Yankees win this easily. Purcey not good enough and Jays bats missing

Yankees v Jays Wednesday August 21, 2008.

Preview: This is revenge night for the Yankees. They will not want to lose this one and go into tomorrow’s game with Halladay pitching for any sweep. Purcey could be the lamb to the slaughter for tonight. But games are also won with good hitting and Jays were very lucky last night to win with two runs. They will need far more tonight to support Purcey who spent most of this season in the minors. Give the guy a fifteen run game but with Pettite tonight, I doubt it.

Lineups: New York: Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Nady, Matsui, Cano, Molina and Pettite pitching.
Toronto: Eckstein, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Barajas, Overbay, Mench, McDonald and Purcey pitching.

Result: Yankees win this going away 5-1. Never a doubt from the first inning.

The good: Very little from Jays tonight, The bullpen were great and kept Yankees scoreless after the fourth but with hitters missing again this game was already over in the first inning as it turned out. In particular Tallet returning from the DL pitched very well and that is a good sign for the bullpen as if they needed strengthening.
The bad: Purcey to start with was awful and the rest of the team looked as if they had already given this one up before they started and were looking to Halladay tomorrow to win the series, nothing good about Jays hitters tonight.

Top 1st: Damon at bat, you know he wants to prove he belongs tonight and forget last night’s fielding. Singles to Lind in LF. A good start for him. Jeter grounds to SS but beats out the throw by Johnny Mc. Damon moves to 2B and Yankees are meaning business tonight. Abreu with two on and no outs, singles to Rios in RF, Damon tholds at 3B respecting arm of Alex here. Basis are loaded for A-Rod fly ball out to Rios in RF but too shallow for Damon to risk Alex’s arm. Bases still loaded for Giambi does his thing, fly ball out to Wells in CF. Damon scores easily and Jeter to 3B. 1-0 Yankees. That is good execution. Nady singles to RF, Jeter scores 2-0 Yankees. Abreu to 2B Nady at 1B. Matsui with two down and two on, fly ball out to Wells for third out but Yankees have given Pettite enough for him to work more easily.
Bottom 1st: Eckstein strikes out. Scutaro at bat first pitch grounds to Jeter throw to Giambi at 1B.Rios grounds to Cano at 2B throw to Giambi for third out and very feeble response by Jays hitters. Seven pitch inning for Pettite.

Top 2nd: Cano strikes out. Molina grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay at 1B. Two down. Here comes Damon again already ! Damon walks. Jeter singles to CF, 2-2 already. Damon to 3B. Abreu at bat grounds to Eckstein at 2B throw to Overbay for third out. Purcey escapes big damage here. However 50 pitches already in first two innings.
Bottom 2nd: Wells at bat, singles to LF on 0-2 pitch. Lind at bat one on. Strikes out looking. Barajas one on one down. Fly ball out to RF Abreu. Two down for Overbay. Grounds hard at 2B nice diving save by Cano throw to Giambi for third out, leaving lead off single by Wells on base. Jays hitters have got to do better than this to have a chance in this one. 24 pitches.

Top 3rd: A-Rod going for the fences on first pitch, but misses. Pops it up into 1B crowd by photographers bay, Overbay makes great catch leaning in there. One down. Giambi strikes out. Two down. Nady at bat, fly ball out to Wells in shallow CF. 64 pitches, Purcey’s best inning so far.
Bottom 3rd: Jays still have two hitters waiting for first at bat whereas Yankees are two thirds way through second time around. You give a team all those extra at bats and you are asking for trouble. Mench at bat, doesn’t get many opportunities and he needs to take them. Not like this, grounds to Cano at 2B, throw to Giambi for first out. McDonald his first at bat also. Grounds to Rodriguezat 3B throw to 1B almost pulls Giambi off the bag but manages to get Johnny Mc . out. Two down Eckstein grounds hard up the middle nice grab by Pettite to help himself. Throw to Giambi for third out. 34 pitches.

Top 4th: Matsui fly ball out to Wells. One down. Cano at bat. walks on four pitches. Molina one down one on. Hit and run on, singles to Rios in RF. Cano to 3B. More big trouble for Purcey, top of the order again for third time and it is only the fourth inning. You don’t need to give this lineup extra at bats. Bullpen working. This may be Purcey’s last inning, he is not at all effective tonight against this lineup. Damon grounds to Eckstein only one play to 2B to get Molina. Cano scores 3-0 Yankees. Two down. Jeter high fly ball into Yankees bullpen. RF corner, 5-0 Yankees. A-Rod fly ball out to Lind. But damage is already done. Purcey just doesn’t have the stuff. Cito should take him out of his misery. 79 pitches in only four innings,
Bottom 4th: Meantime Pettite just moves along quietly. This game is his already, he will be very happy after losing last two. Scutaro first pitch grounds out to SS throw to Giambi, a give away at bat by Scutaro, far too many by this guy. He never seems to be thinking in his at bats. Rios now grounds to A-Rod at 3B throw to Giambi for second out. Wells at bat, two down, fly ball out to Abreu in RF. Pettite 42 pitches for four innings !!! He will not need 90 with his hitting lineup tonight.

Top 5th: Tallet now pitching. Should be interesting just off the DL. Rodriguez for his third at bat, strikes out. Giambi at bat, grounds right at Eckstein playing the shift behind Overbay, throw to Lyle for the out, two down for Nady. Pops it in foul ground shallow RF but Rios ambling over in his own sweet time cannot get there. Does anyone remember Mondesi ambling over on any play? Matsui grounds hard at Eckstein throw to Overbay for third out. Tallet at least stops the bleeding here. Now time for someone on Jays lineup to get hitting.
Bottom 5th: Lind at bat strikes out on three pitches, Pettite is locking this one up. Barajas, with one down. Here’s a hit finally, lofts one softly into shallow CF. Overbay at bat, grounds to Rodriguez at 3B strong throw to get Overbay at 1B. Barajas at 2B in scoring position at least. Mench at bat, not making a very strong case to be the regular DH yet. With Stairs struggling Mench should be trying very hard 0-2 lines out to Rodriguez at 3B for the third out. 56 pitches.

Top 6th: Cano at bat, strikes out. Molina strikes out, two down. Damon for his fourth at bat in six innings singles up the middle. One on two down for Jeter 3-3 already. Not this time, grounds up the middle ut Eckstein takes it and steps on 2B bag to get Damon. Tallet is pitching well. The difference between a rookie AAA pitcher and a veteran. Cito may be regretting starting Purcey.
Bottom 6th: McDonald is just getting his second at bat grounds to Rodriguez, throw to Giambi for the out. Top of the order Eckstein with one down but so far Pettite is in complete cruise control with this one. Eckstein singles up the middle, through legs of Pettite. Scutaro now bounces first pitch up the middle, two on with one out for the big guys maybe? Rios at bat 0-2 count singles up the middle and here comes Eckstein for first Jays run. 5-1 Yankees. Three consecutive hits up the middle. Vernon turns on one here hard but foul. Strikes out swinging. Lind now with two on and two down. Hitless tonight, and remains with this at bat, pops up to Nady in shallow LF. Jays threaten but leave two on. 70 pitches.

Top 7th: Carlson now pitching, bullpen committee tonight. They should be fresh though with last Monday as off day and only BJ Ryan last night. Abreu at bat, full count, fly ball out to Lind in LF, one down. Rodriguez grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for second out. Giambi grounds out to Overbay. Good inning by Carlson but is it too late for Jays hitters? Three runs in the last eighteen innings after the fifteen on Sunday. Would drive any Manager crazy, The other maddening news is that both Boston and Tampa are losing it would have been a great time to gain one tonight.
Bottom 7th: Yankees bullpen working, but I don’t think they will need them tonight unless they need the work. Barajas grounds to Rodriguez throw to Giambi for the tag at 1B. Overbay fly ball out to Damon no problem with this one, two down. Mench hitless tonight. 3-0 count, takes one down the middle. Pops this one up to Giambi for third out. A very easy inning for Pettite. 83 pitches.

Top 8th: This game is not even two hours old, most of the time has been spent on field by Yankees hitters tonight. Frasor now pitching. Let’s hope that he is better than last outing. Nady fly ball out to RF and this time Rios does make a good effort to run it down. Why is he so indifferent most of the time? With his speed he should get to many more. Matsui at bat one down, doubles this one to the wall in CF. Cano at bat with runner in scoring position. Game is crawling along now that Frasor is in there and with one on. Cano lines one to a leaping Overbay, great catch and now doubles up Matsui off bat at 2B double play ball to rescue Frasor here.
Bottom 8th: Last chances for Jays before Rivera inning. They need to score big to keep him sitting. BUT don’t bet anything on this happening. Pettite out, Brian Bruney pitching. McDonald at bat, Cody Ransom at 1B for Giambi. Grounds to Rodriguez throw to Ransom for one down. Eckstein at bat first pitch swing and pp up to SS two down. Jays hitters want to get out on the town tonight. Scutaro lines out to RF was that a six pitch inning? Taxis are waiting for Jays. They just don’t have that killer instinct and ability to grind it out in games that really matter so far. It will be interesting to see how Rios and Wells react in bottom of the ninth.

Top 9th: Frasor still in there. Molina at bat grounds back to Frasor throw to Overbay for first out. Damon grounds back to Frasor throw to Overbay for second out. Yankees are showing some mercy here. Jeter at bat, 3-4 tonight. Strikes out looking. A good inning from Frasor but unfortunately he cannot bat as well.
Bottom 9th: This will show how much this team wants to win. Rios, Wells and Lind. Bruney still in there, they don’t need Rivera tonight. But Bruney only threw six pitches last inning. Rivera IS warming up, That’s giving the Jays loads more respect than they deserve. Full count at bat for Alex pops this one up to Ransom at 1B. Wells now, pops it up Ransom diving into seats for this just missing it. That is effort with capital E. Alex are you watching? Vernon strikes out on ball three in the dirt. Two down. Lind now not a good night for him tonight, grounds to Ransom throw to Bruney and Yankees win this one easily, little doubt from the very first inning.

Boston losing 11-5 in Baltimore and Tampa losing 4-3 at home to Angels. IF that holds, Jays will not lose any ground to the top two, but it was a great chance to gain one. Tomorrow Halladay and a must win for Jays.

Burnett curves his way to this great win. A little help from Yankee Damon

Toronto v New York Tuesday August 19, 2008

Yet another big series for several reasons, Yankees are in third spot above Jays and a sweep here this week can put Jays above. Secondly they are on great roll after Fenway wins. Third Alex Rios appears to be very hot in Boston, can he continue? and can Jays bats continue to hoit the way they did in Fenway? Lastly Burnett himself on a great winning streak, maybe playing for next year’s big contract but as long as the Jays get the wins this season that is all they will worry about here.

Lineups: Yankees: Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Rodriguez, Giambi, Nady, Matsui, Cano, Rodriguez and Rasner pitching.
Jays: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Stairs, Barajas, Overbay, McDonald and Burnett pitching.

Result: Jays win this one 2-1 with brilliant pitching, a couple of hits and very good defence but definitely helped here by Damon error and A. Rodigruez running error.

The excellent: Burnett with season high thirteen strikeouts including A-Rod three times, Giambi three times, Damon and Jeter, up and down the order.
The very good: Lind another home run. Overbay defensive gem to throw out A-Rod top of the ninth in crucial situation. Scutaro another defensive gem mid-air catch on full length dive.

The bad: Two more double plays tonight by the Jays. Also this was a big crowd tonight and very large lineup by 5.00pm obviously bloated by Yankee fans but gates did not open until 5.30. Surely better to have a couple of thousand inside (and spending money than lined up outside?) And a continual moan about the lack of video on the screen until 20 minutes ? before the game and then not much baseball content. Compare that with the spring experience at Bright House field and every game the highlights of the previous division winning season an hour of baseball memories and highlights. Surely Rogers Centre can do something similar.
The game itself, with my area surrounded by very loud Yankees fans but it could have been worse if the Red Sox Nation were in town.

Top 1st: Damon walks, not a good start here for AJ. This guy can steal. Jeter at bat one on , strikes out. Great curve ball. Abreu at bat doubles hard down the third base line into the LF corner, Damon scores easily. 1-0 Yankees. A.Rodriguez at bat with runner at 2B and mixed cheers and boos, lots of boos. Strikes out. Great cheers from crowd. Giambi at bat strikes out. Burnett strikes out the side but is down 1-0. His curve ball is really wicked tonight.
Bottom 1st: Inglett grounds to Giambi at 1B throw to Rasner for the out. Scutaro walks. Rios lines out to Damon in CF DROPS the ball….. and is safe at 2B on the error, Scutaro moves to 3B could have come home if he had been running on the hit but had to hold for possible out . Most would. Wells strikes out. Two down. Lind grounds to Cano 2B throw to Giambi for third out. Jays maybe ? could/should have ? scored in that inning.

Top 2nd: Nady at bat, first time as a Yankee at Rogers Centre, strikes out. Four for AJ. Matsui back off disabled list,fly ball out to Lind. Cano with two down, hammers this one to left, WHOA! An amazing catch by Scutaro, diving full length to save at least two bases and end the inning. That was highlight reel catch and I don’t think Rolen could have done any better.

Bottom 2nd: Overbay singles to RF. One on for Stairs, pops it up to catcher Rodriguez. Strage to see him in Yankees uniform. Barajas fly ball out to Abreu in RF. McDonald grounds to shortstop Jeter throw to Cano, Overbay out at 2B..

Top 3rd: Pudge Rodriguez grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay, one down. Damon at bat,one down strikes out. Jeter at bat two down strikes out. Burnett is mowing them down Six strike outs in first three innings.

Bottom 3rd: Inglett hit by pitch. One on for Scutaro strikes out. Rios grounds to Jeter flip to Cano on to Giambi, double play ends that Jays threat.

Top 4th: Abreu doubles to CF. A. Rodriguez strikes out for second time, and also second time with runner in scoring position at 2B. Giambi one out also strikes out. And ditto second time for him and with runner in scoring position. Eight strikes outs for Burnett. He is definitely on his game tonight and I can see from here he is extremely focused. Nady grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay. Three down. Another good inning for Burnett but it would be nice if he could get some run support here.

Bottom 4th: Wells singles first pitch to LF. Where was that hit last at bat ? Lind strikes out.
Overbay grounds to Cano 2B throw to Jeter SS on to Giambi at 1B yet another double play by Jays two of them tonight already. They can’t keep giving Yankees chances like this.

Top 5th: Matsui pops out to Inglett. One down for Cano grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay for second out. Pudge Rodriguez singles to CF. Damon at bat, Rodriguez is stealing and safe at 2B. Damon strikes out.

Bottom 5th: Stairs fly ball out to Nady in LF. Barajas pops up to Jeter. McDonald lines out to Nady. Easy inning for Rasner and no sign yet of the bats Jays hitters had in Boston at the weekend.

Top sixth. Jeter grounds to short, ad safe at 1B. Abreu lines out to Lind. A.Rod strikes out. Again, his third tonight. Giambi strikes out. His third. Burnett really has their number tonight. Eleven strikes outs and A-Rod and Giambi have six of them !
Bottom sixth. Inglett pops up to A-Rod. Some wag shouts "mine"…. Fans don’t forget do they? Although it is selective memory. Robie Alomar is here sitting in the TD seats at 1B line and he gets a great ovation when seen on the Jumbotron. Scutaro fly ball out to Abreu. Rios grounds to Jeter throw to Giambi and Jays hitters go very quietly. They are making Rasner look like Halladay

Top 7th: Nady singles to RF. Matsui strikes out. Cano grounds to Overbay throw to McDonald, Nady out, throw back to Burnett but not in time for double play. Pudge Rodriguez strikes out. Number thirteen for Burnett, season high but he is over the 100 pitch count.
Bottom 7th: Wells fly ball out to Damon, catches that one. Lind at bat, full count, and gets holf one high into RF this one has gone, HR to Adam and this game is all tied up. Crowd really starts to get into game now. 1-1 with one down. Overbay grounds out to Giambi.Two down but that is it for Rasner even though his pitch count is only 86 pitches, thanks to the first swing club here tonight in Jays dugout. Veras pitching to Stairs who has not had a good game tonight. Takes two HR cuts and misses. Now grounds out to Cano throw to Giambi for third out but Jays have tied this one up.

Top 8th: Burnett still pitching. Damon grounds to Inglett throw to Overbay. One down for Jeter grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay.Two down. Abreu grounds to Inglett throw to the busy guy here, Overbay. Burnett does his job and this time without strikeouts.

Bottom 8th: Veras still pitching. Barajas strikes out. McDonald strikes out. Two down for Inglett singles to CF. One on two down. Scutaro lines on hard to the CF wall, Damon DROPS the ball again but this time damage, Inglett scores and Jays have the lead 2-1 Jays.Damon has had a very rough night in CF tonight. But I remember he complained about that CF wall before about how birght the background was, but that would not be the reason tonight, he had both of the balls that he dropped. Rios now another chance to add to this lead for BJ Ryan now warming up in bullpen. I think Scutaro may have reached 3B if he had hustled out of the box but thought Damon was catching that. But there are two outs and he should run hard anyway. Alex grounds weakly to Jeter throw to Giambi and leaves Scutaro in scoring position. Alex’s Boston hit streak has cooled off tonight. But Jays have a lead for BJ Ryan to close it out and give Burnett number sixteen win. Damon gets an awful reception from Yankees fans here as he comes back to dugout.

Top 9th: Mench in for Lind in LF. Ryan pitching and facing heavy part of the Yankees batting order. A-Rodriguez with three strikes outs against Burnett glad he has gone loops this one over Inglett, and now going for 2B Overbay makes a great strike to Johnny Mc to get him at 2B, that may have been very unwise as lead off guy. The crowd are on their feet giving A-Rod their appreciation, it sees to be Yankees fans are upset and Jays fans are happy but all directed at A-Rod who avoids all as he walks into the dugout below here, that must have been a long and embarrassing walk back. Giambi now on three strikes outs tonight, he is also glad that Burnett is out of there, but strikes out for the fourth time. When did that last happen to him? Nady pops up shallow RF and Rios makes the final out. Jays hitters come through at the end to win this but thanks to Damon’s error. But tonight belongs to Burnett.

Win number sixteen for AJ and save number 24 for Ryan. But more important Jays are just one game behind Yankees now for third place. Watch for big revenge by Yankees tomorrow, they will not like tonight’s performance and I don’t think A-Rod and Giambi will duplicate tonight. CF position might be a different player for the Yankees though..

Jays hitters hammer Red Sox. Rios comes alive.

Toronto v Boston. Sunday August 17, 2008.
Jays would love to win this one and get back to Toronto having taken two from Red Sox. But this will be a very tough one with Beckett pitching. They know that any wins against Boston helps them to get closer to that wild card spot, however improbable it may seem right now. It is doable but they have to play above the standard of play they have given the last couple of months. I still refer to the May 20-10 record of the Gibbons era. If Jays hitters can do better than that in August and September then I will become a believer of the new coaching staff. So far there is still too much inconsistency from Rios in particular but many of the others in the lineup. My other concern is the lack of intensity from the team. They have to start to believe in themselves and their talents. They will not have the swagger of Yankees and Boston but should look at Tampa for belief in abilities and how that has driven the Rays all season long since Day 1 of Spring training. Perhaps winning will help. Rios had a great game last night, will he continue or will he get careless again? Important for Boston to win this game also as they leave on a nine game road trip after today.

Pitching: Marcum (7-5, 3.42 ERA) v Beckett ( 11-8, 3.92 ERA)
Lineups: Toronto Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Barajas, Overbay, Wilkerson, McDonald, and Marcum pitching. Cito is staying with the same lineup as yesterday and why not. They played very well all-round, bats, glove and pitching.
Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Drew, Bay, Lowrie, Cora, Varitek and Lester pitching.
What they are saying: Halladay on Boston hitting: “You can't get caught up on how a team's going - good or bad. Sure they were swinging the bats good against Texas. I look at quality pitches. I try to avoid who's hot and who's not."
Wells on Halladay: "I don't think he's too worried about who's at the plate. He can pause a game plan and work against hitters. He pumps strikes and makes it easier for guys behind him. It's impressive to watch."
Pedroia on Halladay: " He should make a pitching video. He's pretty tough. He throws strikes. He's got great stuff and it's tough to get into a rhythm on him because he's creating his own rhythm for himself. We didn't get anything going."
Cito on Halladay: "Doc is pitching like a Hall of Famer pitches. He's been doing that for years, when he stays healthy." Francona on Beckett: "He looks like he's primed to go ahead and be the guy that we need,"
Marcum: "I'm locating my fastball now and that makes things a little easier for me," The right-hander beat Boston after giving up three runs and three hits in seven innings of a 6-3 win on April 4, moving to 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA in four career starts against the Red Sox.


Result: Jays hammer Boston 15-4. Yes, 15 is the score and In Fenway to take two game series and pull two back from Boston in wild card race.

The good: Hitting, pitching and defence. 22 hits for the bats. Alex with five hits, Lind with second HR in two games. Seven players with more than one hit today. Marcum shaky but gets the win. Bullpen holds it. FOUR double plays turned by the Jays defence.
The bad: What could I find with this today… LOB 11 and RISP 10/25 THAT is not good but is hidden in this blowout. What if…. Five more hits?

The game: Top 1st: Inglett, strikes out but fouled off several, good at bat for Joe. Scutaro one down.singles first pitch by Cora into LF. Rios now, what game has he brought today? Alex doubles first pitch into LF corner, Scutaro to 3B. Two in scoring position for Vernon now, full count. Walks him, maybe semi-intentional. bases loaded for Lind. One down. 2-0 count.singles into LF Wells scores, Bat=y bobbls ball. And Rios also scores, 2-0 Jays. Wells to 3B. Barajas at bat with two on, hit on arm, loads bases again, one down. Overbay at bat 2-0 count. Singles into RF, Wells and Lind score, 4-0 Jays. Wilkerson at bat grounds to Youkilis, bobbles ball and can only get Wilkerson at 1B to Beckett, Barajas and Overbay in scoring position for McDonald. Aardsma already up in Boston bullpen. 29 pitches. two strike count and doubles it off the Green Monster, Barajas and Overbay score 6-0 Jays. Inglett for second time this inning grounds to Cora at SS, throw to 1B for third out. Great start for the Jays, now Marcum just has to relax and pitch. He knows that this team can get these runs back in one inning let alone over nine. 36 pitch inning for Beckett, OUCH bigtime.
Bottom 1st: Ellsbury at bat, singles to RF. One on for Pedroia grounds to McDonald, to Inglett to Overbay, Double play perfect. Ortiz at bat two down, full count. Walks Ortiz. Youkilis at bat, strikes out. That’s the way Marcum. 18 pitches.

Top 2nd: Yankees hammering Kansas 10-2 in the second inning. Scutaro at bat, singles into RF. 2-2 today. Rios at bat, grounds to Cora, throw to Pedroia 2B on to Youkilis 1B double play, two down. Wells at bat. Strikes out. 46 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Drew at bat walks, second walk today for Marcum. Bay at bat one on strikes out looking. One down, one on for Lowrie. Singles to Rios in Rf. Two on one down. Cora at bat, lines out to Wells nice catch and throw to Inglett to double up Drew. Very nice play Vernon, good to see him in CF. Gets Marcum out of trouble here. 36 pitches.

Top 3rd: Lind at bat, turns on this one and this one is out of here in RF bigtime HR to Adam. 7-0 Jays. Barajas at bat, WHOA this pitch went way over head of both Barajas and the umpire, Beckett not happy right now, strikes out. One down. Overbay at bat, drives this one into CF this should be two, yes, double for Lyle. Here comes Francona, Beckett is out of here. 54 pitches 2 1/3 innings, shortest outing of the season for Beckett. One down, one in scoring position. Aardsma, with Wilkerson at bat, doubles n to RF corner Overbay scores, 8-0 Jays and Wilkerson gets to 3B, triple for Brad. McDonald at bat, with Wilkerson at 3B. strikes out, two down. Inglett at bat, two down, one on. Lines hard to Cora at SS. Great catch by Cora.
Bottom 3rd: Marcum needs to close the door here, he has been helped out of trouble by the two double plays so far but he cannot hope for that all game. Varitek’s first at bat !!! Inglett has already had three. Singles into LF. Ellsbury pops up to LF, Wilkerson calls off Johnny Mc for the catch. One down. Pedroia strikes out. Two down. Ortiz with one on. 3-1 count, Marcum pitches him carefully again, full count. strikes out. Marcum’s pitch count is getting high here. 51 pitches for first three innings.

Top 4th: Drew replaced by Jeff Bailey in RF. Scutaro at bat, strikes out looking. Not a great at bat Marco. Rios at bat, doubles high off the Green Monster, just misses HR. Wells at bat with Alex at 2B. 3-1 count. Vernon walks. Lind at bat, with two on and one down. Doubles off the Monster, Rios scores 9-0 Jays. Vernon at 3B. Barajas at bat, with two in scoring position and one down, full count. Grounds to Lowrie throw to Youkilis 1B for second out. Overbay now with two in scoring position. 3-0 count. Walks bases loaded for Wilkerson. Francona out again. That’s it for Aardsma. Timlin now pitching. Grounds to Pedroia at 2B. throw to Youkilis for the third out leaving bases loaded.
Bottom 4th: Youkilis 3-0 count. Marcum has not been sharp today at all. This one is out of here, HR to CF over Vernon’s head. 9-1 Jays. Bailey at bat. Jays do not want to even give a glimmer of hope to Red Sox, they can score very quickly in Fenway, Toronto should be burying Boston here, take no prisoners. Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for first out. Bay at bat one down. 3-0 count and walks on four pitches. Lowrie at bat one on one down. This game will be a little longer ! than last night. It was almost over this time last night, another full count, and another walk. 75 pitches for Marcum. Bullpen is ready and rested after last night plus day of tomorrow. Cito will not hang around long with Marcum. Cora singles it into RF. Bases loaded. Now the bullpen working, Jesse Carlson warming up. Varitek at bat with bases loaded. Grounds to Inglett, flip to McDonald on to Overbay another double play. Marcum escapes again bigtime this time. 83 pitches.

Top 5th: Crisp now in CF, Ellsbury to RF, Bailey to 1B for Youkilis. Cash at catcher. McDonald at bat, singles to LF, 2-3 today. Inglett 0-4 today, singles to RF, two on no outs for Scutaro. Bucholz up in bullpen. Grounds to Cora at SS great diving play, Throw to 2B to get Inglett. Two on one down for Rios. Doubles into LF corner, his third double of the afternoon. McDonald scores 10-1 Jays. Two in scoring position for Wells, hitless so far today. Head music here from Timlin. Hits the ground. Vernon make him pay for that one. Grounds to Cora, throw to Bailey at 1B. Two down for Lind. Fly ball out to Bay in LF. Jays leave two more in scoring position.
Bottom 5th: Marcum has to be careful here, he has been very lucky so far today. Probably his last inning anyway with 83 pitch count. Ellsbury at bat. Lines out to Rios in RF. One down. Pedroia at bat,another full count. Grounds to Johnny Mc throw to Overbay for second out. Ortiz at bat, pops it up to Scutaro behind 3B.

Top 6th: Clay Bucholz pitching. Barajas at bat hitless today, full count, walks. Overbay at bat fly ball out to Bay in LF corner, one down. Wilkerson at bat, strikes out. Two down for McDonald. Doubles high off the wall in LF. Barajas coming home and safe. 11-1 Jays. Inglett at bat, lines it hard to Ellsbury in RF.
Bottom 6th: Shawn Camp pitching. Crisp grounds a rocket to 3B, gold glove reaction play by Scutaro. Throw to Overbay for the out. Great throw from the knees. Bailey doubles to RF corner, Alex throw not in time. Bay at bat one down and one in scoring position.Strikes out. Two down. Lowrie at bat triples over head of Wells into CF. Bailey scores. 11-2 Jays. Cora lines hard back to Camp, nice play throw to Overbay to get the third out and leave Lowrie at 3B.

Top 7th: Justin Masterson now pitching. Scutaro at bat, grounds to Cora at SS throw to Bailey at 1B for the out. Rios at bat, doubles AGAIN number four today !! off the Monster in LF. Ties the club record with four in one game. Wells at bat singles into LF Alex to 3B. Lind once again for the cycle. Needs a triple though. Grounds to 2B throw to Bailey and Rios scores 12-2 Jays. Barajas at bat Vernon at 2B. Two down. Strikes out. 17 hits for Jays today.
Bottom 7th: Carlson pitching, Cash at bat, grounds to McDonald at SS, throw to Overbay for the first out. Litsch up in the bullpen. Ellsbury at bat. strikes him out, great pitch Jesse. Pedroia at bat, two down. HR in the seats on the wall in LF corner. 12-3 Jays. Casey pinch hitting for Ortiz. Strikes out looking. Nice pitching Jesse.

Top 8th: Casey in as DH. Okajima pitching. Overbay at bat doubles to CF. Jays hitters are hot today. Wilkerson strikes out one down for McDonald who has had a great game today with bat and glove. Fly ball out to Crisp in CF this time, but has hit the ball well today. Inglett at bat with two down and one on. Yes Joe singles to CF, Overbay scores 13-3 Jays. Scutaro with one on, singles to CF, Inglett to 2B. Rios having a great afternoon with four doubles, singles to LF, Inglett scores, Scutaro to 2B. Alex a five hit afternoon. We have waited a long long time this season to see him hot like this. 14-3 Jays. Vernon at bat with two on and two down. Wells doubles to LF Scutaro scores 15-3 Jays. Rios to 3B. Lind at bat, hitting for cycle for the third time !!! how often does that happen ? Alex and Vernon both in scoring position. Lind grounds to Cora at SS throw to.Bailey at 1B for the final out. Jays score three with two out.Excellent clutch hitting today.
Bottom 8th: League pitching. Crisp full count and walks. Not what Cito wants to see here. Bailey grounds to McDonald flip to Inglett on to Overbay, another double play, Jays pitchers have been rescued bigtime by doubleplays today. Bay at bat two down, strikes out.

Top 9th: Papelbon now pitching for the work. Barajas strikes out. Overbay strikes out. Two down for Wilkerson fly ball out to Crisp in CF. Quick thre up and down for Papelbon.
Bottom 9th: Ryan also pitching for the work. Lowrie doubles to right centre, Cora at bat grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay is wild, Lowrie scores. Error on Scutaro, he probably should have held that one. 15-4 Jays. Cash at bat full count grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for the first out. Ellsbury at bat pops up to McDonald at SS. Two down for Pedroia strikes out, Jays win 15-4.

Halladay, defence and power hits beat Boston in Fenway

Series opener Toronto v Boston in Fenway. Saturday August 16, 2008.
Another huge series for Jays, Any win here will pull Boston back to them in wild card race which is the only race that Jays are in at this time. Jays last night’s game rained out so this a two game series before Jays head back to Toronto for Yankees series. Boston has five players over .300 average. Jays have no one. Boston also has four hitters with more RBIs.

Pitching: Halladay (13-9 .272 ERA). v Byrd, Jays faced and lost against Byrd last week when he was playing for Cleveland, so goes the last month in MLB.
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Lind, Barajas, Overbay, Wilkerson, McDonald, and Halladay pitching.
Boston: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, Youkilis, Drew, Bay, Lowrie, Casey, Varitek and Byrd pitching.

Result: Jays win 4-1.

The very good: Halladay on his own, complete game.

The good: Alex HR and triple came to play tonight. Lind HR and great defense behind Halladay, two double plays, Scutaro and Wilkerson catches.

The bad: Nothing tonight.

Top 1st: Inglett single to LF first pitch. One on for Scutaro, Inglett picked off at 1B, MAN this kid., get your head sorted out Joe. You are your own worst enemy. He was way off 1B. Scutaro singles to RF, Inglett’s brain lapse even worse here. Rios at bat, let’s hope he is not brain dead tonight.. he had his day off yesterday with rain out. He was just awful in Detroit. Gets hold of this one aiming at Green Monster. HR Rios. 2-0 Jays. Wells gets some chin music from Byrd. Pops it up to Pedroia at 2B, two down. Lind at bat, gets hold of one and long fly ball out into deepest part of Fenway in CF. Jays take early lead but could have been more but for Inglett’s error. You can’t give Boston anything Joe and definitely not at Fenway. 15 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Ellsbury strikes out on three pitches. One down for Pedroia grounds to Overbay throw to Halladay two down. Ortiz singles to LF wall. Youkilis with one on and two down. 3-0 count. Walks him. Drew at bat with two on. Lines out hard to CF for Wells. Nice catch Vernon. No damage for Halladay. 14 pitches.

Top 2nd: Barajas at bat singles up the middle, Overbay with one on, pops it up to Varitek behind plate, one down. Wilkerson at bat, one on one down. Pops it up to Youklis at 3B, not a good at bat by Wilkerson. two down. McDonald at bat, grounds up middle to Perdroia throw to Lowrie for third out. 31 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Bay singles into shallow LF. Lowrie at bat with one on lines hard to Overbay at 1`B steps on bag and doubles up Bay just a few feet off the bag. Casey at bat two down grounds out to Overbay for the third out.24 pitches. Rain starting again. We don’t need this tonight with Halladay pitching and winning right now.

Top 3rd: Top of the order again. Let’s hope Inglett has learned something. 3-0 count. Full count, singles up the middle, 2-2 tonight. Now stay on base Joe. Scutaro with one on. Lines out hard to Pedroia, throw to 1B but Inglett safe. One down for Rios fly ball out to Ellsbury CF two down. Wells at bat, that was the pitch Vernon right down the middle and lay off it, grounds next pitch to Lowrie SS throw to 2B for third out. 45 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Varitek at bat, full count, singles into RF. Halladay doesn’t appear sharp tonight. And no great curve ball so far. Ellsbury grounds to McDonald flip to Inglett, steps on bag to get Varitek, throw not in time at 1B. Ellsbury safe but one down. Pedroia grounds to Scutaro throw to Inglett on to Overbay, that IS a double play. 34 pitches.

Top 4th: Lind at bat, high fly ball to RF corner, one down. Adam just got under that one. Barajas at bat, soft liner to Lowrie at SS, two down for Overbay, lines it off Byrd’s foot into foul ground at 3B. Lyle safe at 1B. One on two down for Wilkerson. Grounds to Pedroia flip to Casey at 1B. 62 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Ortiz at bat, pops up to Scutaro at 3B, one down. Youkilis at bat, lines hard to Scutaro diving catch for the out, great catch Marco. Two down. Drew at bat, bounces to McDonald, throw to Overbay for third out. Great inning for Halladay, his best so far. 42 pitches.

Top 5th: McDonald at bat, grounds to Lowrie throw to Casey for the first out. Inglett 2-2 tonight. Does he have Byrd’s number ? No, grounds out to Casey for second out. Scutaro at bat, two down. grounds to Lowrie, throw not in time Scutaro beats it out. Rios at bat, two down one on. Grounds to Youkilis at 3B throw to 2B to get Scutaro. 74 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Bay singles into shallow CF. One on for Lowrie strikes out looking, one down one on for Casey bounces to Inglett tags Bay, but throw wide and pulls Overbay off the bag safe at 1B. Inglett should have flipped to McDonald at 2B, he would have had better chance at the double play. Varitek with two down and one on, pops up to Inglett at 2B. Inglett breathes again, no damage done. 54 pitches.

Top 6th: Wells loops this one, great over shoulder catch by Pedroia at 2B. Lind gets hold of this one over the wall in LF, HR to Adam. 3-0 Jays. Barajas fly ball to LF corner. Bay makes the catch. Two down. Overbay at bat, two down. Gets hold of this one and long fly ball out at CF wall by Ellsbury. Excellent catch at the wall. Jays hitters letting go here, but only Lind scores. Quick and short inning for Byrd. 80 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Ellsbury at bat, grounds to Scutaro, throw in time at 1B to get Ellsbury, one down for Pedroia. Fly ball out to Wells in CF. Two down. Ortiz at bat, lines hard to LF, Wilkerson great leaping catch at the wall to get Ortoz. Defence has been excellent so far behind Halladay. 68 pitches.

Top 7th: Wilkerson at bat, should be fired up after that catch. Lines out to right center, Drew makes great running catch to rob Wilkerson of a double here. McDonald grounds to Pedroia for second out. Inglett at bat, grounds to Pedroia throw to Casey at 1B for third out, Three up and down quickly here. 88 pitches. I wish these guys would take a few, Byrd could and should be out of the game by now.
Bottom 7th: Youkilis fly ball out to Rios in RF. One down. Drew singles to RF. Bay 2-2 tonight. Grounds to Scutaro, throw Inglett on to Overbay another double play to help Halladay here. This team has a bundle of IOUs for Roy this season and he is cashing some of them in tonight. 80 pitches.

Top 8th: Scutaro at bat. Delcarmen and Kopez up in Boston bullpen. Fly ball out to Drew in RF, one down. Rios now 3-0 count. Gets hold of this one into CF, off the CF wall over head of Ellsbury, three bases here. Wells with Alex at 3B. Bring him in Vernon. That’s my man Vernon, singles up the middle into CF, 4-0 Jays. That’s it for Byrd tonight. 96 pitches. Lind at bat with Vernon at 1B and one down. Javier Lopez now pitching. Strikes out. Two down for Barajas pops it up to Pedroia in shallow center for third out.
Bottom 8th: Lowrie pops it up to Inglett at 2B. Casey at bat one down, singles to LF. Varitek with one on and one down. Timlin up in Boston bullpen. Varitek full count, strikes him out. GREAT pitching Roy. Two down for Ellsbury, grounds first pitch to Inglett, throw to Overbay to get Ellsbury for third out. 93 pitches.

Top 9th: Overbay at bat, full count, good patient at bat by Lyle here, strikes out this time. Wilkerson at bat grounds to 2B Pedroia throw to Casey for second out at 1B. McDonald at bat, 0-3 tonight. Grounds to Youkilis throw to Casey for third out.
Bottom 9th: Pedroia at bat, first pitch, this one is hit hard, hard, hard and is out of here above Green Monster. 4-1 Jays. Ortiz now no outs. BJ Ryan up pitching in bullpen. No lead is safe in this place. Grounds to Inglett deep behind Overbay on the shift right for Ortiz. One down. Youkilis full count, lines out to Inglett at 2B. Two down. Drew at bat two down, strikes him out. Number eight complete game by Halladay. 110 pitches.

Cito and coaching staff blow this one bigtime for Litsch.

Toronto v Detroit series closer. Thursday August 13, 2008.

Preview: Big game here today. Jays have great chance to sweep Tigers for first ever four game sweep. Jays have gone 20-12 since July 8 to pull within eight games of wild card-leading Boston and more crucial head to head series ahead. Wells is 5-for-11 with a homer and seven RBIs so far in the series. Gallarago has been Detroit’s best pitcher this season.

Pitching: Gallarrago (10-4, 3.23 ERA) v Litsch (8-7, 4.46 ERA) Galarrago gave up three hits in 5 1-3 shutout innings to earn a 5-1 win at Toronto on April 21. Litsch is pitching first game since recall from Syracuse.
Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Stairs, Lind, Overbay, Zaun, McDonald and Litsch pitching.
Detroit: Grandesron, Polanco, Ordoinez, Cabrera, Sheffield, Joce, Renteria, Inge, Sardinha and Gallarrago pitching.

The result: Jays lose 5-1. Same result as last Galarrago game in Toronto in April.
The good: Lyle’s HR, Defense by Johnny Mc. Defense by Vernon in the eighth to show Alex how that position should be played. Inglett for his bat and glove. Not least Jesse Litsch who pitched a great game and more than enough to win this one. Welcome back Jesse.

The bad: Rios in the eighth not coming home from third base for the second run on contact and easy chance to score. He can’t hesitate once let alone twice as he did. But then this is Rios.

The very bad: Coaching staff. One not sending Rios on contact in the eighth inning from 3B for run two, and then in the bottom of the eighth Cito Gaston for bringing in Frasor for Carlson after Jesse already had one out on two pitches. Frasor is gasoline on a fire in that situation and especially with runners on and in clutch situations. He loses his nerve or something.

What they are saying: Leyland: "This is dangerous, because we're doing just enough to lose right now. That's not good. We have to start doing the things that it takes to win."

Wells playing DH last night: "It's kind of like a day off, but not really. It just kind of gives the legs a break, trying to get back, instead of overworking them and trying to do too much."

Litsch on demotion to Syracuse: "I went down there open-minded. I didn't know when I was coming back, but I'm happy that I'm back here now. I'm just ready to get after it again."

The game: Top 1st: Inglett singles to RF, Scutaro grounds to 2B Polanco throw to Renteria at 2B to get Inglett. Scutaro at 1B. Rios at bat, what mood is this guy in today? grounds to 3B Inge throw to second Polanco at 2B to get Scutaro. Rios safe at 1B. Wells at bat, one on two down grounds to Renteria SS throw to Cabrera for third out.
Bottom 1st: Granderson lead off fly ball out to Rios in RF, one down. Polanco pops out to Inglett at 2B. Two down for Ordonez, full count and walks. Jesse not usually walking hitters. Cabrera with two down, grounds to Overbay at 1B on to Inglett and Litsch for the third out.

Top 2nd: Stairs in one of his mini slumps, strikes out. One down for Lind. Lind walks. One on one down for Overbay fly ball out to Joyce in LF, two down for Zaun in today for Barajas after night game. Zaun strikes out for third out.
Bottom 2nd: Sheffield playing today after his ejection last night for tossing his bat in disgust at te calls behind the plate. Sheffield strikes out. One down for Joyce strikes out. Litsch loving this. Two down and no one on base. Renteria changes that and singles to LF. Inge at bat, playing 3B today and Sardinha behind the plate, now Inge hit by a pitch, Renteria moves to 2B and Jesse has two on base for Sardinha. Sardinha grounds out to Litsch throw to Overbay for third out at 1B.

Top 3rd: McDonald grounds to Renteria at SS and beats out the throw to 1B. Nice hustling Johnny Mc. One on for Inglett strikes out. One down. Scutaro fouls out to Joyce in LF. Rios strikes out. I am not quite sure what we all want to see from Alex’s bat, but I know that is definitely not strikeouts. Will we ever see the power that he had up until last year’s All-Star Home Run contest and that seemed to vanish the day after not to be seen again.
Bottom 3rd: Granderson walked on a full count. Granderson at 1B Polanco grounds to McDonald, throw to Inglett on to Overbay double play ball. Ordonez grounds to McDonald throw not in time to get Ordonez, Cabrera two down one on. Litsch 56 pitches. full count. grounds to Litsch throw to Overbay for the out. No damage.

Top 4th: Wells at bat. Grounds to Inge 3B, throw to Cabrera one down. Stairs at bat grounds to Inge 3B, throw to 1B two down. Lind at bat two down. pops up to Joyce, easy three up and down for Gallarago 60 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Sgeffield. Grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Overbay for the out. Joyce at bat one down. full count. grounds to a diving Inglett throw to Overbay gets Joyce. Great play Joe. Renteria with two down. full count. lines out to Scutaro at 3B. 70 pitches.

Top 5th: Overbay at bat gets under one here and high fly ball to RF in the seats HR Lyle, 1-0 Jays. Zaun fly ball out to LF Joyce, one down for McDonald strikes out looking.Two down for Inglett singles to shallow right centre. Scutaro two down one on. bounces one to 3B line, Galaarago fumbles and Suctaro safe at 1B two on for Rios. 0-2 hitless today. 78 pitches. grounds to SS throw to 2B gets Scutaro.
Bottom 5th: Inge Fly ball out to Rios, Sardhina pops up to Inglett. Granderson two down, strikes out, Three up and down for Litsch. 87 pitches.

Top 6th: Wells first pitch (what else) grounds to SS Renteria, on to Cabrera for the out. Stairs at bat, 3-1 count and walks. See Vernon. Lind with one on, full count lines long fly ball out to Granderson in CF. Two down. Overbay at bat grounds to 2B Polanco for the third out at 1B. 94 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Maybe Litsch last inning. Polanco at bat, fly ball out to Wells in CF one down. Ordonez, gets hold of one here but long fly ball out to Lind in left centre for the second out. Cabrera lopps it into shallow centre. One on two down for Sheffield. grounds to McDonald, whirls and throws in midair to Inglett to get sliding Cabrera at 2B, great play by Johnny Mc. That’s over the hundred pitches also.111 pitches.

Top 7th: Jays hitters need some insurance here. One is by no means enough. Zaun 0-2 today, full count, gets hold of this one but long fly ball out to Ordonz at RF wall. Over the hundred pitches. McDonald 1-2 today. Fly ball out to Ordonez in RF. Two down for Inglett 2-3 today and some very good fielding plays. Strikes out looking. Number six for Gallarago today. 108 pitches.
Bottom 7th: Litsch still pitching. Ciito has no one up in bullpen … Joyce singles up the middle, lead-off hitter on base. Renteria at bat, Carlson and Frasor now warming up in buklllpen. Not quite sure why they are so late and did not start the inning. High fly ball out to Lind in LF. Inge at bat, grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Inglett at 2B throw not in time to get Inge at 1B but two down. Sardinha pops it up to Rios in shallow right centre. 112 pitches.

Top 8th: Top of the order for Jays hitters, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, surely they can add one here. Scutaro first pitch grounds to 3B throw to Canrera at 1B one down. Rios hitless today swings and misses a mile on first pitch, head in the air and leaning away from pitch. Classic Alex strike, this one is much better lines it very hard to the CF wall, triple here Alex at 3B for Vernon and one down. 3-1 count. grounds it up the middle Renteria great save and throw to 1B to get Vernon. BUT why didn’t Rios go on contact? stays at 3B. Hesitates twice and then too late. Ouch. That was a run. Rios has had trouble this month coming in from third base. He had time there if he had gone on contact. This error could be huge. Stairs grounds to 2B for the out at 1B.
Bottom 8th: Carlson pitching. Granderson at bat, shows bunt, high fly ball to Wells in right centre, great catch Vernon at the wall. One down. That’s it for Carlson one out? Cito ringing the changes here. He could have left Carlson in there. Polanco at bat. Frasor now pitching, full count. Walks him. Ordonez fly ball out to Wells in CF, for second out. Cabrera at bat, wild pitch Polanco moves to 2B. Singles to LF Polanco scores and wild throw over head of Zaun moves Cabrera to 2B. This game is tied 1-1. Here comes Gaston a little late here, he gambled and lost with Frasor over Carlson. Now an intentional walk to Sheffield, Joyce at bat with two down and two on. 3-1 count, walks him to load bases. Cito will learn that pitching Frasor with runners on is never a good idea, any Jays fan can tell him that. Renteria at bat doubles to left centre two runs score. 3-1 Tigers. .That’s it for Frasor but Cito must take the fall here. He has to know his pitching staff better than that. Camp now pitching. Inge at bat with two in scoring position. singles to LF two more runs score. 5-1 Detroit. Sardinha at bat strikes out. Big goat this inning is the Manager.

Top 9th: This should be interesting. Lind, Overbay and Zaun. Will they mail this one in for fight like contenders? I think we know the answer to that. Fernando Rodney pitching. Lind grounds out to Cabrera, one down. Overbay full count, Lyle is trying. Foul tip strikes out. Two down. Zaun at bat, two down, last gasp for Jays. 3-0 count. full count, taking him all the way. Strikes out.

Jays lose this one but in my book poor managing and coaching takes part of the blame here.

Jays win third with Vernon's grand slam and great pitching

Toronto v Detroit. Game three. Wednesday August 12, 2008

Preview: Jays need to get into that Tigers bullpen. Will they have some patience tonight against Kenny Rogers and force that pitch count up early? I doubt it, that is not the way this hitting staff coach. Which Alex Rios will be turning up tonight ? and can Jays keep pressure on the Yankees above them?

What they said: Cito on Tuesday night’s win : "This was a real team effort. It was a good win because it was a total team effort. We battled from the start. It something that we haven't done in a long time."

Manager Leyland on bullpen: "We've been losing too many games in the seventh inning and later.You can't do that." Leyland on Zumaya who had a horrible pitching outing last night and helped Jays get back into the game and win: "We're getting him checked out. We're very suspicious he's not right. He's not right - I know that for a fact. I don't know if he's hurt - but he's not right."

Cito on Purcey: “We've got to try and be patient with him and hope he learns something every time he goes out there."

Lineups: Toronto: Scutaro, Eckstein, Rios, Wells, Barajas, Lind, Overbay, Mench, McDonald and Purcey pitching.
Detroit: Granderson, Polanco, Ordonez, Cabrera, Sheffield, Raburn, Renteria, Inge, Santiago and Rogers pitching.

Pitching: Rogers (8-9, 4.92 ERA) won 8-4 against Toronto on April 18 v Purcey (1-3, 7.40ERA) makes his sixth career start and fourth since being called up from the minors on July 25. Also pitched in the same game in April and had no decision.

Result: Jays win this one 4-3 and take first three in Detroit for first time in five years. Purcey gets the win.

The good: Pitching and more pitching. Purcey followed by Frasor for two and League coming in when Downs was injured. Vernon’s grand slam. Eckstein 3-4 plus a walk.
The bad: Downs injury. Everyone is hoping he will be ok. Mench poor game tonight and wild at bats. Not a game he wants to remember.
The very bad: In a class on his own. Alex Rios. This kid has oodles of talent, no one denies it but game after game this season he appears as if his head is not in the game. His worst error tonight was dropping the fly ball out bottom of the ninth which lead to two runs and almost lost the game. He had very poor at bats, and was generally missing in action once again. Someone needs to straighten him out and quickly.

Top 1st: Scutaro leading off with Inglett not in lineup tonight. Marco grounds to Renteria at SS throw to Cabrera at 1B for the out. Eckstein doubles to RF. Making the most of his infrequent playing time. Rios pops up to Renteria at SS. Two down. Wells at DG tonight resting that hamstring, walks on four pitches.Two on two down for Barajas. Lines out to Raburn in LF leaving two on. Rogers 18 pitches.
Bottom 1st: Granderson at bat, fly ball out to Rios playing in CF tonight. One down. Polanco hit, Odronez at bat one on one down. full count strikes out, Polanco stealing and safe at 2B. Cabrera strikes out on three pitches, number two for Purcey. 21 pitches.

Top 2nd: Lind at bat, now hitting .300 again, singles into RF, this kid continues to show the pros how to do it. Overbay at bat one on, full count strikes out. One down. Mench at bat, playing in RF tonight. Fly ball out to Granderson in CF, two down for Johnny Mc. Lind still out there on 1B not a threat to steal with his lack of speed. Grounds to Polanco at 2B, throw to Cabrera for third out. 37 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Sheffield at bat, pops it up to McDonald at SS. one down for Raburn, fly ball out to Mench in RF. Renteria at bat, two down, walks. Inge at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF. 29 pitches.

Top 3rd: Top of the order Scutaro at bat, walks. Eckstein at bat, running bunt up the line and dives to beat out the throw, great hustle by Eckstein, two one no outs for Rios. Grounds it to Santaigo at 3B, wicked bounce off his glove and all runners safe, bases loaded and no outs for Vernon. Alex very lucky that was not a double play. Vernon first pitch pulling this one high and hard to LF almost a line drive over the head of Raburn, this one is out of here fast. GRAND SLAM for Vernon. 4-0 Jays. Barajas grounds to SS Renteria throw to Cabrera for first out. Lind at bat just pulls this one foul in RF. That could have been run number five. Goes the other way this time to the LF corner. Foul. Full count strikes out looking. Two down for Overbay. Fly ball out to Granderson in CF. But Jays have a nice lead for Purcey early. Vernon will want to to DH again…. he was a very happy guy there. 56 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Santiago at bat, WHOA ! gets hold of this one but Lind gets it right in the LF corner, that looked out. One down instead. Granderson fly ball out to Rios in shallow CF. Two down. Polanco grounds first pitch to McDonald at SS throw to Overbay for third out. Three up and down quick for Purcey, he had to hold them there and did. 39 pitches.

Top 4th: Mench first pitch fly ball out to Granderson in CF. Not another one. McDonald at bat, we need a twelve pitch at bat here Johnny. Not this time three and that is it. Four pitches two outs, Scutaro with two down, not swinging, grounds this one to 2B Polanco. Jays hitters make it easy for Rogers three up and down, eight pitch inning. 64 pitches for Rogers.
Bottom 4th: Ordonez at bat, pops it up to McDonald at SS. One down. Cabrera at bat, high fly ball here to RF. Mench fooled at first but gets back to make the catch over his head. Two down. Sheffield walks. Raburn at bat one on, two down. pops it up to Eckstein at 2B. Purcey holding that lead. 58 pitches.

Top 5th: Eckstein at bat golfs this one HIGH just foul in LF corner, that one had the height. Right field this time but fly ball out to Ordonez in RF. One down. Alex, lucky last at bat, grounds to Renteria throw to get Rios at 1B. Two down. Wells at bat, first pitch grounds to Polanco at 2B throw to Cabrera for a very quick six pitch inning. 71 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Renteria at bat, strikes out. Number three for Purcey. Inge at bat, one down, strikes out. Santiago with two down. 3-0 count. back to full count, fouling several off here, lines it into shallow RF. First hit off Purcey tonight. Granderson at bat, grounds to Overbay for the out. NO damage for Purcey here.86 pitches though.

Top 6th: Barajas at bat, pops up first pitch ! to 3B Santiago. This is why Rogers pitch count is 15 less than Purcey. Lind now has to take a few and does. This kid has a head, thinks at bat. 3-0 count. and walks on a full count. eight pitch at bat just for Adam. Overbay, one down. Lines one into left centre but Granderson dives for this one to make a great catch and rin Overbay of at least a single. Mench first pitch !! grounds to Polanco. Throw to Cabrera for the out. He has a grand total of two pitches for his last two at bats. Rain is arriving.
Bottom 6th: Could be Purcey’s last inning. Detroit hitters are not the first pitch free swingers tonight like the Jays. Polanco grounds to McDonald throw to Overbay just gets him. Ordonez with one down. Loops it over 2B Eckstein into shallow CF. Cabrera pops it up in foul ground but Overbay cannot get it. Grounds to Eckstein throw to McDonald on to Overbay, double play ball. Purcey escapes damage and maybe gets another inning. 99 pitches.

Top 7th: Jays hitters have vanished again after Vernon’s grand slam in the third inning. McDonald to lead off. Pops it up foul to Cabrera same place as Overbay in last inning and also cannot get it. A life for Mc. Makes them pay and singles here to LF but trying to stret it and is thrown out at 2B, Johnny Mc running skills have been lacking all season with similar plays like that. Scutaro grounds to Santiago at 3B fumbles it and Scutaro beats out the throw at 1B. Error to Santiago.Now Johnny Mc’s error looms large here. Eckstein at bat, one on and one down. Rain hard now. Singles to LF. This could have been another run if Johnny Mc had held. Two on, one down for Rios. Can he do something? Swinging away at first two pitches but fouling off, where is his home run stroke? Rogers complaining to umpire about rain but no joy. It is only Alex here Kenny. 100 pitches, full count. That’s it, umpires call it.
Rain delay. Resumes at 9.46. 47 minute delay.
Francis Beltran now pitching on a full count. Alex is he taking first pitch? Grounds to SS Renteria gets Eckstein at 2B. Wells now with two on and two down. Swings at ball two and ball three. Fly ball out to CF.Granderson. Jays fail to score and leave two more on. Not very smart at bats by Alex and Vernon. Jays have left six on tonight and are 2/6 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 7th: Frasor pitching. Have not seen him this week. Sheffield at bat. strikes out looking, great pitch by Frasor. Sheffield not happy with the call and is thrown out by umpire for tossing his bat. Raburn at bat, one down, fly ball out to Lind in LF. Two down. Renteria at bat, grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay for third out. Good inning from Frasor.

Top 8th: Barajas at bat, 0-3 tonight, grounds to Santiago throw to Cabrera one down. Lind at bat 1-3 tonight, including one hit and one walk, strikes out swinging, Overbay two down, full count, walks, nice patient at bat by Lyle. Mench, gets the gold medal for first pitch outs tonight, takes one here, wild pitch now to let Lyle get to 2B. Mench has runner in scoring position now. Strikes out. A night to forget for Kevin. Jays 2/7 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 8th: Frasor still pitching. Inge at bat, fly ball out to Rios in CF, one down. Santiago at bat, one down, lines out to Scutaro at 3B two down. Granderson at bat. fly ball out to Lind. Good pitching by Frasor six up and down. Carlson up in bullpen.

Top 9th: Jays have not scored since Vernon’s grand slam in the third inning. But have left plenty on and in scoring position. Can they change that here? Crowd has evaporated. McDonald at bat. grounds to Renteria throw to Cabrera one down. Downs pitching in bullpen. Scutaro gets hold of this one but lines out to Raburn in LF. Two down. Eckstein at bat 3-4 tonight. Don’t forget me Cito…. Walks. Alex Rios at bat, 1-4 tonight but lucky to get that hit on a rough bounce to Santiago at 3B that lead to the grand slam by Vernon. Grounds here to Polanco at 2B and throw to Cabrera for the third out.
Bottom 9th: Downs pitching in a non-save situation. Polanco at bat full count, walks leadoff hitter. Ordonez at bat one on, singles to the RF wall. Polanco gets to 3B. Two on and no outs. Scott Downs is on the ground as he backs up the throw from RF, twists his ankle or worse, is now helped off the field, that is definitely not good for the Jays pitching staff, Downs has been almost unhittable. League now pitching, Cabrera at bat. League gets as much time as he needs to warm up here. Tigers crowd getting excited here for first time tonight. Grounds to Scutaro throw to Overbay to get the out. Polanco scores 4-1. It is outs the Jays need. One down Ordonez on at 2B Matt Joyce pinch hitting for Sheffield who was ejected last at bat. Gets hold of this one high fly ball to right centre, Alex gets there and drops the ball. Man that kid drives us all crazy. Error on Alex. Runners at 2B and 3B. Raburn at bat with two on now tying run at plate, strikes him out on a great pitch. Two down now. Renteria same situation follow through with bat hits Barajas on the elbow but ok. 0-2 count lines it to the wall in RF both runners score, 4-3 Jays. Two down. Runner Renteria at 2B. Cito is out but leaves League in there. Tie run in scoring position. Inge at bat Crowd going crazy. 1-2 count. strikes him OUT…..
Yes Brandon, great pitching despite Alex’s best efforts to play for the Tigers tonight. Jays win this one 4-3 and move another one closer to the Yankees. Just two behind them now.
Tomorrow Litsch now pitching instead of Halladay who is moved back for Boston series at Fenway. Jays are still making a difference.

Jays come from behind to win big and Burnett win number fifteen

Toronto v Detroit Game two. Tuesday August 12, 2008.

Preview: Jays need to build on last night’s good all round play, hitting, pitching and defense. Burnett going for his career leading number fifteenth win.

What they said: Burnett : "It's big for us to hopefully keep on a good run here because we're far from out of it right now.That's the team attitude. We want to keep winning ballgames and make it interesting."
Cito :" (last night) We played like you'd like to see about 95 games a year," he said. "We pitched well, we hit the ball in key situations and we played some good defense."

Changes for Jays today: Richmond has been moved to the bullpen. Litsch has been recalled Parrish was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Lineups: Toronto: Inglett, Scutaro, Rios, Wells, Stairs, Barajas, Lind, Overbay, McDonald and Burnett pitching. Cito never changes a good thing… and why should he?
Detroit: Granderson, Polanco, Guillen, Ordonez, Cabrera, Joyce, Sheffield, Renteria, Inge and Miner pitching.

Pitching: Zach Miner (6-4, 3.57) v A J Burnett (14-9, 4.62 ERA)
Result: Jays win 6-4. Save number 23 for BJ Ryan.

Good : Adam Lind HR and top of the ninth sixth run to make it a two run game for Ryan. Adam 3-5 tonight and more comfortable at number seven in lineup, Johnny Mc. 12 pitch at bat in the fifth to get a walk and then 10 pitch at bat n 7th. That is 22 in two at bats. Burnett in fifth to get out of major trouble with runner at 3B and no outs. Bullpen of League, Downs and Ryan to seal the win for Burnett. Scutaro, Rios and Wells all with two hit night. Seventh inning to come back from 4-1 down and score four. Burnett to win his fifth in a row. Working hard for next year’s contract but that’s ok with the Jays fans.

Bad: I can’t be picky tonight.

Top 1st: Inglett, is he learning anything in the leadoff position? Takes first pitch, I guess yes, also second pitch, maybe. Grounds out to Polanco throw to 1B Cabrera for the out. One down for Scutaro, also takes first pitch, hmmmm. What’s going on here? fly ball out to Granderson in CF. Two down but at least they are seeing some pitches in first inning. Rios, who knows what is in his head? Singles into LF. Good start but will Vernon give him chance to steal here? Wells at bat with two down. Had a good night last night on his return from disabled list, but consistency is the name of the game and that has been missing bigtime from Jays hitters all season long. Alex stealing on pitch two and safe at 2B for number twenty nine. Full count. Strikes out on pitch number twenty. At least that is improvement.
Bottom 1st: Burnett pitching. Granderson at bat, lines out to Rios in CF. One down for Polanco, singles into CF. Guillen at bat one on one down, bounces one to Inglett throw to 2B to get lead runner Polanco. Two down. Ordonez, wild pitch and Guillen moves to 2B. Full count grounds to Overbay throw to Burnett for third out. 16 pitches.

Top 2nd: Stairs at bat strikes out looking, Barajas grounds to 3B throw to 1B for the second quick out. Lind in a mini -slump for him at least, 0-13, but should be able to relax a bit in this lineup position. I really think he was pressing too much in cleanup role when Vernon was on DL. YES indeed, gets hold of one, huge hit to right centre, this one is way back in the crowd, HR to Adam, 1-0 Jays. Overbay with two out, strikes out. 35 pitches.
Bottom 2nd: Burnett has early lead now. Cabrera at bat grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Overbay for the first out. Joyce strikes out on great curve ball. Sheffield with two down. full count. Oh dear, not good, gets hold of this one and lines it into LF bullpen to tie this one up 1-1. # 491 career. Renteria, chops it to McDonald at SS throw to Overbay for the out but damage is already done. 37 pitches?

Top 3rd: Boston are hammering Texas 10-0 in 1st inning Ortiz had two three run HR’s in the first inning… 6 RBIs already. McDonald lines out to Guillen at 3B. Inglett fly ball out to Granderson in CF, two down. Scutaro doubles into RF corner into the crowd. Alex now can he bring him in? Strikes out swinging with head in outer space. 42 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Inge at bat, full count. Grounds to Scutaro on full run throw to Overbay just gets him nice play Marco. Granderson with one down, this is trouble, lines it into RF corner for a double. Polanco fly ball out to Wells in CF, two down and Granderson holds at 2B. Guillen pops it up to Scutaro in foul territory drops the ball. Ouch. Error on Scutaro. Full count and strikes out, Scutaro off the hook. 56 pitches. High pitch count for AJ.

Top 4th: Wells at bat, singles it into CF. Stairs at bat, lines out first pitch to Granderson. One down. Barajas at bat, one down. Full count but don’t expect Vernon to be running. Very fortunate also as Barajas lines out right to 2B Polanco. Lind at bat two down, strikes out. 64 pitches.
Bottom 4th: Ordonez at bat, full count, strikes out. Number three for AJ. Cabrera at bat strikes out on three pitches. Joyce with two down, hits him hard on the back foot. Sheffield, grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Overbay for third out. 72 pitches. Looks like both pitchers will be out of this one early.

Top 5th: Overbay at bat, grounds to Polanco running to his left nice play to get Overbay. McDonald at bat, making Miner work hard for this one, fouling several off here. Full count, and walks him, 12 pitches great at bat by Johnny Mc. Inglett at bat, loops it into shallow LF. Two on one down. Scutaro at bat, fly ball out to Granderson in shallow CF. Two down McDonald cannot move up. Rios now at bat, this is where we need you Alex. Grounds to Renteria at SS throw to 2B to get Inglett. 86 pitches.
Bottom 5th: Renteria at bat, 3-1 count. Walks him. First walk tonight for AJ. Inge at bat, loops it into shallow right, Rios drops ball and Renteria goes to 3B. That should be error on Alex. Granderson at bat, pops up to McDonald, one down. Too shallow for Renteria to score. Polanco at bat, grounds to Scutaro throw to home plate gets Renteria. Two down. Guillen at bat, strikes him out. Great pitching AJ….with runner at 3B and no outs… 87 pitches.

Top 6th: Now this is where Jays hitters make Tigers pay for that. Wells at bat grounds to Renteria, throw to 1B for the out. Stairs at bat in his own slump, full count, long fly ball out to Granderson in CF. Two down. Barajas grounds slowly out to Renteria. Throw to Cabrera 1B for third out and maybe end of Miner. 103 pitches.
Bottom 6th: Baltimore losing, Boston winning and Yankees tied at the moment. Tampa yet to start in Oakland. Ordonez at bat, lines this one hard and high to RF corner, bounces back into the field umpire changes call, now HR. 2-1 Detroit. Cabrera at bat, grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Overbay, one down. Joyce at bat, strikes out. Two down for Sheffield. Bobby Seay pitching in Detroit bullpen. Gets hold of this one. HR again for Sheffield into LF corner seats. 3-1 Detroit. Renteria doubles to right centre wall. Here comes Cito. AJ stays in. Camp is now up in bullpen. Inge at bat, this is trouble doubles to LF corner, Renteria scores 4-1 Detroit. Granderson at bat, Inge stealing and great throw by Barajas to catch him. Hmmm what’s that about making last out at 3B ? Not smart ball there Brandon.

Top 7th: Jays hitters have to appear from wherever they have disappeared to. Not many games are won with one run and certainly not this one now. Texas has just scored eight in Fenway so it can be done friends. Wild game Boston 12 Texas 10… Seay pitching, Lind at bat. That’s the start Adam, singles to shallow right. Overbay at bat, one on, hitless so far tonight. Strikes out looking. Lyle is not very aggressive at bat. McDonald at bat, fouling them off again, full count, doubles here to LF what a great at bat Johnny Mc 10 pitch at bat. That is 22 in last two at bats. Perhaps he is trying out for leadoff? Inglett two in scoring position one down. Grounds to Polanco at 2B. throw to 1B gets Inglett , Lind scores. 4-2. Two down. Seay is gone. Joel Zumaya pitching. Scutaro at bat with McDonald at 3B. Just a single Marco will be fine. Yes, perfect Marco. Singles up the middle. Scores Johnny Mc. 4-3. Alex Rios at bat, can he be a hero here? don’t bet on it. Full count now. Ball four, Alex walks, Scutaro now in scoring position for the big guy. Vernon at bat two down, two on. Pitching coach out there. Expect a strike down the middle Vernon. YES Vernon, right down the middle, listen to those boos, Vernon hammers this to the left centre wall. Scutaro and Rios score and Jays go out ahead 5-4 Jays. Double for Vernon. Stairs intentional walk, not sure why as he is not hitting well at all. Playing percentages I guess. Barajas at bat, Farnsworth up in bullpen. 3-0 count now to Barajas, more boos at Comerica. Walks bases loaded on four pitches. Here comes Leyland. Farnsworth to pitch with bases loaded. Zumaya gets great reception as he walks out, but not the one he prefers. Lind at bat with bases loaded. Jays have batted around. High fly ball out to LF corner, just missed that one for a grand slam. Tigers fans cheer with relief. League to pitch and bullpen to try to save this one for Burnett. Jays hitters 2/8 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 7th: 14-14 in Fenway. Still in sixth inning. League pitching Granderson at bat, hammers it to 1B but gold glove save by Overbay and throw to League to get the out. Great play. Polanco loops single into RF. Guillen at bat, grounds it to Inglett drops ball but recovers and gets Polanco at 2B but not Guillen. Ordonez at bat, wild pitch Guillen moves to 2B. Full count, do you walk him ? No, Ordonez lines it out to Lind in LF. Good pitching for League.

Top 8th: Farnsworth pitching, Ryan Raburn replacing Guillen at 3B. Would be nice to get a couple more here. Overbay at bat, hitless tonight 0-3. Lines out right at Raburn. One down for McDonald grounds first pitch this time to Renteria to throw him out at 1B. Inglett now, can he make up for that missed double play ball last inning? Not that it hurt the team but he should be smarting. 3-0 count. Walks. One on for Scutaro. 2-4 tonight. Grounds to Raburn throw to Cabrera for third out.
Bottom 8th: Downs pitching. Cabrera at bat, grounds to Scutaro at 3B throw to Overbay for first out. Joyce at bat, strikes out inside swinging. Sheffield at bat, pops it up to McDonald for third out. Downs has done his job.

Top 9th: Big bats for Jays now need to earn their money. Rios, a single first at bat plus a walk and that is it tonight, so frustrating to see him struggle. Fredy Dolis pitching. High walk strikeout ratio. Pops it up to Renteria catches it and drops ball on collision with Joyce. Alex on 2B. he will take it. Vernon now, can he bring in Alex? Loops it to Ordonez in shallow RF. One down. Another intentional walk to Matt. Barajas at bat, BJ Ryan up in bullpen. Alex stealing and just safe at 3B. VERY close. Number 30 for the season. Wild pitch can score here. Pitch gets away Alex holds but Stairs gets to 2B. Mench now pinch running for Stairs. Another wild pitch and Rios coming this time and out at home plate, he was safe on TV replay but called out. Two down, Mench at 3B. Full count, now walks Barajas. Lind at bat, another full count. If Alex had not run this would be interesting pitch as bases would be loaded. YES Adam, singles to CF. Mench scores 6-4 Jays. Barajas moves all the way to 3B. Overbay long overdue. Lines out to Ordonez in RF.
Bottom 9th: BJ Ryan with a two run lead. Renteria at bat strikes out, one down. Inge at bat, high fly ball to shallow center for Vernon, two down. Granderson at bat, another high fly ball out to Vernon in CF.

Jays win another 6-4. BJ Ryan save number 23.