Quick recap tonight, as we drove to Great Falls Montana today, and I've put off going for supper until the game ends. One of my favorite things about going to the states is Mexican restaurants. They are so much better than at home. Anyway.....
J.A. Happ isn't doing much to make us think he should have a spot in next year's rotation. Tonight he went 4.1, giving up 6 hits, 4 earned, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Good number of strikeouts and yet, when he doesn't get the strikeout, he gets hit hard.
Our bullpen did it's usual good job:
Neil Wagner took over for Happ, with 1 out and Mike Trout on second base, but got out of the inning and then gave up a single and a walk to start the 6th, but pitched out of that too.
Jeremy Jeffress started the 7th, got Erick Aybar to ground out and struck out Mike Trout, before giving up a single to Mark Trumbo. Out he came.
Luis Perez looked pretty impressive in the 8th, allowing just a 2-out walk.
Sergio Santos pitched a clean 9th. He has looked great since coming back from injury.
Our offense, once again, didn't do enough. We scored 2 in the first, Jose Reyes and Munenori Kawasaki each singled, and Adam Lind doubled them home. And in the third, Jose Reyes homered.
We did have 10 hits. 4 from Reyes, a homer, 2 doubles and a single. Moises Sierra had 3 including 2 doubles. He's looked great, with the bat, hitting .322 now, with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run among his 19 hits. Munenori singled twice. Josh Thole and Lind had a hit each. Brett Lawrie, Rajai Davis, Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar all went 0 for.
We did try to come back in the 9th. With 2 outs, Reyes doubled and Munenori worked a walk. but Brett Lawrie struck out to end the game. At least it was exciting at the end.
Jays of the Day are Sierra, Reyes and Wagner.
Suckage to Happ (-.278), Lawrie (-.460, 0 for 5, 3 k), Davis (-.286, 0 for 4, 1 k), Gose (-.165, 0 for 4) and Thole (-.148).
Was The Tigers' Singing Hot Dog Vendor Fired For Being Anti-Ketchup? Last week, the Tigers' concession company fired Charley Marcuse, Comerica Park's locally renowned singing hot dog vendor. It's apparently the worst thing to happen to Detroit sports since the Pistons last played. And the Detroit News is determined to get to the bottom of it. Note: I like ketchup on hotdogs and your Mustard loving sour face isn't going to change that one bit.
Baseball History September 13th - National Pastime - Baseball History 1936 Indians' teenage pitching phenom Bob Feller sets a new American League record by striking out 17 batters when he two-hits the A's at Shibe Park, 5-2. After the season, the 17-year old will return to his Van Meter, Iowa home to graduate from high school.
Jason Hammel has 61.2 career innings against the Blue Jays. Those 61.2 have been rather long innings, as shown by the statistics. He's allowing a .977 OPS at Rogers Centre in 5 career starts and an .810 overall number. Seven of the twelve homers allowed have come north of the border. Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Reyes have destroyed Hammel when they've seen him, slugging a combined 4 homers in 32 PA. Both have OPS numbers north of 1.00.
Todd Redmond is 28, but in just his second season at the MLB level. He has one previous start against the O's, in which he lasted just 4 innings and allowed 3 runs (2 homers). He does, however, have good numbers at Rogers Centre (.538 OPS) through 6 starts in the park.
Chris Tillman is another guy who's career stats against the opposing team do not strike fear. Like Hammel, Tillman has also allowed 12 homers, this time in just 48 innings. That and a nice .891 OPS at Rogers Centre have inflated his FIP to near 6.00, which is pretty scary. Those numbers have been improving, however, as Tillman has grown as a pitcher. He's been a bit better against Toronto's sluggers, holding Adam Lind to a sub-.600 OPS and allowing just one homer to Encarnacion.
Esmil Rogers has a solid 10.2 innings against the O's, but has yet to start (all 7 appearances came in relief). He doesn't have amazing numbers at home (.810 OPS), but it's difficult to say much when only 7 of 22 home appearances were starts. Additionally, there isn't a significant difference between his overall numbers as both a start and a reliever.
Sunday, 15 September: Miguel Gonzalez vs. Mark Buehrle
Career Numbers
Gonzalez vs. Blue Jays
Buehrle vs. O's
IP
35.2
120.2
ERA
3.79
3.28
FIP
3.99
4.19
Slash Line (Past Teams)
.215/.270/.385
.260/.298/.411
Slash Line (Current Players)
.254/.320/.448
.290/.325/.439
Gonzalez has six starts against Toronto with pretty solid numbers. His .653 OPS is among his best against any team. He has really flourished inside of domes, which is positive for this series. He has a .651 OPS with 2 homers allowed at Rogers Centre in four starts. Less than exciting numbers against current Blue Jays, but nothing horrible.
Mark Buehrle is a soft-tossing lefty, so he should be feared by all. He'll make his 20th career start against the Orioles, posting middling to average numbers in the previous 19. He's a guy who does not allow many homers, giving up just 14 in 120.2 innings (keep in mine that both Tillman and Hammel have allowed 12 in many, many fewer innings). Nick Markakis seems to have figured him out, however, posting a 1.136 OPS in 37 PA, including 2 homers. Adam Jones also has solid numbers in 20 PA. I'd prefer to sit Danny Valencia and Mike Morse for this game, however.
Rasmus has been sidelined since Aug. 14 with an oblique strain. The outfielder suffered a "minor setback" later in the month, but has been able to resume baseball activities.
"I'm feeling good, just trying to get back on this turf, take some swings, take some full hacks. In Florida I couldn't get into it, get after it. I came up here to get some swings going on the field and running some balls down."
He also told Lott that he has unwisely attempted to play through similar injuries in the past, but this oblique injury was more serious.
Rasmus served as the team's primary centerfielder before the injury, batting .273/.335/.478 in 439 plate appearances. He managed to remain productive despite a 30 percent strikeout rate, flashing solid power with 18 home runs and 26 doubles.
Thanks to Ruhee (@ruhee_ on Twitter) I found a way to spend some of the money I had saved up for 2013 Blue Jays postseason ticket: I bought tickets to the Mets-Jays exhibition games in Montreal. I think that's pretty much the next event Blue Jays fans have to look forward to at this point (except possibly for the toque giveaway on September 29).
A seating diagram on the website shows that the tickets come in five tiers of seating:
The above was via Admission.com, but it doesn't show where each of the sections are so take a look at this one from Maps.com--note that the Blue Jays will have their dugout on the first-base side:
There are two-game and four-ticket bundles that can help you save 10% off of selected sections.
Of course, aside from the games, there would be a lot to do in the great city of Montreal and this would be an amazing opportunity to meet hardcore Blue Jays and baseball fans too. Jonah Keri will be there, in section 117 for the Saturday game, and he will be there to watch baseball, party, launch his book on the history of the Expos, and possibly hold a "supersecret baseball event" that he claims will "blow your damn mind." So break that piggy bank and get yourself to Montreal in March, yall.
If you are in Toronto and are interested in catching Robbie Alomar's "Tournament 12" for Canadian amateur players, click here for the schedule.
I heard from someone in the organization that tomorrow's start time was changed from 1:07 pm to 4:07 pm because the Orioles, who are in the middle of a Wild Card race, requested a more "prime" time for the game to capture a larger TV audience. I applaud this request and hope that in the future (won't be in 2014) the Blue Jays will do more Saturday late-afternoon games.
A few hours before the game on Friday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Colby Rasmus was activated from the disabled list and he and teammate Edwin Encarnacion will be in the starting lineup in center field for the game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The centre fielder was sidelined with an oblique problem for a month and last played on his 27th birthday--August 11. It was rumoured earlier this month that Rasmus would not be able to return this season, but it looks like he felt good after taking batting practice this week.
Edwin Encarnacion, who also had been taking swings the past few days after a wrist issue forced to sit since last Sunday, will be the designated hitter, batting third, according to this lineup tweeted out by Sportsnet's Barry Davis.
#bluejays lineup Reyes ss Kawasaki 2b Encarnacion dh Lind 1b Lawrie 3b Rasmus cf Sierra rf Arencibia c Gose cf Redmond sp
He has a couple of centre fielders in there--I assume that Anthony Gose will be playing in left with Rasmus in centre. Munenori Kawasaki will be playing and batting second after going 3-for-3 with two walks, one of which came from a fantastic ten-pitch two-out plate appearance in the ninth. Brett Lawrie, who had been hitting third, gets bumped down to fifth (for lefty-righty matchups). Fan favourite J.P. Arencibia is back after Josh Thole got consecutive starts.
That lineup, which will face the Orioles' Jason Hammel, sure looks a lot better than the ones we had to deal with this week.
Bud Norris was originally scheduled to pitch for the Orioles tonight but was scratched with some elbow soreness a few days ago. That means that reeling Orioles will turn to Jason Hammel to stop their three game losing streak in an attempt to turn their fortunes over the last two-plus weeks of baseball.
Remember 2012 Jason Hammel? Those were the days, friends. 2013 Jason Hammel has been bad/injured and I'm not looking forward to seeing him tonight. At least if he implodes I can rest easy knowing that not many people will be bothering to tune in to see the Orioles play the Blue Jays on a Friday night.
Todd Redmond is pitching for the Blue Jays and there are two things I know about him. 1: He looks like a younger, fitter version of Kevin from the Office. 2: Ok, I only know one thing.
Alex Rodriguez has been nursing a hamstring injury for a few days now. He has been able to stay in the lineup as the designated hitter for a few games, but he should be taking the field soon. Joe Girardi plans to play him at third base tomorrow. Getting A-Rod back onto the field will go a long way to improving this team's depth. It means Eduardo Nunez will not be in the field or in the starting lineup, leaving the DH spot open for someone like Mark Reynolds.
Brett Gardner suffered a Grade 1 oblique strain last night and his season is essentially done. He could return as a potential pinch runner at some point and the playoffs, if the Yankees make it. Losing Gardner is going to greatly diminish the offense and defense of this team. With him gone, the Yankees will likely employ a Alfonso Soriano, Curtis Granderson, Ichiro Suzuki outfield. Ichiro isn't hitting and losing one of the best defensive center fielders in the game is going to hurt anyone in some capacity.
Boone Logan has apparently turned a corner and could return sometime next week in Toronto when the Yankees face the Blue Jays. His elbow must be feeling better and he will probably try to throw a bullpen before then. Cesar Cabral has gotten the brunt of the LOOGY work while he has been out. The Yankees have Mike Zagurski as well, but he might not even get into a game if Logan is going to be able to get back soon.
Austin Rominepassed his impact test, has ridden a bike and hit in the batting cage. He will try to hit in batting practice and then will go from there. His minor concussion has kept him out of the lineup for a few days now and since then all we've gotten is Chris Stewart. JR Murphy is here, but he has yet to start a game and is very unlikely to get a chance any time soon. It would be really nice to get Romine back just so we don't have to deal with Stewart from here to October.
In a game where the Blue Jays got two big bats back into their lineup, they got off to an early lead and carried it into the seventh inning, but the Orioles came back with five unanswered to win game one of the series 5-3. The Blue Jays lost their fourth straight, disappointing the 20,024 fans in attendance tonight.
Adam Lind put the Blue Jays on the board against Orioles starter Jason Hammel, slamming his 20th homer of the season into the outfield seats, scoring Edwin Encarnacion from first. Lind joins Edwin Encarnacion (36), Jose Bautista (28), and J.P. Arencibia (20) in the 20-home run club. The Blue Jays join the Orioles, Rockies, and Nationals as the only major league teams with four 20-homer players. (Historical tidbit: the Blue Jays were the first major league club to hvae four batters with 20 or more home runs at the All-Star break, doing that in 2000). Next inning, Colby Rasmus, who hadn't played in a month, cranked a solo shot to right in the fifth inning to make it 3-0 Blue Jays. He is one away from being the fifth member of the 20-homer club.
But that was it for the offense.
Todd Redmond gave the club a great starting effort after not seeing game action for ten days. Redmond was given an early (in my eyes) hook by John Gibbons, having thrown just 75 pitches in the game. He looked great, striking out seven Orioles, walking none. When he left, he had a three-hit shutout, but he had just given up a leadoff double to Adam Jones. Dustin McGowan, who had been solid so far this season, was called on to face J.J. Hardy. Hardy doubled in Jones, ridding Redmond of his shutout.
A couple of batters later, catcher Steve Clevenger lined a McGowan offering to right, and this Sierror happened:
Moises Sierra looked like he had a horrible read on the ball off the bat and then had trouble judging a bounce off the turf, leading to a couple of runs scoring on what was scored a double. Sierra probably could've caught it with a good read, but at the very least he should have kept it in front of him to prevent the tying run from scoring. The play tied up the game 3-3.
In the top of the eighth, the Orioles took the lead off Steve Delabar on Chris Davis's 50th home run and for 4-3 lead. Delabar almost struck him out on a failed check-swing appeal on what looked to be a borderline strike. Davis, in his previous at bat, struck a ball to the warning track against Todd Redmond. Davis's 50th homer ties him with Brady Anderson for the Orioles' franchise record--coincidentally, Anderson hit his 50th in the same park against Pat Hentgen. ESPN Stats & Info tweeted out that Chris David became just the third MLB player (after Babe Ruth and Albert Belle) to hit at least 50 homers and 40 doubles.
Danny Valencia singled in Adam Jones in that inning for an insurance run.
The plate appearance of the game award goes to Colby Rasmus, who singled in a wonderful eleven-pitch (all fastballs according to Gameday) at bat against T.J. McFarland in the bottom of the seventh. The TOOTBLAN of the game award goes to Jose Reyes. Reyes led off the first inning with a hard hit ball to the gap, good for a double, but he decided to go for three bases and was a dead duck at third. Yes, Adam Jones made a great throw from the right-centre field gap, but he had plenty of time to get set: Reyes hadn't even reached the second base dirt cutout when Jones had caught the ball off the wall.
Jim Johnson got the save, but gave up a couple of line drives--an Adam Lind single and a Brett Lawrie single right back to him, which got Lind doubled up easily. Rasmus struck out to end the game. The Blue Jays have lost four in a row and are now 67-80, with the Orioles improving to 78-69.
Jays of the Day! Todd Redmond (+.302 WPA), Adam Lind (+.259), Colby Rasmus (+.158).
Suckage Jays: Dustin McGowan (-.349, although Moises Sierra has a share of some of those negative WPA points), Steve Delabar (-.329), Moises Sierra (-.151), Jose Reyes (-.128), and J.P. Arencibia (-.114, two more strikeouts). Brett Lawrie (-.159) had the number for it but I can't give it to him because he was dinged with a -.175 WPA for the unlucky ninth inning double play.
After a loss like last night's, it's hard not to feel like the Orioles are out of the playoff picture. They like to do just enough to keep hope alive, though, and they did just that with a nice come-from-behind win tonight. For what seems (but probably isn't) the first time in ages, the bullpen didn't give up any runs, despite being called upon for four innings after Jason Hammel's abbreviated outing. The offense got a few clutch hits, too, plus one big home run from Chris Davis.
Nate McLouth singled to right to lead off the game, but Jays starter Todd Redmond retired the next three Orioles, stranding him. Jose Reyes led off the Jays' turn at the plate by doubling to right-center, but attempted to stretch it into a triple. With none out, Jays manager John Gibbons was no doubt unhappy about Reyes's decision, as Adam Jones made a tremendous throw for the out at third, and Jason Hammel retired the next two batters.
The game was pretty quiet through the top of the fourth, as Redmond retired every Oriole he faced except Nick Markakis, who singled in the second and was hit by a pitch in the fourth. Hammel pitched pretty well, too, but got some help from his defense in the third: Moises Sierra hit a line drive right at Nate McLouth, and Manny Machado made a great play on J.P. Arencibia's sharp grounder down the third base line.
In the bottom of the fourth, Jason Hammel got two quick outs before walking Edwin Encarnacion. All too predictably, he then gave up a first-pitch home run to Adam Lind, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead. Hammel then surrendered another homer in the fifth, to leadoff batter Colby Rasmus, and the game was feeling pretty hopeless at this point, as the Orioles went down in order in both the fifth and sixth innings. Despite Hammel's reasonable pitch count, Buck turned to Kevin Gausman in the sixth, who retired the side in order with a couple of groundouts and a strikeout.
Adam Jones got the seventh inning off to a good start with a double to right field. After Nick Markakis grounded out to second, moving Jones over to third, John Gibbons called in Dustin McGowan to pitch to J.J. Hardy. Hardy responded by driving in the O's first run with a double to left field. Ryan Flaherty then drew a walk, putting runners on first and second with one out for Danny Valencia, who couldn't replicate last night's heroics and popped out to first. Steve Clevenger, though, decided to make his first game as an Oriole memorable, hitting a two-out line drive to right field. Even better, the ball bounced over Moises Sierra's head, allowing not only Hardy but Flaherty to score, tying the game and giving Clevenger a double. Nate McLouth drew a walk, putting two men on and ending McGowan's night, but Sergio Santos struck out Manny Machado to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, T.J. McFarland came on in place of Kevin Gausman, and was only able to record one out before giving up a pair of singles to Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus. Buck Showalter then turned to Tommy Hunter, who struck out Moises Sierra and J.P. Arencibia on seven pitches total, escaping the first-and-third, one out jam.
Chris Davis led off the eighth inning against Steve Delabar with his fiftieth home run of the year, tying Brady Anderson for the Orioles' record for homers in a season (and benefiting from a generous two-strike check-swing call on the pitch prior). Adam Jones followed with an infield single, and after Markakis and Hardy made outs, Ryan Flaherty walked, bringing up Danny Valencia. This time, he came through, driving in Adam Jones with a line-drive single to center and giving the O's an insurance run.
With the score now 5-3, Tommy Hunter stayed on to pitch the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Anthony Gose before retiring the next three batters. Nate McLouth singled up the middle against Darren Oliver to start the ninth, but Oliver retired the next two Orioles. Adam Jones then singled, but Nick Markakis struck out, stranding both runners.
Jim Johnson, last night's goat, gave up a leadoff single to Orioles' nemesis Adam Lind, but then caught a line drive up the middle by Brett Lawrie and doubled up Lind before striking out Colby Rasmus to seal the victory. O's win, 5-3.
As of this writing, the Yankees and Royals have lost, but the Rays and Indians have won, so the O's are still behind all of those teams except the Royals and are 2.5 games back of the Rays. Tomorrow, Chris Tillman will face Esmil Rogers at 4:07 ET.
Jays' Gibbons says stealing signs is nothing new - Sportsnet.ca Orioles manager Buck Showalter arrived in Toronto in the wake of much publicized confrontation with New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi over allegations of stealing signs. Note: Don't worry Buck, you have the "Man In White's" Support.
Alex Rodriguez Is The Hero The Yankees Need But Don't Deserve Hey, remember Alex Rodriguez? The most evilest, steroid-guzzling clown fraud who just a month ago was at the center of the biggest sh@t storm of the MLB season? The aged, disgraced slugger that everyone wished would just disappear? Well, his old, flawed team is thisclose to making the playoffs, and Alex Rodriguez has a whole hell of a lot to do with that.
How To Pitch A Perfect Ninth In A One-Run Game And Not Get A Save In the same game that brought you this bibelot, Mariano Rivera entered the ninth inning with the Yankees up one run. He retired the Orioles 1-2-3. He did not get the save--but he did get a win. Huh?
Martin St. Louis Does Not Skip Leg Day It's not the first time we've marveled over the 38-year-old Lightning winger's massive quads. And it won't be the last, because if we don't he'll use them to crack our heads like so many chestnuts.
TODAY IN FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS HISTORY
Baseball History - September 14th - National Pastime - Baseball History 1987 The Blue Jays blast a major league record of ten home runs in an 18-3 rout of the Orioles at EXHIBITION STADIUM IN TORONTO. Ernie Whitt goes deep three times Rance Mulliniks and George Bell each hit a pair and Lloyd Moseby Rob Ducey and Fred McGriff each go deep once with Baltimore's Mike Hart adding one to tie the two-team major league mark of 11. Also broken is Cal's consecutive innings streak.
In the seventh inning of an 18-3 rout of the Orioles at Exhibition Stadium, Kelly Gruber, appearing as a pinch-hitter, makes all three outs by hitting into a double play and then finishing the seven-run frame with a strikeout. In between his at-bats, there are five singles and two home runs.
1990 Mariner Ken Griffey and his son, Junior, become the first father and son to hit homers in the same major league game. The back-to-back blasts are given up by Angel hurler Kirk McCaskill.
1991 Baltimore's Juan Bell's tenth inning at-bat against Eric Bell is not a ringing success when he flies out to Albert Belle in left field. The Orioles drop the Memorial Stadium contest to the clangorous Cleveland club in 11 innings, 6-5.
I have always been a proponent of 4 pm games on Saturdays. The Blue Jays used to play a bunch of them but in the past four or five years they've stopped doing it and bumped everything else up to 1 pm. I got to sleep in, run a bunch of errands, go to the gym, make lunch, watch the Davis Cup, and finally watch Munenori Kawasaki and Mark DeRosa chat it up on Intentional Talk with Kevin Millar (whose shirt will soon be banned in Quebec).
The normal 1 pm starts wouldn't have allowed me to do that. And because the game will end around 7 pm I can go for supper then drinks right after without having to wander around downtown. So good. I have no idea why they went to 1 pm in the first place.
And the roof will be wide open in this very pleasant fall afternoon.
Potpourri
Grinders: The Blue Jays are now fifth in the major leagues with 30 plate appearances where the batter has seen 10 or more pitches. In first place are the Red Sox with 36, and in last place are the Angels with 13. The Blue Jays are hitting .091/.300/.227 in such PAs. Here are the batters who have completed this feat (data via Baseball-Reference):
Batter
# PA
Jose Bautista
5
Colby Rasmus
4
Anthony Gose
3
Munenori Kawasaki
3
Jose Reyes
2
Rajai Davis
2
Adam Lind
2
Edwin Encarnacion
2
Kevin Pillar
1
Maicer Izturis
1
Josh Thole
1
Melky Cabrera
1
Emilio Bonifacio
1
J.P. Arencibia
1
Moises Sierra
1
Decisions update: With Steve Delabar's loss Friday night, the Blue Jays relievers have now recorded 56 decisions, tops in the majors and just one back from the franchise mark of 57 set in 2001.
Cheap ball: A Blue Jays fan caught Chris Davis's 50th homer, and sold it for $100 to a bunch of travelling Orioles fans who then gifted it to Davis.
Wishing her luck:Kelsey Panton will throw out the first pitch this afternoon to mark the Children's Wish Foundation's 20,000th wish granted. She will be on Blue Jays Central at 3:30 pm.
CANADA WINS!!! Canada now leads Serbia 2-1 in the Davis Cup semifinals after winning today's doubles match.
A strong outing by Chris Tillman became marred by the first two batters of the seventh inning. He walked a batter on four pitches and then gave up a first-pitch home run to Colby Rasmus, turning a one-run lead for the Orioles into a one-run deficit to the Blue Jays. He pitched a full eight innings for the complete game loss, with the O's falling, 4-3, in Saturday afternoon's contest in Toronto.
The loss means the Orioles could potentially end up 3.5 games back of the wild card with only 14 games to play, depending on the Rays result in Minnesota. Their latest one-run loss means they are now 16-28 in one-run games this season, which gives you a greater appreciation of how amazing last season's 29-9 mark really was.
There was little clutch hitting to be found today, with the O's going 2-11 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men stranded in the game. The eight men left on base includes two times where a runner reached third with less than two outs and could not be driven in.
Tillman's outing is one that looks worse in the box score than it actually was. The four runs hurt, but he only allowed eight baserunners in as many innings, and two of those were not his fault. A Jose Reyes double in the first inning and an Anthony Gose triple in the second inning were both balls that should have been corralled by Chris Davis. The double by Reyes turning into an out should have meant that the first inning ended before Moises Sierra (I don't know either) could drive in two runs.
The Orioles actually struck first in the game, with back-to-back doubles in the top of the first by Manny Machado, his 50th of the year, and Davis. The Orioles home run leader sliced a ball to the opposite field that Gose dove for but could not come up with, driving in Machado and giving the Orioles a short-lived 1-0 lead. That was Davis' 130th RBI of the season, putting him three behind Miguel Cabrera for the American League lead.
Machado continued being awesome in the third inning, tying the game with a solo home run. That was his 14th home run of the season and his 1,337th (approximate) multi-hit game of the season. As good as we all thought Matt Wieters was going to be, Machado is actually that.
Speaking of Wieters, he had one of those two hits that drove in a run, singling in Nick Markakis (two walks on the day) in the fourth inning. This gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead that for a while looked like it might hold, until Tillman's abrupt transformation for two batters in the seventh. Wieters looked terrible other than that, striking out three times, including two of the times the O's had a man reach third. On the season, he is batting .230/.285/.411, a .696 OPS that punches us all in some delicate places.
With that theme of terrible slash lines in mind, another culprit for failing with runners in scoring position today was Markakis, who went 0-2 to go along with his two walks. Both of his at-bats came with a man in scoring position. He lined out to second base in the first inning and grounded out to shortstop in the sixth. His season slash line is .271/.326/.361 and I am tired of pointing out how much it sucks.
The O's struck Esmil Rogers for three runs in six innings, with five hits and two walks to go against seven strikeouts. They were held scoreless in the last three innings by a parade of Toronto relievers that included Jeremy Jeffress (1 IP), Aaron Loup (0.2 IP), Neil Wagner (0.1 IP), Casey Janssen (1 IP).
Because the Jays went ahead in the seventh inning, after Jeffress had pitched, he was given the win, his first of the season. Janssen was credited with his 30th save. Tillman took the loss for the O's, dropping to 16-6. He only lost it for two batters, but with the way the O's have been performing with men in scoring position lately, losing it for two batters is too much.
The Rays play the Twins. The Indians play the White Sox. The Rangers are imploding, possibly opening up another spot, but the O's aren't winning enough games for that to matter. They are not mathematically eliminated yet, but it will only take a combination of 13 Rays wins or Orioles losses to eliminate them, and they still have to pass the Yankees and Indians. For a team that has never gotten hot and looks like it never will get hot, that is a tall order.
The finale of the series comes on Sunday afternoon with a 1:07 start time, with Miguel Gonzalez starting for the Orioles against Mark Buehrle of the Blue Jays.
Sorry to be slow with the recap, I spent the day driving back from Great Falls today, listening to the Jays game much of the way.
Anyway, quick recap:
Esmil Rogers wasn't as good as his past two starts but he worked his way through 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 earned, 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts. He gave up a run in the first, on back-to-back doubles from Manny Machado and Chris Jones. Manny Machado got a home run off him in the 3rd inning. In the 5th inning, Esmil gave up consecutive 1-out walks and then Matt Wieters got an RBI single. It looked like Rogers was about to melt down, but he got Danny Valencia and Brian Roberta to strikeout. He fought through the 6th inning too, giving up a lead off, Adam Jones double and Brett Lawrie committed a error, but he was able to get out of it without allowing a run.
Jeremy Jeffress pitched a scoreless 7th, allowing just a single, he was the lucky one to get the win. Aaron Loup and Neil Wagner shared a scoreless 8th.
Casey Janssen got his 30th save, and made a very nice play on the final out of the game.
Our offense only managed 6 hits off Chris Tillman (who had a 8 inning complete game), but we got a couple of big hits when we needed them. Moises Sierra hit a 2-run double in the first and Colby Rasmus hit a 2-run homer in the 7th. That was enough for the win. Isn't it nice to have Colby back?
Anthony Gose had 2 hits, including his 4th triple (a bit of a gift from the official scorer, it likely should have been an error on Chris Davis, but then Gose's speed got him to third).
Jays of the Day: Rasmus (.292 WPA), Sierra (.226, 1 for 2, double, walk and no idiot plays in the field) and Janssen (.168). Honorable mention to Jeffress who I'd give a JoD to, but he got the win, so that's enough of a gift.
Rasmus' homer powers Blue Jays past Orioles - Sportsnet.ca Sportsnet's Recap: Colby Rasmus homered for the second day in a row as the Toronto Blue Jays got to Baltimore ace Chris Tillman and defeated the Orioles 4-3 Saturday afternoon.
NFL.com meddles in concussion concerns of Major League Baseball - Yahoo Sports From Yahoo Sports: With more focus being placed on concussions and other head injuries as we begin to understand their impact on the longterm health of professional athletes, it should come as no surprise that the NFL's official website published an article on that very topic on Friday afternoon. Note: This is called Concern Trolling.
TODAY IN GOLD GLOVER HISTORY
Baseball History - September 15th - National Pastime - Baseball History 2010 Derek Jeter, giving a performance worthy of an Oscar, is awarded first base when the umpires determine the New York shortstop was hit by a pitch thrown by Chad Qualls. Video replay of the at-bat, that clearly shows the fastball hit the knob of the bat, prompts a national debate about the ethics demonstrated by the usually squeaky-clean Yankees captain, who admitted after the 4-3 loss to Tampa that he pretended to get hit by the pitch to get on base.
2010 At Fenway Park, Jose Bautista establishes a new Blue Jay record for home runs in a season when he hit his 48th, a two-run blast on a 3-2 fastball thrown by Michael Bowden. The 29-year old outfielder, who has never gone deep more than 16 times in year, breaks the mark established by George Bell in 1987.
Mark Buehrle was pretty ok. 5 innings (I think he would have gone longer, if we weren't just playing out the string), 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 3 walks and 4 k. He was ok, nothing special, nothing terrible. threw a lot of pitches (99). A Jose Reyes error cost him one of the runs.
Chad Jenkins looked great, in his 2 innings of work. He didn't allow a base runner and struck out 1. Kyle Drabek also looked great, 2 inning, he hit one batter, but had 3 strikeouts and nothing was hit hard against him. It is really nice to see these two do well, we need the pitching depth next year.
On offense, Adam Lind hit a second inning home run, and that was it for scoring. We did load the bases, with 2 outs, in the 7th, but Moises Sierra struck out. Moises has been so good with the bat that we can forgive this.
We got two hits each from Brett Lawrie, Adam Lind, Moises Sierra (both singles for a change) and Anthony Gose. Edwin Encarnacion and Ryan Goins had 1 hit each, both doubles. Edwin looks like his wrist is really sore, I'm thinking it is time we shut him down for the season. He isn't helping.
Speaking of 'isn't helping' J.P. Arencibia was 0 for 3 with a strikeout, and his average has dropped to .200. He's had just 2 hits with month (both singles) and 1 RBI, while striking out 9 times, which, even by his standards, is terrible. Gibby had Munenori Kawasaki pinch hit for him in the 8th inning.
Suckage goes to Reyes -.177 and Arencibai (-.130). Ryan Goins had a -.138, but he made a sensational play, with the bases loaded, in the 4th inning, that saved, at very least, a couple of runs, so no Suckage for him.
The Orioles got out of Canada with a very welcome series win, taking the finale against the Blue Jays by a score of 3-1. Starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez pitched 5 1/3 innings with just one run allowed before exiting with a right groin strain. The bullpen pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings and the offense worked around a 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position to get the win.
The only run against the Orioles came in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of Adam Lind. Lind has been an Oriole killer this season, hitting .407/.448/.648 against them this season. And that was before today when he homered as part of his two hit (and one walk) day. It was the 23rd home run that Gonzalez has given up this season and it put the Orioles in a 1-0 hole.
The deficit didn't last long, though, as the O's scored twice in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. With two outs and runners on first and second, Danny Valencia came through with a double down the left field line. Both Adam Jones and Nick Markakis scored on the play. The Orioles added one more in the third inning thanks to a bases loaded walk by Adam Jones Chris Davis, but stranded three runners when Jones grounded out to end the inning.
Gonzalez didn't allow another run after the Lind homer, but that's not because the Blue Jays didn't have their chances. He gave up a double to someone called Ryan Goins later in the second inning and allowed multiple baserunners in both the fourth and fifth innings, but the Jays couldn't take advantage.
The Orioles didn't have such problems, but that's because after the fourth inning they didn't really have baserunners. They didn't reach base in innings four through eight, and their only baserunner in the ninth was Nate McLouth, who was hit by a pitch. Nate had to come out of the game as the pitch hit him right in the knee. After the game McLouth said he'll be fine to play on Tuesday against the Red Sox.
As for the other injury on the day, Gonzalez had to come out of the game with one out in the sixth inning thanks to a right groin injury. It has been classified as a grade one strain and Buck Showalter says that Gonzalez may miss one start but they're not sure yet.
Kevin Gausman came in to pitch after Gonzalez and he, Francisco Rodriguez, Tommy Hunter, and Jim Johnson pitched the rest of the game without allowing a run.
Hunter was impressive today and pitched well in a jam not of his own creation. After K-Rod retired the first two batters of the seventh inning, he gave up a single to Brett Lawrie and a double to Edwin Encarnacion that bounced into the stands for an automatic double. Lawrie would have scored easily if the ball hadn't gone over the fence. With runners on second and third the O's opted to intentionally walk Lind, a move that I endorsed. Hunter came in with the bases loaded full of K-Rod's runners and struck out Moises Sierra to end the inning. He then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Johnson got the save in the ninth after giving up a leadoff single.
The Orioles have their final off day of the year tomorrow before beginning their final thirteen games of the year against the Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, and Red Sox again.
More to baseball than just the result - Sportsnet.ca Mike Wilner wrote a nice story about how his old friend caught a Jose Reyes homer and was able to give it to his daughter to try to "pass the baton" of baseball fandom to the next generation. Judging by the comments, a couple of very, very, sad people thought otherwise. I feel sorry for folks like that who are so cynical, angry, and incapable of being happy over positive things despite the bad season.
Janssen thriving in lost Jays' season - TSN Scott MacArthur spoke with closer Casey Janssen after getting his 30th save. Apparently, Janssen was still experiencing discomfort from his surgery in the first few months of the season and that it was difficult for him to "justify the injury early on." I might be reading way too much into the quote but is he saying that the Blue Jays trainers weren't able to help him feel comfortable early on?
Young Haitian ballplayer throws first pitch at Blue Jays game - Toronto Star This month, Sportsnet Magazine has a feature on long-awaited arrival of baseball in the country that shares the same island as the baseball-obsessed Dominican Republic, so the Blue Jays invited a young Haitian ballplayer to throw the first pitch on Sunday. Asked if he was nervous, Wilson Izidor responded wisely, "(The crowd and the stadium) are very different, but the game is the same I play in Haiti."
Uniforms worn by 2013 Blue Jays - SportsLogos.Net Last time I wrote about this topic (at the All-Star break), the Blue Jays were 13-12 (.520) wearing their home whites, 3-15 (.167) wearing their road greys, and 27-22 (.551) with their blue alternates. Now they are dangerously close to falling below .500 for each of their jerseys, according to the latest tally by Chris Creamer, with their white record having fallen to 20-21 (.488) and their blues fallen to 40-39 (.506). Interestingly, since the wide publicity over the Blue Jays' poor record wearing grey (again during the All-Star break), the team has worn them just five more times, going 2-3.
Down on the Farm
Minor League Injury Update: Bad News Edition - Blue Jays from Away Add another list one to the list of injuries: Shane Dawson will not be going to Instructional Leagues in Florida. Notable pitchers on the roser: Jacob Brentz, Chase DeJong, Tyler Gonzalez, Justin Jackson, Jairo Labourt, Daniel Norris, Matt Smoral, and of course Zakerv Wasilewski. I have no idea who Zakerv Wasilewski is but that's an 80 name. Also, he reports that there are "rumours" that Derrick Chung is going to the Arizona Fall League in place of A.J. Jimenez, but he mentioned nothing about where these rumours started.
Alomar looks forward to T-12 Showcase - Canadian Baseball Network Evan Peaslee spoke with Robbie Alomar about why he decided start Tournament 12. It's great to see how much more support Canadian amateur baseball players seem to be getting in the past few years.
The Blue Jays were 6-7 over this period. We won a series in Arizona and swept the Twins, but then came home and get swept by the Angels and lost the series to Baltimore.
J.P. played in 11 of the 13 games, starting 9. He's not having a good month, just two singles. Batting a big .061/.114/.061, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts in 33 at bats. The good news is he's been throwing from his feet and threw out runners to end two games in the last little while. I don't know, normally I'd guess a player was hiding an injury, if he was hitting this poorly. Perhaps he is. Catchers get beat up as the season goes along.
Now here is a guy that has been battling an injury. He played in 9 games. He hit .226/.359/.516, with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 6 walks and 6 strikeouts. Really, still pretty good.
Ryan played in all 13 games, starting 9. He hit .132/.132/.184 with no RBI, no walks and 8 strikeouts. I really love his glove, and it isn't like Izturis was going to win the batting title, but he's going to have to hit some better than this.
Jose started all 13 games. He hit .291/.328/.473 with 7 doubles, 1 home runs, 4 RBI, 3 walks, 2 k and 2 stolen bases. He is fun to watch. He's also looking a little better in the field, the last little bit. His ankle must be some better.
Brett started all 13 games too. He hit .241/.255/.315 with 1 double, 1 home run, 5 RBI, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts, 1 stolen base. He hit great in August, not so much, thus far, in September.
He played in all 13 games, started 11. He hit .250/.250/.500 with 1 double, 3 triples (one of them should have been called an error, but then, no one else on the team would have made it to third on that), 1 home run, 6 RBI, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts, 0 stolen bases, 1 caught. His last 6 games have been better, .318/.318/.545. I'd like to see him take a walk or two.
Moises started 11 games. He hit .410/.425/.795 with 10 doubles, 1 triple, 1 double (4 singles), 9 RBI, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 1 steal. His bat has been terrific. I wouldn't mind seeing the odd walk, but when you are making good contact, every swing, why walk? In the field, he's not so good. we do have a tendency to think it is all easy, but he should be able to improve.
Kevin played in 9 games, starting 7. He hit .136/.136/.182 with 1 double, 2 RBI, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts. He hit so well in the minors this year, likely needs time to adapt to the majors. Good defense.
Adam played in 12 games, starting 10. He hit .263/.333/.684 with 5 home runs, 1 double, 11 RBI, 4 walks, and 9 strikeouts. Nice to see him hitting with power.
He played in 10 games, starting 9. He hit .216/.256/.514, 3 home runs, 1 triple, 6 RBI, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts, 1 steal and 1 time caught. The power is nice. I'd rather he got on base more but who can complain about home runs. The misplays in the outfield are hard to take..
Munenori played in 7 games, starting 3. He hit .285/.375/.357, with 1 double, 2 RBI, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. Really, we couldn't ask for much more than that.
Arencibia has maintained a visible presence at almost all of the JaysCare Foundation's events this season while also taking time to visit local schools to speak out against bullying and to discuss positive nutritional habits.
He's been along for each t=of the Blue Jay cross Canada trips and he just about always goes to schools and charity events when the Jays ask for volunteers among the players.
There was even an example earlier this year when Arencibia went out of his way to offer his support to a Blue Jays fan who had been diagnosed with autism and had Tweeted about his experiences being bullied. Arencibia promptly responded to the Tweet by offering free tickets to the home opener in the hope that it would send a message as the bullies "can watch from home."
JP is a good guy. That he is having a bad year on the field takes nothing away from that. You do have to separate the person from the stats for this.
No Blue Jay has won the award. Last year's winner was Clayton Kershaw, the year before that David Ortiz. Gary Carter and Dave Winfield are former winners.
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