Arenciba throws this one away as Jays lose 4-3 in extra innings

Jays v Braves. Game one of three. First game of the run of National League games. Jays have a lousy record against the NL teams in inter-league play, but and a big but, this is a very different team for the Jays. Speed and power now. Plus a few NL players Bautista, Johnson, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Escobar and Drabek to name just a few. Jays get the injured warriors back tonight, both Encarnacion and Davis in the lineup. But no Cooper or Gomes in the lineup and ready to hit for the pitcher. Drabek one the few who have had NL experience hitting. Farrell staying with the hot order lineup although they were very quiet last night. Talk today about the overreaction of some of the Jays, as “Acton Jay” puts it, the prima donnas. Romero and Bautista started it plus Escobar of course who brought it with him from the Braves. Now Jose has toned down his overreaction to perceived poor calls by the umpire, now accepts them without major reaction. Romero slams his glove down on the bench and some feel this is a lousy example to the much younger pitchers in the rotation. Last night Alvarez upset was storming off the bench when Arencibia forcibly stopped him and spoke to him to discuss the disagreement and calm him down, maybe just maybe Romero noted. Lineups: Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Encarnacion, Johnson, Escobar, Arencibia, Davis and Drabek pitching. Braves: Bourn, Prado, McCann, Uggla, Heyward, Hinske, Simmons, Beachy pitching, and Constanza. Top 1st: Lawrie, fly ball to Heyward in right for the out. Rasmus, lines to third but Prado makes a nice play and throw to ex-Jay Hinske at first. Bautista, full count, inside ball four, Encarnacion, one on, 0-2 count, lines it hard but right at Uggla at second. Pitch count 15. Bottom 1st: Bourn, full count, singles to Davis in left, one on for Prado. 2-1 there goes Bourn and great throw by Arenciba and Escobar tags him out, great throw one down full count. Grounds back up the middle. One on one down for McCann. Weird pitch bounces it way in front of home plate. 2-1 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Escobar over to Encarnacion double play ball rescues Drabek here. Pitch count 18. Top 2nd: Johnson leading off. 2-2 count, grounds it back hard off the glove of Beachy and recovery not in time to catch Johnson at first, his hamstring must be better, that was some speed Kelly. Ex-Brave Escobar, let’s hope he is pumped up for this series. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Arencibia, JP not hot right now. Full count, there goes Johnson as Arenciba strikes out. Safe on the throw. Two down for Rajai Davis back in the lineup after jamming his finger. 2-0, now intentional walk to get to Drabek. Hit it out Kyle. Two on two down. Nice swing, 0-2 count. Whoa this one takes off way over the catcher to the back stop, that was major WILD pitch. Both runners move up in scoring position. 2-2 count. strikes out swinging but Kyle did not disgrace himself at all, some very nice swings. Pitch count 40. Yankees beating the Mets 6-0. Orioles losing to Phillies 7-3, and Boston losing 3-2 to Nationals, Tampa beating Miami 2-1. all games in progress. Bottom 2nd: Uggla, full count, inside ball four. Heyward, 2-1 count, pops it up to left centre for Davis to make the out, one down one on for Eric Hinske. Bounces back to Drabek, throw to Encarnacion, two down as Uggla to second on the play. Simmons, full count, pops it up to Encarnacion for third out. Pitch count 37. Drabek definitely not sharp out there but muddling through somehow. He had spent a long time out there on deck circle and then at bat. Now he can maybe relax for a bit plus it will be Beachy’s turn next inning. Top 3rd: Lawrie another wild pitch high and inside. Lawrie just bends back and moves his head, whoa, too cool. Others would be flat on their back. 2-2 count. Grounds to second, throw to Hinske for the out. Rasmus. Pops it up to Constanza in left, two down for Bautista. 2-2 count, oh no, strikes out, but Jose did not think he went around on that pitch, very close call, says his piece but does not argue much. 54 pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Pitcher Beachy leading off. 0-2 count, bounces to Lawrie, playing back and beats out the throw, he can run. One on for Constanza, bunting, fouls it off. Ball gets away but Beachy not running. 1-2 count. fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down for Bourn. Full count, lines it to the wall in right, stand up double and Beachey all the way to third. Prado, 1-1 count, perfect in front of the mound, throw to first to get Prado, Beachy had to hold. Two down for McCann. 3-1 count, outside ball four to load the bases for Uggla. Drabek definitely living dangerously. 3-1 count, outside ball four, here comes Beachy to score 1-0 Braves. Bases stay loaded, here comes Walton, maybe a little late Bruce. Heyward 2-1 count, fly ball to Davis in left for the out, Drabek escapes major damage there. BUT 68 pitch count. He may not last four let alone five. Top 4th: Interesting to see how Beachy reacts to being out there for such a long time. He has been wild even before that long stand on the bases. Encarnacion leading off. Grounds to second, throw to Hinske, one quick out. Johnson, 2-2 count, takes strike three, groan, two down. Escobar. 3-1 count. Inside ball four. One on two down for Arencibia, long overdue JP for a big hit. 2-2 count. fouling them off here, strikes out swinging but it took nine pitches for Beachy to get him, Good at bat JP. Pitch count 75. Bottom 4th: Drabek needs a short quick inning. Hinske leading off. Grounds first pitch to Encarnacion. Simmons, one down 1-0 count, grounds to Lawrie throw to Edwin for second out. Pitcher Beachy again. full count, drives it to right centre wall, for standup double. This guy is pesky out. Constanza, two down one on, 3-1 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin for third out. Pitch count 84. Only a 16 pitch inning but Drabek had the first two outs in only three pitches. Top 5th: Davis leading off, bunting but foul. 1-2 count, fly ball to left to Constanza to make the catch, one down for Drabek. 2-2 count, grounds back to Beachy, throw to Hinske for the second out. Lawrie, 0-2 tonight. Full count, way high ball four. One on for Rasmus. Come on Colby, your turn here. High ball one, and ball two, lines this one to Bourn in left centre for the out. Pitch count 95. Bottom 5th: Yankees and Tampa still winning. Boston and Baltimore losing along with the Jays of course. Top of the order Bourn, 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin at first, one down for Prado. Pulls first pitch to Escobar throw to Edwin to make the tag, two down and again two quick outs but Drabek needs three outs. McCann, 2-1 count, that’s better grounds back to Drabek throw to Edwin and a quick inning for a change, nine pitch inning. 93 pitch count, First inning where he has had nobody on base. But too little too late tonight. Top 6th: Bautista leading off. WHOA just misses here with a bomb to left, just foul. That was very close. 3-1 count. not this time as he hammers a rocket to left, into the seats. 1-1 game. That was the 100th pitch for Beachy. Encarnacion 1-1 count lines it into left for a single. Jays hitters zeroing in on Beachy? Johnson, here comes the mound conference. Durbin warming up in Braves bullpen. 3-1 count, could be his last hitter if he lets him get on here. Outside ball four and he has run out of gas. Chad Durbin now pitching. Escobar, bunting up first base line Durbin throw to Hinske gets him both runners move up for Arencibia. One down. Grounds to short and here comes Edwin to score Bautista tagged out at third. 2-1 Jays. Two down two on for Davis. 1-2 count, fly ball to right to end the inning but Jays get two and the lead for Drabek. Bottom 6th: Drabek still out there, now sure about this John, rolling the dices here. Uggla leading off. Full count. Ball four and walk number four for Drabek. One on nobody out, Heyward, why is he pitching to him? The old mantra, pitchers manager. Now Luis Perez warming up, 2-2 count, lines it to the wall in right centre, here comes the run, 2-2 game, and Heyward at second. All the Jays momentum from that two run inning has been lost here. Farrell closing the barn door now, here he comes, far too late. Drabek should not have started that inning, he had been lucky all night long. Far better for him to sit at the beginning of the inning with the lead than struggle out there. Perez now has a task runner at second and nobody out. Matt Diaz pinch hitting for Hinske. Full count, fly ball to Rasmus for the out, Heyward tags and gets to third on the throw, one down for Simmons. Wild pitch but Arencibia makes nice block this time, 2-0 count, outside ball three, Perez worse than Drabek. Here comes the coach, what ARE you doing? That was short and sweet. Outside ball four, some lecture. Bullpen ready. Chad Beck. Ross pinch hitting, here comes Farrell. Beck pitching to Freddie Freeman pinch hitting. Two on one down. 3-1 count. Just throw strikes guy. Full count, strikes out swinging. Nice, two down. Constanza, 1-1, oh boy, fakes to third, throw to second but nobody there and now balk called, run scores, nasty. 3-2 Braves. Farrell really upset, did Escobar miss that? Was it a balk? 1-2 count, lines to Davis in left for the third out. Top 7th: Johnny Venters now pitching. Gomes pinch hitting for Beck, grounds to third, throw to Hinske at first, one pitch one out Top of the order, Lawrie, 3-0 count, low ball four. Rasmus, quiet tonight. Strikes out swinging 0-4 night for Colby. Two down for Bautista with one on. 1-2 count, grounds to short throw to second to get Lawrie. Bottom 7th: Villanueva now pitching. Top of the Braves order, Bourn. Lines it over the head of Davis in left, misjudged that one Rajai. Stand up double. Prado, full count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, first out as Bourn moves to third on the play. McCann, 2-1 count. Another wild pitch that Arenciba saves. 3-1 count. Might as well put him on, and they do. Makes sense. Uggla with two on, good luck Carlos. 2-0 count, another blocked pitch. 3-0 count, good luck with Heyward on deck. Inside ball four, bases loaded. How bad is bad with this Jays bullpen? Heyward, bases loaded, one down. Pops it up Lawrie makes the catch, almost out of his glove. two down. Juan Francisco pinch hitting for Venters. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. WOW Villanueva finally gets it done but our hearts cannot stand this much longer. That was huge. Top 8th: Jays get another chance here. Eric O’Flaherty. Pitcher number four for Braves. Encarnacion leading off. Full count, lines it in to left field corner, stand up double for Edwin. Johnson, 2-2 count, grounds to Freeman at first, Edwin to third as Johnson out on the play at first. One down for Escobar. Full count, swing or take? Swing and bounces the ball high to short as Edwin runs on the contact, 3-3 game. Escobar out on throw to first, Two down for Arencibia. Grounds to third, throw to Freeman at first for third out but Jays have tied it up again. Bottom 8th: Please not Cordero, no, Darren Oliver. Simmons, oh nice play, bounces slowly to short, Escobar makes a hot dog play to get Simmons at first. Nice play Yunel. One down for Freeman. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, foul tip, two down for Constanza, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin for third out. 11 pitch inning for Oliver. He has been amazing this season to date. Braves have used 16 players to date this game. Top 9th: Bottom of the order. Craig Kimbrel 17/18 saves. Davis, 0-2 count, nice grounds to third, throw to first does not get Rajai, with that speed, wow. One on for pinch hitter Cooper, there goes Rajai, fouled off 1-2 count. there he goes again, fouled off, come on David. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging and throw down but Davis safe at second, Very close here. One down Lawrie and there goes Rajai first pitch, easily safe no throw. Lawrie, long overdue himself for a big hit. 2-2 count, fouling them off here as Rajai doing wind sprints, strikes out swinging. Rasmus, 0-4 tonight. Oh boy first pitch pops it up to left for the out. Awful Colby. Surely you pressure Kimbrell into a wild pitch or take a couple. Bottom 9th: Will it be Janssen? No, Frasor. Top of the order Bourn. Three hit night 2-2 grounds to Edwin at first to take it himself, one down for Prado. 2-2 count, lines it to Davis in left, stand up double. One on and in scoring position for the big bats. McCann, 1-2 count, very nice Jason, strikes out swinging. Two down for another big bat. Uggla, 1-2 count, oh boy ball gets away and Prado to third on the play. 2-2 count. GOT HIM, strikes out swinging at head high ball. Extra innings. Excellent pitching by Frasor to give Jays another shot at the win. Top 10th: Christian Martinez now pitching for Braves. Player number 18 !!! tonight. Bautista leading off. Mano mano. 1-1 count, lines to third, great stop by Prado and throw to first to get Jose, Prado was right on the line and saved a double, one down for Edwin. Full count, ball four. One on one down for Johnson. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, not good. Two down for Escobar. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Both Johnson and Escobar swinging at pitches way out of the zone. Jays running out of chances in this one. Bottom 10th: Cordero, our worst nightmare, this one will not last long, Hang on and grit your teeth. Heyward leading off. 1-2 count, bounces high to Johnson at second and throw not in time with that guy’s speed. One on for throw over and almost threw it away. Wilson showing bunt, gets it down to Cordero, Heyward to second on throw to Edwin at first. One down but runner in scoring position. Simmons will be swinging away. There goes Heyward and Arencibia throw sails into left, dumb play by Arencibia. Not even a high percentage play. Run scores and Jays lose a stinker 4-3. Two games in a row they have coughed up leads. The excellent: Frasor with game on the line bottom of the 9th strikes The very good: Jose home run to spark the two run inning in 6th. Escobar bunt to move them up. Escobar had a good night bouncer to score Edwin. Great defensive plays. Not sure about the balk play whether he was at fault. Not so good: Jays one down and runner at third in the ninth and unable to score. Drabek struggled all night and could be on the bus to Vegas by now. Farrell and his use of the pitchers, Drabek should never have been out there in the sixth. Cordero again ? meantime Janssen is sitting two nights in a row. Villanueva can pitch more than one inning. He has started for the Jays. It seems a waste to keep sending him out there for one inning. Farrell said himself he did not do well last year with the bullpen, this appears to be his weak link even now. The terrible: RISP 0-6 tonight. Lawrie and Rasmus at the top of the order go 0-8 tonight with two walks for Lawrie. The dumbest play: Arencibia throw to third with game on the line and the worst part will be when he says I would do it again. I for one can’t wait until D’Arnaud is here. Tomorrow I imagine Mathis will be playing, pure coincidence of course. Night-day games blah blah,

Poor all-round performance by Jays enables White Sox to avoid the sweep

Jays v White Sox. Final game of three game series. Jays going for the sweep but a very tough assignment for Alvarez. Two nights ago the top two of the order performed with eight hits, last night the bottom two with six hits. Maybe tonight the heart of the order? The bullpen at least should be well rested. Tonight Encarnacion still sitting and Gomes also sitting. Davis last minute scratch and McCoy playing, not quite as good a replacement for Rajai but let’s see if he has improved since last year. Alvarez needs major run support tonight. Lineup: Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Johnson, Cooper, Escobar, Arencibia, Vizquel, McCoy and Alvarez pitching. White Sox: De Aza, Beckham, Dunn, Konerko, Rios, Pierzynski, Viciedo, Ramirez, Hudson and Peavey pitching. Top 1st: Delay. Problem now with the lights not being turned on, how can that happen, not as if this is the first game under lights, someone did not get paid last night. Lawrie, first pitch fly ball to Rios in right, the downside to Lawrie leading off, one pitch one out. Rasmus, 2-2 count, pops it up to Beckham to make the catch behind the bag at first, two down for Bautista, full count, high ball four. One on two down for Johnson. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 19 which is not bad considering one out after first pitch. Bottom 1st: De Aza, fly ball to centre, Rasmus makes great running diving catch for first out, speed. Beckham, one down. Grounds back off the mound into left centre for a single. One on one down for Dunn, 2-0 count, grounds to Lawrie playing behind first, throw to Escobar over to Cooper, not in time two down for Konerko. 1-2 count, singles to Rasmus in centre. Two on two down for Rios. Grounds to third off glove of Lawrie into left and here comes Dunn to score, error to Lawrie. 1-0 White Sox. Pierzynski, two on two down. 2-2 count, bounces to Vizquel, throw to Cooper to end this inning but not a good start. 22 pitches thanks to Lawrie. Top 2nd: Cooper leading off. 2-2 count, goes down for this one and golfs it into right for leadoff single. One on for Escobar, just stay out of the double play Yunel. Full count, there goes Cooper and Escobar singles into right, Cooper all the way to third on the play. Arencibia, two on nobody out and runner at third. Have to bring him in somehow JP. Full count, there goes Escobar, ball four. Bases loaded. Vizquel. Takes strike one. 0-2, strikes out swinging. One down for McCoy. 1-2 count, trying to bunt, groan. 2-2 count, that’s better grounds to third and off the glove of Hudson, Cooper scores, here comes Escobar. 2-1 Jays Lawrie with two on, one down. 1-2 count, grounds up the middle drops the ball as throw to second, Arencibia scores 3-1 jays. Rasmus grounds to first throw to second bounces the ball back to Dunn at first, fumbles the ball and Rasmus safe. Two down. Lawrie at third, two on for Bautista. Fly ball to Rios in right for third out. Jose leaves two out there. 52 pitches. 33 pitch inning for Peavey thanks to his defensive team behind him. Bottom 2nd: Alvarez now with the lead. Viciedo, 1-2 count, takes strike three, nice breaking pitch, one down for Ramirez. 2-2 count, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Cooper at first, two down for Hudson. 0-2 count, fly ball to McCoy in left for third out. 35 pitch count. Top 3rd: Peavey didn’t get much of a break there. Back out again. Johnson, grounds to Beckham at second, throw to Dunn at first one down. Cooper, pops it up to Hudson at third. Two down for Escobar, eight pitch inning, not good hitting by the Jays. 60 pitches for Peavey. Bottom 3rd: Alvarez turn to get back out there quickly. Top of the order De Aza, pops up to Lawrie at third, one down. Beckham, grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper, two down for Dunn. Full count, strikes out swinging. Nice inning by Alvarez. Pitch count 47. Top 4th: Boston 6-0 and Tampa 5-1 both winning tonight, games still in progress. Arencibia leading off, full count, inside ball four, his second walk tonight. JP seems to be losing his aggressive attacking style of hitting. A walk is ok but he has to remember the bottom of the order is behind him. One on for Vizquel, bunting or swinging? Neither. Takes strike one. Pops it up to De Aza in centre, one down for McCoy. 2-2 count, pops it up to Rios in right for second out. Lawrie one on two down. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 78. Bottom 4th: Konerko leading off. 1-1 pops it up to Vizquel at second, one down for. Rios grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper for the second out. Pierzynski 3-1 count, grounds to Vizquel, to Cooper for third out. Three up and down, ten pitch inning for Alvarez 57 pitch count. Top 5th: Rasmus leading off. 1-2 count, singles to right, one on for Bautista. 0-1 inside and not a strike, interesting Jose does not argue that one, just looked and went back at it. 0-2 count. There goes Rasmus, he hesitated halfway and is out on the throw to at second, he who hesitates is lost. One down. 2-2 count, high very high pop up to Ramirez for second out. Johnson, full count, low ball four. One on two down for Cooper. Hits him on the thigh almost behind him with that pitch but David backed into it. Two on for Escobar. Pops it up to Rios in right. What a waste, and Farrell thinks this guy is an RBI guy. Not the one we watch. 96 pitch count though for Peavey. Jays hitters doing a good job on that at least. Bottom 5th: Viciedo, high pop up to Vizquel, one down for Ramirez. Full count, bounces to third, Lawrie in front of Escobar, that must drive Yunel crazy each time, but strong throw to Cooper for the out, two down. Hudson, 0-2 count, drives it into left. One on and watch this guy on the bases. De Aza, 3-0 count, Alvarez struggling here, out goes Arencibia to settle him. Ground ball here Henderson. Low ball four, two on two down for Beckham. Go ahead run at the plate. Low ball one, 1-1 count, pops it up to Lawrie in front of the dugout. Escapes this time, but not looking good out there. Pitch count though at 79. Top 6th: Arencibia leading off, two walks tonight. Need hits JP. 1-2 Pitch number 100 for Peavey. Takes strike three, time to get Mathis in that lineup John. Vizquel, now he is bunting. Foul. 2-2 count, goes after high ball and pops it up to Ramirez at short, two down for McCoy. Lines it to Rios in right, much too easy for Peavey there. 110 pitch count. Bottom 6th: Dunn lines it to second and great diving stop by Vizquel and throw to Cooper for the out, great play. Konerko singles to right. Alvarez tiring here, you could see it start last inning where he struggled. One on one down for Rios, wild pitch gets away from Arencibia to the wall, where is Mathis John? Dunn moves up to second, there it goes high fly ball over the wall in left, two runs score and this is all tied up 3-3. Pierzynski, 2-2 count, grounds to Cooper throw to Alvarez for out number two. Viciedo grounds to Cooper at first throw to Alvarez but too little too late here for Alvarez. Pitch count 94 but should be his last inning. Top 7th: Top of the order, amazing, Peavey still out there, wants the win I guess. Lawrie 2-2 count, now White Sox bullpen is working Thornton. Full count, outside ball four. One on for Rasmus, hope Lawrie can restrain himself here. Now the end of Peavey, different approach here. 117 pitch count. Matt Thornton now pitching. Lefty matchup but at the cost of Lawrie on base ? Bunting, fouls it off. 1-2 count, takes strike three on the corner, one down for Bautista, one on. 2-1 count, lines it hard to Hudson at third, Lawrie back to first. Two down for Johnson. 1-0 count, there we go singles into centre, Lawrie all the way to third on the play. Two on two down for Cooper. Lefty matchup but leaving him in there, lines first pitch to centre for De Aza to make the out. Maybe just maybe a pinch hitter might have been the call. Bottom 7th: You can feel this one slipping away here. Boston has already beaten the Orioles avoiding a sweep at Fenway. Tampa still winning in NY. Alvarez still pitching, Ramirez, 0-2 count fly ball to Bautista in right, one down for Hudson. Luis Perez now warming up in Jays bullpen, grounds to Cooper, throw to Alvarez for the second out. De Aza, 2-1 count, lines it into right, one on two down for Beckham. Farrell leaving him in there to get out of this himself. 2-2 count, there goes the runner, grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper and Alvarez helps himself. Pitch count 108. Top 8th: Nate Jones pitching out there. Jays running out of chances to get ahead here, the bottom half of the order. Escobar, perfect lifts it over head of Dunn at first and bounces into foul ground, Yunel has stand up double to lead off. Arencibia who has disappointed once again with his bat. Grounds to second, throw to Dunn at first, one down as Escobar gets to third. But again bottom two of the order here. Vizquel, shows bunt, high. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. McCoy with Escobar at third. No, Gomes pinch hitting, finally. 2-1 count, grounds to third Escobar out at the plate, horrible hitting by the Jays. 1-10 with runners in scoring position, when oh when. Bottom 8th: Darren Oliver now pitching. Top part of the order. Dunn, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Konerko. That is it for Darren he did his job. Frasor now to face Konerko. 3-1 count, outside ball four, not quite what you were brought in to do Jason. One on one down for Rios, already with one home run. Jordan Danks pinch running at first for Konerko. Ball one, Frasor cannot find the strike zone, 2-2 count, I like it, lines it to Cooper, steps on first to double them up, great double play to end this. Frasor a lucky guy tonight. Top 9th: Addison Read now pitching. Lawrie grounds to Beckham at second, throw to first, one down. Rasmus pops it up to Hudson at third, two down. Bautista. There we go Jose, hammers it into left field corner, stand up double. Now someone please bring him in. Johnson, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Let’s see 1-11 with runners in scoring position, tells the story tonight. White Sox are 2-4. Bottom 9th: Cordero now pitching. Oh boy, here goes my heart medication. Pierzynski, grounds first pitch to Cooper for the out. One down for Viciedo, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on one down for Ramirez. Pitch gets away and once again runner to second on the play, this team must hold the major league record for wild pitches and Arencibia the culprit most of the time. Base hit will win this thing now. Full count, fly ball to Rasmus in centre, Viciedo tags and gets to third on the throw up the line. Hudson with runner at third, no room for error here JP. Singles up the middle. Jays lose 4-3. Poor pitching, poor defense and lousy hitting with runners in scoring position an all round mess sums this one up. Jays lose a great chance to stay with the leader and going in to Atlanta will not be any easier. Not much good about this one. Even their runs were result of poor defensive plays by White Sox. The very bad: RISP 1-11 tells it all. Cordero, what can we say? Farrell keeps sending him out there.

Morrow another complete game shutout aided by Jose and Rajai power as Jays win 4-0

Jays v White Sox. Game two of three. Lots of questions today. Will Encarnacion be back in the lineup tonight? Will Farrell stick with that great lineup from last night? Will Morrow continue from his last outing? Doubtful, no, maybe. Farrell talking today about moving lineup dependent on lefty matchup which would suggest Davis replacing Rasmus in that number two spot. Too bad. Meantime Jays enjoyed the win last night and moving a game ahead of Boston. The other four in the division are playing against each other, so as long as Jays keep beating the White Sox they are moving up on at least two teams in the division. After this series they move to inter-league play thus reducing their chances of moving up. Lineups: Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista. Arencibia, Escobar, Johnson, Gomes, Cooper, Davis. and Morrow pitching. Good to see Gomes back although Cooper has certainly been excellent and gives Encarnacion another game to recover. White Sox: De Aza, Beckham, Dunn, Viciedo, Rios, Pierzynski, Ramirez, Flowers, Hudson and Quintana pitching. Top 1st: Lawrie, singles into right, nice start. Rasmus, pops up to Beckham at second, Bautista fly ball to centre De Aza makes the out, two down Arencibia. There goes Lawrie and picked off, tagged out by Beckham great. I don’t blame Lawrie but what a mess to start. 11 pitch count. Bottom 1st: De Aza, strikes out swinging, one down. Beckham, full count, grounds back over the mound to Escobar, throw just gets him, two down. Dunn, pops it up to Escobar to make the catch. Pitch count 14. Good start for Morrow. Top 2nd: Arencibia again, pulls it into left, how does Lawrie feel now? Escobar, don’t worry, grounds ( first pitch) to Ramirez at short, steps on the bag over to Flowers first, double play ball. Escobar never changes, I don’t see how Farrell thinks he is going to drive in runs. Johnson, full count, ball four. One on two down for Gomes, wild pitch bounces in front of the plate and Johnson to second. 2-2 count. Whoa, Gomes hammers it to left, brilliant diving catch by Hudson at 3B to rob Gomes of an RBI. Wow great catch. Pitch count.27. Bottom 2nd: Viciedo, 1-2 count, lines it hard but right at Johnson, one down. Rios, 1-2, strikes out swinging, two down. Pierzynski, lines first pitch into right. One on two down for Ramirez. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Johnson for the third out. Pitch count 29. Top 3rd: Cooper, DH tonight, full count, pops it up to left for Viciedo to make the out. Davis, grounds to first, Flowers cannot get it and Rajai beats out the throw to Quintana easily. Lawrie with one on one down. Rajai giving Quintana problems here there he goes but Lawrie fouls it off. 1-2 count, there he goes again good throw by Pierzynski but safe at second. Now for third Rajai. 2-2 count, grounds to Hudson, throw to first to get Lawrie, Rajai held at second. Rasmus runner in scoring position. 1-2 count, grounds to Beckham at second, throw to Flowers for the third out at first. Jays keep threatening but not enough. 44 pitches. Bottom 3rd: Tyler Flowers leading off. Full count, strikes out swinging, one down for Orlando Hudson. Lines first pitch to centre but Rasmus makes the catch, two down. Top of the order. De Aza, another full count, lines it right at Davis for the out. Looks as if Rajai forgot how many outs as he throws the ball back in. Pitch count 41. In progress, Yankees beating Tampa 2-0; Orioles beating Boston 2-1, both in the 7th inning. Top 4th: Bautista leading off, full count, grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to Flowers for the out. One down for Arencibia. 1-2 count, grounds to third, another diving save by Hudson and throw to Flowers to get Arencibia. Two down. Escobar, 3-1 count, this one lined past Hudson at third into left field. One on two down for Johnson, drives it the other way over Hudson into left, two on two down for Gomes who was robbed last at bat by Hudson. 2-2 count, pops it up to Pierzynski for third out. Pitch count 66. Bottom 4th: Beckham, 0-2 count, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Gomes for the first out. Dunn, shift right, 3-0 count, lines to Lawrie in right, throw to Gomes at first to get him just in time, two down. Viciedo, lines it to right but Bautista makes ice running catch. Another good inning by Morrow. 51 pitch count. Top 5th: Cooper leading off. 1-1 count, drives it to centre for a single. Davis, bunting or swinging ? Bunting, up third base line but foul. Whoa, grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to Beckham at second over to first but Rajai beats it out, One down for Lawrie, Rajai will give Quintana another headache out there. Pops it up to centre but De Aza makes great running catch. Jays not getting much help here. Rasmus, two down. There goes Rajai and throw not in time, another stolen base. 1-1 count, this will do it drives it to left centre, Davis scores, Rasmus out on the throw to second. Jays finally score 1-0. Speed by Rajai created that run. 76 pitch count. Bottom 5th: Rios, high fly ball out to Rasmus in centre, one down. Pierzynski, 0-2 count, bounces to Lawrie throw to Gomes for the out. Two down for Ramirez, 2-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Gomes for the out. Pitch count 64. Excellent for five innings. Top 6th: Still in progress Yankees now 4-0 against Tampa, Orioles still clinging to one run lead. Bautista leading off. Full count, hammers this one, no doubt as soon as it left the bat, home run to left, classic Jose home run. 2-0 Jays. Arencibia, lines it into left for a single. One on for Escobar. Nate Jones now working in White Sox bullpen. Bounces to Hudson, throw to second, over to first another double play, his second of the game. Two down for Johnson, 1-2 strikes out swinging to end the inning but Jays have added one more. Pitch count now 92. Bottom 6th: Flowers leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Gomes, one down. Hudson, full count, grounds to Escobar throws it on the run to Gomes to get Hudson, whoa hot dog play by Escobar, two down for De Aza. Grounds to Gomes takes it himself to the bag for the third out. Pitch count 78. Top 7th: Morrow would appreciate a couple more runs here. Nate Jones now pitching. Gomes leading off. Fouls it off his leg here, that hurts. Trainer out there, all ok. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Cooper, one down.2-1 count, lines it into right centre for a single. One on one down for Davis. Lines it past a diving Hudson at third into left, two on for top of the order Lawrie, perfect timing for a big hit Brett. White Sox bullpen working again Ohman 2-0 count. Pops it up to Beckham at second for the out. Rasmus, but that is it for Jones. They want lefty for Colby. Jays have 11 hits tonight and only two runs. Runners in scoring position 1 for 6. Ohman now pitching to Rasmus, two on two down. 0-2 count, ouch, hits him on the arm, bases loaded for Jose. But that is it for Ohman, musical chairs again. Jesse Crain now pitching. Outside ball one, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 7th: Yankees have beaten Tampa and are now top of the division. Boston has lost and fall two below Jays if they can win here. Beckham leading off. Fly ball to Rasmus in centre for the first out. Dunn, shift right, Lawrie in front of Jose. 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson and the ball bounces off him to Lawrie in right throw to Gomes but Dunn safe at first, error to Johnson. Viciedo. 0-2 strikes out swinging on three pitches, very nice Brandon. Two down for Rios first pitch fly ball to Bautista in right for third out. Kelly Johnson relieved. Pitch count 88. Top 8th: Jays could really use some extra runs here. Arencibia leading off. 2-3 tonight. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Escobar, 1-2 count, grounds to Hudson as his bat also flies down there, throw to Flowers at first, two down for Johnson. Can he make up to Morrow here for that error. WHOA lines it to Rios in right who drops the catch , Johnson to second on the play, error to Alex, a break there for Johnson. Gomes, runner in scoring position, swings at one way off the plate, calm down Yan. Grounds to Hudson at third throw to first for the out. Bottom 8th: Pierzynski leading off. Lines first pitch to Bautista in right. Only the second hit tonight for White Sox. Lillibridge pinch running. Ramirez, there goes Lillibridge and Arencibia throw to Johnson at second throw gets him, nice throw JP, huge out. Ramirez grounds to Lawrie, fumbles it but recovers and throw to Flowers for the second out. Nice play Brett.. Flowers two down grounds to Lawrie throw to Gomes for the third out. 96 pitches for Morrow, very nice outing. Top 9th: Hector Santiago now pitching. Cooper leading off.2-2 count, swings at high ball and singles into centre left. Whatever works for you David. Mike McCoy pinch running. Davis, bunt here ?, no, 2-2 count, Rajai hanging tough here. Inside full count. OH WOWEEEE there goes McCoy and Rajai hammers this into left field corner bullpen, home run Rajai, wow. Nine pitch at bat. He earned that one. 4-0 Jays. Top of the order for Lawrie, still no outs here. Lawrie fly ball to De Aza in centre for the first out. Rasmus, same again to De Aza for second out. Bautista. 3-1 count, inside ball four. Arencibia, two down one on. 2-4 tonight. Full count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 9th: Morrow going out there. Hudson leading off. 2-1 count, pops it up to Escobar behind Lawrie. One down for top of the order. De Aza, 3-1 count, outside ball four. One on for Beckham, need a ground ball Brandon. Fly ball to left Davis makes the catch, two down. Dunn, Hudson takes second. 2-0 count, shift right is on, Hudson takes third. No one covering with the shift on. Not the run to worry about. Full count, inside ball four but no way was Brandon letting Dunn have a chance at that. Viciedo, two one two down, takes strike one, swings and misses at strike two, bounces one in, 1-2 count. Strikes out swinging, Morrow complete game shutout. First ML pitcher to get three shutouts this season.119 pitches and he earned this one against a strong hitting ball club in their yard. The excellent: Morrow number one tonight with that complete game shutout. All night long superb. The very good: Bottom of the order six hits between Cooper and Davis. Jose home run number 15 and climbing the charts. Davis an excellent nine pitch at bat in the 8th and a two run home run to give Morrow more breathing space. But let’s not forget his speed, two stolen bases one of which enabled him to score off Rasmus hit for the first run. The good: Another 13 hit game for the Jays. Everybody gets hit except for Gomes but also six of the hits were from numbers eight and nine in the lineup. Opposite to last night. Jays win the series but would love the sweep tomorrow.

Jays win big 9-5 behind Rasmus five hit night and fine outing from Romero

Jays v White Sox, game one of three. Major shakeup of the lineup today, out of necessity without Encarnacion, but interesting to see top of the order. I like it, loads of speed. Jays send Romero out here today, long time since Ricky showed last season’s form. Jays fans want to see him do well but even with the 6-1 record he has not pitched well at all. Lineups: Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Johnson, Escobar, Cooper, Arencibia, Vizquel, Davis and Romero pitching. I do like this lineup, lots of speed at the top with Lawrie leading off and Rasmus in number two, should provide Jose with some opportunities. White Sox: De Aza, Beckham, Dunn, Viciedo, Rios, Pierzysnki, Ramirez, Hudson, Lillibridge and Humber pitching. Top 1st: Lawrie leading off, strikes out swinging, one down for Rasmus. 2-2 count, singles to De Aaza in centre, one on one down for Bautista. Wild pitch and Colby moves up to second. Full count, high ball four, walk to Jose. Two on one down for Johnson. Fly ball to Viciedo in left, two down for Escobar, ball four, bases are loaded. Cooper, another ball four to score Rasmus. 1-0 Jays. Humber having a really rough night out there to start. Third walk. Arencibia, swinging away, fly ball to centre for De Aza to make the catch and Arencibia leaves bases loaded. Great chance lost there. Bottom 1st: De Aaza, lines to Davis in left, oh error to Davis on the play, fumbles it and de Aza to second. One on for Beckham, bunting, great bunt up third base line, Romero throw to Cooper for the out as De Aza moves to third. Dunn, strikes out swinging two down. Viciedo fly ball to centre Rasmus running in drops the ball, he overran that. Here comes De Aza to score. 1-1 game, two errors already against the Jays. Ex-Jay Alex Rios grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Cooper at first to end the inning. Top 2nd: Vizquel, lines out to short, for the out great play by Ramirez, timing his jump perfectly to save a run or worse., One down for Davis, fly ball to Viciedo in left, two quick outs, Lawrie grounds to Lillibridge, throw to Humber covering for the final out. Bottom 2nd: Pierzynski, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on, Ramirez grounds to Lawrie throw to Cooper, one down. grounds to Escobar, throw to Lawrie to get lead runner Pierzynski at third, Lillibridge grounds to Escobar, throw to Vizquel at second to end the inning. Yunel a busy guy out there. Top 3rd: Rasmus, singles to Rios in right, one on for Bautista, fly ball to De Aaza for the out, one down for Johnson, ball four, two on for Escobar, fly ball to Viciedo, two down for Cooper lines right at Lillibridge , great shoestring catch for the out. Leaves two more on base. Bottom 3rd: De Aaza pops up to Escobar, one down. Beckham fly ball to Bautista in right, two down. Dunn, strikes out swinging. Top 4th: Arencibia singles to Viciedo in left, one on for Vizquel, grounds to second over to the bag on to first, double play ball. Davis grounds to Ramirez at short, throw to Lillibridge for the out. Bottom 4th: Viciedo lines it to right for Bautista to make the out, one down for Rios, grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper, two down. Pierzynski, grounds to Cooper for the third out. Top 5th: Lawrie lines to Rios in right, stand up double for Brett. Rasmus, hammers this one to right no doubt about this one going out, classic Rasmus home run swing, and Jays go out ahead 3-1. Bautista pops up to Ramirez at short, one down. Johnson strikes out swinging, two down. Escobar, singles to Viciedo in left, one on two down for Cooper. Drives this one opposite field left and this one is out of here. Two run home run and Jays beating up on Humber this inning. Arencibia takes strike three looking. Jays have taken the lead bigtime here. Bottom 5th: Romero now staked to a four run lead. Ramirez 0-2 strike out swinging. Does not like the call and walks off staring back at umpire. Hudson, bounces back to Romero nice play and throw to first for the out. Lillibridge, grounds to second throw to first to end the inning. Nice quick three up and down for Ricky. 58 pitch count. Excellent Top 6th: Zach Stewart now pitching, grounds back at Stewart throw to first, one down. Davis, first pitch, bounces to third, throw to first, not a good at bat by Davis. two down for Lawrie. Singles into centre. Rasmus, two down one on. Singles to left, Lawrie to third, two on two down for Bautista. 1-2, lifts it into shallow centre, here comes Lawrie. 6-1 Jays, Johnson, two on. 2-2 count, perfect grounds it back up the middle here comes Rasmus to score 7-1 Jays. Bautista at third. Escobar, bounces to second throw to the bag to get sliding Johnson. Bottom 6th: DeAza, singles to Bautista in right, Beckham. Lines to Davis, makes the catch. One down one on, DeAza held at first. Dunn, 2-0, high pop up to Vizquel. Just in the webbing, very close there as Lawrie and Bautita also close in on the catch. Two down for Viciedo. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Vizquel and another good inning for Ricky. Pitch count 70. Top 7th: Copper leading off, 2-2 count, grounds to second, throw to first for the out. One down for Arencibia, first pitch swinging pops it up to centre field for the out. Two down for Vizquel. 0-3 tonight. Full count, pulls it to first for the out. Bottom 7th: Rios, singles to right centre. Pierzynski, oh dear, no doubt about this one, lines a bullet to right, two run home run, 7-3 Jays. Ramirez, 0-2 strikes out, does not like that call either. One down. Hudson, full count. Low ball four. First walk of the game for Romero. Lillibridge, 0-2, oh boy what a mess here, grounds to Escobar, Lawrie in front of him and he drops the ball now no one covering third and Hudson to third one the error by Escobar, now runners at the corners. One down for De Aza, 2-0 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Vizquel, no chance for two. Hudson scores, 7-4 Jays. Beckham, two down one on. Pops it up to shallow centre for Vizquel to make the catch running back in front of Rasmus. 92 pitch count. Top 8th: Davis, pops it up to Rios in right centre for the first out. Lawrie, singles to left, third hit of the night, he likes that leadoff spot. Rasmus, 4-4 night. Drives it to the wall in right centre, wow five hit night for Colby career night. Stand up double as Lawrie scores, 8-4 Jays. Bautista, wild pitch and Colby to third. Whoa Jose, just misses here foul, hammered that pitch. Drives this one to the wall in right for Rios to make the catch here comes Rasmus to score, 9-4 Jays. That is it for Stewart. Will Ohman now pitching. Johnson drives it to centre for the out. Bottom 8th: Romero now with five run lead. Dunn 2-2 count, high fly ball to right and over the fence, home run. 9-5 Jays and that is it for Ricky. Great outing tonight. Cordero now pitching, this should be interesting, hang on everyone, Viciedo, bounces back to Cordero, throw to Cooper, one down. Rios singles to right centre. Pierzynski, 3-0 count, low ball four. Ramirez, 1-2 count, pops it up to Rasmus in centre, two down for Hudson. Ball gets away but Arencibia finds it and throw to third gets Rios. Wow, not good Alex...making third out at 3rd etc and with two on four run deficit, not good at all? Top 9th: Escobar leading off. Ohman still pitching. Fly ball to Viciedo for first out. Cooper, grounds to second, throw to first, two down for Arencibia, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 9th: Luis Perez now pitching. Hudson, 3-0 count, come on Luis. That’s better, full count. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper, one down. Lillibridge, full count, strikes out swinging, two down for top of the order De Aza.2-2 count, grounds to Vizquel, throw to Cooper and jays win big in Chicago. 9-5. The excellent: Rasmus a career five hit night including four runs and three RBIs. Romero excellent outing and Lawrie three hit night leading off. Lawrie and Rasmus at 1-2 have eight hit night. Farrell looks a genius with that lineup and will probably repeat it.

Bautista power supports Hutchison win over Red Sox

Jays v Red Sox. Series finale. Jays fighting against the sweep and dropping further behind Boston. A win today would bring them back level with the Red Sox apart from a huge morale booster as they start road trip, in Chicago on Tuesday. Today Drew Hutchison the rookie who has pitched way above a level that most expected. Lineups: Red Sox: Podesdnik, Nava, Gonzalez, Ortiz, Youkilis, Sweeney, Aviles, Punto, Shoppach and Bard pitching Jays: Johnson, Escobar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Cooper,Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia, Davis and Hutchison pitching. Top 1st: Podsednik leading off grounds to Escobar at short, throw to Cooper for the first out. Nava, fly ball to Davis in left, two down. Gonzales lines to Bautista, stand up double, one on two down for Ortiz, fly ball to Rasmus in centre to end the inning. 16 pitches for Hutch Bottom 1st: Johnson, ball four, leadoff walk, one on for Escobar. There goes Kelly and safe at second. Jays aggressive today to start, fine with me. Ball four for Escobar, two successive walks for Bard, Bautista, drives this one, and NO DOUBT as it leaves the bat, Jose knows it and does not even watch it, this one is out of here in left. Home run Jose and Jays go out ahead 3-0, still nobody out. Encarnacion, ball four, third walk of the inning. Cooper, groan, back to Bard throw to Aviles covering second, throw to Gonzalez at first, double play ball. Two down for Lawrie, fly ball to Podsednik in centre. Jays take early lead. Pitch count, 28 for Bard. Rough start. Top 2nd: Hutchison now Youkilis, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Sweeney, fly ball to Davis in left, two down for Aviles, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on two down for Punto, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper at first today. Nice 12 pitch inning by Hutchison. 28 pitch count. Bottom 2nd: Rasmus, 3-0 count, ball four. 20 balls 12 strikes. Not good for Bard so far. One on for Arencibia, 3-0, seven balls in a row here. Full count, there goes Colby, whoa way outside to the wall, ball four. His fifth walk !!! Davis, bunting, hitting or taking ? Shows bunt, strike one, 0-2 count, way, way outside as Davis swings at it, that was not good Rajai. One down. Top of the order Johnson. 0-2 Kelly could have swung at those. Takes strike three, that was not good Kelly. Escobar, two down, oh boy, hits him, here comes the trainer, ok goes to first base. Bases loaded, Bautista, chance to pad your average here Jose. 3-1 count, full count, way outside, walk number six. here comes Rasmus, 4-0 Jays. Sort of semi-intentional there rather than let Jose hammer it. Here comes pitching coach. Encarnacion with bases loaded. Home run swing but trying to pull it instead of driving it. 1-1 count, no he hits him, on the wrist and Edwin is in agony. That hurts. Bard is being booed unmercifully. Valentine already phoning the bullpen as Johnson scores. 5-0 Jays but the concern right now is for Edwin, still on the ground. Now he goes to the base with tensor bandage, Morales, now pitching. Cooper with bases still loaded, pops it up to Youkilis to leave bases loaded. Jays lose major chance there to blow the game open. They may regret it. Top 3rd: Shoppach, 2-2 count, hits him on the elbow. The guy leaned into that pitch. That was deliberate. Podsednik, fly ball to Davis in left, one down. Nava now a ground ball here Drew. In front of the mound, Arencibia goes to second to get Shoppach, two down runner at first Gonzalez. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper for third out. 45 pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Lawrie fly ball to left one down. Rasmus, grounds to Punto at second, oh he throws it away at first to the wall, and Colby to second as Shoppach also fumbles the rebound error to Punto, Arebcibia with runner in scoring position. Have to bring him in JP. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Davis, 1-2 count, takes strike three. Jays already 1-6 with runners in scoring position, not good. Not really helping Drew out there. Top 4th: Ortiz leading off. Full count, strikes out swinging, very nice. Youkilis, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Sweeney, two down, full count, fly ball to Davis in left field corner for the out. Eight pitch at bat. 64 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Top of the order for third time. Johnson. 1-2 count, strikes out on high fast ball. Not good Kelly. One down for Escobar. 0-2 count, pops it up to Sweeney in right for the out, Bautista two down, lines this right back at Morales gets out of the way but Punto right behind him to make the play and throw to first. Top 5th: Aviles leading off. 2-0 count, home run swing but drives it to Davis in left for the out. One down for Punto. Grounds to Cooper, takes it himself for second out. Shoppach, drives this to right centre and carries over the fence, home run for Boston 5-1. Podsednik, loops it into shallow left, drops in for a base hit, this is where this Boston team gets dangerous, never out of the game. Nava. 1-2 count. There goes Podesdnik, throw not in time. I think Podsednik could have slid past the base there as Escobar holds his leg. Trying to be funny but on the replay Podsednik looks as if he was sliding past the bag and his foot would have gone as well if Escobar had not tried to play trick. That was strange. Full count, low ball four. Two on for Gonzalez, Hutchison in trouble here. Needs an out. 0-2 count, pops it up to Johnson, gets out of mess here but his pitch count suffering at 84 pitches. Bottom 5th: Encarnacion no, Mathis pinch hitting for Edwin. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Cooper, oh boy, drives this to the wall in left, going for triple and tags him out, should have stayed at second, he does have the speed. Lawrie, full count, drives it to right, now no stealing third. Farrell said that he will now stop him from doing that next time. Rasmus, 2-1 count, high inside, 3-1 count, there goes Lawrie, Rasmus pops it up to Gonzalez on the mound. Top 6th: Ortiz, pops it up to Escobar for the out. Youkilis, oh he hits him inside, Youkilis furious but Arencibia calms him down, umpire warns both benches. Sweeney, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Aviles. 0-2 count, singles to Bautista in right centre, two on for Punto. Luis Perez warming up in bullpen. Drives it to left, Davis makes the out in the corner, nice catch Rajai as he slams against the wall. 98 pitch count, might be it for Drew today. Bottom 6th: Arencibia, grounds to short, throw to first, one down. Davis, hammers this one but does at the wall in left. Johnson, grounds to Punto at second, throw to Gonzalez at first to end the inning. Jays hitters are not doing much here to help Hutchison. Morales has shut them down. Top 7th: Hutchison still out there. Shoppach 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Cooper, two down. Nava, 0-2, very nice, grounds back to Hutchison, throw over to Cooper for third out. 109 pitch count and 69 for strikes. Bottom 7th: Scott Atchison now pitching. Escobar leading off. Singles into right. Bautista, first pitch grounds to Punto at second over to Aviles over to Gonzalez at first, double play ball. Not good Jose and first pitch? Mathis, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging to end this one. Top 8th: Oliver now pitching. Gonzalez leading off. 0-2 count, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Cooper for the out. Ortiz, 2-2 strikes out looking. Two down, that is it for Oliver, here comes Farrell, now Cordero, hang on everyone. Youkilis, two down, nobody on base. First pitch up and in, ohhhh nasty. 1-0, grounds to Cordero over to Cooper for the third out. Bottom 8th: Rich Hill now pitching, Cooper drives it to centre. One on for Lawrie, 0-2 count, Casey Janssen warming up in bullpen. There goes Cooper and picked off, come on Cooper, not good. Lawrie bounces it into left. Cooper sick on that one, not doing his chances much good to stay up here. Lawrie at first. Rasmus, another throw over. 1-1 count, there goes Lawrie and safe this time on the throw. 3-1 count, fly ball to right and Lawrie tags and gets to third. Two down for Arencibia. 2-2 count, takes strike three, not good JP, have to swing there. Top 9th: Janssen now pitching. Sweeney leading off. 1-2 count, grounds to Cooper, throw to Janssen. Aviles, 1-2 count, fly ball to Bautista in right. Two down for Punto, full count, singles to Rasmus in centre. Shoppach, with one on two down. There goes Punto, no throw, safe at second, 2-2 count, pops it up to Escobar for third out. Jays beat those Red Sox 5-1 to save the sweep and keep level with Boston in the division. The very good: Start with Drew Hutchison, once again a great outing and after Jays hitters had staked him to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, he did not give the Red Sox anything. The bullpen likewise were solid today to complete the win. Bautista came through finally with the three run home run in the first. Not good: Cooper trying to stretch a double into triple and also being picked off. Trying too hard and may be hurting his chances by so doing. The two hit players Escobar and Encarnacion although Escobar recovered fast. Concerns obviously re Edwin, Jays do not want to lose his bat even if there are replacements. Would it be Lind or Vladdy? Interesting dilemma for Alex. Vladdy now with AAA Vegas.

Jays sloppy play fails to support Drabek as Boston wins again

Red Sox v Jays. Game two of three. Jays are trying to forget that loss last night however it is Drabek pitching and who knows what will happen. Lineups: Red Sox: Nava, Aviles, Gonzalez, Ortiz, Saltalamacchia,Youkilis, Sweeney, Middlebrooks, Punto and Doubront pitching. Jays: Johnson, Escobar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Lawrie, Davis, Cooper, Mathis and Drabek pitching, Nice crowd here already and people, around me are saying there is huge lineups outside. Top 1st: Nava fly ball to Davis in left, one down. Aviles grounds to Escobar at short, nice play as he runs it down, back to the play, turns and throws a bullet on the run to Encarncion to just get Aviles, highlight reel play Yunel, two down.. Gonzalez, fly ball to Davis in left, three up and down for Drabek, so far so good. Bottom 1st: Johnson, strikes out swinging, one down for Escobar, grounds back to Doubront, throw to first, two down for Bautista, full count, grounds to Middlebrooks at third throw to Youkilis at first. Top 2nd: Ortiz strikes out swinging, one down for Saltalamacchia, full count, ball four, here we go. One on one down for Youkilis, strikes out, two down. Sweeney singles to Bautista in right, Saltalamacchia to third. Middlebrooks, 0-2 appeal to first no good. single to Bautista, here comes Sweeney, 1-0 Red Sox. Punto lines to Bautista, stand up double, Saltalamacchia scores, 2-0 Boston. Middlebrooks to third, here comes Bruce Walton. Nava, full count, runners going, lines to Rasmus, oh he drops the ball and here comes both runners, wow, unusual for Colby, 4-0 Red Sox. Aviles, strikes out swinging but as with last night Boston score early. Drabek pitch count at 49. Ouch, how long will he be in this game? But he had Middlebrooks at 0-2 count with two down. A different game if he had struck him out there. Four runs different. Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion, ball four, good start, one on for Rasmus, strikes out swinging, Lawrie fly ball to Gonzalez in right, Davis same again , fly ball to Gonzalez in right to end the inning with Edwin still on first. Top 3rd: Gonzalez, grounds to Encarnacion at first, nice play to stop this one flip to Drabek covering, one down. Ortiz, shift right on, grounds to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion at first, two down. Saltalamacchia, strikes out swinging. Much better inning for Drabek. Bottom 3rd: Cooper strikes out swinging, one down for Mathis, drives this one to right centre and this one is carrying to the wall and over, home run for Mathis, that was an excuse me line drive which kept on going. Jays will take a run anyway they can even from number nine hitter. 4-1 Red Sox and back to top of the order, one down. Johnson, singles to Gonzalez in right, Escobar with one on, singles to Sweeney in centre, Kelly to second. Jays have something going here for the big bats. Bautista, first pitch, fly ball to Sweeney, oh boy. Two down for Encarnacion, grounds back off Aviles at short and beats out the throw, Aviles hurt on the play, here comes the trainer and Valentine, seems ok. Pointing to his wrist, may have jammed it on the turf there, bases loaded, two down for Rasmus. Pops it up to Middlebrooks at third. Jays waste great opportunities here. Three chances to score with the big bats. Top 4th: Youkilis lines it to Bautista in right and Jose throw to Escobar misses it and all the way to the wall at third, Youkilis goes to third on that error. Bautista gets the error but Escobar should have made that play. Drabek not getting any luck again today. Both Rasmus and Bautista now two of the strongest defensive players. Sweeney ball four, two on for Middlebrooks, grounds to Escobar, to Johnson, over to Encarnacion, double play but here comes Youkilis to score, 5-0 Boston. Two down for Punto, grounds to Johnson, throw to Encarnacion for the out but Boston adds to their lead. Bottom 4th: Lawrie grounds to Aviles at short, throw to Youkilis at first for the out. Davis, strikes out swinging, two down. Cooper bounces back to Doubront, off his glove and fumbles it again, Cooper safe at first, error to Doubront. One on two down for Mathis, oh great bunt up third base line and Mathis is safe at first, Cooper at second, That was a great bunt by Mathis. Bottom of the order doing it today for the Jays and Mathis making the most of his day in the lineup so far. Johnson singles to Nava in left, here comes Cooper to score, 5-2 Boston. Escobar, oh boy first pitch, grounds to Aviles at short, throw to second to get Johnson. Escobar leaves two out there to add to the bases loaded last inning. Crowd now is huge, long time since I have seen the place this full, all the way round in the t5th deck in left, and on the other side of the foul pole. A few spaces in the fifth deck to my right but this crowd is over the 40,000 today. Great to see but too bad the Jays are not taking advantage of the support. Top 5th: Nava fly ball to Rasmus in centre, no mistake here. One down for Aviles, lines it to centre but Rasmus makes the catch, two down. Gonzalez, fly ball to Davis in left. Three up and down, would that Drabek could do that more often. Bottom 5th: Bautista, there she goes, lines it into left and over the wall, home run for Jose, too bad that was not his last at bat with two on. 5-3 Game. Encarnacion strikes out, one down. Rasmus fly ball to Sweeney in centre, two down. Lawrie grounds to Aviles at short, out by a step on the throw to first. Jays get one back and this one is much closer. Top 6th: Ortiz fly ball to Rasmus in centre, he is a busy guy out there today One down for Saltalamacchia, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin for second out. Youkilis lines it to Escobar who makes a nice catch and then makes everyone know with his backhand flip to Johnson. Yunel the hotdog out there today. Another good inning for Drabek. Bottom 6th: Davis fly ball to Nava in left, Cooper, same again, fly ball to Nava, two down for Mathis, strikes out swinging. Three up and down for Doubront. Top 7th: Sweeney, ball four, walk number three for Drabek, but I for one did not expect him to still be out there in the seventh, a huge improvement on his last outing and to be fair he has not been helped by defensive plays behind him today, Rasmus and Bautista three runs from those two plays. The difference in this game. Middlebrooks, that’s better, grounds to Escobar, on to Johnson over to Edwin double play ball huge help for Drabek here. Punto two down, singles to Bautista in right, one on for Nava. Oh dear, Drabek throwing the ball away here on pickoff at first, Punto to second. Jays have been very sloppy again out there. Nava, ball four, yet another walk and now Drabek's turn to walk as here comes Farrell. Game over for Drabek today, much better than last time but leaves here with two on. Frasor now pitching. Aviles, strikes out. Jason did his job. Bottom 7th: Johnson, strikes out swinging, here comes Valentine to end the day for Doubront, leaves with the lead but it could easily be a very different score today. Matt Albers now pitching to Escobar, grounds to Gonzalez at first, throw to Albers covering, two down. Bautista, swinging away at first pitch good swing to left but Nava makes the catch at the wall. Jays running out of at bats here. Top 8th: Darren Oliver now pitching. Gonzalez fly ball to centre for Rasmus to make the out, one down for Ortiz, shift right on, singles to Bautista past Lawrie so fast he had no chance to get to that. Saltalamacchia, ball four and two on one down for Here comes Farrell, Cordero now pitching, get the heart medication ready. Youkilis, ball four and loads the bases. Cordero never fails does he. Sweeney grounds to Encarnacion for the out here comes Ortiz to score. 6-3 Boston. Marion Byrd in for Middlebrooks at the top of the inning, lines to left but Davis makes the out. Bottom 8th: Jay continually playing catch-up here today. Encarnacion singles to Nava in left, here comes Valentine again. Andre Miller replaces Albers. Rasmus first pitch fly ball to Byrd in centre. Two down, here comes Valentine again. Overdoing this a little I think, glad he is not managing here, shades of Cito the hook. Vincente Padilla now pitching. Lawrie singles to right, just missing Edwin as he breaks for second, and oh what a weird throw by Sweeney, throw slipped out of his hand and bounced ten feet in front of him, and here comes Edwin to score 6-4 Boston, Lawry to second on the throw, that was very strange and so much for all the pitching changes. Davis fly ball to Byrd in centre. Two down for Cooper, 1-1 count, NO, Lawrie stealing third and out on the pickoff, that was insane play, never make the third out at third is the mantra Brett, surely you learned that in t-ball. That was major error by Lawrie, I can’t believe he did that with Cooper there and in scoring position. A single would have scored him, what was he thinking? Shades of that stealing home with Bautista at bat earlier in the season. Problem here is that another run would have closed the lead to one with the top of the order due up after Mathis. Top 9th: Villanueva replacing Cordero. Punto number nine, oh boy, hammers this one to right centre, home run! his first of the season and now 7-4 makes it more difficult for Jays to come back. Top of the order. Nava, he hits him, come on Carlos. One on still nobody out, try pitching to the guy. Aviles fly ball to Rasmus in centre, one down. Gonzalez, Nava takes second, strikes out swinging, Ortiz, intentional walk, two on two down for Saltalamacchia, fly ball to Davis in left. But Boston gets another and Jays down to their last three. Bottom 9th: Aceves now pitching to save this one. Cooper grounds to Punto throw to first, one down, Mathis strikes out swinging two down Johnson, grounds to Punto throw to first and Boston have taken two and the series and go for the sweep tomorrow. Jays fall to bottom of the division all on their own. Boston has played very well 16-6 for the last 22 games to get out of that bottom spot and I don’t see them going back there. Jays have uphill battle now to move up. Drabek had his chances especially in the second, with 0-2 count and two down, four runs score but he was hurt big time by his defensive colleagues behind him. The very good: Today the over 40,000 crowd. Problem was they were kept out of the game for much of the afternoon. The good: Mathis bunt and his home run. Bunt was perfect. I think you also have to give Drabek a good today, he was victimised by his teammates all day long. Not good. Sloppy play by Jays today in the field and on the bases. The errors and runners in scoring position once again 2-6. The terrible: Lawrie and his attempt to steal third.

Sloppy, bad tempered, undisciplined Jays lose big and ugly to Red Sox

Red Sox v Jays. Game one of three series. A huge series (how many times do we say that!) but with Red Sox one game behind the Jays this is a big series. Three games between all five teams in the eastern division, how tight is that? Orioles are playing Tampa playing series. Yankees in Detroit and then everyone starts long series of games against the National League for most of June. For me the best news is that Vladdy is on his way to Vegas and one step away from Toronto. I guarantee that # 27 shirts will be selling like hot cakes very soon. Lineups: Red Sox: Podsednik, Nava, Gonzalez, Ortiz, Saltalamacchia, Middlebrooks, Sweeney, Aviles, Punto and Bucholz pitching. Jays: Johnson, Escobar, Bautista, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Lawrie, Arencibia, Cooper, Davis and Alvarez pitching. Top 1st: Podsednik leading off, 0-2 count, lines it to left but Davis makes nice catch up against the low wall. One down for Nava, bounces to Lawrie, throw to Cooper two down. Gonzalez, shift on and Lawrie standing at second. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, nice start 12 pitch inning for Henderson. Bottom 1st: Johnson, 2-2 count, pops it up to Avuiles behind second no, catcher interference, and Johnson at first, tough for Boston. Error to catcher. One on nobody out. Escobar, bounces to short, Aviles fumbles it and both runners safe. Error to Aviles, Whoa, two on. Bautista, 3-0 count, that was the pitch Jose, takes it, 3-1, full count, Jose did not agree and was walking. Strikes out swing should have swing at that earlier pitch right down the middle. One down, Encarnacion, NO !!!! first pitch, grounds to short, over to second on to first, double play. That was garbage at bat Edwin and you know it. Two pitches three outs. Awful.16 pitch count. Jays blow a great chance there for the big inning and that is never good against Boston. Top 2nd: Ortiz leading off, shift right, full count, hanging tough here, there it goes, drives it to left and over the wall, ten pitch at bat and Ortiz wins big, 1-0 Boston. Saltalamacchia, lines it to Rasmus in centre, one down. Middlebrooks, 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper, two down. Sweeney, 2-1 count, singles to Bautista in right. Aviles, 0-2 count, grounds to Johnson over to Cooper 38 pitch count. Not good, bullpen will be busy tonight at this rate. Bottom 2nd: Rasmus, 1-2 count, hits him, Rasmus at first. Lawrie, lifts it to Punto at second for the out, Arencibia, 2-0 count, lines it to centre for Posednik to make the out, two down for Cooper. Oh boy first pitch lines to Podsednik for the third out. Cooper now has the bug. Awful, Jays have had their chances but unable to capitalize with lousy hitting. 28 pitch count thanks to this first pitch hitting. Top 3rd: Meantime Alvarez in trouble already with his pitch count, Punto lines to centre for Rasmus to make the catch. One down for top of the order. Podsednik, 2-2 count, fly ball to Davis for the out, two down for Nava, 3-1 count, lines it off the wall in right, stand up double as poor throw by Bautista. His game is really suffering these days. Gonzalez with runner in scoring position. Singles to Davis in left, throw not in time as run scores 2-0 Boston. Gonzalez at second for Ortiz. Grounds to Cooper who takes it himself for the out but 54 pitch count for Alvarez after only three innings. Maybe into the sixth tonight for Alvarez. Not good. Right now it looks as if only one team has come to play tonight and that is not the Jays. Bottom 3rd: Davis leading off. 2-1 count, pops it up to Punto for the out. Johnson, lines first pitch (of course) to first throw to Bucholz for the second out. It looks as if Murphy has told them all to go after the first pitch and it is not working. Escobar, so far Jays have had two on from errors and another hit batsman. Here we go Yunel, that’s the way lines this one high to centre and into the seats. Home run, 2-1 Boston. Bautista, 1-2 count, does not like that muttering to himself and whomever is listening, 2-2, full count, strikes out swinging on high fast ball, ten pitch at bat, and that was a ball if he had left it. Slams his equipment on the ground and home plate umpire notes that for a possible fine for Jose. Still jawing at the umpire, have to learn to control that temper Jose you are doing no one any favours least of all yourself, the more you do it the more your whining reputation. Top 4th: Bautista still talking to the umpires this time second base. Looks as if the umpire made the first move and was trying to calm him down out there, classy move, all very amicable. Saltalamacchia, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper, one down. Middlebrooks, grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Cooper, two down. Sweeney, grounds to Lawrie, same play as he cuts in front of Escobar and throw to Cooper. Bottom 4th: Encarnacion, 2-1 count, pops it up to Punto for the out. One down for Rasmus. Pulls it to right. Lawrie, grounds to second, Punto throw to the bag and only gets Rasmus. Two down for Arencibia, lines it to Podsednik in centre for the third out. Top 5th: Aviles leading off. Lines it right back at Alvarez and oh dear off his leg, similar to Morrow, down goes Alvarez. His left leg. Trainer and Farrell out there, staying in there. Aviles at first. That will do grounds to Johnson over to Escobar and over to Cooer, double play ball, very nice play. Podsednik, grounds to Johnson, throw to Cooper. Six pitch inning, 72 pitches for Alvarez bit will be out next inning? Bottom 5th: Cooper lines this to left centre and over Podsednik bounces off the wall stand up double to lead off. Davis, bunting? No, takes ball one.2-0, swings at ball three outside, come on Rajai. Low ball three, inside ball four. Two on for top of the order Johnson, nobody out.1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Escobar. Grounds to third, over to second over to first, another double play ball. Awful bigtime. 67 pitch count for Bucholz. Top 6th: Yes Alvarez is out there. That is good news. Nava 1-2 count, singles to Bautista in right. Gonzalez, this is trouble, lines it to the wall in left, stand up double. Two in scoring position and nobody out and guess who, Ortiz. Perez now working in the bullpen. Full count, low ball four to load the bases. Still nobody out. Saltalamacchia, grounds to Cooper throw to second, no chance for Alvarez to get to first for the double play, he did not break until too late, another sloppy play. Nava scores 3-1 Boston and one down for Middlebrooks. 3-1 count, that will do grounds to Escobar, on to Johnson, over to Cooper, double play ball. 92 pitch count. Bottom 6th: Bautista leading off, hopefully controlling his temper. 2-2 count, takes strike three strikes out for third time tonight. Encarnacion, 2-2 count, strikes out looking. Rasmus, two down, 0-2, takes strike three. 80 pitch count. Top 7th: Alvarez out again, Sweeney, 3-0 might be his last hitter at this rate. 3-1 count, lines it to centre and bounces over the wall for ground rule double. Runner in scoring position and nobody out. Aviles, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Punto. Here comes Farrell.100 pitch count and now Luis Perez pitching. Grounds to Lawrie, running and great off balance throw gets him at first Cooper also makes great play two down. Great play by both as runner gets to third. Podesdnik with two down. Bounces up the middle to Johnson, no throw, and runner scores 4-1 Boston. Two down for Nava. 1-1 count, drives it to the wall in right centre and Podsednik scores easily and the rout is on. 5-1 Boston. Two down for Gonzalez. Drives it to Rasmus, here comes the run 6-1 game and Gonzalez to second. Ortiz, lines it over the head of Bautista to the fence, 7-1 Boston, throw back on catches Ortiz off first base for the out. But this game is over tonight. Very disappointing start to the series as Jays will drop to the bottom. Bottom 7th: I don’t think this team has it in them tonight to come back here. Boston wanted this game more than the Jays, their intensity is obvious. Lawrie, pops it up to right for the first out, Arencibia, first pitch fly ball to Podsednik, two down. Cooper, drives this one to left and into the Jays bullpen, opposite field home run to Cooper, 7-2 Boston. First home run for Cooper this season. Davis, full count, low ball four. Top of the order, Johnson. Boston bullpen working but there is no danger here tonight so far from the Jays hitters. There goes Davis, safe on the throw. Will he take third? 1-2 count, Johnson strikes out swinging. Top 8th: Robert Coello now pitching. Ex-Red Sox. First inning for the Jays. Saltalamacchia, 3-1 count, pops it up to Davis in left, one down for Middlebrooks. 1-2 count, singles to Bautista in right, Sweeney, pops it up to Davis in left, two down. Aviles, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 8th: Bucholz still out there and why not, he has handled the top of the order easily tonight. Escobar, grounds to short, throw to first, one down. Bautista who has had a lousy night again. 0-3 all on strike outs. Not this time but a single up the middle, very disappointing. Encarnacion, also a disappointing game tonight. Singles to left, two on but these guys are the power hitters not singles. Bucholz will gladly give them singles. Rasmus, 1-2 count, pops it up to Middlebrooks at third for second out. Lawrie. Pops it up to Sweeney in right for third out. Top 9th: Coello getting another inning. Punto, drives it to right, Bautista ‘s great throw gets him at second. One down. Podsednik, full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Nava, full count, lines it to left, another double. Five tonight by Boston. Gonzalez, 2-2 count, takes strike three and the agony for Jays fans is over tonight at least. 15 hits by Red Sox, not good. Bottom 9th: Bucholz to finish this one off ? No, Scott Atchison now pitching. Arencibia, 1-2 count, fly ball to right, one down. Cooper two hit night, double and home run, one of the few bright lights tonight for this anaemic offence. 2-1 count, drives it to left but Nava makes the catch. Two down for Davis, grounds to Aviles at short, Rajai beats out the throw easily. Top of the order, Johnson. There goes Rajai, takes second base without a throw. His second tonight. Full count, Johnson takes strike three, his third strikeout tonight. Not good. Much too easy for the Red Sox tonight, sloppy play by the Jays added to rash first pitch hitting enabled Bucholz to go deep for seven innings. No power from Bautista and Encarnacion, two singles between them all night. Jays fall to the bottom of the division with that performance and unless they play a whole lot better this could be a miserable weekend for them. The good: Definitely Alvarez. Cooper two hit night, double and home run. Escobar home run. Johnson with his glove, Bautista with his glove to throw out Punto top of the 9th. The bad: Jays once again runners in scoring position, tonight 0-8. Bautista has to cool it as well with his own at bats.