Jays power bats support Villanueva as Jays come from behind to win 7-3

Jays v Red Sox. Game two of three. Frasor the latest pitcher out of it. Don’t tell me all of this is not related to overwork. Questions and more questions surrounding pitcher preparation that the Jays organization has to look at. Timing of yesterday’s trade could not be better in one respect, three new arms, two of them experienced and hopefully not overused to date. I imagine that at least one if not both will be ready to go tonight. That is of course if Villanueva does not pitch a complete game, when was the last Jays pitcher to do that ? Good news is that Lawrie is back in the lineup, unbelievable, this guy is the iron man. No way would anyone believe he would be back in the lineup so quickly. Gomes will be sitting but Gose and Snider will still be in the lineup. Lineups: Jays: Gose, Lawrie, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Arencibia, Johnson, Escobar, Snider and Villanueva pitching. Escobar almost at the bottom of the lineup. Maybe he will get the message. Red Sox: Nava, Crawford, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ross, Saltalamacchia, Middlebrooks, Sweeney, Ciriaco and Aaron Cook pitching. Top 1st: Gose, 0-2 count, bounces to Pedroia, throw to Gonzalez for the out. Lawrie, grounds to Gonzalez, flip to Cook covering for the second out. Rasmus, grounds to Ciriaco at short, throw to first to end the inning. Three up and down easy inning for Cook. Pitch count 7. Bottom 1st: Nava leading off, shift right on. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Crawford. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Pedroia, 0-1 grounds to Lawrie, throw is high and pulls Edwin off the bag and makes the tag on Pedroia. Nice inning for Villanueva, pitch count same as Cook at 8. Top 2nd: Encarnacion leading off. 1-1 count, pulls it to Middlebrooks at third, throw to Gonzalez first for the out. Lind, 2-2 count, grounds to Pedroia, throw to Gonzalez, for the second out, this is getting a bit much. Come on someone get it in the air. Arencibia, two down, full count, first one so far for Cook. Grounds to Middlebrooks, throw to Gonzalez, six ground ball outs in a row. Pitch count a little higher 24. Inning took 17 pitches at least but Jays hitters have to adjust and fast. Bottom 2nd: Gonzalez leading off, lifts it into shallow right. One on for Ross, 2-1 count, lifts it into left field corner but Travis makes quick play and Gonzalez holds at third. Ross at second. Villanueva in trouble here though, nobody out and no chance for double play. Saltalamacchia, 1-2 count. Oh dear. Gets hold of this one and over right field fence, 3-0 Boston. Into the bullpen, that ball may have been catchable, the wall is very low. Middlebrooks, 2-2 count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, one down. Sweeney, fly ball to Rasmus for the second out. Ciriaco, grounds to Escobar, throw off the bag at first and unable to get Ciriaco. Error to Escobar. Nava, there goes Ciriaco, not a good throw by Arencibia and safe on the throw. Full count, takes strike three to end the inning. Pitch count 34. Top 3rd: Can Jays hitters solve Cook? They had better do so and fast. Johnson, there we go Kelly, lifts it into shallow left. Stand up double. Escobar, no chance for a double play, tried as he grounds to Ciriaco at short, drops the ball and Escobar gets a huge break. Error to Ciriaco. Two on nobody out, Snider. That’s the way Travis, singles back up the middle. Johnson had to hold at third as he waited to see ball go through. Bases loaded for Gose, nobody out. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Lawrie, this will bring in one, Lines it to Nava in right for the out, Johnson tags and scores, 3-1 Boston. Escobar also tags and goes to third. Rasmus, two on two down. 3-1 count, lifts it into centre but not enough and Sweeney makes the out. Jays get one but should have been more. Pitch count 39. Bottom 3rd: Crawford, 1-1 count, fly ball to left for Travis to make the out. One down for Pedroia, 2-2 count, high pop up to Rasmus in centre, two down. Gonzalez, full count, grounds to Lawrie playing shallow right, throw to Edwin for the out. Pitch count 50. Top 4th: Encarnacion first pitch pops up to Ciriaco at short. One down for Lind.1-1 count, bounces back to Cook throw to first, two quick and easy out for Cook. Arencibia, 2-0 count, hammers this one but foul left, that was a rocket, grounds to Ciriaco at short, throw to Gonzalez. Seven pitch inning. 46 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Ross, 3-1 count, low ball four. Saltalamacchia, another shift right, and he tries to bunt left. Fortunately fouls it off. There goes Ross, good throw but Escobar drops the ball. Oh man. Full count, strikes out looking, Saltalamacchia disagrees. One down for Middlebrooks, 2-2 count, perfect, lines to Escobar throw to Johnson at second for double play. Pitch count 66. Top 5th: Cook dominating Jays hitters tonight, apart from one inning. Johnson, one exception. Can he do it again? 2-2 count, lines it softly to Ciriaco at short, one down for Escobar, having a lousy game so far. Grounds to third, throw to first, two down. Snider, grounds to first, throw to Cook for the out, another three up and down inning for Cook. 55 pitch count for five innings !!!!! He will be pitching tomorrow at this rate. Bottom 5th: Must be depressing for Villanueva to watch his team try to hit Cook. Sweeney, 1-1 count, fly ball to Snider in left, one down. Ciriaco bunting and a good one safe on throw by Villanueva. One on one down for Nava, 3-1 count, there goes the runner, but ball four, two on for Crawford, lines first pitch to left but Travis makes the out. Two down for Pedroia, 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, this time his throw is on the mark to first to get Pedroia. Pitch count 82. Top 6th: Cook has 27 pitch count less than Villanueva, Jays offence still celebrating last night’s win, they are definitely not at the park tonight. Two hits all night, Johnson and Snider. Top of the order again Gose, will probably try bunting. First pitch, back to Cook, throw to first and a giveaway out. Lawrie, 1-2 count, same again back to Cook, flips to Gonzalez, two down. Rasmus, 3-1 count, outside ball four. Jay Happ warming up in bullpen. Encarnacion. 2-2 count, WHOA !!!! that’s better Edwin, a rocket to left and high over the Green Monster over the seats and out of here, someone’s car suffered in that parking lot. 3-3 game. Red Sox fans have been silenced by that swing. Lind, Blue Jays chant is starting “let’s go Blue Jays”. 3-1 count, grounds to Gonzalez, and flip to Cook for the out. But Jays are level again. Pitch count 80. Bottom 6th: Gonzalez, 0-2 count, grounds to Lawrie playing shift right, flip to Edwin for the out. One down for Ross, 2-2 count, pokes it off the end of his bat to Edwin at first, takes it himself for the second out. Saltalamacchia, 2-2 count, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin to end the inning. Pitch count 96, that might be it for Carlos here tonight. Happ is ready. Top 7th: Can Jays hitters give Villanueva a lead to give him a chance for a win. Arencibia, WOW JP launches this one and high to left over the Green Monster to join the ball from Edwin in the parking lot. WOW that was a huge home run, JP connected bigtime. 4-3 Jays game. Johnson, grounds to second throw to Gonzalez for the out. One down for Escobar, grounds to Middlebrooks but off the glove and error to Middlebrooks. Escobar safe at first on the error. That is it for Cook. Pitch count 86. Jays hitters are glad to see him leave. Franklin Morales now pitching. Lefty lefty for Snider. OK Travis, show them you can do it. 1-2 count, called strike three, very late call. Two down for Davis pinch hitting for Gose, 3-1 count, outside ball four. Two on two down and that is it for Morales. Matt Albers now pitching. Lawrie, with two on and two down and Brett we have not seen a long ball from you for a while, this would be a great time. 2-2 count, there go both runners and both safe, double steal. Both in scoring position. Come on Brett. Full count, way to go Brett hammers it into left, here comes Escobar, here comes Davis slides and safe on the throw 6-3 Jays and Lawrie to second on the throw. Nine pitch at bat by Lawrie wow. Rasmus, intentional walk. Encarnacion with two on. Edwin could really blow this one open here. 3-1 count, keeping it away from Edwin, low ball four to load the bases for Lind. That is it for Albers. Andrew Millar, lefty lefty for Lind. Overdue Adam. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Groan. Maybe next time a pinch hitter Farrell. But Jays have a three run lead. Bottom 7th: Villanueva coming out again. Hmm.... I thought they were keeping his pitch count down. Middlebrooks, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down and now here comes Farrell. 101 pitch count for Carlos but a great outing, J. Happ now pitching his debut for Jays. Sweeney grounds to Johnson at second throw to Edwin, two down. Ciriaco, grounds to Escobar, throw to first just gets him for third out. Great start for Happ. Five pitches four strikes, we love it. Top 8th: Vicente Padilla now pitching. Arencibia, Jays would love to add to this total.2-2 count, Padilla thought he had that one. Strikes out swinging on this one, one down for Johnson. 1-1 count, lines it to left but Crawford makes the out, two down for Escobar, on base twice through Red Sox errors. 1-1 count, does it on his own this time as he lines it to the wall in left centre, stand up double. Snider now with a chance for an RBI. 0-2 count, just foul on right field side. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Bottom 8th: Darren Oliver now pitching. Nava, 1-1 count, pops it up to Rasmus in shallow centre, one down. Crawford, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Pedroia. Blue Jays chant again. 2-2 count, singles to Davis in right. Gonzalez, 1-1 count, grounds to Edwin at first, steps on the bag for third out. Oliver does it again. Top 9th: Junichi Tazawa now pitching. Top of the order. Davis leading off. Full count, whoa, hammers this one to left and off the scoreboard, stand up double. Lawrie, will Rajai be going ? Bunting and great one up the line Gonzalez goes to tag and Lawrie flashed by him throw to Pedroia to get him at first. Rajai to third. Rasmus, grounds to Pedroia, Rajai going on contact and beats the throw 7-3 Jays. Speed kills. Rasmus at first, Encarnacion again. Crowd is QUIET. 3-1 count, Brandon Lyon warming up. Low ball four, two on for Lind. Pitching coach out there. Lind 0-4 and long overdue as they say. Outside ball one, Oh boy, grounds to second over to Ciriaco back to Gonzalez double play by Lind. Terrible and an 0-5 night. Farrell may have to move him down the order because they are going to pitch around Edwin to get to Lind if he continues to hit or rather does not hit. Bottom 9th: Brandon Lyon now making his start. Ross at least he cannot score four but his job is to get on base. Full count, strikes out looking, one down. Saltalamacchia, fly ball to left centre and here comes Travis to dive full length; wow great catch robs them of a base hit. Excellent Travis. Two down for Middlebrooks, 2-1 count, off the end of his bat in front of the mound, Lyon throw to Edwin for third out. Jays win big in Boston. They have won the series and go for the sweep tomorrow. Excellent: So much tonight, pitching of Villanueva to get into the seventh, the relief pitching of Oliver and the newbies Happ and Lyon to shut Boston down. The power bats of Encarnacion and Arencibia and Lawrie. Lawrie’s three RBI return and his speed. Great diving catch by Snider. Not so good: Poor defensive plays by Escobar. Lind 0-5 night and the loss of Frasor.

Laffey pitches well for big Jays win in Boston after big trade day and return of Snider

Jays v Red Sox. Game one of three. Big game tonight v Red Sox BUT overshadowed this morning by the 10 player trade with the Astros. “Stand Pat “Alex no longer as he traded big time. For our readers in Russia, France, China, Germany, Poland, Malaysia, UK and India, 10 players involved in Jays trade with the Astros. The trade:Toronto received left-handed starter J.A. Happ, along with relievers Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter. The Astros get Francisco Cordero and Ben Francisco, along with four Minor League prospects and a player to be named. Happ went 7-9 with a 4.83 ERA in 18 starts for the Astros this season. The 29-year-old was originally linked to the Blue Jays back in 2010, when he was still a member of the Phillies, but he remained in Philadelphia until later being moved to Houston in a multiplayer deal for Roy Oswalt. Happ has recorded 12 quality starts in 18 outings, but he has also surrendered at least five runs in four different games. Lyon, a free agent at the end of the year, will be another arm for middle relief. The 11-year veteran owns a 3.25 ERA in 37 games this season and has a total of 78 career saves. Carpenter 27 year old, will report to Triple-A Las Vegas, but he is still potentially a key to the deal considering his high strikeout totals at the Minor League level in recent years. Jays send Asher Wojciechowski and Joe Musgrove, ranked by MLB.com as the club's 10th and 11th best prospects respectively. Wojciechowski, 23, was the 41st pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft and put up a 7-3 record and 3.57 ERA in 18 starts for Class A Dunedin this season. The 19-year-old Musgrove was picked 46th overall in the 2011 Draft and is 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA over two pro seasons. Also going to Houston were left-hander David Rollins and catcher Carlos Perez. Rollins, 22, was 10-1 with a 2.46 ERA in 25 starts over two professional seasons in the Blue Jays' system, and the 21-year-old Perez was batting .269 with five homers and 40 RBIs for Class A Lansing this year. For Jays fans even better news today was the recall of Travis Snider from Las Vegas, playing tonight. Right-hander Robert Coello is moved to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. I think Travis will get an amazing welcome home next week when he is announced. Jays say sayonara to Cordero and Francisco. Most fans will not be weeping with loss of Cordero. Francisco will probably love NL pitching as he did well with the Phillies. Problem with him is that he didn’t get the at bats on a regular basis. David Carpenter I think will be the sleeper of this group. He has been sent to Vegas but his record looks good. Tonight two teams going in opposite directions. Boston flying high now after their last series. Jays beaten up and staggering out of New York not just being swept in the series but losing Bautista and Lawrie. Jays can only go up and are still within sight of the second playoff spot, this one is not over by a long shot. Things can change fast and with games within the division even faster. Today the pitching was definitely strengthened and I have no doubt that Alex has not yet finished. Travis Snider back in the big show, welcome back Travis, go get ‘em. Lineups: Jays: Gose, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Arencibia, Johnson, Escobar, Snider, Gomes and Laffey pitching. Snider in left is stronger than Davis with both bat and glove. Gose in right for Jose loses nothing defensively but we shall miss Jose’s bat. Gomes is not a Lawrie but will not disgrace himself. Red Sox: Ellsbury, Crawford, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ross, Millbrook, Shoppach, Aviles, Ciriaco, and Beckett pitching. Top 1st: Gose, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Rasmus, 0-2 count, hammers this one to right over Ross and off the wall, running hard for third and triple number four for Colby. Encarnacion, 0-2 count, pulls it to third, throw by Millbrooks and Colby scores, Valentine does not like the call, umpire says he missed the tag and scored. 1-0 Jays. Edwin at first, Lind, pulls it into right past diving and Edwin to third on the play. Arencibia with two and one down. Come on JP. Pulls it to left and here comes Edwin, 2-0 Jays. Two on one down for Johnson, crowd a little quiet here. Not what they are expecting. But this is the team that hits three on the last play in bottom of the ninth, Jays need a whole lot more against this team. Oh boy, grounds to second, throw to first double play ball. But Jays go out ahead early. 17 pitch inning for Beckett. Bottom 1st: Ellsbury, lines it to centre, Rasmus makes the out, one down for Crawford, no, grounds to Escobar, unable to make the play, no throw, Crawford safe at first without a throw. Speed. Pedroia, one on one down. Pops it up to Gose in right, two down for Gonzalez, 3-1 count, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin to end the inning. Pitch count 13, nice start for Laffey. Top 2nd: Escobar, whoa Yunel, hammers this one to the Green monster off the scoreboard and stand up double. Snider first at bat in the first team this season. Go Travis. Does the job, pulls it to Pedroia at second right and throw to Gonzalez at first for the out, but Yunel moves up to third. Gomes, in place of Lawrie, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Gose, 0-2 count, full count, ball four. Rasmus, goes the other way, to the wall, here comes Escobar followed by Gose, from fits base, speed kills, 4-0 Jays. That’s more like it, Jays fans going loud now. “Lets go Blue Jays”. Rasmus at second, Edwin, two down. Whoa Red Sox bullpen working already. 3-0 count, low ball four, Fenway fans booing... Lind, can break this one open here Adam, two on two down. Grounds to Pedroia, throw to Gonzalez. 37 pitches. Adam has to start playing better here. Bottom 2nd: Laffey has a nice lead to work with. Cody Ross, hot bat right now. 1-2 count, bounces back to Laffey as the bat shatters and flies over him, throw to Edwin, one down. Middlebrooks, whoa, great catch, hammers it right back at Laffey ducks but Johnson has the catch at second right behind Laffey, wow. Two down. Shoppach, pulls to Escobar, throw to Edwin, eight pitch inning, very nice. Pitch count 21. Top 3rd: Arencibia, 2-2 count, taps it back to Beckett, throw to Gonzalez to get Arencibia. One down for Johnson, first pitch swinging fly ball to Ellsbury in right centre. Escobar, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 48. Bottom 3rd: Aviles, 2-2 count, bounces it to Escobar, throw not in time. One on for Ciriaco. Bunting but foul. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, very nice. One down one on for Ellsbury. Singles back up the middle. Two on one down, Laffey has to be careful here. Crawford, 1-1 count, fly ball to right, Gose makes the out and throw to second to keep runner at first. Aviles to third. Pedroia, two on two down. Lines it hard to right but Gose makes the out and Laffey escapes trouble. Pitch count 37. Top 4th: Snider leading off. 1-2 count, takes strike three. One down, Gomes, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Two down for Gose. 2-2 count, grounds to Pedroia, throw to first to end the inning. Pitch count 65. Bottom 4th: Gonzalez lines hard to left but nice running catch by Travis, one down for Ross. Full count, lines it to Snider in left but Travis gets to it fast and throws it back in to save a double. One on one down. Middlebrooks, perfect, grounds to Escobar throw to Johnson over to Edwin double play ball. Pitch count 49. Top 5th: Rasmus, 2-2 tonight. Double and a triple. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. One down for Encarnacion. 1-1 count, grounds it hard to Middlebrooks at third, off his glove and Edwin safe at first and throw is wild. Edwin to second. Error to Middlebrooks. One on one down for Lind. Lines it opposite field to left centre, and here comes Edwin 5-0 Jays. Arencibia, grounds to Middlebrooks over to Pedroia at second on to first for double play. Pitch count 78 for Beckett. Bottom 5th: Shoppach leading off. 1-2 count, lines it to the wall in left, Snider plays it well off the wall and throw back to second to hold hit to a long single. I don’t think Davis could do that. Aviles with one. 2-2 count, strikes out foul tip. One down for Ciriaco. 2-1 count, bounces to Gomes, throw to Edwin at first for the out. No chance for two. Shoppach at second for top of the order Ellsbury, two down. 1-1 count, grounds to Edwin, steps on the bag himself to end the inning. Pitch count 65. Top 6th: Johnson, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Escobar. Grounds back up the middle, Pedroia makes the play and throw to first to get slow running Escobar. Two down for Snider, full count, fouling them off here, low ball four, eight pitch at bat to push Beckett’s total up to 94. Gomes, one on two down. Grounds to Middlebrooks at third, throw to second to get Travis to end the inning. Pitch count 96. Bottom 6th: Crawford leading off. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Pedroia, lines to Snider in left. Gonzalez, 1-1 count, fly ball to right, Gose makes the out, two down one on for Ross, grounds to third, Gomes throw to Johnson for third out. Pitch count 74. Top 7th: Andrew Miller (lefty) now pitching for Beckett facing two lefties to start. Gose leading off. 2-2 count, takes strike three. One down for Rasmus. 1-2 count, grounds to Pedroai at second, throw to Gonzalez at first, two down. Encarnacion. Full count, pops it up to shallow right, Ross makes the out. Bottom 7th: Middlebrooks, grounds past diving Johnson at second, one on for Shoppach, Frasor warming up for Jays. Singles to Snider in left. Two on and nobody out. Here comes Bruce Walton. Oliver also warming up. Aviles, 1-2 count, takes strike three, whoa, nice pitch. One down two on for Ciriaco. Bunting but misses, through him. 1-2 count, grounds to Escobar, flip to Johnson but no chance for double play with speed of Ciriaco. Two down for top of the order, runners at the corners, Ellsbury, Perfect, pops up the first pitch to Gomes. Nice pitching. Top 8th: Jays would love to add to this score, they know what this Red Sox team can do. Lind leading off. Lind does not have to face lefty Miller. Mark Melancon now pitching. 1-2 count, strikes out looking. One down for Arencibia, full count, up and inside ball four, one on one down for Johnson grounds to Pedroia to Aviles for one over to Gonzalez to end the inning with double play number three by the Jays tonight, ugly. Bottom 8th: Darren Oliver now pitching. Crawford. Grounds second pitch to Johnson, throw to first for the out. One down for Pedroia, 2-2 count, pops it up to Escobar at short, two down for Gonzalez. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Wow, great pitching by Oliver yet again. Where would this team be without him this season? Top 9th: Last chance for Jays to add to the total. Bottom third of the order chance to shine. Melancon still out there. Escobar, 2-2 count, I wish he would lay off that outside pitch. Full count, grounds to Pedroia at second, throw to Gonzalez, one down for Snider. Come on Travis. 2-1 count, Casey Janssen warming up. Lines this one high off the wall in left, opposite field for Travis that would have been home run in Toronto. Stand up double. Gomes, come on Yan you can do it. One on one down. 2-1 count, this will do it, lines it down the line into right, here comes Travis to score and Yan has a double himself. 6-0 Jays. Gose now, your turn Anthony. 3-1 count, low and inside ball four. Two on one down for Rasmus. Come on Colby, over the fence. Here comes Valentine, that is it for Melancon. Junichi Tazawa now pitching. Lines it to right, shoestring catch by Ross and throw to second to double up Gomes. Fourth double play against the Jays, base running is not one of their strengths. Bottom 9th: Janssen with a six run lead but this is Boston in Fenway. Ross leading off, who else would it be. 2-2 count, strikes out throw to first, one down. Middlebrooks, full count, singles to Gose in right. Nine pitch at bat. One on for Nava pinch hitting for Shoppach, there goes Middlebrooks. No throw as Arencibia loses the ball. 3-1 count, hits him on the foot. Middlebrooks to third. Two on, Aviles, grounds to Escobar, throw to Johnson over to Edwin not in time. Two down as run scores 6-1 Jays. Saltalamacchia pinch hitting for Ciriaco. Aviles at first.1-2 count, strikes out swinging and Jays win this one big. Janssen takes 27 pitches though to finish this one, that is not good. Too many days rest. But Jays finish off great day, big trade and big win and the return of Travis. That is good friends. The excellent: Laffey seven shutout innings. After the New York series, Jay needed both runs and pitching and they had both tonight. Darren Oliver lights out as usual. Colby Rasmus, two hit night double and a triple but he got it all going in the first inning. Snider looked at home in the lineup playing well defensively as well as his bat. Not so good: Four double plays given up by Jays hitters tonight and Yan Gomes being caught off base for the double play in the ninth inning.

Jays swept in NY and lose Lawrie to injury as Romero loses another

Jays v Yankees. Final Game of the series. Gose leading off today let us hope that he learned something last night, that he cannot expect to be an All-Star day one. His mistakes in right and on the base pads are forgivable for his first game but Jays fans expect more from now on. His base error at minimum ruined a nice fight back and conceivably cost the Jays runs. Jays are missing Jose more than just his production, Yankees are using the absence to pitch around the remaining bats in the lineup and you can be assured that the advance scout for the Red Sox and others are noting. The only solution is for the Jays hitters to step it up not just a notch but a lot. The leadership that Jose brings to this team is understated but someone now has to take that on. Preferably everyone will do their part and maybe a different leader each game. Edwin and Lind did their part last night but not enough to get base hits if the others are unable to cash in. One good move, no Escobar in the lineup today, his bat has been almost non-existent and hitting behind Lind it has hurt the Jays with runners on. Vizquel is no Babe Ruth but at least he has a baseball head and plays the situational hitting. Jays need some production also from Johnson and today Romero, sigh. If this were last season we would all be looking forward to it but this year, who knows what he will bring. Let’s dream for a complete game shutout. If only. Jays good news last night was that Boston also lost so little ground lost, so far. Lineups: Jays: Gose, Lawrie, Rasmus, Encarnacion, Lind, Arencibia, Johnson, Davis, Vizquel and Romero pitching. Yankees: No mercy given to the Jays in the lineup, these are all wins that New York wants to pad their division lead and then get the breaks in September. Can the Jays spoil their party today? Today: Jeter, Swisher,Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, Jones, Nix, Martin, Wise and Kuroda pitching. Granderson is the only guy sitting it out. Game delayed by lightning. There’s a break for the Jays, play this game in September??? Yankees have to head to the west coast today for Oakland tomorrow, so they will not want to play this one tonight. Underway. 2.00 pm one hour later. Top 1st: Gose, 2-2 count, fouling them off here, strikes out swinging, but it took Kuroda eight pitches, good at bat by Gose. Lawrie, one down, grounds first pitch to A-Rod at third, throw way wide of Teixiera at first and Lawrie safe at second on the throwing error by A-Rod. One on one down for Rasmus. Hitting the ball hard but not much to show recently for it. With the short right field fences I had hoped that Colby would feast on the pitching. 0-2 count, grounds to Cano throw to first to get Colby as Lawrie heads to third. Two down for Encarnacion 1-1 count, fly ball to left but Jones makes the out. Jays leave runner at third. Pitch count 15. Bottom 1st: Jeter, fly ball to right centre, this is trouble, over the head of Gose and off the wall to Rasmus backing up Gose, stand up double for Jeter to leadoff. We forget how good Jose is in right field until we see replacements out there. Swisher, runner in scoring position. Singles past Encarnacion to Gose in right, here comes Jeter, 1-0 Yankees, it took five pitches to get the first run. Teixeira, runner at first. 0-2 count, 2-2, there it goes high to left centre and out of here into the bullpen, two run home run and Yankees are already up 3-0 and still nobody out. Long afternoon ahead for Romero. A-Rod, 1-2 count, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to first to get the first out. Took 14 pitches, hardly awe-inspiring stuff from Romero today. Cano, 1-1 count, opposite field fly ball to left, off the wall, Davis had a shot at it, no error given, stand up double for Cano. Romero fooling nobody today. Fourth hit of the inning. Jones, singles to Gose in right, here comes Cano to score run number four. Bruce Walton out there. One on one down for ex-Jay Nix, take some pity on them here Nix. Grounds to Lawrie throw to Johnson to get Jones, not in time to get two, nothing going right here for the Jays this inning, two down for Martin, 2-2 count, Arencibia throw to Edwin and they get him, Nix is picked off, he had pity on Romero. But that was one awful start for Romero. 25 pitches ! four runs on five hits. Not helped by Davis or Gose. Top 2nd: It will be interesting to see if Yankees try to speed up the game now to get on that plane west. One hour is already lost. Lind, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, three pitches, looks like the Jays are trying to get out of here and why not. This is a very embarrassing start. Arencibia, strikes out swinging. Kuroda just throwing strike after strike here. 20 of his first 25 pitches. That is something Jays pitchers could do well to watch. Johnson, 1-2 count, grounds to Cano at second, going to his right and unable to make the stop cleanly Johnson safe without a throw, Jays first hit, but with two down. Davis, 2-2 count, Davis not chasing those outside balls in the dirt. Spoke too soon, strikes out swinging. Jays get a hit and that is it for the offence. Pitch count 33. Bottom 2nd: Has Romero calmed down? If Jays didn’t have such a pitching problem Romero could be looking at a stint in the minors to try to sort out his problems much the way Halladay did. But Ricky is fortunate there are other pitching problems and he is the best of a poor bunch right now. Martin, singles past a diving Johnson to Rasmus in centre. ExJay DeWayne Wise, one on, fly ball out to Davis, one down. Jeter, perfect grounds to Vizquel, flip to Johnson, on to Edwin, double play ball and Romero escapes this one without a run. Looking up, six pitch inning, count, 31. That really helps Ricky. Now can the offence get something going? Top 3rd: Vizquel 2-2 count, grounds back to Kuroda, throw to Teixeira, one down. Gose, grounds first pitch to Cano at second, throw to Teixeira, two down for Lawrie. 1-0 count, grounds to A-Rod at third, throw to Teixeira for the out. Jays go quickly, meekly and quietly. Pitch count 42 for Kuroda. Bottom 3rd: Swisher leading off. Full count, strike three looking. First strike out for Romero today. Ouch. One down for Teixeira, oh boy, Teixeira pops it up and Lawrie going after it leans over the camera bay and he has gone over the wall, he is hurt. He had the ball hit his glove but could not close it and his right hand slipped off the wall and he fell about 7-8 feet. His leg hit a metal bar as he went down. Lawrie now being looked at, and now leaving the game with that leg injury. Everyone knew this would happen one day the way this guy runs through brick walls. He has to tone it down and learn when to hold back such as that pop up although to be fair to him this time he did not run headlong at the wall just drifted with the ball to the wall. He is an accident waiting to happen and it has happened at the very worst time for this team. Can this get any worse? Escobar in at short and Vizquel moves to third. Teixeira 2-2 count, singles to Davis in left. One down one on. A-Rod. Fly ball to right but Gose has it covered, two down. Cano, fly ball to Rasmus in centre to end this one. Pitch count 47. Top 4th: Rasmus, grounds to Teixeira at first, steps on the bag, one down. Encarnacion, fly ball to right, Swisher makes the out, two down. Lind, 1-2 count, grounds off the end of his bat slowly to Nix, throw to Teixeira for third out. Jays go quietly again. Someone on this team has to start to show some fight. This is Kuroda not Cy Young. 54 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Jones grounds first pitch to Vizquel throw to Edwin, one down. Nix lines it over the head of Rasmus to the wall in left centre, stand up double for Nix and Ricky in trouble again. Martin, 3-0 count now he is losing his control, full count, ball four, well the best of the alternatives for Romero and keeps the double play in order. Wise, fly ball to right and this one bounces over the wall, ground rule double, Nix scores and Martin to third, Wise to second. 5-0 Yankees. Five of the nine hits today have been extra-base hits. Top of the order again Jeter. Full count, Jeter battling away here fouling them off. Ball four on eight pitches to load the bases. Romero living dangerously. Swisher, one down and bases loaded. Everybody in the lineup except A-Rod has a hit and that is really a concern with A-Rod to bat. Perfect grounds to Vizquel, to Johnson over to Edwin double play ball. Wow. And how do you think Romero feels. 67 pitch count, Top 5th: Time for Jays bats to get going because time is a running out here. Arencibia, let’s see some power JP. 1-2 count, there we go lines it to centre left, bounces off the glove of Wise to Jones and Arencibia in with a stand-up double. Fight back Jays, only their second hit but we have to start somewhere. Johnson, we need a hit Kelly. Full count, lines to Jones in left, diving catch for the first out, nice catch saved a run, hit took seven pitches but not enough. One down for Davis, long overdue for a hit, no bunting please Rajai. First pitch, pop up to Teixeira for over the shoulder catch and that is what you call a sandlot piece of hitting by Davis. Vizquel, come on Omar show them how it is done. 0-2 count, not like that. Grounds to Cano at second, throw to first for the out. Jays leave a leadoff double on base, terrible. Pitch count 70 for Kuroda, just pouring in the strikes and the Jays lineup looking awfully weak right now. Is there anyone who is able to hit anymore? Where is this great lineup of the last couple of months? or is it a mirage and just Jose leading with the others following ? Bottom 5th: Teixeira, 3-0 count, come on Romero just throw strikes, what is your problem? There’s one finally, grounds to Vizquel throw to Edwin, one down. A-Rod. Pulls it to Vizquel, over to Edwin, two down. Yankees are in a hurry now, rain is starting again, this game would have been over by now without the delay and they would be on their way to the airport. Cano full count, grounds to Edwin at first. Must be the quickest inning yet. Pitch count 81. Top 6th: Gose leading off. Not a great debut for him so far. But then nobody else is doing anything either. Bunting, come on. Fouls it off. 2-2 count, takes strike three, one down. Escobar, first at bat today, 2-2 count, grounds it to A-Rod at third who cannot handle it, bounces off his body and no throw. Now Rasmus. Can he get it going here ? Major disappointment this last week. Pulls this one to right but foul. Pops it up to A-Rod for the out. Encarnacion two down, one on. Full count, grounds to A-Rod, throw to Teixeira for third out. Pitch count 90. Kuroda has done his job well. Bottom 6th: Romero still out there, Jones leading off. Pops up first pitch to third, Escobar takes it in front of Vizquel, one down. Nix loops it to left bounces in front of Davis in left, he is going to miss hitting against Jays pitchers. Martin grounds to Vizquel, throw to Edwin one down. Nix to second. Wise singles to Rasmus in shallow centre, here comes Nix to be the throw and score 6-0 Yankees. Jeter singles to Gose in right, two on two down for Swisher, takes strike three to end this agony. Romero at 97 pitches. Back to the drawing board for him although he did last six. Top 7th: Lind grounds to second, throw to first one down. Arencibia 1-2 count, singles to Swisher in right, we have been here before for poor JP. Johnson, one on, he hits him, on the foot as he tries to dive out of the way, two on, one down for Davis. Bunting of course, misses it. Why oh why. Full count, grounds to A-Rod at third throw to second to just get Johnson sliding to prevent double play. Two down, Davis safe at first, so you know who will be running, just stay put Rajai please. Arencibia at third, the first time today a Jays hitter has reached third, Pretty bad. Vizquel, two down two on. Pulls it to right but bounces just foul. There goes Rajai as Vizquel fouls it off, 0-2 count, high pop up to Cano in shallow right centre, JP left out there yet again, this team is so bad it is painful to watch them. Jays are 0-7 today with runners in scoring position. How bad is that ? Kuroda at 106 pitch count. Bottom 7th: Beck now pitching. Torrential downpour. Rain delay to rescue this hapless Jays team. They will be glad to call this one now. No sense in waiting around for this. Game finally called. It is getaway day. Jays get swept by the Yankees, have lost two of their starting lineup and two of their best in Bautista and Lawrie. Off to Fenway and at the worst possible time. If they get swept in Boston, they are four behind and effectively out of the wild card race barring some miracle. The good: Arencibia, two hit day. The bad: Romero, although he settled down after the first inning, it was too late as Yankees scored four in that first inning and set the tone for the win. Davis once again an adventure in left field, raising the question again about replacement. Someone now may have to fill in for Lawrie depending on the medical report.

Jays fight back in the ninth but too little too late as they lose 6-1.

Jays v Yankees. Game two of three. Game one post-Bautista. Not a good time for Jays fans as we deal with the loss of Jose. Official news is 15 Day DL and Jose is confident, but wrist injuries are notorious for messing up hitters, Jays fans recall Encarnacion more recently but also Vernon Wells injury which messed him for at least two years, some maintain he is still not back to normal. Worst case scenario is no more Jose this season, we all hope that is not the case. But back to the immediate and the need for someone in Jays lineup to step up to minimise the loss of Jose not only his bat and glove but more important the leadership he brings to this team. Looking at this lineup Rasmus and Encarnacion may be the only two who can even try to fill the void. As if Jose loss were not enough, Jays also have to deal the pitching issue and pitching staff also have to step it up considerably. Starting with Cecil tonight. To add even more salt to the Jays wounds, they face CC Sabathia. However he is coming off his groin injury and it could be tough for him, at least the first few innings. Jays need to take advantage. Gose will play tomorrow in the series finale. Lineups: Jays: Davis, Lawrie, Rasmus, Lawrie, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Francisco, Johnson, Mathis and Cecil pitching. Not much of a lineup for the Yankees to fear besides Rasmus, Encarnacion and Lind and they have shown they will pitch around Lind which reduces the power to two bats, not enough to beat the Yankees. Yankees: Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Cano, Swisher, Jones, Nix, Stewart, and Sabathia pitching. Top 1st: Davis leading off, hope he can resist bunting. 0-2 count, lines it to Cano at second, one down. Rasmus, will they pitch around Colby to get to Lawrie? full count, strikes out swinging, two down. Lawrie, in his own mini-slump. 1-2 count here, strikes him out swinging at high pitch out of the zone. 16 pitch inning for Sabathia. Bottom 1st: Mathis catching tonight with Cecil pitching. Jeter, 2-0 grounds to Escobar, nice diving save but throw late and Jeter safe at first. One on for Granderson, 2-2 count, lines it hard to right but Francisco makes the out. Teixeira, 0-2 count, strikes out looking, nice pitch. A-Rod, two down one on. 2-0 count, lines it hard to left but Lawrie makes great play and hard throw to get A-Rod at first. Edwin had to leap high for throw but gets back to the bag for the out. 17 pitch inning. Top 2nd: Encarnacion, pulls it to left, off the wall and stand up double. Lind, one on one down. Lines it to left but right at Jayson Nix playing third. Escobar, definitely one who is not pulling his weight with the bat, one down, pops it up to Teixeira for the out. At least it was not a double play. Francisco, fly ball to centre but Granderson makes the out. 25 pitch count. Edwin left out there after lead off double. Runners in scoring position the Jays biggest bugbear. Cecil will need his best game tonight. Bottom 2nd: Cano leading off. 0-2 count, singles back up the middle. Swisher, full count, high ball four, two on and nobody out, Andruw Jones, 2-1 count, there it goes, pulls it to left and into the seats, 3-0 Yankees. You could see it coming with Cecil nibbling away and so hesitant. Still nobody out. Ex-Jay Nix, 0-2 count, pulls it into the left field corner for stand up double. Cecil fooling no one right now. Stewart, there goes Nix and throw to Lawrie at third gets him, nice throw by Arencibia. One down, pops it up to Davis, for the second out. Jeter again, 2-1 count, bounces to Escobar, throw to Edwin for the out but Cecil once again unable to do the job and has opened the door and it will be very difficult for a Jose-less lineup to score three against Sabathia. 41 pitches for two innings hardly reassuring to his teammates. Top 3rd: Johnson bunting, why oh why do these guys try to do that? None of them can bunt. Lines this one to Cano, off his glove but able to recover and throw out Johnson. Mathis, one down, lifts it into shallow right centre, Granderson makes the running catch. Davis, two down, lines it into the left field corner, stand-up double. Rasmus, there goes Davis and no throw as Rajai safe at third. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging. Pitch count 37. Jays 0-3 with runners in scoring position. They cannot afford this with their lineup, they have to take advantage of the few opportunities they do get. Bottom 3rd: Granderson, 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for Teixeira. 2-2 count, lines it to Rasmus in centre, dives for it but off his glove and throw to second just wide as Teixeira has a double. One on one down for A-Rod. 2-2 count, lines to Rasmus in centre, no doubt this time to make the out. Two down, Cano, grounds first pitch to Escobar, throw to Edwin for the out. Pitch count 57 for only three innings, not good enough. Top 4th: Lawrie leading off, 1-2 count, pops it up to Granderson in shallow centre, one down. Encarnacion, 2-2 count, long drive to right centre but not far enough as Swisher makes the out, two down for Lind. 1-2 count, loops it into right in front of Swisher. One on two down for Escobar. 1-2 count, pulls it weakly to third, throw to second to get Lind. Sabathia breezing through Jays lineup. Only 54 pitches. Bottom 4th: Not the same with Cecil who is grinding his way pitch by pitch through this outing, Swisher leading off. Full count, way outside ball four. Leadoff guy on base, Jones, pops it up to Rasmus in shallow centre, one down. Nix, bunting up the line, Edwin fields it but no one at first for the throw. Farcical and I am sure they practised that in Spring training. Farrell must be seething. Two on, Stewart, full count, pops it up to Encarnacion in front of Yankees dugout, two down, two on for Jeter. 1-2 count, strikes out swinging, Cecil escapes but pitch count 78. One more inning and that could be it. Top 5th: Francisco leading off. Takes strike three, Ben disagrees but no good. One down for Johnson also slumping with his bat. 2-2 count, pops it up to Granderson in shallow centre. Two down for Mathis, grounds to Cano, throw to first to end another easy three up and down inning. Only 66 pitches through five. Bottom 5th: Granderson grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin, one down. Teixeira, 2-2 count, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Edwin for second out. A-Rod, full count, lines it to left centre for Rasmus to make fine running catch. 93 pitch count, Top 6th: Davis, fly ball to Jones in left, one down. Rasmus strikes out swinging. Lawrie, ball four, one on two down for Encarnacion, now Sabathia has to worry about runner for a change. 1-2 count, takes strike three. 85 pitches. Bottom 6th: Cano, 1-2 count, lines it to Francisco in right, one down. Swisher, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Jones, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Too little too late for Cecil. 107 pitch count. Top 7th: Jays unable to fathom out Sabathia so far and this will be their last chance before Robertson and Soriano duo finish the game off. Very disappointing performance, no one has looked as if they are major league tonight. Without Bautista this team is leaderless. Lind, singles to right. His second hit tonight. Escobar, here comes Girardi, that is it for Sabathia, am surprised at that, not sure they know Escobar... double play king. But I guess they are being careful with Sabathia pitch count in first game back from the groin injury. Cody Eppley in the game. Escobar bunting and out on the play. Better than a double play Yunel. Lind to second. Gose now pinch hitting for Francisco with runner in scoring position. Major league debut. Girardi out again, Boone Logan now pitching. Gose doesn’t mind his nerves are stretched anyway. 2-1 count, bounces over Logan up the middle to Jeter, throw gets him but Gose can fly. Lind at third. Johnson, 0-2 count, grounds to Cano throw to first and Jays unable once again to bring the guy in. 0-6 with runners in scoring position. Pathetic. Bottom 7th: Cecil out of the game now, just didn’t have enough. Struggled throughout. Sam Dyson now pitching. Jays have no choice out there. Gose in right field. Nix, singles up the middle to Rasmus. Stewart, 0-2 count, bounces to Lawrie at third, unable to get it and Davis throw here comes Nix, and Stewart to third, 4-0 Yankees and error to Davis as he overthrows the cut off. It is left field Manager Farrell that is the problem. Mayve Gise moves here when Jose is back in right. Jeter singles to right, here comes Stewart. 5-0 Yankees and ball gets away from Gose and Jeter to second. Still nobody out. Roof falling in on Jays here. Granderson nobody out singles to Davis in left Jeter stops at third. Teixeira, two on and nobody out, 3-1 count, outside bases loaded. Farrell standing put. A-Rod grounds to Johnson, throw to Lawrie third to get Granderson, Jeter scores 6-0 one down, Now Farrell comes in giving Dyson his bus ticket to Vegas. Loup now pitching two on one down. Cano, lines to Rasmus in centre, two down. Grounds to Escobar, throw to Johnson for the out. Loup does a nice job cleaning up the mess. Top 8th: Jays hitters have six outs to show that they have some fight in them. Chad Qualls to finish them off. Stadium emptying out. Mathis, 0-2 count, lines it to left bounces over the wall for leadoff double. But this team has been here before to no avail. Davis, fly ball to Granderson for the out. Mathis tags and gets to third. Yankees will take an out for a base. Rasmus, in a slump himself, fly ball out to Jones left for Mathis to tag and score. 6-1. Bronx cheers for the Jays. Two down. Lawrie, strikes out looking. Bottom 8th: Not many fans left here to see the end of this one. Cordero now pitching. Why not, he cannot do any worse or can he? Jones leading off. First pitch pops it up to Escobar in front of Johnson ?? Yankees want to get home, afternoon game tomorrow. Nix, 0-2 count, takes strike three. Two down for Stewart, full count, pops it up to Rasmus. Not too much credit here to Cordero though, Yankees are wanting this thing over. Top 9th: What are the Jays made of? So far tonight nothing much. Encarnacion leading off. Qualls mopping up. Full count, lines it to the fence in left centre, stand up double. Lind, 2-3 tonight. 3-0 count, staying way from Lind. Grounds to Teixeira at first, throw to Qualls for the out. Edwin to third. Escobar. 3-1 count again, low ball four. Two on one down for Gose. Here comes Girardi. Clay Rapada now pitching, tough sidearmer for Gose to have to face. Welcome to the Show Anthony. Bunting and grounds it back to Rapada, looks at second for double play but then throw is too late to get Gose at first. Speed kills. Bases loaded for Arencibia, here comes Girardi. Soriano now pitching, Jays get a moral victory here. Three pitchers for the inning. Arencibia bases loaded. 0-2 count, just a base hit JP. Oh boy, lines it to Teixeira at first and Gose is way off the bag and tagged out, double play. Jays make it interesting in the ninth but not enough. Jays lose their first one without Jose. The good: Encarnacion and Lind both with two hits but with nobody on base ahead of them it did not help. Cecil for fve innings but struggled. Loup inning after Dyson had imploded and given up three runs. The best was definitely the ninth as Jays did get the bases loaded and made Yankees use three pitchers, they did not give up. The bad: Sloppy fielding, Davis, Lawrie and will give Gose the benefit of the doubt as he misplayed the caroom in right. He will not make that mistake again whereas Davis is a liability in left too many times. Poor hitting with runners in scoring position and lastly poor pitching by Dyson. Gose also caught off base for the game ending double play

Jose injured as Jays lose opener in NY despite great outing by Alvarez

Jays v Yankees. Game one of three. First series in NY this season, quirk of the schedule. Jays won the two game series in Toronto 2-0. Not many people giving Jays much hope in this series with the pitching in such a mess. It will need an offensive breakout to support Alvarez tonight. Possible but highly unlikely against Phil Hughes. On the positive, an opportunity for Rasmus and Lind to use that short right field fence to their advantage tonight. But Yankees will probably pitch around Lind to get to Escobar. Lineups: Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Davis, Arencibia and Alvarez pitching. The return of Davis on a terrible hitting slump and also coming off base running mess yesterday which could have been disastrous in a one run game. Yankees: Jeter, Granderson, Rodriguez, Cano, Teixeira, Swisher, Ibanez, Chavez, Martin and Hughes pitching. Impressive lineup. On paper this is a huge mis-match. Top 1st: Lawrie, first pitch checked swing grounds to first Teixeira throw to Hughes, one down, not good Brett, come on get your head in the game. Rasmus, full count, strikes out swinging, two down for Bautista. Full count, High fly ball to Granderson in centre. Pitch count 14, much too easy for Hughes, is it a long night ahead for the Jays. Bottom 1st: Alvarez will have to do it himself tonight. Jeter, first pitch grounds back to Alvarez, throw to Encarnacion, one down. Very un-Jeter like. Granderson, singles to Rasmus in centre, one on one down. Rodriguez, pops it up to Bautista. Cano, one on two down, full count, outside ball four, two on two down. Teixeira, full count, high ball four to load the bases. Nine pitch at bat for Teixeira. Swisher, bases loaded two down. 1-2 count, takes strike three, Alvarez escapes this time but you can’t throw many innings with 25 pitch count. Looks like Jays bullpen will be busy again tonight. Top 2nd: Let’s see if they pitch around Edwin. Full count, lines this one to right centre all the way to the fence 385 ft sign. Stand up double for Edwin. Lind now. 3-0 all outside, They want Escobar, low ball four. Not giving Lind a chance. Now can Escobar stay out of double play ??? First pitch pops it up to Swisher in right, garbage at bat by Escobar. Not even a bunt. One down but let’s be thankful it was not a ground ball double play. Johnson, 1-2 count, lines it hard to right but right at Swisher. Runners hold. Davis, 0-2 count, pulls it to A-Rod steps on the bag for the out. Jays have huge problems after the first five in the lineup. That was not good, first two on and unable to even move them over one base. 33 pitch count. Bottom 2nd: Ibanez, ball four, leadoff walk. Chavez, grounds to Escobar, over to Edwin, call it two, double play ball. Very nice. Martin, full count, this is trouble lines it to right but enough to get out of here, tough on Alvarez, that was a fly ball, home run in this park. 1-0 Yankees. Jeter. 2-2 count, takes strike three. Jeter does his usual with the umpire but no joy even for Jeter. Good inning by Alvarez, victimised by the short fence in right. One reason why Yankees have most home runs in the league. 47 pitch count. Top 3rd: Time for Jays hitters to do something. Looks as if they will have to rely on the top five tonight. In reality the top four as Yankees will pitch around Lind to get to Escobar now. Arencibia, JP launches a sky high ball here but just under it and fly ball to Granderson for the out. Lawrie, can he do better than last time? 3-1 count, grounds back to Hughes, throw to first, two down. Rasmus, 2-0 count, grounds to right but at Teixeira, takes it himself for the out. Easy three up and down for Hughes. 45 pitch count. Bottom 3rd: Granderson, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, one down for A-Rod, lines first pitch to wall in left, stand up double. Cano, 2-1 count, lines it to right, Bautista dives but unable to come up with it, stand up double as A-Rod scores 2-0 Yankees. Teixeira, 1-2 count, pops it up to shallow right for Bautista to make the catch, two down for Swisher, full count, fly ball to Davis in left for third out. Pitch count a horrible 68. Who’s up next in the bullpen ? Maybe we will see Loup again. Top 4th: No offence at all from the Jays tonight, time to get something going before it is way too late. Hughes is having far too easy a time. Bautista, no home run since the All-Star break is the All-Star hex on him? 2-2 count, pops it up to Swisher in right. Encarnacion, one down, 3-1 count, lines it hard to left for the out, two down. Lind, 1-1 first strike he has received, 3-1 outside, outside, outside, YES Adam , the first pitch inside and he launches it into the shallow right field seats, 2-1 Yankees. Escobar, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging. Hughes 66 pitch count. Bottom 4th: Ibanez bounces it to Alvarez, throw to Edwin for the out. One down for Chavez, 0-2 strikes out swinging, two down for Martin. Grounds first pitch to Escobar, throw to Edwin for third out. Seven pitch inning, very nice. 75 pitch count, that helps. Top 5th: Johnson, grounds to Teixeira at first, one down for Davis. 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down for Arencibia, 3-0 count, high ball four, JP will take it. Lawrie now 0-2 tonight and all at sea against Hughes. 2-0, six balls in a row. Martin out there for the first time, getting anxious here ! High but called a strike, hmmm. 2-2 count, takes that one, that was right down the middle Brett. Pops up the next pitch to left for the out, when you are in a slump nothing goes right. Pitch count 81. Bottom 5th: Jeter, 1-2 count, lines it to right but Bautista makes the out, one down for Granderson, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down but that was a nine pitch at bat pushing up the pitch count for Alvarez. A-Rod, full count, strikes out swinging. After 3-0 count, nice pitching but Alvarez pitch count now 94. Top 6th: Rasmus, we need a big one Colby. That right field fence is made for you. Almost with this one, high pop up to the wall, just gets under this one, Swisher gets it up against the wall. Bautista one down. Full count, high ball four, one on one down for Encarnacion. Hammers this one to the wall in left centre, here comes Jose and just beats the ball with the slide, game is tied up 2-2 and Edwin at second. Lind, runner in scoring position. 0-2 count, goes after low ball and pitch gets away, Lind gives up as Edwin goes to third, should have run to first Adam, force the play, two down for Escobar, full count. Loup warming up in bullpen. Pops it up to Swisher in right leaves Edwin 60 feet away. 100 pitches for Hughes and his bullpen is working. Bottom 6th: Cano leading off, lines it hard to right but great leap by Johnson at second, timed perfectly. One down. Shift right on for Teixeira, 3-1 count, ball four, 102 pitch count, may be his last hitter. Swisher drives it up the middle past Escobar. Two on, one down, Ibanez, perfect, grounds to Johnson, over to Escobar, over to Edwin double play ball. Whoa....that was huge. 105 pitch count. And it also means Farrell can bring in a new pitcher at start of the inning as opposed to bases loaded or worse. Nice pitching by Alvarez. Top 7th: Johnson pops it up to Chavez, one down. Davis, finally, lines it to left field corner, stand up double. Gets the horrible hitting slump off his back. Will he steal third? Arencibia, fly ball to right and Davis tags and gets to third on the play. Too bad he had not stolen previous pitch. Two down for Lawrie. 0-2 count, pops it up to Cano at second. Hughes 106 pitch count. Bottom 7th: Chad Beck now pitching. Chavez leading off. Pops it up to Rasmus in centre, one down. Martin, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging, whoa excellent. Two down for Jeter, grounds up the middle to Escobar, throw to Edwin at first to end the inning. Excellent nine pitch inning by Beck. Top 8th: David Robertson now pitching. Rasmus, just missed going out with his last at bat. 0-3 tonight. Grounds hard to first off the glove of Teixeira, right to Cano, throw to Robertson, to get Rasmus. One down for Bautista, 2-0 hammers this on to left, foul though, now Jose is injured, his left wrist, follow through twisted his arm. Francisco now has to come in to pinch hit 2-1 count. Takes ball three. Full count, low ball four. One on one down for Edwin. Drives it hard to Ibanez but right at him for the out, Lind two down runner on first. 2-2 count, grounds to Cano, throw to Teixeira for third out. But the loss of Jose is awful and will really hurt this team. Interesting who they will bring up from Vegas, Snider or Thames, or ? Bottom 8th: Francisco in right field for Jose. Aaron Loup now pitching. Granderson, grounds to Lawrie at third, throw to Edwin for the out. A-Rod, 1-2 count, lines it past Escobar to Davis in left, one on one down for Cano, off the glove of Arencibia, and A-Rod to second. 3-1 count, grounds to Johnson, cannot make the play as ball bounces away. Both runners safe on the corners. That is it for Loup. Frasor now pitching. Needs a ground ball double play to get out of this mess. Teixeira, 2-2 count, hits him on the foot, bases loaded. Swisher, Frasor in major trouble here. Cordero !!! warming up in bullpen. Full count, takes strike three WHOA !!!! great pitch, two down. Ibanez, two down bases loaded. 3-1 count, forget this one, high to right and into the stands, grand slam Ibanez. 6-2 Yankees. Chavez, full count, low ball four. Should be it for Frasor, yes here comes Farrell, might as well have Cordero in there. Cannot do worse than Frasor, can he? Stadium has already emptied... Martin hammers first pitch to left for Davis to make the catch. One pitch. Top 9th: Will Jays hitters make a fight of it or roll over? Wise in left for Ibanez. Cody Eppley now pitching. Escobar leading off. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches, don’t expect Yunel to make a fight of it. One down for Johnson. 0-3 tonight. Full count. Outside ball four. One on one down. Davis, 2-2 count, grounds up third base line, Davis safe at first on the throw. Two on for Soriano now warming up, no here comes Girardi and calls for Soriano. Arencibia, chance for fame. Loops it into shallow left, Wise fumbles the ball, Johnson to third but here comes Davis to third, and here comes Johnson has no choice but safe and scores. 6-3. Davis safe at third. Lawrie, is the tie run! 3-1 count, pops it up to Teixeira at first, two down for Rasmus. Colby can make the difference here. Base hit will now score two. 2-2 count, takes strike three. Wow fooled Colby there. Jays get tie run to the plate but lose this one. However the major concern must be the health of Jose. Wrist injuries do not heal fast, remember Vernon Wells, and more recently Encarnacion. For Jose it could realistically be the end of his season, let us all hope that it is not. The excellent tonight has to be Alvarez. Started off slowly but finished very strongly and left the game tied 2-2. Lind home run. Encarnacion and Davis both with two hits. Jays were in this game until the bottom of the 8th. The not so good: Frasor with bases loaded gives up grand slam, no excuse for that pitch. Right down the middle. Jays hitters 1-10 with runners in scoring position.

Jays win Indians series with gutsy pitching performance from Villanueva

Indians v Jays. Final game of series. Sunday July 15th. Jay have chance to win the series today against strong team. Villanueva v Lowe. On paper favours Cleveland. News of Santos shoulder surgery announced before the game. I guess that means Casey is the closer now for rest of the season. Most fans can live with that the way he has been pitching the first half. Lineups: Cleveland: Choo, Cabrera, Kipnis, Hafner, Santana, Brantley, Kotchman, Damon, Hannahan and Lowe pitching. Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Francisco, Arencibia and Villanueva pitching. Davis sitting and long overdue in a horrible 0-24 slump. Note Snider hit another home run last night for Vegas. But I doubt we will see Travis until September if then, meantime Francisco gets a chance to show off his talents. Top 1st: Where is everybody ??? Stadium very empty for a Sunday and after two great 32,000 plus crowds this weekend. Seats behind me are empty and there are large sections in 100 level empty. Roof is closed storms are forecast outside but makes it hot and humid inside. Choo leading off, strikes out swinging, good start. Cabrera singles to right to Bautista. One on one down for Kipnis, wild pitch just in front of Arencibia but he cannot find it at first, and Cabrera to second. Kipnis ball four, two on one down for Hafner, fly ball to left Francisco makes the out. Two down for Santana, strikes out swinging. Nice inning for Villanueva. Bottom 1st: Lawrie, strikes out, Rasmus grounds to Kotchman at first, two down. Bautista grounds to Hannahan at third, throw to Kotchman and Jays go quietly in the first. Top 2nd: Brantley, lines to centre, stand up double. One on for Kotchman, fly ball to Bautista, Brantley tags and beats the throw from Jose because Escobar cuts it off, that may have had a chance Yunel, Jose threw a bullet. Damon with runner at 3rd and only one out. Damon pops it up to Johnson, two down. Hannahan strikes out swinging, throw to Edwin for the out. Two innings in the books for Carlos. Every inning is a plus. Bottom 2nd: Encarnacion high fly ball to Brantley in centre, one down. Edwin just got under that or that would have gone a mile again. Lind, grounds back to Lowe, throw to Kotchman at first, two down. Escobar, grounds to Cabrera, throw to Kotchman to end the inning. Top 3rd: Choo grounds to Encarnacion at first, one down. Cabrera, just misses going out in left here with rocket to left barely foul, Villanueva avoided a bullet there, strikes out, two down. Villanueva is really slowing the game with very deliberate pitches, makes Frasor look fast. Arencibia not helping with constant visits to the mound. Kipnis lines it hard back at Villanueva, Carlos puts out his glove and the ball sticks, great ending to the inning, reflex action but great catch. Bottom 3rd: Johnson, nice at bat, ball four, very patient Kelly, he really worked that count. Francisco, there goes Kelly and steals second Santana throw gets away and Kelly to third on the error. I love the aggressiveness; Kelly tries to get the edge anyway he can, runner at third and nobody out, surely a run here. Francisco strikes out swinging. Arencibia, there we go singles to Brantley in centre, here comes Kelly to score first run. He earned that. 1-0 Jays. Lawrie with one on, grounds to Hannahan throw to Kotchman at first, two down. Arencibia moves up to second on the play. Rasmus, there we go Colby, lines it to Brantley in centre, here comes Arencibia, 2-0 Jays. Rasmus hit was almost a golf swing, he really went after that low pitch and hit it inches off the ground. Colby has been hitting well this series without much luck as at least two outs have been very hard hits but right at a fielder. Bautista, Jose singles to Damon in left, Rasmus to 3rd. Here comes the coach to calm down Lowe or more like it strategise. Encarnacion there goes Jose and takes second, strange steal as it now leaves first open if they want to put Edwin on. Ball four. Hmmmm. I wonder. Bases loaded. Lind, pitching him away, and ball four, here comes Rasmus 3-0 Jays. But I wonder, Escobar now at bat with bases loaded, 0-2 count, strikes out swinging on three pitches. Easier out than Lind. A Lind single would score at least two. Escobar meantime is a much better bet for an out. Top 4th: Hafner, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin one down. Santana, the shift right on and there he does it, Santana bunts to left and nobody there. We mentioned this yesterday when the Indians popped up an easy out with nobody at third. It did not hurt them yesterday, today may be a different story. Farrell should know that teams will adjust, will be interesting to see if he does it with Ortiz in Boston this week. Brantley, pops it up to Escobar, one down. Kotchman ball four and two on one down. Villanueva again in trouble. Damon, strikes out swinging. Villanueva escapes this time. Bottom 4th: Johnson leading off, lines first pitch hard to left but right at Damon for the out, Francisco, strikes out swinging. Arencibia, two down, fly ball to Brantley in centre. Three up and down for Lowe. Top 5th: Hannahan, ball four, leadoff walk. It has not been easy for Villanueva today, he has been slowing the game down as well to try to make the pitches. Choo with one on, strikes out swinging, one down. Cabrera, grounds to first, Edwin steps on the bag, throw to Escobar at second double play ball, perfect ending. Bottom 5th: Lawrie, grounds to Cabrera at short, throw to Kotchman, one down. Rasmus, lines it hard to Brantley at centre but for the out. Bautista, strikes out swinging, not a good at bat by Jose. Top 6th: Kipnis leading off, grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin, one down. Hafner, strikes out swinging, two down. Santana, ball four. Brantley, one down one on, another ball four, Carols must be tiring, it is very hot in here with the roof closed and the crowd has grown since the start which does not help the humidity level. Here comes Bruce Walton, hang in there Carlos, one more out. 100 pitch count which is really stretching Villanueva. Kotchman, strikes out swinging. That will be it for Villanueva; he should be pleased with that outing. Bottom 6th: Encarnacion leading off, Lowe pitching around Edwin again, getting respect after yesterday’s two home run game. Lind, oh dear, grounds to Kipnis at second, throw to the bag over to Kotchman, double play ball. That hurts. Escobar, grounds to Hannahan at third, throw to Kotchman to end the inning. Lowe has pitched as well if not better than Villanueva. One poor inning. Top 7th: Fraser now pitching. Damon, fly ball to Bautista in right. Jose runs in hard to make the catch almost in the infield. Hannahan strikes out swinging, two down. Top of the order Choo, singles to Bautista in right. Two down one on for Cabrera, grounds weakly up the first base line, Fraser grabs and tags him for third out. Cabrera arguing with umpire that he was blocked by Fraser, but no good. Good inning for Frasor. Bottom 7th: Sidearmer Joe Smith now pitching for Lowe. Johnson, strikes out swinging, one down. Francisco, there we go Ben, lines to Choo in right, stand up double. Davis now in pinch running for Francisco. Arencibia, there goes Rajai and oh dear, he is picked off, they knew it was coming. That is not good by Rajai with only one out and in scoring position. Now two outs and nobody on. Arencibia, strikes out swinging. Top 8th: Davis stays in left. Oliver now pitching. Kipnis, lines it to Escobar, throw to Edwin just in case umpire calls safe. Hafner, pops it up to Encarnacion at first, two down. Santana, fly ball to centre for Rasmus to make the catch. Three up and down for Oliver, six pitches. Oliver excellent as usual. Bottom 8th: Lawrie leading off, pops it up to Cabrera at short one down. Rasmus, fly ball to Choo in right, two down. Bautista fly ball to right and bounces over the walk, ground rule double for Jose. Encarnacion with runner at second. Grounds to Hannahan at third, throw to Kotchman at first to leave Jose out there. Top 9th: Oliver still out there, after only six pitches in his last inning Farrell can gamble with good odds here on Oliver. Better than the alternative ads we see sign up Cordero warming up in bullpen, horrors, come on Darren. Brantley, fly ball to centre but over head of Rasmus, stand up double to lead off, ouch. Kotchman, grounds to Lawrie, throw to Edwin for the first out. Duncan pinch hitting for Damon, grounds to Escobar at shirt, throw to Edwin, two down. Jose Lopez inch hitting for Hannahan, grounds to Escobar, this should do it, throw to Edwin for the out and the win. Jays win 3-0 and win the series. Now head to New York with that wild card still in sight depending on Orioles result this afternoon. Announced crowd at 26,000, it is much smaller than the first two games, strange for a Sunday. The excellent: Today has to be Villanueva, not an easy outing, he walked five, but he made the pitches when he needed. Indians went 0-10 with runners in scoring position and he had a lot to do with it. I would also rank Kelly Johnson today for his performance. It was his walk and stolen base that started the runs in the 3rd. The Jays bullpen of Frasor and Oliver today kept Indians off the scoreboard. Not so good: Escobar out with bases loaded. Rajai Davis getting picked off as he enters game as pinch runner for Francisco.

Jays offence explodes for 11 but need Janssen to rescue them as Indians fight back

Indians v Jays. Game two of three. Jays hoping to make up for last night’s disappointing lack of offence. For this very good hitting team to lose 1-0 is painful. Today Laffey going against Jiminez. Lineups: Indians: Choo, Cabrera, Kipnis, Lopez, Santana, Brantley, Duncan, Kotchman, Marson and pitching. Jays: Lawrie, Rasmus, Bautista, Encarnacion, Lind, Escobar, Johnson, Davis, Arencibia, and Laffey pitching. Great crowd today after another excellent 32,000 last night. Top 1st: Choo, grounds to Johnson at second, throw to Edwin for the out. Cabrera, pops it up to Johnson. Two down for Kipnis, takes strike three to end the inning. Good start for Laffey. Bottom 1st: Lawrie, grounds to Lopez at third, throw to Kotchman playing at first today. Rasmus, ball four, one on one down for Bautista, ball four, back to back walks, Encarnacion, fly ball to Choo in right. Rasmus tags and goes to third on the play. Lind, lines this one hard to right and off the bullpen wire wall, here comes Colby followed by Jose, Jays go out ahead early 2-0. More runs than last night already with only two outs. Escobar, two down and Lind at second. Pops it up to Kotchman at first to end this one but Jays strike first. Top 2nd: Laffey has a lead to work with now which is more than Romero had last night. Lopez, singles to Rasmus in centre. One on for Santana, ball four, two on, how to pitch after given two run lead. Farrell must be fuming. Brantley, grounds to Escobar, bases loaded. Oh boy.... Nobody out. Duncan, NO he hits him, looks as if it hit his trouser leg but Duncan will take it. Here comes Lopez to score. 2-1 Jays. Bases still loaded, Laffey in a mess here. Kotchman, this will do, grounds to Escobar, on to Johnson over to Edwin double play ball as Santana scores. 2-2 but two down. Marson with Brantley at 3rd on the play. Strikes out swinging. Laffey recovers but we are back to square one again. Bottom 2nd: Johnson, ball four, leadoff walk a good start. Davis, fly ball to Choo in right. One down one on for Arencibia. Pops it up to Kipnis at second.Two down. Lawrie, there goes Johnson and safe at second. Ball four to Lawrie, two on for Rasmus. Here comes the pitching coach. Strikes out swinging to leave two on. Top 3rd: Choo, fly ball to left centre, bounces over the wall, ground rule double. Laffey not exactly lights out this afternoon. Cabrera, that’s better strikes out swinging. One down for Kipnis, fly ball to left but Davis makes the out, two down for Lopez, grounds to Lawrie tags out Choo as he comes to third to end this inning. Laffey escapes damage again. Bottom 3rd: Bautista, lines it to right, stand up double for Jose. Encarnacion, gets hold of this one high to left and this one is out of here, two run home run for Edwin, 4-2 Jays. Edwin earning that $27 million contract. Lind, singles to Cabrera. Escobar, hammers this one to left and over the bullpen into the seats, another home run, here comes Lind followed by Yunel and Jays have broken this one wide open 6-2. Johnson, keep it going Kelly, lines it to Brantley in centre, another double, Davis. There goes Kelly and safe at third, his second stolen base today. Davis strikes out swinging, the first out of the inning. Arencibia, one down one on, lines this one to Choo in right, another double, here comes Kelly to score, 7-2. Jays have scored five this inning, where were these bats last night for Romero? Here comes the coach and that is it for Jiminez, leaves shell-shocked at the sudden attack by Jays hitters. Scott Barnes now pitching. Lawrie with Arencibia at second, one down. Lines this one to Choo in right, busy guy is Choo today, and here comes Arencibia, Lawrie to second, fourth double of the inning. 8-2 Jays. Rasmus, one out, one on, there goes Lawrie to third as Colby strikes out swinging. Two down and runner at third for Bautista who started this outbreak. Staying clear of Jose here and ball four. Encarnacion with two down and two on. Barnes pitching carefully to Edwin as well and now ball four to load the bases, playing with fire here. Lind singles back up the middle to Brantley, here comes Lawrie followed by Bautista, 10-2 Jays, Edwin on third. Another visit by the pitching coach. Wearing out a path today. Escobar, takes strike three, but Jays have scored eight and blown this one wide open for Laffey. Still only the third. This crowd loves it. Top 4th: Santana, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin for the first out. Brantley, ball four. Duncan, oh no, hammers this one to left and this one is out of here, two run home run and Indians get two back. 10-4. Kotchman, pops it up to Escobar for the second out. Marson, singles to Rasmus in centre. Here comes pitching coach, just throw strikes here Laffey, you have a six run lead. Choo, ball four, Marson to second, not what Bruce Walton ordered. Cabrera with two on, pops it o to Encarnacion for third out. Indians get two back but also leave two out there. Bottom 4th: Johnson, pops it up to Kotchman at first. Davis one down pops this one up to Kipnis at second, two down for Arencibia, that’s better JP, lines this one to right and bounces over the wall, another ground rule double. Lawrie with runner in scoring position. Grounds to Kipnis at second throw to Kotchman to get Lawrie at first. Jays leave one out there. Top 5th: Kipnis singles to Bautista in right. Leadoff guy on base. Lopez, pops it up to Lawrie for the out. One down for Santana, strikes out swinging, two down. Brantley, singles to Davis in left, Kipnis to second. Two on two down for Duncan, line this one to left, here comes Kipnis and the throw form Davis, out at the plate, great throw by Davis. Not sure who is most surprised, the Indians or the Jays fans. But Jays will take it as Indians leave two more out there. Bottom 5th: Ex-Jay Jeremy Accardo now pitching. Jays probably wish he were still in their bullpen. Rasmus, hits this one very hard but right at Cabrera at short, robs Colby of a hit. Bautista, fly ball to Choo in right, Jose favouring opposite field today. Good to see, especially with Yankees series next week and the short right field. Encarnacion, oh wow this is a moon shot to centre, and into the restaurant, that is a monster home run, his second off the day. Some lucky soul has a great lunch souvenir. 11-4 Jays. Lind, three hit day, singles to left, make that 4 hit day. Everyone going opposite field, Jose, Lind, and Colby. Escobar, grounds back to Accardo throw to Kotchman to end the inning. Yunel leaves another on base. Top 6th: Rookie Aaron Loup now pitching for Laffey. Laffey stands to win this one. Kotchman, grounds to Encarnacion, takes it himself for the out. One down, Marson, same play, grounds to Edwin at first. Two down, Choo, grounds to Johnson at second throw to Edwin and the inning is over just like that for the rookie. Very nice, three up and down, just throwing strikes and keeping it simple. But if he can pitch like that he will get a place in the Jays revolving bullpen. Bottom 6th: Accardo still pitching. Johnson leading off, grounds to second, Kipnis throw to Kotchman for the out at first, One down Davis grounds to Cabrera at short, throw to Kotchman at first, two down for Arencibia, two hit day for JP, not this time as he hits fly ball to Duncan in left for the third out. Top 7th: Loup getting another inning. Cabrera fly ball to right but Jose makes the out. One down. Kipnis, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, two down. Lopez, 2-2 count grounds to Johnson, throw to Edwin. Not bad at all for a rookie in his major league start, two shutout innings for Loup debut. Very nice pitching by the rookie. Bottom 7th: Esmil Rogers now pitching. Lawrie leading off. Singles to right, number two today and the beat goes on. Rasmus, robbed last at bat by the catch off a line drive at short. 0-2 count, lines this one hard to centre but a long out. One down for Bautista, on base three times today. Pops it up to Kotchman at first, Encarnacion two home runs today. 0-2 count, strikes out swinging. Top 8th: Jesse Chavez now pitching. Santana, full count, ball four. Brantley, hammers this one high to right and yet another home run, not good Jesse. 11-6 game. After Loup pitching Chavez not looking very good. Duncan, singles to right, should have left Loup in there Manager Farrell. Kotchman, 2-2 count, NO WAY, he hammers this one even higher to right and another two run home run, loads of boos here as Indians within 3. 11-8 game and Chavez. leaves to loud well deserved boos, that was awful. And totally inexcusable. Drew Carpenter now pitching. Still nobody out. Loads of pressure on Carpenter here, Marson. 3-0 count, have to throw strikes Carpenter. Bronx cheers as he does. Full count, grounds to Escobar, throw to Edwin, first out of the inning, more Bronx cheers. Choo, 2-2 count, strikes out swinging, two down. Cabrera, full count, wild pitch for ball four. NO wonder Farrell looks sick. Must have nightmares about his pitching squad. Now Casey Janssen warming up. So much for his day off. 3-1 count, ball four, can you believe it ??? Back to back walks. Tie run !!!! at the plate... unbelievable. Here comes Farrell. Poor Casey. This is not good and the way a closer should be in the game. Casey has had no chance to get ready, prepare for the closing. To go from a day off, and an eight run lead ten minutes ago to this. This is very different situation. Hafner two on, two down. so much for the shift as he pops it up to third, nobody there. What a circus. Lawrie is in shallow right. 0-2 count, Cabrera takes third, now half way down the line Janssen has to run over to move him back as Lawrie not there. Crazy. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. 2-2 count. Singles to left, Cabrera scores. 11-9 game. The big shift right experiment backfires on Farrell today. Santana with two on. Whoa... lines it into into right and Jose makes the sliding catch. Five runs inning. Awful, awful pitching. Chavez and Carpenter. Maybe one way bus tickets to Vegas after that performance. Bottom 8th: Can Jays offence do it again. Lind going for five hit game. Rogers still pitching and why not, Jays are imploding, he could get a win. 2-2 count, grounds back off Rogers bounces all the way to Kotchman, flips to Rogers, Lind out at the bag. Weird play as Lind knocked off the bag. Escobar, pops it up to Brantley, two down for Johnson. Full count, pops it up to third. Not good at all. How can the momentum shift and so fast in a game that was way out of reach an inning ago? Top 9th: Brantley, Duncan and Kotchman already have seven of the 9 Indians RBIs. Duncan pops this one up to Escobar, one down. Duncan, 3-3 today, oops almost hits him, high inside, that one got away. 2-2 count, high fly ball to left, Davis has it in the corner, very close. Two down for Kotchman, grounds first pitch to Lawrie throw to Edwin and Jays win although the ugliest win you could hope to see. Janssen instead of a day off has to get four outs for save number 13. Excellent: The offence especially Encarnacion with his two home runs but also Lind going 4-5 today. Loup debut, two excellent scoreless innings after Laffey. Jays have nine extra base hits today including six doubles. 9 RBIs from the middle of the order, but this was offensive output from all the starters except for Davis, the only one not to get on base. Lousy: Chavez and Carpenter. Maybe the swansong for Chavez but it didn’t happen with Cordero. Chavez and Carpenter 41 pitches. Chavez faces four hitters and can get no one out. (Compare: Loup 21 pitches for six outs and two innings.) Note to Manager: Shift right obsession has to end. It could have cost the Jays the game today.