Jays v Red Sox. Game three of four.
Rough game yesterday but Jays were up against one of Boston’s better pitchers Beckett and falling four behind by second inning was the kiss of death.
Crazy stat Hill and Snider one away from career high in steals !!! Both have five each right now. I think that summarises the major change in this team from the Cito years. Aggressive baseball. Love it. Wait until Davis gets back.
Today maybe Litsch can hold them closer than Reyes did.
Lineups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Rivera, Nix. If this team lived up to the paper potential this is one heavy hitting lineup all the way down to Nix at number nine. Not much relief for a pitcher. The only problem is this is on paper. Litsch pitching.
Red Sox: Crawford, back in the line up, we all hope he keeps off the bases. No way is he going through the season with .137 average. Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Lowrie, Drew, Saltamacchia, Ellsbury and Lester pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, grounds to Youkilis, throw to first, high but gets Escobar. Patterson, strikes out, two down for Bautista.3-1 count, keeping it away from Jose. Taking iot all the way full count. Great, lifts it into right and bounces into the crowd, that was a single but he gets ground-rule double. Lind now. There goes Bautista but Lind grounds to first for the out. 19 pitches for Lester.
Bottom 1st: Added pressure on Jesse today in effect pitching for his spot in the rotation with Morrow due back this week if that rehab start today goes well in Dunedin. He had great start last time out and left with the 5-0 lead that bullpen blew up, Jesse has annoying habit of going hot and cold though from start to start. Maybe this added pressure will focus him today. Crawford leading off. Strikes out, very nice Jesse. Pedroia, grounds to Nix, throw to Lind, two down. Gonzalez, singles into centre. Youkilis, pitch gets away, Gonzalez moves up to second. Full count, looked strike three to me. Strikes him out anyway. 19 pitches.
Top 2nd: Hill leading off. Full count, Lester though it was strike no luck, and again ball four, Litsch had same thought last inning. One on for Arencibia, singles into right, two on for Snider, 2-0 Lester tightening up, 3-1 count, grounds to shirt to second on to first double play ball, Hill to third, Rivera. Long overdue Juan. Just a base hit will be fine. 2-2 count. Ball three, Ball four. That is fine Juan. Nix with two on. Rivera stealing, here comes Hill, rundown for Rivera but Hills scores before they can get Rivera, 1-0 Jays. Very nice play, caught Red Sox off balance there. 40 pitches for Lester. Baltimore losing.
Bottom 2nd: Ortiz, grounds to Lind, one down. Lowrie pops it up to left, just fair,I think Rivera could have reached that ball but he has no speed at all not that he even tried until too late, I hate that half-hearted type of play, give me Johnny Mac anyday, hustle and heart which is the Jays mantra this season, not with Rivera. Drew, singles to center but Lowrie to third on the play. Saltamacchia, singles into right, 1-1 game. Still two on and one down, Ellsbury. Oh boy gets hold of this one, into right field corner three run home run.4-1 game. Crawford, grounds to Lind, two down. Pedroia, full count, grounds to Escobar throw to first to end this one. 40 pitch count.
Top 3rd: Lester now as with Beckett yesterday can relax. Nix as he was left at plate when Hill scored and Rivera caught stealing. 3-1 count, ball four. Lester does not like umpire`s strike zone. Escobar, grounds to short, throw to second over to first, double play. Patterson, doubles to left over Crawford to the wall. Bautista, full count, Patterson will be running. Strikes out that was ball four. 53 pitches.
Bottom 3rd: Gonzalez, shift on, grounds to first pitch to Hill, throw to first one down for Youkilis. Grounds to Escobar at short, throw to first two down. Ortiz, perfect grounds to Escobar throw to first for third out and 10 pitch quick inning. 50 pitch count. Settled down nicely, that inning at least.
Top 4th: Lind leading off. Fly ball to Crawford, one down for Hill, grounds to Youkilis at third, throw to first for the second out. Arencibia, 2-2 count, strikes out, 65 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Lowrie, strikes out, Drew, strikes out, very nice Jesse, keep it up. Saltalamacchia, full count, grounds to Lind for the out. 64 pitch count.
Top 5th: Jays hitters need to get going soon here. Snider, full count, strikes out looking. Rivera, another full count, grounds to short, throws Rivera out at first. Nix, nice hit Jayson, high off the wall, but only a single, that was tough, almost out of there. Escobar, there goes Nix but fouled off. There he goes again and safe at second, full count. Pushing that pitch count up also. Escobar strikes out, but 85 pitches for Lester and only the 5th inning. Eight stolen bases at Fenway so far by Jays in this series, running wild on Boston pitching and Saltamalacchia.
Bottom 5th: Ellsbury first pitch fly ball to Bautista, one down. Crawford, bunting but Litsch fast off the mound to shovel it to Lind for the out. Two down Pedroia, fly ball to Patterson. Nine pitch inning for Jesse. Pitch count 73.
Top 6th: Now can Jays hitters see Lester out of this one. Patterson leading off. Grounds back to Lester, throw to first, one down. Bautista grounds to third, throw to first two down. Lind, 2-2 count, way to go Adam singles up the middle, great seven pitch at bat. Hill lines this to left but right at Crawford, but that is pitch number 100. Tampa and Baltimore losing 4-2.
Bottom 6th: Gonzalez, high fly ball to Patterson in centre, one down. Youkilis, full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Ortiz, singles back up the middle. Lowrie grounds to third, oh Nix mishandles. Runners safe. Nix had time to get runner but gave up, Not a good play at all. Jansen working in bullpen. Drew with two on, this could be the game here. Jesse let down by his defense. 2-2 count. Full count. Ball four. Saltalamacchia, bases loaded. 2-2, singles to right here comes two runs but Drew thrown out at plate, 6-1 game. Don`t blame Jesse on this one this was Nix bigtime who ruined it.
Top 7th: Arencibia, grounds to short, oh terrible play by Lowrie throws it way over head of first. Arencibia safe. Lowrie had plenty of time. Not sure why Lester is still out there. Francona does not have much faith in the bullpen I guess. Snider, full count. Grounds to short Lowrie another mess-up, that was double play but Snider safe at first. Very generous scorer here in Fenway give an error to Lowrie on that play but should be two this inning. Now Lester leaves, not sure why he was still in there with a five run lead. Bard now pitching. Two on nobody out. Rivera lines it at second and doubles up Snider, that was tough. Nix who started this mess last inning. Jayson owes Jesse bigtime. Full count. Ball four, two on for Escobar. Takes strike three. How can he do that.
Bottom 7th: Janssen now pitching. Ellsbury, bunts to third and now Nix throws to first for the out, where was your glove last inning when it mattered. Crawford grounds back to Janssen first pitch throw to Lind two down two pitches. Pedroia, 2-2 count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind for third out.
Top 8th: Doubront now pitching, Patterson leading off. 3-0 count, Ball four, Bautista now can Jose light this one up. Pops it up to centre right, one down. Lind, Patetrson going and easy steal. Steal number ten this series for the Jays. 3-0 count, Jays really being very patient here. Ball four, two on for Hill, one down. No Patterson picked off at third stealing not good Corey. Two down. No, Hill singles into centre, that would have been a run. Two on two down for Arencibia, here comes Francona, I can see why Boston has only won three games the bullpen is terrible. Jenks again, imploded last time out. Arencibia 2-3 today. Full count, strikes out. Patterson the goat this inning.
Bottom 8th: Camp now pitching. Gonzalez leading off. Doubles to the wall in left centre. Youkilis, hits him but he leans way over the plate and made no effort to get away from that pitch. Ortiz with two on. 2-2 count. Wild pitch and runners move up. Full count, ball four. Bases full. Lowrie. Down the line off glove of Lind two more runs. 8-1. Error to Lind. Drew with runners in scoring position. Still nobody out, full count. Strikes out, One down for Saltalamacchia pops it up to Patterson. Two down. That`s it for Camp, Frasor now. Ellsbury with two on and two down. Strikes him out looking, not good Jacob leaving two in scoring position.
Top 9th: Jays need seven to tie this one. Lets see how they go about it. Snider, Rivera, Nix. Now pitching Wheeler. Snider leading off. Hiltless tday 0-3. Pops it up, Youkilis drops the ball off his glove in foul territory. Snder pops it up again this time Youkilis has it one down., Rivera, hitless for ever and now .105 average. Pops it up to centre, probably now under .100 average, time to end this experiment. Nix last chance to redeem yourself, I imagine Johnny Mac will be playing third tomorrow. Fly ball to Crawford in left to end this one, Jjays go without a fight which Manager Farrell will not appreciate. Again hustle and heart missing in action.
Summary: The pop up to left in the second that Rivera ambles over to, Nix error in the seventh leading to runs and the glove of Lind ruined this one for the Jays today. Add in the Patterson caught stealing at third and this was one major disaster game for Jays, four of the runs on the two errors by Nix and Lind, let`s hope they got it all out today and can regroup tomorrow to try and tie the series. Baltimore and Tampa both lose so Jays stay in second but a game to forget.
The good: Litsch the pitching line does not show it but this was fine outing, ruined by two fielding plays, one by Rivera the other big one by Nix, neither of which will appear on the sheet. The aggressive play with the two steals and that is without Davis. This team will be giving lots of pitchers headaches this season.
The awful: Nix, Nix and more Nix... ruined this fine outing by Jesse with terrible play in the seventh. Had plenty of time to make the out and gave up. Add in Lind's error, the half-hearted play by Rivera which lead to two and Patterson caught stealing.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Reyes digs to deep a hole early for Jays hitters as they lose 4-1 in Fenway
Jays v Red Sox. Game two.
Big game, can the Jays take advantage of Red Sox swoon? You know that Beckett will be tough today and this Jo-Jo Reyes first game against them. Advantage ? maybe. Wind will be a factor today blowing in from right, quite strong. A few into and over the Green monster today.
Lineups: Toronto: Two changes from last night. Molina catching and Johnny Mac at 3B. Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Snider, Nix, DH today, Molina, McDonald. And Reyes pitching.
Boston: Lowrie, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Cameron, Varitek, McDonald, Ellsbury and Beckett pitching. Crawford resting today, having a really rough start with his new club. Too much fan and media pressure in Boston for some players. No Drew, Saltamacchia or Crawford today to shake it up. Maybe.
Top 1st: Escobar, grounds to Youkilis at third throw to Gonzalez at first, one down for Patterson, grounds to Gonzalez flip to Beckett, two down. Bautista, fly ball to Ellsbury in centre. 10 pitch inning for Beckett.
Bottom 1st: Lowrie leading off. Grounds to Escobar but safe at first, one on for Pedroia, bunting, fouls it off. Full count, Ball four, two on and nobody out. Gonzalez, singles to right Lowrie coming home, Boston 1-0 and nobody out ye. Two on for Youkilis. Doubles to Bautista, Pedroia scores. 2-0 Boston. Gonzalez to 3B. Ortiz with two on and nobody out. 3-1 count, walks him, 23 pitches and still nobody out. Bases loaded. Cameron, this game could be over before we get out of the first inning today. Cameron, strikes out, finally 27 pitches to get first out, not good at all. Varitek now with bases loaded. Strikes out, his reactions have slowed a lot. Darnell McDonald, grounds to Hill, throw to first and Reyes escapes major trouble here BUT 38 pitch inning is hardly a victory. Jays bullpen may be working by the third at this rate.
Top 2nd: How will Beckett feel sitting for this length of time almost half an hour? Lind leading off. Strikes out looking, one down for Hill. That’s the way Aaron, double to centre, Snider now with runner in scoring position. Way to go Travis, singles to right, here comes Hill, and Jays get one back. Nix,
Top 2nd: Nix with Snider on first, there goes Travis and Varitek throw high and safe at second. Nix strikes out looking, come on Jayson have to swing at that one. Two down for Molina, there goes Travis and takes third without a throw. Molina takes strike three. Jays get one back, now can Reyes settle down.
Bottom 2nd: Ellsbury leading off. Full count and ball four, another ten pitch at bat. Reyes definitely not long for this game at this rate. Lowrie, his second at bat, 50 pitches already for Reyes. Gets hold of this one over the Green wall, two run home run and Boston 4-1 game. Pedroia, finally an out, grounds to Johnny Mac. at 3B, throw to Lind one down. Gonzalez, 3-0 count, ball four. Reyes has nothing today. Fourth walk. Youkilis, pops up to Lind, two down. Ortiz, now a wild pitch, runner to second. Strikes out, 67 pitches for two innings work. I think you have just bought your bus ticket to Vegas Jo-Jo.
Top 3rd: Hitters playing catch up again. McDonald getting his first at bat !!! Meantime Beckett on only 32 pitch count. Strikes out looking. One down. Escobar first pitch grounds out to second, two down. Patterson, grounds to first, three up and down. 8 pitch inning and there`s the difference today. I don`t think any Boston player has been out on the first pitch. Not really necessary with Reyes walking so many, they are just waiting.
Bottom 3rd: Could be Reyes last inning. Cameron, 2-2 count, singles into centre. Varitek,WHOA !!! Varitek lines it to third, Johnny Mac makes great save and throw from knees to Hill on to first double play ball. Darnell McDonald, singles into centre. Ellsbury, plunked on the shoulder two on two down, that double play right now is huge. Lowrie, lines it to right, Bautista has it for third out. Only 85 pitches. 18 pitch inning, his best to date ! But Villanueva warming up in bullpen so he may have had his last hitter, he is not fooling any of the Red Sox hitters today.
Top 4th: Bautista to lead off. 42 pitches for Beckett. Huge difference. Grounds in front of the plate, Beckett throw to first one down. Lind, grounds up the middle but Pedroia has it and throw to first, two down. Hill, 3-0 count, full count, ball four. Snider, there goes Hill, safe without throw at second. Boston seeing a very different Toronto club this season. Aggressive running. 2-2 count on Snider, full count. Grounds to second throw to first to end this one. 61 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Reyes still out there. Not sure I agree with that. Pedroia leading off. Singles into right. Gonzalez, full count, walks him two on nobody out and that is it for Reyes BUT my argument is he should not have started the inning in the first place. Now someone else has to clean up the mess, far better to start the inning with the relief pitcher. Reyes had nothing from the first inning. Villanueva now pitching. Youkilis, I think that is the first Red Sox hitter that has had strike first pitch. Now ground ball to Hill, to Escobar over to first double play ball. Two down Ortiz with runner at third. 2-2 count, ball three just misses. Ball four bounces in. Two on two down for Cameron, 2-2 gets him, very nice pitching by Villanueva.
Top 5th: Nix leading off. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging, one down for Molina. Lines it off the wall no chance for double though. McDonald, grounds to third over to second to get Molina, but no chance to get McDonald at first. Two down. Escobar, grounds to second throw to first to end this one. 75 pitches for Beckett.
Bottom 5th: Varitek leading off, Another first pitch strike, has done this to most of his hitters so far. And that is difference from Reyes who was in trouble and deep counts and walked five. Pops up to Bautista in shallow right. One down for McDonald. Pops up to Hill at second. Ellsbury, ball four, first walk by Villanueva. Lowrie, Ellsbury stealing and Molina cannot get ball out of glove. Pops up to Snider in left at the wall. Another excellent inning for Villanueva.
Top 6th: Yankees beating Texas 3-0 in the 8th. Patterson leading off. Please don`t bunt Corey. Take some pitches. Need to get this guy Beckett out of game. Strikes out. Bautista pops it up to Pedroia. Two down for Lind, 3-1 count, ball four outside. One on two down for Hill. Strikes out, not a great at bat by Aaron there offering weakly at strike three.
Bottom 6th: Pedroia leading off. Villanueva on his fourth inning now. Will need some help soon. Fly ball to Bautista in right, one down for Gonzalez, full count, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Youkilis, strikes out, very nice pitching Carlos.
Top 7th: Now will this be the last for Beckett on 91pitches now. Snider leading off. Big inning here please Travis. Strikes out. One down for Nix, strikes out. Molina, lines it hard at Gonzalez at first, makes the catch for third out. It will be hard for Francona to bring Beckett out of this one. 101 pitch count.
Bottom 7th: Dotel now pitching. Ortiz leading off. Full count, ball four. Cameron, singles into left, two on for Varitek. I hear you Jim.... bunting back to Dotel, throw to first one down but both runners safe. Pinch hitter Drew, Pops it up to Nix, two down. Lowrie, that is it for Dotel, Perez now pitching for his first game. Ellsbury, hammers it to third, Johnny Mac makes great play turns around and throws to first for third out. Great play again. Number two today.
Top 8th: And as always here comes Johnny Mac he should be pumped after that play. Daniel Bard now pitching. 3-1 count. Grounds to short, long throw not in time. Escobar now, Bard throwing hard 96mph, there goes McDonald, out on the throw at second. One down. Escobar strikes out, two down. Patterson, lines it to first, Gonzalez takes it for the out. Jays down to their last three outs now.
Bottom 8th: Lowrie leading off. Grounds to Escobar, great play but throw not in time. Pedroia, Lowrie going on 2-2 pitch, love it strike em out throw them out as Lowrie out easily at second. Two down. Gonzalez, full count. Nice pitch, strikes him out.
Top 9th: Papelbon now pitching. Bautista leading off. Power against power. Empty stadium here at least in the upper deck, Boston fans confident this one is over. Lines it to left but at Cameron at the wall to make the catch. Lind strikes out swinging, two down for Hill. Grounds to third off the glove and throw nit in time. Snider now two down and one on. Time for a big one Travis. Hill at second, 3-0 count. Taking him all the way Hill to third. 3-1 count, Pops it up to left, Cameron falls over making catch but third out.
The great play: Johnny Mac diving save at third to start double play in the third inning. And another in seventh to end the inning with two in scoring position.
The other good: Two double plays and three stolen bases. Hill and Snider now with five each. Bullpen after Reyes hold Boston scoreless for 6.2 innings. It was just too much to come back with Beckett pitching today. Snider RBI number 10.
The goat today, Reyes had nothing from the very first and lasted just three innings, by then this one was out of reach. Definitely in line for Vegas bus.
Awful: Reyes first inning with 38 pitches. Lousy start and very lucky to escape major damage.
Big game, can the Jays take advantage of Red Sox swoon? You know that Beckett will be tough today and this Jo-Jo Reyes first game against them. Advantage ? maybe. Wind will be a factor today blowing in from right, quite strong. A few into and over the Green monster today.
Lineups: Toronto: Two changes from last night. Molina catching and Johnny Mac at 3B. Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Snider, Nix, DH today, Molina, McDonald. And Reyes pitching.
Boston: Lowrie, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Cameron, Varitek, McDonald, Ellsbury and Beckett pitching. Crawford resting today, having a really rough start with his new club. Too much fan and media pressure in Boston for some players. No Drew, Saltamacchia or Crawford today to shake it up. Maybe.
Top 1st: Escobar, grounds to Youkilis at third throw to Gonzalez at first, one down for Patterson, grounds to Gonzalez flip to Beckett, two down. Bautista, fly ball to Ellsbury in centre. 10 pitch inning for Beckett.
Bottom 1st: Lowrie leading off. Grounds to Escobar but safe at first, one on for Pedroia, bunting, fouls it off. Full count, Ball four, two on and nobody out. Gonzalez, singles to right Lowrie coming home, Boston 1-0 and nobody out ye. Two on for Youkilis. Doubles to Bautista, Pedroia scores. 2-0 Boston. Gonzalez to 3B. Ortiz with two on and nobody out. 3-1 count, walks him, 23 pitches and still nobody out. Bases loaded. Cameron, this game could be over before we get out of the first inning today. Cameron, strikes out, finally 27 pitches to get first out, not good at all. Varitek now with bases loaded. Strikes out, his reactions have slowed a lot. Darnell McDonald, grounds to Hill, throw to first and Reyes escapes major trouble here BUT 38 pitch inning is hardly a victory. Jays bullpen may be working by the third at this rate.
Top 2nd: How will Beckett feel sitting for this length of time almost half an hour? Lind leading off. Strikes out looking, one down for Hill. That’s the way Aaron, double to centre, Snider now with runner in scoring position. Way to go Travis, singles to right, here comes Hill, and Jays get one back. Nix,
Top 2nd: Nix with Snider on first, there goes Travis and Varitek throw high and safe at second. Nix strikes out looking, come on Jayson have to swing at that one. Two down for Molina, there goes Travis and takes third without a throw. Molina takes strike three. Jays get one back, now can Reyes settle down.
Bottom 2nd: Ellsbury leading off. Full count and ball four, another ten pitch at bat. Reyes definitely not long for this game at this rate. Lowrie, his second at bat, 50 pitches already for Reyes. Gets hold of this one over the Green wall, two run home run and Boston 4-1 game. Pedroia, finally an out, grounds to Johnny Mac. at 3B, throw to Lind one down. Gonzalez, 3-0 count, ball four. Reyes has nothing today. Fourth walk. Youkilis, pops up to Lind, two down. Ortiz, now a wild pitch, runner to second. Strikes out, 67 pitches for two innings work. I think you have just bought your bus ticket to Vegas Jo-Jo.
Top 3rd: Hitters playing catch up again. McDonald getting his first at bat !!! Meantime Beckett on only 32 pitch count. Strikes out looking. One down. Escobar first pitch grounds out to second, two down. Patterson, grounds to first, three up and down. 8 pitch inning and there`s the difference today. I don`t think any Boston player has been out on the first pitch. Not really necessary with Reyes walking so many, they are just waiting.
Bottom 3rd: Could be Reyes last inning. Cameron, 2-2 count, singles into centre. Varitek,WHOA !!! Varitek lines it to third, Johnny Mac makes great save and throw from knees to Hill on to first double play ball. Darnell McDonald, singles into centre. Ellsbury, plunked on the shoulder two on two down, that double play right now is huge. Lowrie, lines it to right, Bautista has it for third out. Only 85 pitches. 18 pitch inning, his best to date ! But Villanueva warming up in bullpen so he may have had his last hitter, he is not fooling any of the Red Sox hitters today.
Top 4th: Bautista to lead off. 42 pitches for Beckett. Huge difference. Grounds in front of the plate, Beckett throw to first one down. Lind, grounds up the middle but Pedroia has it and throw to first, two down. Hill, 3-0 count, full count, ball four. Snider, there goes Hill, safe without throw at second. Boston seeing a very different Toronto club this season. Aggressive running. 2-2 count on Snider, full count. Grounds to second throw to first to end this one. 61 pitch count.
Bottom 4th: Reyes still out there. Not sure I agree with that. Pedroia leading off. Singles into right. Gonzalez, full count, walks him two on nobody out and that is it for Reyes BUT my argument is he should not have started the inning in the first place. Now someone else has to clean up the mess, far better to start the inning with the relief pitcher. Reyes had nothing from the first inning. Villanueva now pitching. Youkilis, I think that is the first Red Sox hitter that has had strike first pitch. Now ground ball to Hill, to Escobar over to first double play ball. Two down Ortiz with runner at third. 2-2 count, ball three just misses. Ball four bounces in. Two on two down for Cameron, 2-2 gets him, very nice pitching by Villanueva.
Top 5th: Nix leading off. 2-2 count. Strikes out swinging, one down for Molina. Lines it off the wall no chance for double though. McDonald, grounds to third over to second to get Molina, but no chance to get McDonald at first. Two down. Escobar, grounds to second throw to first to end this one. 75 pitches for Beckett.
Bottom 5th: Varitek leading off, Another first pitch strike, has done this to most of his hitters so far. And that is difference from Reyes who was in trouble and deep counts and walked five. Pops up to Bautista in shallow right. One down for McDonald. Pops up to Hill at second. Ellsbury, ball four, first walk by Villanueva. Lowrie, Ellsbury stealing and Molina cannot get ball out of glove. Pops up to Snider in left at the wall. Another excellent inning for Villanueva.
Top 6th: Yankees beating Texas 3-0 in the 8th. Patterson leading off. Please don`t bunt Corey. Take some pitches. Need to get this guy Beckett out of game. Strikes out. Bautista pops it up to Pedroia. Two down for Lind, 3-1 count, ball four outside. One on two down for Hill. Strikes out, not a great at bat by Aaron there offering weakly at strike three.
Bottom 6th: Pedroia leading off. Villanueva on his fourth inning now. Will need some help soon. Fly ball to Bautista in right, one down for Gonzalez, full count, fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Youkilis, strikes out, very nice pitching Carlos.
Top 7th: Now will this be the last for Beckett on 91pitches now. Snider leading off. Big inning here please Travis. Strikes out. One down for Nix, strikes out. Molina, lines it hard at Gonzalez at first, makes the catch for third out. It will be hard for Francona to bring Beckett out of this one. 101 pitch count.
Bottom 7th: Dotel now pitching. Ortiz leading off. Full count, ball four. Cameron, singles into left, two on for Varitek. I hear you Jim.... bunting back to Dotel, throw to first one down but both runners safe. Pinch hitter Drew, Pops it up to Nix, two down. Lowrie, that is it for Dotel, Perez now pitching for his first game. Ellsbury, hammers it to third, Johnny Mac makes great play turns around and throws to first for third out. Great play again. Number two today.
Top 8th: And as always here comes Johnny Mac he should be pumped after that play. Daniel Bard now pitching. 3-1 count. Grounds to short, long throw not in time. Escobar now, Bard throwing hard 96mph, there goes McDonald, out on the throw at second. One down. Escobar strikes out, two down. Patterson, lines it to first, Gonzalez takes it for the out. Jays down to their last three outs now.
Bottom 8th: Lowrie leading off. Grounds to Escobar, great play but throw not in time. Pedroia, Lowrie going on 2-2 pitch, love it strike em out throw them out as Lowrie out easily at second. Two down. Gonzalez, full count. Nice pitch, strikes him out.
Top 9th: Papelbon now pitching. Bautista leading off. Power against power. Empty stadium here at least in the upper deck, Boston fans confident this one is over. Lines it to left but at Cameron at the wall to make the catch. Lind strikes out swinging, two down for Hill. Grounds to third off the glove and throw nit in time. Snider now two down and one on. Time for a big one Travis. Hill at second, 3-0 count. Taking him all the way Hill to third. 3-1 count, Pops it up to left, Cameron falls over making catch but third out.
The great play: Johnny Mac diving save at third to start double play in the third inning. And another in seventh to end the inning with two in scoring position.
The other good: Two double plays and three stolen bases. Hill and Snider now with five each. Bullpen after Reyes hold Boston scoreless for 6.2 innings. It was just too much to come back with Beckett pitching today. Snider RBI number 10.
The goat today, Reyes had nothing from the very first and lasted just three innings, by then this one was out of reach. Definitely in line for Vegas bus.
Awful: Reyes first inning with 38 pitches. Lousy start and very lucky to escape major damage.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Jays come back to win nail biter for Cecil.
Toronto v Boston, Game one.
So important for Jays to take this first game. Boston down and a loss here would put great pressure on them. But can this team do it with Lind, Hill and Snider playing so badly?
Lineups: Toronto: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Rivera, Nix and Cecil pitching.
Boston: Crawford, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Drew, Saltalamcchia, Scutaro, Ellsbury and Bucholz pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar walks, Patterson, fly ball to Ellsbury in vcentre, one down. Bautista, walks. Lind with two on, Adam needs to get it going as well. whoa, lines it to right, just over the wall, is that a home run? Umpire says fair ball, but review, this is huge, 3-0 or 0-0. Review says foul ball. Tough call. Lind grounds to Pedroia at second throw to first, two down. Hill, strikes out. 25 pitch inning or Bucholz.
Bottom 1st: Crawford, don’t let this guy get on base, grounds to Hill, throw to Cecil, one down. Pedroia strikes out, two down, Gonzalez pops up to Nix. Nice start for Cecil.
Top 2nd: Arencibia, full count, strikes out that was ball four, one down. Snider grounds to first, throw to Bucholz, two down, Rivera this is the guy who needs to break out, grounds to Scutaro at short, throw to first to end this one.
Bottom 2nd: Youkilis,2-2 count, full, ball four. Ortiz, fly ball to Snider, one down. Drew, lines it to left, no, Snider and Patterson converge and Snider drops the ball, that was Patterson’s catch. Error to Snider, his thirrd of the month, two on. Saltalamacchia, strikes out, two down. Scutaro 3-1, come on Cecil. Ball four and loads the bases. Snider owes Cecil bigtime. Ellsbury, strikes out. Nice pitching Brett but Snider owes you another 11 pitches.
Top 3rd: Nix leading off. 3-1 count. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to first, one down. Escobar, grounds to second throw just gets Escobar diving. Patterson, first pitch bunting, come on Corey thrown out easily. Two pitches two outs. Not good at all. Don’t give the outs away.
Bottom 3rd: Cecil wondering what happened. He had not sat down. The difference between thinking hitters and Patterson is not one of them. Crawford leading off. Pops up to Nix at third. One down for Pedroia, gets hold of this one, over the wall in left, 1-0 Boston. Gonzalez. 3-0 count, ball four. Youkilis, gets hold of this one home run into centre, 3-0 Boston. Ortiz, 3-1 count, full, ball four. Drew fly ball to Patterson, no messup this time. Two down. Saltalamacchia, 3-0 count. Pops up to Lind at first to end this one. Now maybe just maybe Cecil’s teammates will help him out here. Take some pitches and give the poor guy chance for a breather. Don’t count on it.
Top 4th: Bautista leading off. 3-1 count, more pitches already than the last inning. Grounds to third, throw to first, one down for Lind. Lines it to centre, caught up against the wall. Two down for Hill. Grounds to Scutaro at short, long throw but Hill beats it out to keep inning going at least. Arencibia, back in his old ways. Hill stealing, pitch in dirt and Hill takes second, grounds to third, throw to first to end this one.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro, bounces one in front, Arencibia throw to first, one down. Ellsbury, pops up to Nix, two down. Crawford, grounds first pitch to Lind takes it himself for the out. Very nice inning for Cecil.
Top 5th: Can the hitters get something going here? Toothless so far tonight. Snider owes Cecil bigtime. .154 average. Pops up to third, One down for Rivera. Come on Juan, we all want you to get going. 3-1 count. Ball four. Nix, full count, ball four, back to back walks. Escobar, 2-0, you have to pitch him sometime Bucholz. 2-2, bounces to Bucholz, throw to first two down runners move into scoring position but that doesn’t mean much tonight, Patterson another 2-0 count. That will do Corey lines it into the right field corner, here comes two and Patterson into third for a triple. Bautista now. 3-2 game. Full count. Strikes out swinging. But Jays are back into this one.
Bottom 5th: 74 pitch count for Cecil. Pedroia leading off. Gets under this one and high fly ball to Snider in left, one down. Gonzalez, strikes out, two down for Youkilis, pops up to Hill for third out. Perfect, get the hitters back at Bucholz. Now with pitch count at 88, make it his last inning here to get to that bullpen.
Top 6th: Lind leading off, 3-0 count, taking or swinging? Taking ball four. That gets the bullpen working. Hill, that’s ok, singles into left over Scutaro at short, two on for Arencibia but sayonara to Bucholz, hit the showers. Aceves now pitching. Grounds to third, throw to second over to first, double play ball. Lind at third, two down for Snider, chance to redeem yourself Travis. That will do, off the scoreboard left centre, here comes Lind and this game is tied up 3-3, Travis to second. Rivera now. Grounds to short, throw to first but this game is all square again. Baltimore and Yankees both losing but Rays are winning.
Bottom 6th: Cecil at 82 pitches. May be his last inning. Ortiz, lines it to Bautista in right, one down. Drew, bunts back to Cecil, throw to first, two down. Saltalamacchia, strikes out looking. Very nice Brett, he now wishes he could get those eleven pitches he had to waste after Travis dropped that catch. But he should at least be out to start the 7th. Can his teammates give him a lead?
Top 7th: Nix leading off. Bobby Jenks now pitching. 3-0 count, taking or swinging? Taking strike one. Full count. Ball four inside. One on for top of Jays order Escobar. Singles up the middle but Nix was running and gets to third on the play. Three chances to bring him in. Patterson strikes out. One down. Bautista perfect, drives it off the wall in left corner and here comes Nix, 4-3 Jays game with Escobar at second, Lind now chance to break this thing open. 2-0 count this will do drives it to left, opposite field hit, here comes Escobar, 5-3 Jays, two on for Hill, keep it going Aaron. Double steal both safe. Two now in scoring position with one down, and also stay out of the double play ball. 2-2 count, ball gets away and here comes Bautista, 6-3 Jays. Full count with Lind at third, Hill drives it to left, here comes Lind, 7-3 Jays. Doubront now pitching. Arencibia pops this up to centre on first pitch, two down. Snider, there goes Hill and
Bottom 7th: 92 pitches for Cecil. But he has been sitting a while and bullpen is ready. Loads of red seats now available as Red Sox nation go home early tonight. Frasor now to hold them here. Scutaro, grounds to Nix, throw to Lind, digs it out for the out. One down for Ellsbury, pops it up another mess up as Escobar drops it. Crawford, there goes Ellsbury and now Arencibia throw it into centre. Settle down here friends. 3-0 count now. Don’t walk Crawford. Fly ball to Snider, Ellsbury holds at third, two down for Pedroia. 2-2 count, full count. Grounds to Hill, throw to Lind for the out.
Top 8th: Wheeler pitching. Rivera, pops it up to second, one down for Nix, two walks and two runs tonight. 3-1 count. Full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Escobar. 2-0, 2-2, strikes out looking.
Bottom 8th: Baltimore lose to the Indians and Yankees also lose to Texas. Rays win. Rzepczynski now pitching. Gonzalez leading off. Grounds to Lind, takes it himself, one down. Youkilis, 3-0 not good Marc. Walks him. Ortiz, Rauch and Janssen working. Full count, put him on or pitch to him? Ball four, two on for and that’s it for here comes Walton, no he is staying in. Hmmm. Ok lefty lefty, but... Drew, two on and on down. 2-2 strikes him out. Two down Jed Lowrie pinch hitting. Wild pitch and both runners move up. 2-2 again, full count and 30 pitches this inning, whoa. Grounds to Nix, throw to first not in time run scores 7-4 game. That’s it for Rzepczynski, might be literally also, he didn’t have anything yet again. Casey Janssen now with runners at corners and two down. Scutaro, full count, OHHHHHHH no, drives it to the wall, here comes two more 7-6 game. Scutaro at second. Ellsbury drives it to right for Bautista to end this horror but Boston are right back in this.
Top 9th: The only way for Jays answer this one is to get some more runs. Papelbon in to hold them though. Patterson leading off. Grounds to first, one down for Bautista. This should be interesting. 3-1 staying away from him, full count. Ball four. Papelbon blinked first. Lind now with one on. 3-1 count, taking or swinging? Fouls it off. There goes Jose but another foul ball. Another throw over, keeping Papelbon distracted here. Goes again another foul ball. Oh boy Adam lines this one hard right at third, throw to first, double play ball as Jose is almost past second.
Bottom 9th: All those Boston fans who had left now wishing they had stayed for this. Rauch now pitching. Top of the order. Crawford leading off. Strikes out, one down for Pedroia. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind at first, two down. Gonzalez, this will do it grounds to Lind, takes it himself and this is the game.
Jays come from behind to win the first one in Fenway 7-6.
This one was a great one to win for several reasons, First game in Fenway this season, Jays back off long trip west. A comeback win after going down by three and lastly to give Manager Farrell a good win in his return to Fenway. And with Yankees, Baltimore and Boston losing, Jays enjoy some movement in the East division.
The very good: Hill comes alive with three hits and two steals. Patterson with big RBIs hit. But hits for everyone except Arencibia. Aggression steals from Lind, Hill twice and Bautista.
Cecil gets deserved win and Rauch his save number three. Jays now go past Baltimore losing their fifth in a row and now half a game back of Yankees. Boston now 2-10 to start the season. They would not be happy tonight after taking that early lead and then also pulling back to one.
Great comeback by Jays, Cecil, and the great aggressive play by Jays especially in the seventh with steals.
Awful: Rzepcyzynski 31 pitch two thirds of an inning. Awful.
Not so good: Snider, error in left dropping the line drive that he should have left for Patterson. Cost Cecil another 11 pitches which he could have used in the 7th.
So important for Jays to take this first game. Boston down and a loss here would put great pressure on them. But can this team do it with Lind, Hill and Snider playing so badly?
Lineups: Toronto: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Rivera, Nix and Cecil pitching.
Boston: Crawford, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Drew, Saltalamcchia, Scutaro, Ellsbury and Bucholz pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar walks, Patterson, fly ball to Ellsbury in vcentre, one down. Bautista, walks. Lind with two on, Adam needs to get it going as well. whoa, lines it to right, just over the wall, is that a home run? Umpire says fair ball, but review, this is huge, 3-0 or 0-0. Review says foul ball. Tough call. Lind grounds to Pedroia at second throw to first, two down. Hill, strikes out. 25 pitch inning or Bucholz.
Bottom 1st: Crawford, don’t let this guy get on base, grounds to Hill, throw to Cecil, one down. Pedroia strikes out, two down, Gonzalez pops up to Nix. Nice start for Cecil.
Top 2nd: Arencibia, full count, strikes out that was ball four, one down. Snider grounds to first, throw to Bucholz, two down, Rivera this is the guy who needs to break out, grounds to Scutaro at short, throw to first to end this one.
Bottom 2nd: Youkilis,2-2 count, full, ball four. Ortiz, fly ball to Snider, one down. Drew, lines it to left, no, Snider and Patterson converge and Snider drops the ball, that was Patterson’s catch. Error to Snider, his thirrd of the month, two on. Saltalamacchia, strikes out, two down. Scutaro 3-1, come on Cecil. Ball four and loads the bases. Snider owes Cecil bigtime. Ellsbury, strikes out. Nice pitching Brett but Snider owes you another 11 pitches.
Top 3rd: Nix leading off. 3-1 count. Grounds to Scutaro, throw to first, one down. Escobar, grounds to second throw just gets Escobar diving. Patterson, first pitch bunting, come on Corey thrown out easily. Two pitches two outs. Not good at all. Don’t give the outs away.
Bottom 3rd: Cecil wondering what happened. He had not sat down. The difference between thinking hitters and Patterson is not one of them. Crawford leading off. Pops up to Nix at third. One down for Pedroia, gets hold of this one, over the wall in left, 1-0 Boston. Gonzalez. 3-0 count, ball four. Youkilis, gets hold of this one home run into centre, 3-0 Boston. Ortiz, 3-1 count, full, ball four. Drew fly ball to Patterson, no messup this time. Two down. Saltalamacchia, 3-0 count. Pops up to Lind at first to end this one. Now maybe just maybe Cecil’s teammates will help him out here. Take some pitches and give the poor guy chance for a breather. Don’t count on it.
Top 4th: Bautista leading off. 3-1 count, more pitches already than the last inning. Grounds to third, throw to first, one down for Lind. Lines it to centre, caught up against the wall. Two down for Hill. Grounds to Scutaro at short, long throw but Hill beats it out to keep inning going at least. Arencibia, back in his old ways. Hill stealing, pitch in dirt and Hill takes second, grounds to third, throw to first to end this one.
Bottom 4th: Scutaro, bounces one in front, Arencibia throw to first, one down. Ellsbury, pops up to Nix, two down. Crawford, grounds first pitch to Lind takes it himself for the out. Very nice inning for Cecil.
Top 5th: Can the hitters get something going here? Toothless so far tonight. Snider owes Cecil bigtime. .154 average. Pops up to third, One down for Rivera. Come on Juan, we all want you to get going. 3-1 count. Ball four. Nix, full count, ball four, back to back walks. Escobar, 2-0, you have to pitch him sometime Bucholz. 2-2, bounces to Bucholz, throw to first two down runners move into scoring position but that doesn’t mean much tonight, Patterson another 2-0 count. That will do Corey lines it into the right field corner, here comes two and Patterson into third for a triple. Bautista now. 3-2 game. Full count. Strikes out swinging. But Jays are back into this one.
Bottom 5th: 74 pitch count for Cecil. Pedroia leading off. Gets under this one and high fly ball to Snider in left, one down. Gonzalez, strikes out, two down for Youkilis, pops up to Hill for third out. Perfect, get the hitters back at Bucholz. Now with pitch count at 88, make it his last inning here to get to that bullpen.
Top 6th: Lind leading off, 3-0 count, taking or swinging? Taking ball four. That gets the bullpen working. Hill, that’s ok, singles into left over Scutaro at short, two on for Arencibia but sayonara to Bucholz, hit the showers. Aceves now pitching. Grounds to third, throw to second over to first, double play ball. Lind at third, two down for Snider, chance to redeem yourself Travis. That will do, off the scoreboard left centre, here comes Lind and this game is tied up 3-3, Travis to second. Rivera now. Grounds to short, throw to first but this game is all square again. Baltimore and Yankees both losing but Rays are winning.
Bottom 6th: Cecil at 82 pitches. May be his last inning. Ortiz, lines it to Bautista in right, one down. Drew, bunts back to Cecil, throw to first, two down. Saltalamacchia, strikes out looking. Very nice Brett, he now wishes he could get those eleven pitches he had to waste after Travis dropped that catch. But he should at least be out to start the 7th. Can his teammates give him a lead?
Top 7th: Nix leading off. Bobby Jenks now pitching. 3-0 count, taking or swinging? Taking strike one. Full count. Ball four inside. One on for top of Jays order Escobar. Singles up the middle but Nix was running and gets to third on the play. Three chances to bring him in. Patterson strikes out. One down. Bautista perfect, drives it off the wall in left corner and here comes Nix, 4-3 Jays game with Escobar at second, Lind now chance to break this thing open. 2-0 count this will do drives it to left, opposite field hit, here comes Escobar, 5-3 Jays, two on for Hill, keep it going Aaron. Double steal both safe. Two now in scoring position with one down, and also stay out of the double play ball. 2-2 count, ball gets away and here comes Bautista, 6-3 Jays. Full count with Lind at third, Hill drives it to left, here comes Lind, 7-3 Jays. Doubront now pitching. Arencibia pops this up to centre on first pitch, two down. Snider, there goes Hill and
Bottom 7th: 92 pitches for Cecil. But he has been sitting a while and bullpen is ready. Loads of red seats now available as Red Sox nation go home early tonight. Frasor now to hold them here. Scutaro, grounds to Nix, throw to Lind, digs it out for the out. One down for Ellsbury, pops it up another mess up as Escobar drops it. Crawford, there goes Ellsbury and now Arencibia throw it into centre. Settle down here friends. 3-0 count now. Don’t walk Crawford. Fly ball to Snider, Ellsbury holds at third, two down for Pedroia. 2-2 count, full count. Grounds to Hill, throw to Lind for the out.
Top 8th: Wheeler pitching. Rivera, pops it up to second, one down for Nix, two walks and two runs tonight. 3-1 count. Full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Escobar. 2-0, 2-2, strikes out looking.
Bottom 8th: Baltimore lose to the Indians and Yankees also lose to Texas. Rays win. Rzepczynski now pitching. Gonzalez leading off. Grounds to Lind, takes it himself, one down. Youkilis, 3-0 not good Marc. Walks him. Ortiz, Rauch and Janssen working. Full count, put him on or pitch to him? Ball four, two on for and that’s it for here comes Walton, no he is staying in. Hmmm. Ok lefty lefty, but... Drew, two on and on down. 2-2 strikes him out. Two down Jed Lowrie pinch hitting. Wild pitch and both runners move up. 2-2 again, full count and 30 pitches this inning, whoa. Grounds to Nix, throw to first not in time run scores 7-4 game. That’s it for Rzepczynski, might be literally also, he didn’t have anything yet again. Casey Janssen now with runners at corners and two down. Scutaro, full count, OHHHHHHH no, drives it to the wall, here comes two more 7-6 game. Scutaro at second. Ellsbury drives it to right for Bautista to end this horror but Boston are right back in this.
Top 9th: The only way for Jays answer this one is to get some more runs. Papelbon in to hold them though. Patterson leading off. Grounds to first, one down for Bautista. This should be interesting. 3-1 staying away from him, full count. Ball four. Papelbon blinked first. Lind now with one on. 3-1 count, taking or swinging? Fouls it off. There goes Jose but another foul ball. Another throw over, keeping Papelbon distracted here. Goes again another foul ball. Oh boy Adam lines this one hard right at third, throw to first, double play ball as Jose is almost past second.
Bottom 9th: All those Boston fans who had left now wishing they had stayed for this. Rauch now pitching. Top of the order. Crawford leading off. Strikes out, one down for Pedroia. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Lind at first, two down. Gonzalez, this will do it grounds to Lind, takes it himself and this is the game.
Jays come from behind to win the first one in Fenway 7-6.
This one was a great one to win for several reasons, First game in Fenway this season, Jays back off long trip west. A comeback win after going down by three and lastly to give Manager Farrell a good win in his return to Fenway. And with Yankees, Baltimore and Boston losing, Jays enjoy some movement in the East division.
The very good: Hill comes alive with three hits and two steals. Patterson with big RBIs hit. But hits for everyone except Arencibia. Aggression steals from Lind, Hill twice and Bautista.
Cecil gets deserved win and Rauch his save number three. Jays now go past Baltimore losing their fifth in a row and now half a game back of Yankees. Boston now 2-10 to start the season. They would not be happy tonight after taking that early lead and then also pulling back to one.
Great comeback by Jays, Cecil, and the great aggressive play by Jays especially in the seventh with steals.
Awful: Rzepcyzynski 31 pitch two thirds of an inning. Awful.
Not so good: Snider, error in left dropping the line drive that he should have left for Patterson. Cost Cecil another 11 pitches which he could have used in the 7th.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Who will it be ?
Thursday April 14.
Jays off day in Boston. Jays option Brad Mills back to Vegas and bringing up position player tomorrow.
Who would you chose ?
Thames for the outfield. Cooper for Lind at 1B or Lawrie for Encarnacion at 3B.
All three playing in Vegas:
Brett Lawrie hitting .414. 4 RBIs but with 4 errors. 2 stolen bases and on base percentage of .500. In first seven games 12 hits, hit every game and two hits in 5 of them. 1 HR.
David Cooper: .379 with 8 RBIs. 11 hits, hit every game and 4-5 in one game. 1 hr and .419 OBP. No stolen bases.
Eric Thames: .370 with 8 RBIs. 10 hits in 6/7 games and OBP .471. 1 HR. No stolen bases.
For my money Brett Lawrie, but right now Adam Lind is the problem child so Cooper might be the one.
Jays off day in Boston. Jays option Brad Mills back to Vegas and bringing up position player tomorrow.
Who would you chose ?
Thames for the outfield. Cooper for Lind at 1B or Lawrie for Encarnacion at 3B.
All three playing in Vegas:
Brett Lawrie hitting .414. 4 RBIs but with 4 errors. 2 stolen bases and on base percentage of .500. In first seven games 12 hits, hit every game and two hits in 5 of them. 1 HR.
David Cooper: .379 with 8 RBIs. 11 hits, hit every game and 4-5 in one game. 1 hr and .419 OBP. No stolen bases.
Eric Thames: .370 with 8 RBIs. 10 hits in 6/7 games and OBP .471. 1 HR. No stolen bases.
For my money Brett Lawrie, but right now Adam Lind is the problem child so Cooper might be the one.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Jays win big 8-3 behind Drabek and the two Jose's.
Jays v Mariners. Game three.
Jays on a freefall right now with four consecutive losses. Farrell is sitting Hill, Lind and Snider and I agree with this 100%, they are the three big concerns right now on this road trip and Jays have alternatives. Encarnacion covering first instead of Lind, Johnny Mac. for Hill and Rivera in left and you know he is going to break out any time. With Lind the more serious issue is that pitchers have started to go around Bautista to get to Lind. This has effectively shut his bat down now and his walks are now 10 which is leading the league. Should be interesting game. Jays need a win also to fly east with some respect. 2-4 road trip will be a lot better than 1-5. The annoying part of this is that Seattle was on seven game losing streak when Jays came in. Now Jays have woken them up.
Line-ups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Nix, Arencibia, Encarnacion, McDonald, Molina and Drabek pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Kennedy, Bradley, Cust, Smoak, Langerhans, Ryan, Rodriguez, Gimenez and Vargas pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, grounds to Rodriguez at third, throw to Smoak at first one down for Patterson, Corey has been playing very well and will be pushing Travis to get his hitting together. Grounds this one very hard to Kennedy at second nice play throw to first Smoak two down. Bautista 3-1 takes strike two, and this is what is different for Jose, Last year he was far more aggressive on that pitch no need to take it. Strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Ichiro grounds hard to Encarnacion playing at first today, flips to Drabek one down. Kennedy singles back up the middle. Bradley grounds to Nix, oh no Jayson bounces off his body, and Bradley is safe at first, that one hit the edge of the grass and awkward hop for Nix, error to Nix. Two on for Cust, fly ball to Rivera in left. Both runners hold. Smoak grounds slowly back to Drabek throw to first and Kyle is out of this one.
Top 2nd: Rivera, grounds to Ryan at short, throw to Smoak at first one down, Nix singles to Bradley in left, he will feel better about that after the error. Arencibia DH today with Molina catching Drabek. Encarnacion fly ball to Bradley in left to end this one and leave Nix out there.
Bottom 2nd: Langerhans, walks, one on for Rodriguez, oh very nice play, Drabek picks off Langerhans at first, one down. Kyle has a great pickoff move. Rodriguez, fly ball to Rivera in left two down. Ryan, grounds to Nix, throw to first for third out.
Top 3rd: Johnny Mac. Strikes out swinging. Molina, there we go, nice double to the wall in left. That might have been a triple with others running but he is in scoring position here. Escobar lines this one into right, just fair and bounces into the seats, ground rule double, here comes Molina, Jays go out 1-0. Escobar lucky there as he thought it was foul and hesitated, he could have been caught or at best stuck at first. Patterson with Escobar in scoring position, Jays could add here. No, fly ball to left two down. Bautista with runner at second. Strikes out looking.
Bottom 3rd: Gimenez singles to centre. Ichiro grounds to Johnny Mac at second throw to Escobar back to Encarnacion, they get Gimenez but they are not going to double up Ichiro. One down. Kennedy lines out hard to Nix at third, that was a bullet at Jayson. Two down. Bradley doubles to the wall in centre, here comes Ichiro easily and this game is all tied up again 1-1. Cust off the end of his bat a slow roller to Escobar at short, safe on the throw and Bradley moves to third on the play. Smoak with two on, strikes out swinging. Kyle escapes further damage here.
Top 4th: Rivera lines out to Langerhans in centre field. Nix strikes out looking. Arencibia full count, ball four. Encarnacion, fly ball to left to end the inning.
Bottom 4th: Langerhans, full count, strikes out swinging. Rodriguez, oh very nice play, drives a bullet to first and Encarnacion leaps to his right to make nice catch. Ryan ball four and walks, Giminez, two down and one on, strikes out.
Top 5th: McDonald, first pitch fly ball to right, one down. Molina, another hit, singles into left, the old guy showing the youngsters how to do it. 2-2 today. Escobar strikes out looking, Patterson, grounds to second throw not in time. Speed kills. Molina stays put. Bautista now about time you earned some $ Jose. Full count. Gets hold of it but mile high pop up to left for Bradley. Jose not having much luck these days. Just keeps on getting worse for Jays hitters, totally at sea in Seattle and this road trip.
Bottom 5th: Ichiro leading off, lines out to Patterson in centre, one down. Kennedy singles to centre, Bradley strikes out, two down. Cust, full count, strikes out swinging, number five for Drabek. Kyle getting stronger and stronger but his pitch count is now high, he may have only one more inning left. That’s the problem with going deep into these counts.
Top 6th: Rivera leading off, grounds to Ryan at short, bobbles it but still has time to get Rivera at first. Nix, same again, grounds to Ryan at short, just gets Nix at first with the throw, two down for Arencibia, grounds to short Ryan’s throw to first gets him. Busy guy Ryan.
Bottom 6th: Smoak, full count, this is trouble, opposite field hit into left field seats, his first of the season 2-1 Seattle. Langerhans, Frasor warming up in bullpen. Another full count, ball four, Drabek has hit the wall. Rodriguez, bunting up the line, Drabek throw to first for the out. One down. Ryan, pops up to Encarnacion, two down. Gimenez, full count, walks him and wild pitch to enable runner to third. You can see this game slipping away from Jays for the last couple of innings. Jays body language is awful defeatist. That’s it for Drabek, did more than enough but with no run support he can only do his part. Rzepczynski now pitching. Ichiro with runner at third, gets him, strikes out. Nice pitching Marc.
Top 7th: Jays now need to get back into this one. Encarnacion leading off grounds to Kennedy throw to Smoak one down. Johnny Mac. Strikes out looking, two down. That’s it for Vargas, gets a great ovation, Jamey Wright now pitching. Molina two hits today, not this time, strikes out swinging. Time running out for Jays today. It could be a miserable flight east and plus the thought of Boston waiting for them and eager to take out their own frustration on someone.
Bottom 7th: Kennedy leading off, grounds back to Rzepczynski, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Bradley fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Cust strikes out looking. Rzepczynski doing a fine job today in relief. Now to get the hitters back on track. Running out of time though.
Top 8th: Six more outs for Jays to get back in this. Chris Ray now pitching. Top of the order Escobar leading off, that will do grounds to Ryan at short, safe at first, speed kills. Patterson, another speedster, bunting to first, perfect and safe at first, Escobar to second, small ball and speed the new Jays. This is what we saw that first opening series in Toronto. Bautista now, can you do it Jose, a base hit will tie this up. Oh YES Jose... gets hold of this one fly ball to left and into the seats, home run Jose and three runs score, that’s more like it. Jays take the lead back and more, 4-2 Jays. Pinch hitter for Rivera, Travis Snider, still no one out here. Pops up to Gimenez behind the plate. You had your chance Travis, one down for Nix, doubles to Bradley in left, his second hit tonight. Arencibia, there goes Jayson and safe at second, now we are seeing the aggressive play that we saw that first week in Toronto and has been missing on this road trip. It helps of course to get on base. Arencibia grounds to Kennedy at second throw to Smoak, two down. Encarnacion, that’s the way Edwin doubles to left, here comes Nix, and Jays keep on rolling 5-2. Second hit for Edwin, he seems to be coming around or getting more comfortable. Here comes manager, that’s it for Ray, Lueke now pitching. Johnny Mac. Ball four, walks to keep the line going. Molina now with two on and two down, two hit afternoon already, Jose does it again doubles to Langerhans in centre, here comes Edwin here comes Johnny Mac. Jays go out 7-2. Payback for that game one. Jays have hit around Escobar for the second time, another hit, singles to Ichiro in right. Molina to third, too bad Jose does not have the speed but then they may not have challenged Ichiro’s arm. Escobar two hit inning, I like that. Patterson for the second time, strikes out. But Jays send ten to the plate and score six to break this one open. Now over to the bullpen to close Mariners down.
Bottom 8th: Travis stays in left. Smoak walks, not what we need Marc, we remember the first game of this series. One on for Langerhans. That will do grounds to McDonald, throw to Escobar to get Smoak but no chance for two. Rodriguez grounds out to Encarnacion, Langerhans to second. Jays will take the outs here, two down. That’s it for Rzepczynski, Marc did his job. Rauch now pitching. Ryan singles to Snider in left, Langerhans scores. 7-3 game. Hold them here Jon. Gimenez grounds to Nix at third throw to second to get Ryan.
Top 9th: Jays have four run lead and would like to get a couple more. Wilhelmsen now pitching. Bautista leading off. Fly ball to Ichiro in right, one down. Snider, last chance Travis, that’s the way singles to centre, he will feel better about that. Nix, there goes Travis and safe at second, even better day for him. In scoring position for Jayson. Strikes out swinging, two down, Arencibia, singles to left, here comes Travis, 8-3 Jays. JP joins the party. Encarnacion, ball four and Arencibia to second. Two on two down. here comes the pitching coach. McDonald fly ball to centre to end this one. Now major question can Jays avoid another meltdown here?
Bottom 9th: Rauch finishing this one off we hope. Ichiro not this time lines out to Snider in left. Kennedy, ball four, walks, one on one down for Bradley. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Cust, that will do it grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Encarnacion and this one is in the books and Jays are celebrating bigtime with relief.
The very good: Lots today. Drabek into the sixth although he doesn’t get the win it was his game pitching 5.2, six hits and two runs plus a great pick-off. The downer was his high pitch count of 114 pitches but he had good stuff today. The two Jose’s four hits and five RBIs between them. Bautista three run home run to get him back on track and Molina with a three hit day. Escobar a three hit day. Jays 14 hit attack, and the bullpen of Rzepczynski and Rauch, 3.1 innings one hit, one run relief. And we have to mention the runners in scoring position today 6-13 which is huge improvement.
The good: Nix two hits and a stolen base. Have to give Travis a star also, a hit, stolen base and run in two innings work.
Not so good: ??? Can’t think of anything today.
Jays end the road trip 2-4 winning the first and last games but head back east with some degree of optimism to face Boston.
Jays on a freefall right now with four consecutive losses. Farrell is sitting Hill, Lind and Snider and I agree with this 100%, they are the three big concerns right now on this road trip and Jays have alternatives. Encarnacion covering first instead of Lind, Johnny Mac. for Hill and Rivera in left and you know he is going to break out any time. With Lind the more serious issue is that pitchers have started to go around Bautista to get to Lind. This has effectively shut his bat down now and his walks are now 10 which is leading the league. Should be interesting game. Jays need a win also to fly east with some respect. 2-4 road trip will be a lot better than 1-5. The annoying part of this is that Seattle was on seven game losing streak when Jays came in. Now Jays have woken them up.
Line-ups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Rivera, Nix, Arencibia, Encarnacion, McDonald, Molina and Drabek pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Kennedy, Bradley, Cust, Smoak, Langerhans, Ryan, Rodriguez, Gimenez and Vargas pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, grounds to Rodriguez at third, throw to Smoak at first one down for Patterson, Corey has been playing very well and will be pushing Travis to get his hitting together. Grounds this one very hard to Kennedy at second nice play throw to first Smoak two down. Bautista 3-1 takes strike two, and this is what is different for Jose, Last year he was far more aggressive on that pitch no need to take it. Strikes out.
Bottom 1st: Ichiro grounds hard to Encarnacion playing at first today, flips to Drabek one down. Kennedy singles back up the middle. Bradley grounds to Nix, oh no Jayson bounces off his body, and Bradley is safe at first, that one hit the edge of the grass and awkward hop for Nix, error to Nix. Two on for Cust, fly ball to Rivera in left. Both runners hold. Smoak grounds slowly back to Drabek throw to first and Kyle is out of this one.
Top 2nd: Rivera, grounds to Ryan at short, throw to Smoak at first one down, Nix singles to Bradley in left, he will feel better about that after the error. Arencibia DH today with Molina catching Drabek. Encarnacion fly ball to Bradley in left to end this one and leave Nix out there.
Bottom 2nd: Langerhans, walks, one on for Rodriguez, oh very nice play, Drabek picks off Langerhans at first, one down. Kyle has a great pickoff move. Rodriguez, fly ball to Rivera in left two down. Ryan, grounds to Nix, throw to first for third out.
Top 3rd: Johnny Mac. Strikes out swinging. Molina, there we go, nice double to the wall in left. That might have been a triple with others running but he is in scoring position here. Escobar lines this one into right, just fair and bounces into the seats, ground rule double, here comes Molina, Jays go out 1-0. Escobar lucky there as he thought it was foul and hesitated, he could have been caught or at best stuck at first. Patterson with Escobar in scoring position, Jays could add here. No, fly ball to left two down. Bautista with runner at second. Strikes out looking.
Bottom 3rd: Gimenez singles to centre. Ichiro grounds to Johnny Mac at second throw to Escobar back to Encarnacion, they get Gimenez but they are not going to double up Ichiro. One down. Kennedy lines out hard to Nix at third, that was a bullet at Jayson. Two down. Bradley doubles to the wall in centre, here comes Ichiro easily and this game is all tied up again 1-1. Cust off the end of his bat a slow roller to Escobar at short, safe on the throw and Bradley moves to third on the play. Smoak with two on, strikes out swinging. Kyle escapes further damage here.
Top 4th: Rivera lines out to Langerhans in centre field. Nix strikes out looking. Arencibia full count, ball four. Encarnacion, fly ball to left to end the inning.
Bottom 4th: Langerhans, full count, strikes out swinging. Rodriguez, oh very nice play, drives a bullet to first and Encarnacion leaps to his right to make nice catch. Ryan ball four and walks, Giminez, two down and one on, strikes out.
Top 5th: McDonald, first pitch fly ball to right, one down. Molina, another hit, singles into left, the old guy showing the youngsters how to do it. 2-2 today. Escobar strikes out looking, Patterson, grounds to second throw not in time. Speed kills. Molina stays put. Bautista now about time you earned some $ Jose. Full count. Gets hold of it but mile high pop up to left for Bradley. Jose not having much luck these days. Just keeps on getting worse for Jays hitters, totally at sea in Seattle and this road trip.
Bottom 5th: Ichiro leading off, lines out to Patterson in centre, one down. Kennedy singles to centre, Bradley strikes out, two down. Cust, full count, strikes out swinging, number five for Drabek. Kyle getting stronger and stronger but his pitch count is now high, he may have only one more inning left. That’s the problem with going deep into these counts.
Top 6th: Rivera leading off, grounds to Ryan at short, bobbles it but still has time to get Rivera at first. Nix, same again, grounds to Ryan at short, just gets Nix at first with the throw, two down for Arencibia, grounds to short Ryan’s throw to first gets him. Busy guy Ryan.
Bottom 6th: Smoak, full count, this is trouble, opposite field hit into left field seats, his first of the season 2-1 Seattle. Langerhans, Frasor warming up in bullpen. Another full count, ball four, Drabek has hit the wall. Rodriguez, bunting up the line, Drabek throw to first for the out. One down. Ryan, pops up to Encarnacion, two down. Gimenez, full count, walks him and wild pitch to enable runner to third. You can see this game slipping away from Jays for the last couple of innings. Jays body language is awful defeatist. That’s it for Drabek, did more than enough but with no run support he can only do his part. Rzepczynski now pitching. Ichiro with runner at third, gets him, strikes out. Nice pitching Marc.
Top 7th: Jays now need to get back into this one. Encarnacion leading off grounds to Kennedy throw to Smoak one down. Johnny Mac. Strikes out looking, two down. That’s it for Vargas, gets a great ovation, Jamey Wright now pitching. Molina two hits today, not this time, strikes out swinging. Time running out for Jays today. It could be a miserable flight east and plus the thought of Boston waiting for them and eager to take out their own frustration on someone.
Bottom 7th: Kennedy leading off, grounds back to Rzepczynski, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Bradley fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Cust strikes out looking. Rzepczynski doing a fine job today in relief. Now to get the hitters back on track. Running out of time though.
Top 8th: Six more outs for Jays to get back in this. Chris Ray now pitching. Top of the order Escobar leading off, that will do grounds to Ryan at short, safe at first, speed kills. Patterson, another speedster, bunting to first, perfect and safe at first, Escobar to second, small ball and speed the new Jays. This is what we saw that first opening series in Toronto. Bautista now, can you do it Jose, a base hit will tie this up. Oh YES Jose... gets hold of this one fly ball to left and into the seats, home run Jose and three runs score, that’s more like it. Jays take the lead back and more, 4-2 Jays. Pinch hitter for Rivera, Travis Snider, still no one out here. Pops up to Gimenez behind the plate. You had your chance Travis, one down for Nix, doubles to Bradley in left, his second hit tonight. Arencibia, there goes Jayson and safe at second, now we are seeing the aggressive play that we saw that first week in Toronto and has been missing on this road trip. It helps of course to get on base. Arencibia grounds to Kennedy at second throw to Smoak, two down. Encarnacion, that’s the way Edwin doubles to left, here comes Nix, and Jays keep on rolling 5-2. Second hit for Edwin, he seems to be coming around or getting more comfortable. Here comes manager, that’s it for Ray, Lueke now pitching. Johnny Mac. Ball four, walks to keep the line going. Molina now with two on and two down, two hit afternoon already, Jose does it again doubles to Langerhans in centre, here comes Edwin here comes Johnny Mac. Jays go out 7-2. Payback for that game one. Jays have hit around Escobar for the second time, another hit, singles to Ichiro in right. Molina to third, too bad Jose does not have the speed but then they may not have challenged Ichiro’s arm. Escobar two hit inning, I like that. Patterson for the second time, strikes out. But Jays send ten to the plate and score six to break this one open. Now over to the bullpen to close Mariners down.
Bottom 8th: Travis stays in left. Smoak walks, not what we need Marc, we remember the first game of this series. One on for Langerhans. That will do grounds to McDonald, throw to Escobar to get Smoak but no chance for two. Rodriguez grounds out to Encarnacion, Langerhans to second. Jays will take the outs here, two down. That’s it for Rzepczynski, Marc did his job. Rauch now pitching. Ryan singles to Snider in left, Langerhans scores. 7-3 game. Hold them here Jon. Gimenez grounds to Nix at third throw to second to get Ryan.
Top 9th: Jays have four run lead and would like to get a couple more. Wilhelmsen now pitching. Bautista leading off. Fly ball to Ichiro in right, one down. Snider, last chance Travis, that’s the way singles to centre, he will feel better about that. Nix, there goes Travis and safe at second, even better day for him. In scoring position for Jayson. Strikes out swinging, two down, Arencibia, singles to left, here comes Travis, 8-3 Jays. JP joins the party. Encarnacion, ball four and Arencibia to second. Two on two down. here comes the pitching coach. McDonald fly ball to centre to end this one. Now major question can Jays avoid another meltdown here?
Bottom 9th: Rauch finishing this one off we hope. Ichiro not this time lines out to Snider in left. Kennedy, ball four, walks, one on one down for Bradley. Strikes out swinging. Two down for Cust, that will do it grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Encarnacion and this one is in the books and Jays are celebrating bigtime with relief.
The very good: Lots today. Drabek into the sixth although he doesn’t get the win it was his game pitching 5.2, six hits and two runs plus a great pick-off. The downer was his high pitch count of 114 pitches but he had good stuff today. The two Jose’s four hits and five RBIs between them. Bautista three run home run to get him back on track and Molina with a three hit day. Escobar a three hit day. Jays 14 hit attack, and the bullpen of Rzepczynski and Rauch, 3.1 innings one hit, one run relief. And we have to mention the runners in scoring position today 6-13 which is huge improvement.
The good: Nix two hits and a stolen base. Have to give Travis a star also, a hit, stolen base and run in two innings work.
Not so good: ??? Can’t think of anything today.
Jays end the road trip 2-4 winning the first and last games but head back east with some degree of optimism to face Boston.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Jays lifeless hitters fail to support Romero gem as Jays lose another
Jays v Mariners. Game two.
Janssen and Mills called up to replace Purcey on waivers. I agree 100% re Purcey. He was definitely the goat last night and implications are far beyond the loss. The bullpen all beaten up, Camp for one is way overused already, it gave Mariners hope after seven game loss instead of putting them away, Jays unable to put their foot on neck of Mariners. Let us hope that if nothing else this team learned something from it and it will not happen again. Put the score on every locker in the Jays dressing room for the rest of the season as a motivator. This was one huge one that got away instead of a good win against Hernandez. Pressure now tremendous on Romero to go deep tonight.
Lineups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Encarnacion, Nix and Romero pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Wilson, Bradley, Olivo, Smoak, Rodriguez, Saunders, Ryan, Langerhans, and Pineda pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, lines it to Rodriguez third hard but right at him. Patterson, pops it up to Rodriguez, two down. Bautista, 3-0 count, takes it right down the middle. I have noticed Bautista has been doing this on 3-0 pitch instead of swinging. Full count, and strikes out. Jose may regret not swinging at that fourth pitch right down the middle.
Bottom 1st: Suzuki, pops it up, one down. Wilson fly ball to Bautista, Bradley grounds back to Romero, throw to Lind for three up and down inning. Tampa has just beaten Boston in Fenway. Price beat Lester in battle of the aces. Yankees-Baltimore game rained out.
Top 2nd: Lind, lines it to Ryan at short, one down for Hill, strikes out, two down. Arencibia, walks, Snider not having much fun these days. Lines it to Ichiro in right. Another lousy crowd but when you lose seven in a row and it is April and COLD then not much incentive.
Bottom 2nd: Olivo, strikes out. Smoak, not good bounces one down the right field line, Lind playing too far off the line that was playable. Rodriguez, lines first pitch to Patterson in centre, runner holds, two down for Saunders, strikes out swinging.
Top 3rd: Encarnacion DH again tonight. Pops it high in air for Rodriguez at third. Nix, same play first pitch but to Smoak at first, two down for Escobar. Grounds to second throw to first. Pineda mowing them down here.
Bottom 3rd: Ryan, singles to left. Langerhans, this one is trouble big-time, Langerhans huge swing at first pitch no doubt about this as it sails into right field seats, that was some swing, 2-0 Seattle. He was sitting on that pitch. Ichiro, bounces hard back to Romero, nice athletic jump to grab it and throw him out, first out of the inning. Wilson, oh boy, grounds it to Nix, throw wild past Lind at first, and Wilson to second on the error to Nix. Bradley, Wilson steals third without a throw. Bradley singles into right, here comes third run, Romero unravelling here, Olivo. Grounds back to Romero, fumbles it and only one play to first, could have been two without the fumble. Smoak, 3-1 count, grounds to Lind takes it himself. But Jays are now in trouble. Seattle flying high. Jays hitters need to get something going and fast or this one is in the books.
Top 4th: I guess the good news is that this game is going along a lot faster than last night which took two hours to go four, this one is not even one hour. Patterson leading off. That will do it, Corey pulls it into right. Bautista now, singles into left, two on for Lind, has to move them over here, strikes out swinging. I am beginning to give up on Adam, he is no security behind Bautista and other advance scouts will note to pitch around Jose to get to Lind. Hill, fly ball to Ichiro in right, two down and runners stay put. Arencibia, strikes out. Awful, runner on second and no outs and does not move. Where is the aggression tonight ? What is the point of speed of Patterson if he doesn’t use it?
Bottom 4th: Rodriguez, full count, grounds to Nix, careful throw to Lind this time, one down, Saunders, strikes out swinging. Ryan, grounds to Lind, takes it himself to end the inning. Ricky is doing his job but where are the hitters? Jays seem to have forgotten they were beating up Hernandez last night big-time. This team tonight looks hesitant without any aggression on the bases.
Top 5th: Someone needs to light the fire here. Snider first pitch fly ball to left. Encarnacion, lifts it into centre, one on for Nix needs to redeem himself for the throwing error. I don’t think Pineda has thrown one ball to first all night, Come on make him sweat, even you Edwin. Nix pops it up to centre. Two down. Escobar, lines it back off Pineda but still time for Ryan at short to get Encarnacion at second. Mariners cruising in this one, this Jays team is totally beaten down.
Bottom 5th: Langerhans full count, strikes out, no home run this time. Ichiro, grounds to Lind, two down. Wilson bunting but Ricky fast off the mound and throw gets him at first. That will help the pitch count and bullpen but we still need RUNS !
Top 6th: Patterson, slaps it to third, throw to first beats him out. One down for Bautista, first pitch fly ball to left, two down, Jays hitters getting frustrated here. Lind, pops it up to Olivo. Pitiful hitting by the heart of Jays order. This is a rookie pitcher they are facing not Roy Hallladay. Undisciplined and lack of any life or aggression on the base pads when they do get on.
Bottom 6th: Bradley, strikes out, Olivo, great pitch strikes him out, number six for Ricky tonight. Smoak grounds first pitch to Nix, throw to Lind to end this quick one.
Top 7th: Jays running out of at bats now and have not looked like doing any damage here tonight. Pineda cruising to an easy win. Hill, pops it up to second, one down. Jays have had precisely three hits tonight. Arencibia, strikes out. Snider, average now .139, strikes out. I foresee a trip to Vegas for this guy soon. Probably when Davis returns which could be this weekend for Boston series. With Patterson now Travis is superfluous and needs to get his hitting back in order.
Bottom 7th: Rodriguez, strikes out, number seven. Ricky has done his job but he can’t win games without any run support. Saunders lines it to Snider in left, two down. Ryan, pops it up to Hill.
Top 8th: Encarnacion leading off. Singles to left. Seattle bullpen already working. Nix, strikes out looking, one down for Escobar. Finally throws one over even though it is Edwin and no threat to run let alone steal. 3-0 count, we have not seen that tonight. Takes it all the way right down the middle. Ball four, two on one down for Patterson. Manager Wedge trip to the mound, leaving him in. Wild pitch and both runners move up, hit will score both. Perfect singles to right here comes Edwin, here comes Escobar, 3-2 game, finally a breakthrough. That’s the end for Pineda gets a great ovation but you could see he was starting to struggle, throw over, stepping off the mound when runner at second, wild pitch and finally left one up for Patterson. But this one is far from a Jays win yet. Bautista, Ray now pitching, way to go Corey stealing second throw down gets away and Patterson to third on the play, finally some aggression on the base pads. Bautista pops up to shallow right here comes the throw here comes Patterson out at the plate, double play ball. Not far enough to get home.
Bottom 8th: Romero still out there, Langerhans, ball four, leadoff guy on base. Rauch warming up. Ichiro, doubles down the line into left, Langerhans to third still no outs, Wilson, strikes out, on down. Bradley, intentional walk to set up Olivo. Bases loaded one down. No room for error for Ricky now. OH YES, YES, YES, Olivo lines it to Bautista in right, here comes the runner, here comes the throw and Langerhans is out at the plate, huge play double play.
Top 9th; Jays last chance here. Look who is now pitching. Ex-Jay Brandon League. Lind leading off, now earn your money Adam. Fly ball to centre, one down for Hill awful first pitch pops it up to first, two down, Arencibia last chance. Just misses with that shot to left foul, strikes out swinging.
And Jays ruin a great outing by Romero. I think Manager Farrell will be making major changes to this line-up, if not tomorrow then for Boston series. Hill, Lind, and Snider being the obvious candidates and certainly Bautista needs better protection than he is getting.
The good news is that this game is over in 2.5 hours.
The very good: Ricky Romero goes eight innings and gives that bullpen a rest. Patterson his RBI, his stealing and aggression in the eighth to get Jays close.
The bad: The hitters apart from Patterson. Worse still it is Hill, Lind and Snider now who are struggling big-time.
Janssen and Mills called up to replace Purcey on waivers. I agree 100% re Purcey. He was definitely the goat last night and implications are far beyond the loss. The bullpen all beaten up, Camp for one is way overused already, it gave Mariners hope after seven game loss instead of putting them away, Jays unable to put their foot on neck of Mariners. Let us hope that if nothing else this team learned something from it and it will not happen again. Put the score on every locker in the Jays dressing room for the rest of the season as a motivator. This was one huge one that got away instead of a good win against Hernandez. Pressure now tremendous on Romero to go deep tonight.
Lineups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Encarnacion, Nix and Romero pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Wilson, Bradley, Olivo, Smoak, Rodriguez, Saunders, Ryan, Langerhans, and Pineda pitching.
Top 1st: Escobar leading off, lines it to Rodriguez third hard but right at him. Patterson, pops it up to Rodriguez, two down. Bautista, 3-0 count, takes it right down the middle. I have noticed Bautista has been doing this on 3-0 pitch instead of swinging. Full count, and strikes out. Jose may regret not swinging at that fourth pitch right down the middle.
Bottom 1st: Suzuki, pops it up, one down. Wilson fly ball to Bautista, Bradley grounds back to Romero, throw to Lind for three up and down inning. Tampa has just beaten Boston in Fenway. Price beat Lester in battle of the aces. Yankees-Baltimore game rained out.
Top 2nd: Lind, lines it to Ryan at short, one down for Hill, strikes out, two down. Arencibia, walks, Snider not having much fun these days. Lines it to Ichiro in right. Another lousy crowd but when you lose seven in a row and it is April and COLD then not much incentive.
Bottom 2nd: Olivo, strikes out. Smoak, not good bounces one down the right field line, Lind playing too far off the line that was playable. Rodriguez, lines first pitch to Patterson in centre, runner holds, two down for Saunders, strikes out swinging.
Top 3rd: Encarnacion DH again tonight. Pops it high in air for Rodriguez at third. Nix, same play first pitch but to Smoak at first, two down for Escobar. Grounds to second throw to first. Pineda mowing them down here.
Bottom 3rd: Ryan, singles to left. Langerhans, this one is trouble big-time, Langerhans huge swing at first pitch no doubt about this as it sails into right field seats, that was some swing, 2-0 Seattle. He was sitting on that pitch. Ichiro, bounces hard back to Romero, nice athletic jump to grab it and throw him out, first out of the inning. Wilson, oh boy, grounds it to Nix, throw wild past Lind at first, and Wilson to second on the error to Nix. Bradley, Wilson steals third without a throw. Bradley singles into right, here comes third run, Romero unravelling here, Olivo. Grounds back to Romero, fumbles it and only one play to first, could have been two without the fumble. Smoak, 3-1 count, grounds to Lind takes it himself. But Jays are now in trouble. Seattle flying high. Jays hitters need to get something going and fast or this one is in the books.
Top 4th: I guess the good news is that this game is going along a lot faster than last night which took two hours to go four, this one is not even one hour. Patterson leading off. That will do it, Corey pulls it into right. Bautista now, singles into left, two on for Lind, has to move them over here, strikes out swinging. I am beginning to give up on Adam, he is no security behind Bautista and other advance scouts will note to pitch around Jose to get to Lind. Hill, fly ball to Ichiro in right, two down and runners stay put. Arencibia, strikes out. Awful, runner on second and no outs and does not move. Where is the aggression tonight ? What is the point of speed of Patterson if he doesn’t use it?
Bottom 4th: Rodriguez, full count, grounds to Nix, careful throw to Lind this time, one down, Saunders, strikes out swinging. Ryan, grounds to Lind, takes it himself to end the inning. Ricky is doing his job but where are the hitters? Jays seem to have forgotten they were beating up Hernandez last night big-time. This team tonight looks hesitant without any aggression on the bases.
Top 5th: Someone needs to light the fire here. Snider first pitch fly ball to left. Encarnacion, lifts it into centre, one on for Nix needs to redeem himself for the throwing error. I don’t think Pineda has thrown one ball to first all night, Come on make him sweat, even you Edwin. Nix pops it up to centre. Two down. Escobar, lines it back off Pineda but still time for Ryan at short to get Encarnacion at second. Mariners cruising in this one, this Jays team is totally beaten down.
Bottom 5th: Langerhans full count, strikes out, no home run this time. Ichiro, grounds to Lind, two down. Wilson bunting but Ricky fast off the mound and throw gets him at first. That will help the pitch count and bullpen but we still need RUNS !
Top 6th: Patterson, slaps it to third, throw to first beats him out. One down for Bautista, first pitch fly ball to left, two down, Jays hitters getting frustrated here. Lind, pops it up to Olivo. Pitiful hitting by the heart of Jays order. This is a rookie pitcher they are facing not Roy Hallladay. Undisciplined and lack of any life or aggression on the base pads when they do get on.
Bottom 6th: Bradley, strikes out, Olivo, great pitch strikes him out, number six for Ricky tonight. Smoak grounds first pitch to Nix, throw to Lind to end this quick one.
Top 7th: Jays running out of at bats now and have not looked like doing any damage here tonight. Pineda cruising to an easy win. Hill, pops it up to second, one down. Jays have had precisely three hits tonight. Arencibia, strikes out. Snider, average now .139, strikes out. I foresee a trip to Vegas for this guy soon. Probably when Davis returns which could be this weekend for Boston series. With Patterson now Travis is superfluous and needs to get his hitting back in order.
Bottom 7th: Rodriguez, strikes out, number seven. Ricky has done his job but he can’t win games without any run support. Saunders lines it to Snider in left, two down. Ryan, pops it up to Hill.
Top 8th: Encarnacion leading off. Singles to left. Seattle bullpen already working. Nix, strikes out looking, one down for Escobar. Finally throws one over even though it is Edwin and no threat to run let alone steal. 3-0 count, we have not seen that tonight. Takes it all the way right down the middle. Ball four, two on one down for Patterson. Manager Wedge trip to the mound, leaving him in. Wild pitch and both runners move up, hit will score both. Perfect singles to right here comes Edwin, here comes Escobar, 3-2 game, finally a breakthrough. That’s the end for Pineda gets a great ovation but you could see he was starting to struggle, throw over, stepping off the mound when runner at second, wild pitch and finally left one up for Patterson. But this one is far from a Jays win yet. Bautista, Ray now pitching, way to go Corey stealing second throw down gets away and Patterson to third on the play, finally some aggression on the base pads. Bautista pops up to shallow right here comes the throw here comes Patterson out at the plate, double play ball. Not far enough to get home.
Bottom 8th: Romero still out there, Langerhans, ball four, leadoff guy on base. Rauch warming up. Ichiro, doubles down the line into left, Langerhans to third still no outs, Wilson, strikes out, on down. Bradley, intentional walk to set up Olivo. Bases loaded one down. No room for error for Ricky now. OH YES, YES, YES, Olivo lines it to Bautista in right, here comes the runner, here comes the throw and Langerhans is out at the plate, huge play double play.
Top 9th; Jays last chance here. Look who is now pitching. Ex-Jay Brandon League. Lind leading off, now earn your money Adam. Fly ball to centre, one down for Hill awful first pitch pops it up to first, two down, Arencibia last chance. Just misses with that shot to left foul, strikes out swinging.
And Jays ruin a great outing by Romero. I think Manager Farrell will be making major changes to this line-up, if not tomorrow then for Boston series. Hill, Lind, and Snider being the obvious candidates and certainly Bautista needs better protection than he is getting.
The good news is that this game is over in 2.5 hours.
The very good: Ricky Romero goes eight innings and gives that bullpen a rest. Patterson his RBI, his stealing and aggression in the eighth to get Jays close.
The bad: The hitters apart from Patterson. Worse still it is Hill, Lind and Snider now who are struggling big-time.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Purcey leads bullpen in unbelievable collapse and walk away a win
Jays v Mariners Game one.
Jays move north to Seattle after disappointing weekend. Jesse Litsch v Felix Hernandez tonight, tough matchup for Jesse against AL 2010 Cy Young winner. Jays will not be fooled by the Mariners losing streak of seven, they want to make it ten before they leave here. Jays player merry go round continues with Corey Patterson being recalled and Richmond sent back to Vegas after his one day visit with Mike McCoy sent to Vegas. Richmond was really only insurance in event that Jo Jo Reyes could not go any length but Reyes pitched very well overall despite that long 31 pitch first inning. Good to see Patterson off the DL after his hit in the head. Patterson is needed to replace Davis who reinjured his ankle and will probably miss the Seattle series to give it a thorough rest. That marathon game with the Angels and then the day game probably didn’t help much and might explain his lack of jet speed on a couple of plays yesterday. Jays really need to get their bats going again after last two silent games.
Lineups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Encarnacion, DH tonight with Nix at 3B and Litsch pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Figgins, Bradley, Cust, Smoak, Olivo, Saunders, Ryan, Wilson and Hernandez pitching.
In Boston Tampa are all over Red Sox hammering both Matsuzaka and Wakefield 12 runs in 5.1 innings of work, ouch. Johnny Damon has hit a home run, that would also get the Boston faithful upset.
Top 1st: Not much of a crowd for this one. Escobar leading off tonight. Singles first pitch back up the middle. Patterson, bunting but fouls it back. That’s a tough call to start back with, grounds to second throw to the bag gets Escobar but no time to get speedster Patterson. Bautista one on , one down, passed ball and Patterson to second. 3-1 count, keeping it away from Jose. Count full, ball four. Lind. Oh man, Lind strikes out looking, does not take his bat off his shoulders for all three pitches, sometimes I wonder where his head is. Hill, strikes out leaves two on but the key at bat there was that of Lind. Jays already 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 1st:Suzuki, singles past diving Hill, Figgins, bunts foul. Singles to Snider in left, two on nobody out, Bradley, gets him, strikes out swinging, huge out, now for the ground ball. Cust, two on one down, strikes him out. Two down for Smoak. 3-1 count, Jesse making it difficult for himself. Count full, way outside, loads the bases, 21 pitches also. Olivo, finally grounds it to Lind for the out, but that took 25 pitches, I don’t think Jesse will be hanging around long in this game unless he can change it around here.
Top 2nd: Arencibia leading off. Strikes out on three pitches. Snider, 3-0 count, walks him on four pitches. Encarnacion, there you go Edwin, lines it to left for a double. I give up with this guy. Nix now with two in scoring position he will not be taking pitches, lines it off third base, here comes Travis, 1-0 Jays. Finally a hitter. Edwin moves to third, Escobar with two on, strikes out swinging, two down for Patterson, pops it up to shallow centre for third out but at least Jays get one. 34 pitches now for Hernandez.
Bottom 2nd: Boston have lost 16-5 to Tampa whoa Dice-K now what he used to be..... Red Sox nation in mourning on this one. 2-8 now as is Tampa. Jays will going in there this weekend. Saunders, lines it to Snider in left, one down. Ryan, lines it to Bautista in right, two down. Wilson, grounds back to Litsch, three up and down and that pitch count lowered a little. 39.
Top 3rd: Bautista leading off. Full count, grounds to short, long throw pulls him off the bag and Jose safe diving in. Perhaps Adam you will swing at one this time. Full count. Strikes out swinging over it, Hernandez has Adam’s number. Hill, they have Jose picked off but somehow he avoids the rundown and slides in head first safe at second as the ball is dropped. Aggressive play. Good to see, I thought they had lost the art from that first week. Perfect look at that, Aaron doubles into left corner and here comes Jose 2-0. Jays. Nice solid hit from Aaron. Arencibia now. JP lifts one into shallow right, two on for Snider, fouling them off here, 50 pitches now for Felix. That will do Travis, grounds to first, throw to second to get Arencibia no chance for two, Hill scores 3-0. Jays. Edwin, two down one on. Snider stealing on the pitch Olivo throw down and they get him at second. Edwin will lead off next inning. But jays get two more and Hernandez at 65 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: Suzuki, full count, grounds to Nix at third, strong throw gets him. Nice play Jayson. One down for Figgins, 3-0 come on Jesse, focus. Ball four, not good with Figgins speed. Bradley, 2-0 six balls in a row here. There goes Figgins running on the play Bradley singles up the middle and Figgins at third, you cannot finesse Jesse here. Two on one down for Cust, 2-2 control really missing here, count full, ball four and bases loaded. Here comes Walton but I don’t think Jesse has it tonight. Question is can he limit the damage here? Smoak, need a ground ball Jesse, just get it in play. Full count. This is painful. Whoa Smoak strikes out on ball four, two down. Bullpen warming up. Olivo, bases loaded two down. Fly ball to Snider in left and Litsch escapes bigtime. But that was not a good audition Jesse for the rotation and his pitch count is terrible at 71 pitches for three innings.
Top 4th: Encarnacion leads off, Rodriguez in for Figgins at third. I don’t believe him, singles into left. 2-2 tonight. That is what makes him so maddening but we will take tonight at least. Nix, Jayson does it again, doubles into left, Edwin not too fast and stuck at third. But Jays will take two on in scoring position and nobody out and top of the order. Escobar. Wild pitch and here comes Edwin, 4-0 Jays. Nix to third. This should do it, fly ball to centre, here comes Nix, 5-0 Jays and one down. Patterson singles into right and the beat goes on. Bautista singles into left, Mariners bullpen working. Lind, two on and one down. Full count. Watch the one in the dirt Adam. Gets it this time but grounds to second, throw to first double play ball. But Jays get to Hernandez bigtime. 87 poitches
Bottom 4th: Can Litsch smarten up here now with this lead? Saunders, first pitch fly ball to Snider, one down. Ryan, singles into left. Wilson lines it to right, great sliding catch by Bautista. Two down. Suzuki, Ryan stealing throw down ball gets away and Ryan to third on the play, full count again, ball four way outside. Rodriguez, fly ball to Patterson in centre to end this one, two hours four innings ! Both pitchers to blame for that. 95 pitch count, awful.
Top 5th: Hill pops up to Smoak at first, Arencibia grounds to short, throw to first two down. Snider, grounds to second, flip to first for third out. Quick inning finally. Let’s see what Jays pitchers can do.
Bottom 5th: Bradley whoa lines a bullet right at Litsch, reflex catch, very nice grab Jesse. One down. Cust first pitch grounds to second throw to first two down. Smoak, doubles off the wall in left, Travis had a chance. Misjudged it. Did not need to jump there. Olivo, 107 pitches. Full count. Strikes him out, at least he can end this one on a good note.
Top 6th: Hernandez still out there Encarnacion 2-2 pops up to first, one down. Nix, 3-3 as he singles to left for the third hit tonight. Not bad for a filler. Escobar first pitch fly ball to right, two down, Patterson. Oh boy this one has legs and it is out of here into right field seats, line drive the new guys are doing it tonight. 7-0 Jays. Bautista, strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Frasor now pitching. Saunders, full count, ball four. Ryan, another full count, Frasor having problems, strikes out but runner going and throw too late, Saunders at second one down. grounds to third throw to Lind two down runner to third for Suzuki. Pops it up very nice running backhand catch by Nix, this guy is for real. I can’t see Edwin getting back out there at third.
Top 7th: Laffey pitching. Lind grounds first pitch back to Laffey, throw to first, one down, Hill. Fly ball to centre, two down for Arencibia. Pace of the game has picked up bigtime. 2.5 innings in 40 minutes. That’s more like it. JP singles into right. Snider and Lind the only two without a hit tonight, not this time either strikes out to end the inning.
Bottom 7th: Villanueva pitching, Rodriguez, strikes out, one down for Bradley. Goes down for this one and turns on it and it is out of here into right field corner seats and Mariners on the board, 7-1 Jays. Cust, grounds to second throw to first, Smoak, walks. Olivo, strikes out swinging.
Top 8th: Wilhelmsen now pitching. Encarnacion singles to left has his third hit. Nix already with three, not this time as he flies out to centre, one down, Escobar, ball four, two on for home run hitter Patterson. No this time fly ball to centre. Two down for Escobar, Jose 2-3 and a walk tonight. Ball four. That may be deliberate to get to this guy. Bases loaded for Lind hitless tonight and perfect time for one. Strikes out swinging 0-5 not good enough for the clean up man and offering no protection for Bautista either.
Bottom 8th: Purcey now pitching. I imagine they hope for more innings from Romero tomorrow to give bullpen some rest, Saunders leading off. Full count, singles into left. Ryan, 3-0 count, ball four, Purcey also having problems throwing strikes. Two on and nobody out. Wilson, 3-1 fly ball to Snider one down. Suzuki with two on, fly ball to centre but Patterson diving cannot get it. Bases loaded. That’s enough for Manager Farrell. Purcey didn’t have anything tonight. Dotel now. Rodriguez, full count. Ball four and run scores. 7-2 Jays and base remain loaded. Bradley another full count. Ball four, another run in and now the tying run !!! at the plate but that is it for Dotel tonight, Just didn’t have it, Rzepczysnki with bases loaded and only one out, not much room for error here. Cust, 3-0 count, here we go again. Ball four, another run scores 7-4 and now the go ahead run. Four walks in this inning. Smoak, full count. Camp now throwing in bullpen. Singles into left two runs score 7-6 game. That’s it for Rzepczysnki. Camp in to stop this rot. Ten walks tonight by Jays pitchers. Olivo, perfect one pitch does it, grounds to short to second to first double play ball. That has to be one of the very worst innings for a long time.
Top 9th: Lueke pitching. Now Jays hitters have to get a couple back here, no mercy. Hill, Arencibia full count, lines to right, two down. Snider hitless tonight. Strikes out again, not doing much to justify your position Travis, when Davis returns you may find yourself platooned with Patterson.
Bottom 9th: Here we go... all rests with Camp now. Who would have forecast this half an hour ago? Saunders leading off doubles into right. Ryan showing bunt, gets it down third attempt throw to first to get Ryan and runner safe at third. One down one in scoring position. Kennedy pinch hitting. Perfect grounds to Escobar looks runner back and throw to first, two down. BUT here comes Ichiro. 2-0 count, now putting him on. Rodriguez, 1-2 count, Ichiro takes second. Ten pitch at bat and here we go, doubles to the wall in centre and Mariners win an improbable game 8-7 coming back from 0-7.
A long time since we saw Jays collapse like this and the bullpen had been so good. But Purcey is the goat tonight, gave Seattle the chance. Another four hour game. This is one awful awful result as Jays were coasting to 7-0 win at the top of the 8th.
The very good: The newbies: Nix 3-3 and excellent catch. Patterson with two run home run. Edwin, have to give him credit for his three hits tonight, I just hope we don’t have to wait a week for his next one.
The not so good: Lind first at bat, takes three strikes and goes hitless 0-5 tonight not a great night for him. Litsch just not finding his spots, too many deep counts, four walks didn’t help, still needs to earn that rotation spot. Forces Farrell to go to bullpen early.
The really awful: Purcey, started the rot bigtime had nothing and must take the blame for this one. Loads the bases in the 8th. Dotel just couldn’t do it either walking in two. Rzepczysnki the same. Ten walks by Jays pitching tonight.
Jays move north to Seattle after disappointing weekend. Jesse Litsch v Felix Hernandez tonight, tough matchup for Jesse against AL 2010 Cy Young winner. Jays will not be fooled by the Mariners losing streak of seven, they want to make it ten before they leave here. Jays player merry go round continues with Corey Patterson being recalled and Richmond sent back to Vegas after his one day visit with Mike McCoy sent to Vegas. Richmond was really only insurance in event that Jo Jo Reyes could not go any length but Reyes pitched very well overall despite that long 31 pitch first inning. Good to see Patterson off the DL after his hit in the head. Patterson is needed to replace Davis who reinjured his ankle and will probably miss the Seattle series to give it a thorough rest. That marathon game with the Angels and then the day game probably didn’t help much and might explain his lack of jet speed on a couple of plays yesterday. Jays really need to get their bats going again after last two silent games.
Lineups: Jays: Escobar, Patterson, Bautista, Lind, Hill, Arencibia, Snider, Encarnacion, DH tonight with Nix at 3B and Litsch pitching.
Mariners: Suzuki, Figgins, Bradley, Cust, Smoak, Olivo, Saunders, Ryan, Wilson and Hernandez pitching.
In Boston Tampa are all over Red Sox hammering both Matsuzaka and Wakefield 12 runs in 5.1 innings of work, ouch. Johnny Damon has hit a home run, that would also get the Boston faithful upset.
Top 1st: Not much of a crowd for this one. Escobar leading off tonight. Singles first pitch back up the middle. Patterson, bunting but fouls it back. That’s a tough call to start back with, grounds to second throw to the bag gets Escobar but no time to get speedster Patterson. Bautista one on , one down, passed ball and Patterson to second. 3-1 count, keeping it away from Jose. Count full, ball four. Lind. Oh man, Lind strikes out looking, does not take his bat off his shoulders for all three pitches, sometimes I wonder where his head is. Hill, strikes out leaves two on but the key at bat there was that of Lind. Jays already 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
Bottom 1st:Suzuki, singles past diving Hill, Figgins, bunts foul. Singles to Snider in left, two on nobody out, Bradley, gets him, strikes out swinging, huge out, now for the ground ball. Cust, two on one down, strikes him out. Two down for Smoak. 3-1 count, Jesse making it difficult for himself. Count full, way outside, loads the bases, 21 pitches also. Olivo, finally grounds it to Lind for the out, but that took 25 pitches, I don’t think Jesse will be hanging around long in this game unless he can change it around here.
Top 2nd: Arencibia leading off. Strikes out on three pitches. Snider, 3-0 count, walks him on four pitches. Encarnacion, there you go Edwin, lines it to left for a double. I give up with this guy. Nix now with two in scoring position he will not be taking pitches, lines it off third base, here comes Travis, 1-0 Jays. Finally a hitter. Edwin moves to third, Escobar with two on, strikes out swinging, two down for Patterson, pops it up to shallow centre for third out but at least Jays get one. 34 pitches now for Hernandez.
Bottom 2nd: Boston have lost 16-5 to Tampa whoa Dice-K now what he used to be..... Red Sox nation in mourning on this one. 2-8 now as is Tampa. Jays will going in there this weekend. Saunders, lines it to Snider in left, one down. Ryan, lines it to Bautista in right, two down. Wilson, grounds back to Litsch, three up and down and that pitch count lowered a little. 39.
Top 3rd: Bautista leading off. Full count, grounds to short, long throw pulls him off the bag and Jose safe diving in. Perhaps Adam you will swing at one this time. Full count. Strikes out swinging over it, Hernandez has Adam’s number. Hill, they have Jose picked off but somehow he avoids the rundown and slides in head first safe at second as the ball is dropped. Aggressive play. Good to see, I thought they had lost the art from that first week. Perfect look at that, Aaron doubles into left corner and here comes Jose 2-0. Jays. Nice solid hit from Aaron. Arencibia now. JP lifts one into shallow right, two on for Snider, fouling them off here, 50 pitches now for Felix. That will do Travis, grounds to first, throw to second to get Arencibia no chance for two, Hill scores 3-0. Jays. Edwin, two down one on. Snider stealing on the pitch Olivo throw down and they get him at second. Edwin will lead off next inning. But jays get two more and Hernandez at 65 pitch count.
Bottom 3rd: Suzuki, full count, grounds to Nix at third, strong throw gets him. Nice play Jayson. One down for Figgins, 3-0 come on Jesse, focus. Ball four, not good with Figgins speed. Bradley, 2-0 six balls in a row here. There goes Figgins running on the play Bradley singles up the middle and Figgins at third, you cannot finesse Jesse here. Two on one down for Cust, 2-2 control really missing here, count full, ball four and bases loaded. Here comes Walton but I don’t think Jesse has it tonight. Question is can he limit the damage here? Smoak, need a ground ball Jesse, just get it in play. Full count. This is painful. Whoa Smoak strikes out on ball four, two down. Bullpen warming up. Olivo, bases loaded two down. Fly ball to Snider in left and Litsch escapes bigtime. But that was not a good audition Jesse for the rotation and his pitch count is terrible at 71 pitches for three innings.
Top 4th: Encarnacion leads off, Rodriguez in for Figgins at third. I don’t believe him, singles into left. 2-2 tonight. That is what makes him so maddening but we will take tonight at least. Nix, Jayson does it again, doubles into left, Edwin not too fast and stuck at third. But Jays will take two on in scoring position and nobody out and top of the order. Escobar. Wild pitch and here comes Edwin, 4-0 Jays. Nix to third. This should do it, fly ball to centre, here comes Nix, 5-0 Jays and one down. Patterson singles into right and the beat goes on. Bautista singles into left, Mariners bullpen working. Lind, two on and one down. Full count. Watch the one in the dirt Adam. Gets it this time but grounds to second, throw to first double play ball. But Jays get to Hernandez bigtime. 87 poitches
Bottom 4th: Can Litsch smarten up here now with this lead? Saunders, first pitch fly ball to Snider, one down. Ryan, singles into left. Wilson lines it to right, great sliding catch by Bautista. Two down. Suzuki, Ryan stealing throw down ball gets away and Ryan to third on the play, full count again, ball four way outside. Rodriguez, fly ball to Patterson in centre to end this one, two hours four innings ! Both pitchers to blame for that. 95 pitch count, awful.
Top 5th: Hill pops up to Smoak at first, Arencibia grounds to short, throw to first two down. Snider, grounds to second, flip to first for third out. Quick inning finally. Let’s see what Jays pitchers can do.
Bottom 5th: Bradley whoa lines a bullet right at Litsch, reflex catch, very nice grab Jesse. One down. Cust first pitch grounds to second throw to first two down. Smoak, doubles off the wall in left, Travis had a chance. Misjudged it. Did not need to jump there. Olivo, 107 pitches. Full count. Strikes him out, at least he can end this one on a good note.
Top 6th: Hernandez still out there Encarnacion 2-2 pops up to first, one down. Nix, 3-3 as he singles to left for the third hit tonight. Not bad for a filler. Escobar first pitch fly ball to right, two down, Patterson. Oh boy this one has legs and it is out of here into right field seats, line drive the new guys are doing it tonight. 7-0 Jays. Bautista, strikes out.
Bottom 6th: Frasor now pitching. Saunders, full count, ball four. Ryan, another full count, Frasor having problems, strikes out but runner going and throw too late, Saunders at second one down. grounds to third throw to Lind two down runner to third for Suzuki. Pops it up very nice running backhand catch by Nix, this guy is for real. I can’t see Edwin getting back out there at third.
Top 7th: Laffey pitching. Lind grounds first pitch back to Laffey, throw to first, one down, Hill. Fly ball to centre, two down for Arencibia. Pace of the game has picked up bigtime. 2.5 innings in 40 minutes. That’s more like it. JP singles into right. Snider and Lind the only two without a hit tonight, not this time either strikes out to end the inning.
Bottom 7th: Villanueva pitching, Rodriguez, strikes out, one down for Bradley. Goes down for this one and turns on it and it is out of here into right field corner seats and Mariners on the board, 7-1 Jays. Cust, grounds to second throw to first, Smoak, walks. Olivo, strikes out swinging.
Top 8th: Wilhelmsen now pitching. Encarnacion singles to left has his third hit. Nix already with three, not this time as he flies out to centre, one down, Escobar, ball four, two on for home run hitter Patterson. No this time fly ball to centre. Two down for Escobar, Jose 2-3 and a walk tonight. Ball four. That may be deliberate to get to this guy. Bases loaded for Lind hitless tonight and perfect time for one. Strikes out swinging 0-5 not good enough for the clean up man and offering no protection for Bautista either.
Bottom 8th: Purcey now pitching. I imagine they hope for more innings from Romero tomorrow to give bullpen some rest, Saunders leading off. Full count, singles into left. Ryan, 3-0 count, ball four, Purcey also having problems throwing strikes. Two on and nobody out. Wilson, 3-1 fly ball to Snider one down. Suzuki with two on, fly ball to centre but Patterson diving cannot get it. Bases loaded. That’s enough for Manager Farrell. Purcey didn’t have anything tonight. Dotel now. Rodriguez, full count. Ball four and run scores. 7-2 Jays and base remain loaded. Bradley another full count. Ball four, another run in and now the tying run !!! at the plate but that is it for Dotel tonight, Just didn’t have it, Rzepczysnki with bases loaded and only one out, not much room for error here. Cust, 3-0 count, here we go again. Ball four, another run scores 7-4 and now the go ahead run. Four walks in this inning. Smoak, full count. Camp now throwing in bullpen. Singles into left two runs score 7-6 game. That’s it for Rzepczysnki. Camp in to stop this rot. Ten walks tonight by Jays pitchers. Olivo, perfect one pitch does it, grounds to short to second to first double play ball. That has to be one of the very worst innings for a long time.
Top 9th: Lueke pitching. Now Jays hitters have to get a couple back here, no mercy. Hill, Arencibia full count, lines to right, two down. Snider hitless tonight. Strikes out again, not doing much to justify your position Travis, when Davis returns you may find yourself platooned with Patterson.
Bottom 9th: Here we go... all rests with Camp now. Who would have forecast this half an hour ago? Saunders leading off doubles into right. Ryan showing bunt, gets it down third attempt throw to first to get Ryan and runner safe at third. One down one in scoring position. Kennedy pinch hitting. Perfect grounds to Escobar looks runner back and throw to first, two down. BUT here comes Ichiro. 2-0 count, now putting him on. Rodriguez, 1-2 count, Ichiro takes second. Ten pitch at bat and here we go, doubles to the wall in centre and Mariners win an improbable game 8-7 coming back from 0-7.
A long time since we saw Jays collapse like this and the bullpen had been so good. But Purcey is the goat tonight, gave Seattle the chance. Another four hour game. This is one awful awful result as Jays were coasting to 7-0 win at the top of the 8th.
The very good: The newbies: Nix 3-3 and excellent catch. Patterson with two run home run. Edwin, have to give him credit for his three hits tonight, I just hope we don’t have to wait a week for his next one.
The not so good: Lind first at bat, takes three strikes and goes hitless 0-5 tonight not a great night for him. Litsch just not finding his spots, too many deep counts, four walks didn’t help, still needs to earn that rotation spot. Forces Farrell to go to bullpen early.
The really awful: Purcey, started the rot bigtime had nothing and must take the blame for this one. Loads the bases in the 8th. Dotel just couldn’t do it either walking in two. Rzepczysnki the same. Ten walks by Jays pitching tonight.
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