch, saves a double. Quentin. OH no, hammer s this one to left home run to hits the second deck concrete, 1-0 White Sox. Konerko, full count, come on Ricky. Grounds to Escobar throw to Rivera tags Konerko for third out.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, 2-2 count, singles back up the middle. Patterson five hit day yesterday, singles to right, Escobar to third, déjà vu again??? Bautista. Chin music first pitch. That will do Jose singles into left, here comes Escobar, 1-1 game. Runners at first and second still nobody out. Rivera, hanging in here fouling them off, strikes out swinging but great at bat. Arencibia, full count pitch number 31 already. Ball four. Bases loaded for Hill. Here comes the pitching coach, no doubt about that message, one way speech there. Now Aaron big chance here, THERE we go Aaron hammers this into left field over the fence, 5-1 Jays, his first career grand slam. And first for Jays this season. Encarnacion, 3-1 and this one is out of here into left, crazy game. His first of the season, long overdue first of the season, back to back. 6-1 Jays. Davis grounds to third, throw to first two down. Nix he needs a hit now. 0-22 right now. That will do Jayson, singles into centre, crowd like this they know he has been hitless. Escobar again, grounds to short, throw to second to finally end the inning. 51 pitch inning wow. How come Jo Jo Reyes never gets this type of run support?
Top 2nd: Rios pops up to Bautista in right, crowd loves that as well. Dunn, shift right, full count, ball four low and away he didn’t bite, Castro, singles into right, two on for Lillibridge, not the guy Romero needs at the plate. Hammers this to the wall, and Davis tremendous great over the shoulder catch. Two down for Morel. Fly ball to Patterson for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Patterson lines to Rios in centre, one down. Bautista, gets under this fly ball to left, two down. Rivera, 3-1 count, hammers it to left, Pierre makes the mistake going for it gets away to the wall Rivera risking three and out on the relay throw that was definitely a dumb play. He is by no stretch a fast runner. Take the double Juan.
Top 3rd: Pierre singles into left. Ramirez, there goes Pierre no throw by Arencibia, strikes out. One down for Quentin. 3-0 count. full count, grounds to Escobar, Pierre goes back and throw to Rivera for second out. Konerko, singles into left here comes Pierre, 6-2 Jays. Rios, two down runner at first. Fly ball to right centre, Davis makes the catch in front of Bautista. Whoa.
Bottom 3rd: Arencibia, full count fly ball to left, one down for Hill, first pitch fly ball to Pierre, two quick outs, these guys never learn. Encarnacion second pitch fly ball to right. I rest my case. Danks should be shell-shocked after the first, don’t let him settle with this undisciplined hitting. Take him all the way every at bat and get into the bullpen early.
Top 4th: Dunn, strikes out swinging. Castro, strikes out swinging, two down. Lillibridge, strikes out swinging. Ricky best inning so far.
Bottom 4th: Let’s hope Jays hitters can do some more damage now. Davis, ouch hits him on the hip, that will hurt, however Danks you will be paid back now. Nix, grounds to third, Davis to second, he will be stealing third. Escobar, there he goes first pitch, take that Mr. Danks. Don’t hit me again. Steal of third number seven for Rajai. Still only one out. 2-2 count, singles into right, 7-2 game, don’t hit me Mr. Danks. Patterson, WHOA good bye ball, drives it over the right field fence, home run Patterson,9-2 Jays. Bautista. 3-1 not getting anything to hit here. There’s a strike full count, Pops it up a mile high to short. Two down. Jose has some words with Danks as he runs. What is that about? Rivera, pops up to Konerko for third out.
Top 5th: Morel lines it to wall in left, Paterson off the wall great throw to keep Morel at first. Pierre first pitch fly ball to Patterson in left, one down for Ramirez. GREAT play drives it to Hill, leaping catch and throw to first double play ball, Nice play Aaron.
Bottom 5th: No more Danks. Lucas Harrell now pitching. Arencibia, strikes out looking, one down for Hill, bounces to short, throw to first, two down. Encarnacion, loops it over short into left. Davis, bounces to third, Davis outruns the throw. Speed. Nix, singles into left, here comes Encarnacion and right behind him speedster Davis can that guy fly. 11-2 Jays and even better, a second hit for Nix plus two RBIs, let’s hope he is back in the groove. After that long drought. Nix at second on the throw. Escobar, 3-1 count, ball four, two on for Patterson. 2-0 count, singles to right, here comes Nix, 12-2 Jays. Bautista with two on. 2-2 count, full count, will he pitch to him or walk. Chases ball four. A little too eager there Jose. Leaves two on.
Top 6th: Thames now in right for Bautista, give Jose a rest. Quentin leading off. Full count, ball four. One on for Konerko, singles to right centre, two on for Rios and nobody out.0-2 count, pops up to Hill in shallow right. One down for Dunn, strikes out swinging, strikeout number five, two down. Castro grounds up the middle but great stop by Escobar turns and throw to Hill to get Konerko and rescue Romero.
Bottom 6th: Rivera lines to left, safe at second. Arencibia singles to centre, Rivera scores 13-2. Hill, grounds to second, throw to first to get Hill. One down. Runner move up. Encarnacion, singles to left, Arencibia at third. Davis, grounds to second throw to Ramirez on to first and get Davis in double play.
Top 7th: McCoy in for Escobar at shirt, Lillibridge first pitch fly ball to Patterson in left, one down for Morel. First pitch grounds to McCoy throw to Rivera, two down. Pierre, grounds to Rivera, slides into the bag to beat Pierre. 107 pitch count for Romero, could be his last inning.
Bottom 7th: Nix lines first pitch to Pierre in left, one down. McCoy, grounds to third, throw to first, two down. Patterson, singles to right centre, Thames, full count, drives it to Pierre in left to end the inning.
Top 8th: Casey Janssen now pitching. Ramirez leading off. Strikes out looking, does not like the call. Quentin, full count, drives it to Thames in right. McPherson for Konerko, strikes out swinging. Nice job Casey.
Bottom 8th: Rivera lines it to Quentin on right, great catch by Quentin sliding into the wall. All-out effort there despite the runaway score. Arencibia singles first pitch back up the middle. Hill pops up to second first pitch, two down. Encarnacion, grounds to third, throw to second to get Arencibia.
Top 9th: Camp to finish this one off. Rios hopefully for the last time, doubles into left, Dunn, 3-0 count, come on Shawn, full count, grounds to Hill, throw to Rivera with Rios to third on the play. One down one on for Castro, first pitch into left field seats 13-4 game. White Sox going down fighting. Lillibridge, doubles first pitch into left, Camp rough outing here. Morel pops up first pitch to Rivera, two down for Pierre. Lines it to Patterson for third out. Jays win big.
The very good: Hill first home run of season, grand slam and his career first. Edwin finally a home run. And Nix his first hit since the DL. Great first inning. Great defence by Nix and Davis both saving runs. Hill fielding double play in fifth. Jays season high 17 hit game.
Not so good: Running error by Rivera trying to stretch double into a triple. Delusion on his own speed. Still too many wild swings but picky, picky today, lets celebrate win number three in a row.
Can they give JoJo Reyes lots of runs tomorrow and help him get his first win?
Jays win thriller with Patterson walk off home run in the 14th
Jays v White Sox. Game three of four.
White Sox: Pierre, Ramirez, Dunn, Konerko, Pierzynski, Rios, Vizquel, Lillibridge,
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Hill, Davis, Thames, Molina, Nix and Villanueva pitching his second game starting for Litsch.
Top 1st: Pierre fly ball to Bautista in right, dangerous out. Ramirez doubles to left. One on one down for Dunn having a lousy series here, grounds to first base Rivera throw to Villanueva, Ramirez to third. Dunn did his job here. Konerko count ball four, two on for Pierzynski, lines to short Escobar.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, I like this ball four leadoff walk. Yunel this is exactly what you should be doing, patience as leadoff and see some pitches for the guys behind you. Gold star today. Here we go Patterson singles to centre, Escobar to second. Set the table for Jose. YES JOSE de man,…… hammers this one to left over the fences, no doubt about that as soon as he hit, classic Jose home run. Number 20 on the season and they are off and running 3-0 game. WOW without an out. Rivera grounds up the middle and safe on the throw the hit parade continues. Hill, big chance Aaron keep the line moving. Not this time fly ball to right field Lillibridge. First out. Davis pops up to catcher Pierzynski. Two down for Thames fly ball to right field Lillibridge. Rivera left stranded but Jays are on the board big-time. 3-0 Jays.
Top 2nd: Fans favourite visitor, Alex Rios. Welcomed with the usual boos. Whoa, doubles to left. That’s not good. Vizquel, strikes out. Rios stays at second, one down for Lillibridge. Wild pitch, oh boy Jays bugbear once again, Rios to third. It doesn’t matter, this one is out of here, Lillibridge connects and over the fences in left. 3-2 game just like that. Morel singles to right. Villanueva not as sharp this time out. Top of the order again. Pierre, bunting to Nix throw to Rivera gets him, two down Morel to second. Ramirez, singles to left here comers Morel and just like that the 3-0 lead has gone. Ramirez at second two down for Dunn, strikes out. 3-3 game
Bottom 2nd: Molina pops up to right field Lillibridge, one down for Nix, strikes out. Is Nix ever in a slump. Escobar grounds to third base Morel throw to Konerko. Three up and down inning for Jays.
Top 3rd: Can Villanueva regroup here ? Konerko grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. One down. Pierzynski grounds to second base Hill throw to Rivera at first two down. Boo birds are at it again must be Rios, grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. Much better inning for Villanueva.
Bottom 3rd: Patterson leading off, grounds to third, beats out the throw. Bautista with one on, singles to right, Patterson to second. Rivera two on nobody out, fly ball centre field Rios. Hill, there we go Aaron doubles to left, here comes Patterson here comes Jose and Jays go out ahead again 5-3. Davis with runner in scoring position at second strikes out. Two down for Thames, strikes out. Jays get two more but honestly runners in scoring position continues to be their bugbear. They should get some lessons from the AAA Vegas hitters, at least they seem to be getting it which in the long run will be better for the first team when they arrive.
Top 4th: Vizquel leading off, strikes out. Lillibridge, strikes out. Villanueva mowing them down here. Two down for Morel grounds to Rivera takes it himself for third out. Nice inning for Villanueva. Every inning is worth it whilst he fills in.
Bottom 4th: Molina leading off, singles to centre. Nix, grounds to third base Morel throw to Vizquel at second to get the force on Molina. One down one on for top of the order. Escobar, grounds to short on to Vizquel at second throw to Konerko at first double play ball.
Top 5th: Top of the order for White Sox. Pierre grounds to Hill, error on Hill, as Pierre is safe at first. Ramirez grounds to Nix throw to first base Rivera, Pierre to second. Dunn, oh boy singles to centre, here comes Pierre, 5-4 Jays. Konerko doubles to right, Dunn to third. Pierzynski with runner at second, this will do, doubles to Bautista in right, here comes Dunn, here comes Konerko, 6-5 White Sox. Still only one out and runner in scoring position. Rios pops up to first base Rivera. Two down. Vizquel pops up to Escobar for third out but White Sox have the lead.
Bottom 5th: Patterson leading off singles to centre. Bautista, strikes out. Rivera grounds to short Ramirez, throw to second base Vizquel on to Konerko at first double play ball.
Top 6th: Camp now pitching. Villanueva could not hold the lead but we have to remember this guy is long relief not a starter and he has kept the game close which is all we can ask from him. Lillibridge, Camp hits him. Not quite the start he had in mind. Morel grounds to Escobar throw to first base Rivera, Lillibridge to second. Top of the order, Pierre grounds back to pitcher Camp, on to first base Rivera. Two down. Ramirez grounds to Nix throw to Rivera for third out.
Bottom 6th: Hill grounds to third base Morel throw to first base Konerko. One down for Davis, strikes out. Thames strikes out. Quick three up and down for the Jays.
Top 7th: Rzepczynski now pitching. Dunn grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. Konerko, 3-0 and ball four, walks on four pitches. Pierzynski that’s much better grounds to Hill throw to Escobar over to first base Rivera to get Konerko, double play ball to end this one.
Bottom 7th: Molina leading off singles to centre. He has been consistent with his hits. Oh boy, Encarnacion pinch-hitting for Nix. Strikes out. Could have been worse a double play. Escobar fly ball to right field Lillibridge. Thornton now pitching. Patterson singles to right, Molina to third. That’s it for Thornton, did not quite do his job. Jesse Crain now pitching. Bautista ball four, Patterson to second. Bases loaded for Rivera. That will do it great hit by Rivera doubles to left, here comes Molina, here comes Patterson and Bautista right behind him, clears the bases and Jay retake the lead. 8-6 Jays this game is making me giddy with all the lead changes. Hill with Rivera at second, fly ball to left field Pierre. But Jays are back with the lead.
Top 8th: McCoy in for Nix at third base. Dotel now pitching. Rios fly ball to right field Bautista. One down for Vizquel, fly ball to Davis in centre. Two down for Lillibridge, hammers this to centre, goes all the way to third base. Triple for Lillibridge. Morel, passed ball, second of the game and here comes Lillibridge 8-7 game. What a way to get that run. This is becoming a habit with both Molina and Arencibia, two yesterday and has had several earlier. But even worse when a runner is at third. Morel strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Sale now pitching. Davis pops up to second base Vizquel. One down. Thames strikes out. Two down. Molina grounds to short Ramirez throw to first base Konerko.
Top 9th: Francisco pitching. Save opportunity, hang on here. Top of the order, Pierre fly ball to Davis, one down. Ramirez doubles to right. Dunn strikes out. Two down for Konerko, pops it up to shallow right Bautista makes great running play but cannot get there and here comes Ramirez, 8-8 game, that was no man’s land, unfortunate but Francisco has blown another. McPherson pinch-running for Konerko. That’s it for Francisco. Frasor now pitching. Pierzynski grounds to third base McCoy throw to Rivera at first for the out but the damage has been done.
Bottom 9th: McPherson in at first base. McCoy grounds to short Ramirez, throw to first base McPherson. Escobar, that’s better singles to centre. One on one down. Patterson strikes out. Bautista now with Escobar on, doubles to left, Escobar held at third. Not sure about that, I would have risked throw the plate, Escobar has speed ad it would take perfect throw to get him. Rivera grounds back to pitcher Sale, throw to first base McPherson. That passed ball run in the eighth is the game decider now.
Top 10th : Frasor still out there. Rios strikes out. Crowd loves that. Vizquel fly ball to Davis in centre. Lillibridge fly ball to Thames in left. Nice inning Jason.
Bottom 10th: Hill leading off strikes out. Davis bunting?? to third Morel throws to McPherson at first. Strange play. Thames 3-0 ball four, walks on four pitches. Two down one on for Molina fly ball to Rios.
Top 11th: Morel doubles to centre. This is trouble. Top of the order Pierre grounds to McCoy at third, throw to Hill for the out, Morel to third. Ramirez full count, ball four. Two on and that’s it for Frasor. Perez now pitching. Dunn pops up to Hill. No chance for Morel, two down. Quentin pinch-hitting for McPherson, fly ball to Bautista in right, Perez great pitching to save that situation.
Bottom 11th: Quentin in at right field. Vizquel at first base. Lillibridge at second. Santos now pitching. McCoy pops up to Ramirez. Top of the order again. Escobar strikes out. Patterson grounds to Vizquel throw to Santos. Stalemate continues. I for one am getting anxious here.
Top 12th: Pierzynski grounds to Hill throw to Rivera at first one down. Boos must be Rios, singles to left. Alex loves that. Vizquel grounds to Hill throw to first Rivera, Rios to second. Two down. Lilibridge, no, come on and other wild pitch, that is four in two days by Jays. Rios to third. White Sox scored last time. Fly ball to Davis. Jays are lucky there were two outs.
Bottom 12th: Bautista leading off, not giving him anything to hit. Ball four leadoff walk. Rivera pops up to second base Lillibridge. One down for Hill, pops up to Lillibridge. Aaron is really struggling. Davis grounds to first Vizquel takes it himself to the bag, for third out.
Top 13th: Perez still out there. Morel pops up to second base Hill. One down for top of the order Pierre grounds to second base Hill throw to Rivera. Two down. Ramirez grounds to Escobar at short, throw to first base Rivera. Perez doing everything he could but again back to the hitters to break this deadlock, how many more chances do they need?
Bottom 13th: Floyd now pitching. He is starting on Wednesday so this will be his workday. Thames fly ball to Rios. One down for Molina, singles to Rios in centre, one on one down. McCoy, ah well, pops to short Ramirez. Molina stays at first. Escobar last chance to move Molina, fly ball to Rios to end this inning and leave Molina out there.
Top14th: These teams settling in for the night here. A game and half already. Dunn grounds to third base McCoy throw to first base Rivera. Quentin grounds to short Escobar throw to Rivera at first base. Pierzynski singles to centre. One for boo bird man. Singles last at bat. Rios, not this time, fly ball to left field Thames.
Bottom 14th: Patterson leading off. Has had a great day with four hits. 1-2 count, there she goes line drive into right field over the fences and he is mobbed as the dugout empties. Nothing like a walk-off home run to win a game. Patterson will remember this one and so will the fans. That would have been a brutal one to lose. Jays have the luck today although they would have one four innings ago.
The very good: Obviously Bautista with his three run home run. Patterson with five hits and game wining walk off home run, but also Perez with his three and two thirds scoreless relief effort. Bautista and Molina with their hits.
The not so good: The passed balls, one of which lead to the extra innings. Francisco another blown save number three regardless of whether or not Jose could now have reached that flare into shallow right.
Lawrie mini-Jose out there with AAA Vegas in the desert … two more home runs today, now 14 on the season wow… just think of him hitting behind Jose… How can they bring up McCoy for Lawrie’s power? Ah well all about business $$$ not fan entertainment or is it about attittude ? Travis more hits but still no power… mystery… Downer. Cecil six earned runs. Hmm.
White Sox: Pierre, Ramirez, Dunn, Konerko, Pierzynski, Rios, Vizquel, Lillibridge,
Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Hill, Davis, Thames, Molina, Nix and Villanueva pitching his second game starting for Litsch.
Top 1st: Pierre fly ball to Bautista in right, dangerous out. Ramirez doubles to left. One on one down for Dunn having a lousy series here, grounds to first base Rivera throw to Villanueva, Ramirez to third. Dunn did his job here. Konerko count ball four, two on for Pierzynski, lines to short Escobar.
Bottom 1st: Escobar, I like this ball four leadoff walk. Yunel this is exactly what you should be doing, patience as leadoff and see some pitches for the guys behind you. Gold star today. Here we go Patterson singles to centre, Escobar to second. Set the table for Jose. YES JOSE de man,…… hammers this one to left over the fences, no doubt about that as soon as he hit, classic Jose home run. Number 20 on the season and they are off and running 3-0 game. WOW without an out. Rivera grounds up the middle and safe on the throw the hit parade continues. Hill, big chance Aaron keep the line moving. Not this time fly ball to right field Lillibridge. First out. Davis pops up to catcher Pierzynski. Two down for Thames fly ball to right field Lillibridge. Rivera left stranded but Jays are on the board big-time. 3-0 Jays.
Top 2nd: Fans favourite visitor, Alex Rios. Welcomed with the usual boos. Whoa, doubles to left. That’s not good. Vizquel, strikes out. Rios stays at second, one down for Lillibridge. Wild pitch, oh boy Jays bugbear once again, Rios to third. It doesn’t matter, this one is out of here, Lillibridge connects and over the fences in left. 3-2 game just like that. Morel singles to right. Villanueva not as sharp this time out. Top of the order again. Pierre, bunting to Nix throw to Rivera gets him, two down Morel to second. Ramirez, singles to left here comers Morel and just like that the 3-0 lead has gone. Ramirez at second two down for Dunn, strikes out. 3-3 game
Bottom 2nd: Molina pops up to right field Lillibridge, one down for Nix, strikes out. Is Nix ever in a slump. Escobar grounds to third base Morel throw to Konerko. Three up and down inning for Jays.
Top 3rd: Can Villanueva regroup here ? Konerko grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. One down. Pierzynski grounds to second base Hill throw to Rivera at first two down. Boo birds are at it again must be Rios, grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. Much better inning for Villanueva.
Bottom 3rd: Patterson leading off, grounds to third, beats out the throw. Bautista with one on, singles to right, Patterson to second. Rivera two on nobody out, fly ball centre field Rios. Hill, there we go Aaron doubles to left, here comes Patterson here comes Jose and Jays go out ahead again 5-3. Davis with runner in scoring position at second strikes out. Two down for Thames, strikes out. Jays get two more but honestly runners in scoring position continues to be their bugbear. They should get some lessons from the AAA Vegas hitters, at least they seem to be getting it which in the long run will be better for the first team when they arrive.
Top 4th: Vizquel leading off, strikes out. Lillibridge, strikes out. Villanueva mowing them down here. Two down for Morel grounds to Rivera takes it himself for third out. Nice inning for Villanueva. Every inning is worth it whilst he fills in.
Bottom 4th: Molina leading off, singles to centre. Nix, grounds to third base Morel throw to Vizquel at second to get the force on Molina. One down one on for top of the order. Escobar, grounds to short on to Vizquel at second throw to Konerko at first double play ball.
Top 5th: Top of the order for White Sox. Pierre grounds to Hill, error on Hill, as Pierre is safe at first. Ramirez grounds to Nix throw to first base Rivera, Pierre to second. Dunn, oh boy singles to centre, here comes Pierre, 5-4 Jays. Konerko doubles to right, Dunn to third. Pierzynski with runner at second, this will do, doubles to Bautista in right, here comes Dunn, here comes Konerko, 6-5 White Sox. Still only one out and runner in scoring position. Rios pops up to first base Rivera. Two down. Vizquel pops up to Escobar for third out but White Sox have the lead.
Bottom 5th: Patterson leading off singles to centre. Bautista, strikes out. Rivera grounds to short Ramirez, throw to second base Vizquel on to Konerko at first double play ball.
Top 6th: Camp now pitching. Villanueva could not hold the lead but we have to remember this guy is long relief not a starter and he has kept the game close which is all we can ask from him. Lillibridge, Camp hits him. Not quite the start he had in mind. Morel grounds to Escobar throw to first base Rivera, Lillibridge to second. Top of the order, Pierre grounds back to pitcher Camp, on to first base Rivera. Two down. Ramirez grounds to Nix throw to Rivera for third out.
Bottom 6th: Hill grounds to third base Morel throw to first base Konerko. One down for Davis, strikes out. Thames strikes out. Quick three up and down for the Jays.
Top 7th: Rzepczynski now pitching. Dunn grounds to third base Nix throw to first base Rivera. Konerko, 3-0 and ball four, walks on four pitches. Pierzynski that’s much better grounds to Hill throw to Escobar over to first base Rivera to get Konerko, double play ball to end this one.
Bottom 7th: Molina leading off singles to centre. He has been consistent with his hits. Oh boy, Encarnacion pinch-hitting for Nix. Strikes out. Could have been worse a double play. Escobar fly ball to right field Lillibridge. Thornton now pitching. Patterson singles to right, Molina to third. That’s it for Thornton, did not quite do his job. Jesse Crain now pitching. Bautista ball four, Patterson to second. Bases loaded for Rivera. That will do it great hit by Rivera doubles to left, here comes Molina, here comes Patterson and Bautista right behind him, clears the bases and Jay retake the lead. 8-6 Jays this game is making me giddy with all the lead changes. Hill with Rivera at second, fly ball to left field Pierre. But Jays are back with the lead.
Top 8th: McCoy in for Nix at third base. Dotel now pitching. Rios fly ball to right field Bautista. One down for Vizquel, fly ball to Davis in centre. Two down for Lillibridge, hammers this to centre, goes all the way to third base. Triple for Lillibridge. Morel, passed ball, second of the game and here comes Lillibridge 8-7 game. What a way to get that run. This is becoming a habit with both Molina and Arencibia, two yesterday and has had several earlier. But even worse when a runner is at third. Morel strikes out.
Bottom 8th: Sale now pitching. Davis pops up to second base Vizquel. One down. Thames strikes out. Two down. Molina grounds to short Ramirez throw to first base Konerko.
Top 9th: Francisco pitching. Save opportunity, hang on here. Top of the order, Pierre fly ball to Davis, one down. Ramirez doubles to right. Dunn strikes out. Two down for Konerko, pops it up to shallow right Bautista makes great running play but cannot get there and here comes Ramirez, 8-8 game, that was no man’s land, unfortunate but Francisco has blown another. McPherson pinch-running for Konerko. That’s it for Francisco. Frasor now pitching. Pierzynski grounds to third base McCoy throw to Rivera at first for the out but the damage has been done.
Bottom 9th: McPherson in at first base. McCoy grounds to short Ramirez, throw to first base McPherson. Escobar, that’s better singles to centre. One on one down. Patterson strikes out. Bautista now with Escobar on, doubles to left, Escobar held at third. Not sure about that, I would have risked throw the plate, Escobar has speed ad it would take perfect throw to get him. Rivera grounds back to pitcher Sale, throw to first base McPherson. That passed ball run in the eighth is the game decider now.
Top 10th : Frasor still out there. Rios strikes out. Crowd loves that. Vizquel fly ball to Davis in centre. Lillibridge fly ball to Thames in left. Nice inning Jason.
Bottom 10th: Hill leading off strikes out. Davis bunting?? to third Morel throws to McPherson at first. Strange play. Thames 3-0 ball four, walks on four pitches. Two down one on for Molina fly ball to Rios.
Top 11th: Morel doubles to centre. This is trouble. Top of the order Pierre grounds to McCoy at third, throw to Hill for the out, Morel to third. Ramirez full count, ball four. Two on and that’s it for Frasor. Perez now pitching. Dunn pops up to Hill. No chance for Morel, two down. Quentin pinch-hitting for McPherson, fly ball to Bautista in right, Perez great pitching to save that situation.
Bottom 11th: Quentin in at right field. Vizquel at first base. Lillibridge at second. Santos now pitching. McCoy pops up to Ramirez. Top of the order again. Escobar strikes out. Patterson grounds to Vizquel throw to Santos. Stalemate continues. I for one am getting anxious here.
Top 12th: Pierzynski grounds to Hill throw to Rivera at first one down. Boos must be Rios, singles to left. Alex loves that. Vizquel grounds to Hill throw to first Rivera, Rios to second. Two down. Lilibridge, no, come on and other wild pitch, that is four in two days by Jays. Rios to third. White Sox scored last time. Fly ball to Davis. Jays are lucky there were two outs.
Bottom 12th: Bautista leading off, not giving him anything to hit. Ball four leadoff walk. Rivera pops up to second base Lillibridge. One down for Hill, pops up to Lillibridge. Aaron is really struggling. Davis grounds to first Vizquel takes it himself to the bag, for third out.
Top 13th: Perez still out there. Morel pops up to second base Hill. One down for top of the order Pierre grounds to second base Hill throw to Rivera. Two down. Ramirez grounds to Escobar at short, throw to first base Rivera. Perez doing everything he could but again back to the hitters to break this deadlock, how many more chances do they need?
Bottom 13th: Floyd now pitching. He is starting on Wednesday so this will be his workday. Thames fly ball to Rios. One down for Molina, singles to Rios in centre, one on one down. McCoy, ah well, pops to short Ramirez. Molina stays at first. Escobar last chance to move Molina, fly ball to Rios to end this inning and leave Molina out there.
Top14th: These teams settling in for the night here. A game and half already. Dunn grounds to third base McCoy throw to first base Rivera. Quentin grounds to short Escobar throw to Rivera at first base. Pierzynski singles to centre. One for boo bird man. Singles last at bat. Rios, not this time, fly ball to left field Thames.
Bottom 14th: Patterson leading off. Has had a great day with four hits. 1-2 count, there she goes line drive into right field over the fences and he is mobbed as the dugout empties. Nothing like a walk-off home run to win a game. Patterson will remember this one and so will the fans. That would have been a brutal one to lose. Jays have the luck today although they would have one four innings ago.
The very good: Obviously Bautista with his three run home run. Patterson with five hits and game wining walk off home run, but also Perez with his three and two thirds scoreless relief effort. Bautista and Molina with their hits.
The not so good: The passed balls, one of which lead to the extra innings. Francisco another blown save number three regardless of whether or not Jose could now have reached that flare into shallow right.
Lawrie mini-Jose out there with AAA Vegas in the desert … two more home runs today, now 14 on the season wow… just think of him hitting behind Jose… How can they bring up McCoy for Lawrie’s power? Ah well all about business $$$ not fan entertainment or is it about attittude ? Travis more hits but still no power… mystery… Downer. Cecil six earned runs. Hmm.
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