Ouch.

Tigers 5 Blue Jays 4

That one hurts.

I do feel bad for Gibby. He pulled Dickey when he should have. Worked small ball to get us a run or two (much as I hate early game bunts, worked his bullpen to bridge the gap between his starter and his closer. Unfortunately, he didn't know his closer would blow up.

That was just Casey Janssen's 3rd blown save of the season. It wasn't pretty. A double and back-to-back home runs and our 2 run lead disappeared and we were quickly behind. Casey really didn't have it, everything he threw was hit hard.

R.A. Dickey wasn't as impressive as J.A. Happ and Drew Hutchison had been the last two games, but he did get the job done. 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned, 4 walks with 6 strikeouts. He pitched himself in and out of trouble several times. He gave up his 2 runs in the third inning, a leadoff walk to Eugenio Suarez and a Rajai Davis double down the first base line (his second such double of the night) were followed by a 2-run single by Ian Kinsler. Dickey didn't pitch a clean inning until the 6th.

Dustin McGowan and Brett Cecil each pitched perfect inning of relief.

We really should have scored more than 4 runs. We had 13 hits and 3 walks.

We scored:

• 1 in the first on a Jose Bautista walk, and back-to-back singles by Dioner Navarro and Danny Valencia.
• and 3 more in the 2nd. Munenori Kawasaki led off with a double, Josh Thole sac bunted him to third and Ryan Gose put down a nice squeeze bunt to score Muni and reach first. Singles by Reyes, Cabrera and Bautista scored two more.

Jose Bautista did try to give us a chance, in the bottom of the 9th, by getting a lead off single. Walks to Colby Rasmas and Juan Francisco loaded the bases with 2 outs, but Josh Thole popped one down the left field line and Rajai Davis made a nice running, sliding catch. I'd likely have pinch hit Nolan Reimold for Thole but then Thole is a lefty and Nathan seemed to be having troubles throwing strikes to the last two lefties.

Also wasted was some good defense. Reyes made one of the best plays, on a ball hit to his right, and made a great jump throw to get the runner at first. Munenori made a great throw from third (I didn't think he had it in him) and a couple of other nice plays.

Jays of the Day are Dickey (.198 WPA), Bautista (.183).

Suckage goes to Janssen (surprise) (-.741) and Thole (-.362).

Source: FanGraphs

We had 861 comments. Mostly good, though, as always, late game loses do bring out the crazies from the woodworks. Watch it for The 'Plot' led the way with 109 comments. Good work.

Ninth inning back-to-back home runs off the bats of rookies Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez gave the Tigers a wild come-from-behind win. Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez was removed from the game in the fifth due to a pectoral injury. No word as of yet if he'll miss any time.

Rookies came to the rescue in the Detroit Tigers' come-from-behind win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Back-to-back home runs off the bats of Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez off Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 victory. The victory allows the Tigers to maintain their 2 1/2 game lead in the AL Central over the surging Kansas City Royals.

As good as the comeback win was for the slumping Tigers' psyche, there was bad news. Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez was removed in the middle of the fifth inning having suffered what was later announced to be a pectoral injury.  Post-game, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus addressed the injury, confirming Sanchez will head back to Detroit on Saturday for an MRI and a "more concrete" diagnosis.

Sanchez had allowed all four Toronto runs and 10 hits in his 4 2/3 innings of work. In need of an extended outing, the bullpen came through in big way. Blaine Hardy took over for Sanchez and tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Al Alburquerque (W, 3-1) took over with one out in the seventh, tossing another 1 2/3 scoreless innings and receiving credit for the win.

Closer Joe Nathan took a walk on the wild side in the ninth inning, loading the bases on a single and a pair of walks before recording the final out and earning his 24th save.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey got the start for the Blue Jays, exiting with the lead after six innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking four and striking out six. The bullpen kept the Tigers at bay until the ninth, when Janssen was pounded for four hits (all for extra bases) and three runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Janssen (L, 3-1) was hung with both his first loss and third blown save of the season.

Detroit had been held in check over the first eight innings on five hits. They then exploded for two doubles and the back-to-back home runs in a wild ninth. For much of the game, Ian Kinsler supplied the majority of the Tigers' offense with three hits, including a two RBI single in the third. Rajai Davis chipped in with a pair of doubles and a run scored.

The home runs would come from an unexpected source; the all-rookie left side of Detroit's infield. Castellanos hit a two-run bomb to knot the game at 4-all (MLB.com video), going deep for the eighth time this season. Saurez's game-winning solo shot came two pitches later (MLB.com video). It was his fourth home run of the season and first since June 14.

The Blue Jays actually outhit the Tigers 13-9, led by Dioner Navarro's three singles and Jose Bautista's two hits and an RBI. Melky Cabrera, Danny Valencia, and Ryan Goins each added RBI singles for the shell-shocked losers.

ROARS:

The bullpen: Despite being forced into extended duty, Blaine Hardy and Al Alburquerque kept the Tigers in the game. They did their jobs well, combining for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

The rookies: The Tigers' offense snoozed their way through eight innings. In the ninth, Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez woke up the offense with a start, going deep on consecutive at-bats against Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen. In less than a minute, Castellanos and Saurez turned a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead.

Saurez is one happy rookie... pic.twitter.com/rYPXnHSkqH

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

Ian Kinsler: Before the rookies went deep, Kinsler had supplied what little offense Detroit could muster - three hits and two RBI.

Rajai Davis: Offensively, Davis was solid out of the leadoff spot with two hits and a run scored. But he made the defensive play of the game when it was most needed. Bottom of nine, Joe Nathan had pitched himself into big trouble. Two out and the bases loaded, Josh Thole lifted a flair into left field foul territory. Davis, who had shifted to left field from center to start the inning, raced in to make a sliding, game-ending catch.

YES! Rajai Davis' sliding catch in foul territory bails out Joe Nathan and gives the Tigers a wild come from behind 5-4 win! I need a drink.

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

HISSES:

J.D. Martinez's second inning: The second could not have gone any worse for the slumping Martinez. He bounced into a fielder's choice in the top of the inning. But things got ugly when he took the field. To start the inning, Martinez dropped Munenori Kawasaki's liner, which was generously ruled a two-base hit. That kicked off an ugly three-run inning for the Jays. One of the runs scored uncontested when Martinez later booted Melky Cabrera's single. But to Martinez's credit, he started the big ninth inning rally with a lead off double.

Miguel Cabrera: Another far too quiet game from the Tigers' slumping slugger, 0-for-5 with a strikeout.

The heart of the batting order: Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter and J.D. Martinez combined on a 2-for-16, five strikeout, one walk performance.

Detroit's defense: The defense has developed this annoying habit of extending innings and raising pitcher ERA. J.D. Martinez was charged with one error, and should have had another. Nick Castellanos committed one of his own in the fourth.

Apparently the left side of the Tigers' defense doesn't plan on using their gloves tonight.

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

Tigers rank 29th in baseball in fielding - DRS (-41). Not surprising if you've seen a lot of their games.

— Lee Panas (@tiger337) August 9, 2014

Injuries: As soon as the Tigers got Torii Hunter back, another player went down. Anibal Sanchez was forced to leave the game in the fifth inning.

STREAKS AND STATS:

J.D. Martinez has turned back into a pumpkin (or Matt Tuiasosopo). Entering tonight's play, Martinez was hitting .185/.254/.323 since the All-Star break. He didn't help his stats much with a 1-for-4 night.

Tonight's 0-for-5 performance drops Miguel Cabrera on the road trip to 1-for-15 with five strikeouts.

Joe Nathan has seven consecutive scoreless outings and has allowed just three runs (all in one game) in 12 appearances since July 1.

Nick Castellanos and Eugenio Suarez went deep on consecutive pitches in the ninth, giving the Tigers their winning margin. The last Tigers' rookies to hit back-to-back home runs was Craig Monroe and Eric Munson in 2003.

Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen had given up three home runs in 32 appearances this season. He allowed two big flies on two pitches in the ninth.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs

ROLL CALL:

TOP TEN COMMENTERS:

TOP RECS:

Just A Bit Outside | CJ Nitkowski:Troy Tulowitzki is saying a lot of things that Derek Jeter would never say.

Baseball America | Ben Badler: Yonauris Rodriguez is gaining prospect status based on his surprisingly complete style of play in 2014.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Masahiro Tanaka keeps giving the Yankees good news during his rehabilitation.

SB Nation | Nick Bond: Derek Jeter may or may not have passed Honus Wagner on the all-time hits list.

Fangraphs | Eno Sarris: Is there any possible way that Shane Greene can continue to be successful, considering his lackluster minor league numbers?

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: Breaking down all 30 pitchers who have pitched for the Yankees in 2014.

ESPN New York | Katie Sharp: A look at Derek Jeter's success against the Cleveland Indians over his career.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: Do the Yankees still have a chance to catch the Orioles and Blue Jays and win the AL East?

MiLB | Tyler Maun: Yankees second base prospect Angelo Gumbs could finally be fixing what has been wrong.

Just A Bit Outside | Rob Neyer: How good of a chance do the Yankees have at winning the second wild card when their run differential is so bad.

YES Network | Jack Curry: Paul O`Neill reflects on his career and how he ended up enshrined in Monument Park.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees don't know when Mark Teixeira will return from his hand injury.

Max Scherzer goes for his 14th victory in Toronto against the Jays' rookie right-hander, Marcus Stroman.

Detroit Tigers (63-50) at Toronto Blue Jays (61-56)

Time/Place: 1:07 p.m., Rogers Centre

SB Nation blog:Bluebird Banter

Media: Fox Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Pitching Matchup:Max Scherzer, RHP  (13- 4, 3.24 ERA) vs. Marcus Stroman, RHP (7- 3, 3.49 ERA)

Marcus Stroman made his major league debut for the Blue Jays in May of this year, making five appearances out of the bullpen. He was then moved into the starting rotation on May 31. He has not disappointed, allowing three runs or less in ten of his twelve starts, keeping teams scoreless three times.

The 23 year old rookie right- hander was the first baseball player out of Duke University to be drafted in the first round. He stands just five foot, nine inches tall, which is very small for a pitcher, and features a five pitch repertoire that includes a mid 90's fastball and a slider that he likes to throw with two strikes. He has good stuff, according to this scouting report from Baseball America.

Stroman doesn't walk many batters, and he keeps the ball in the yard very well, so it will take several hits, or driving the ball into the gaps and some good base running to get to him.

Max Scherzer has put together three straight, and six of seven starts where he has gone seven innings or better, allowing three runs or fewer each time. He took the loss in his last start at New York, allowing just two runs on nine hits.

Scherzer has maintained a steady strikeout rate of just over ten per nine innings, while his BB/9 and HR/9 ratios are up slightly. The biggest difference between this season and his 2013 year is that he has a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .319 versus .259 a season ago. He remains one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

Hitter to fear: Jose Bautista is 8 for 13 with a home run and three walks, for a sizzling line of .571     .647     1.071     1.718  in his career.

Hitter to fail: Melky Cabrera is 3 for 12, with a line of .250     .308     .417     .724.

Outlook:

The Jays swept the Tigers earlier this season in Detroit, when the Tigers were in the midst of a team wide slump. The Tigers have not seen Stroman before, and that usually gives an advantage to the pitcher. But then, the Jays can see Scherzer as much as they want, and that doesn't mean they can hit him.

Friday's come from behind Tiger victory knocked the Jays to 1-1/2 games behind the Royals for the second and final wild card playoff spot, one game behind the Yankees and six games behind the Baltimore Orioles in their division.

Prediction:

Tigers struggle against a rookie that they've never seen before, but Scherzer dominates the Jays. One good inning is enough to give the Tigers their margin of victory.

The Blue Jays are going to try and get back on track this afternoon after last night's horror show in the ninth inning. A fantastic pitching matchup sees last year's Cy Young winner Max Scherzer going up against 2015 Cy Young winner Marcus Stroman. The freshly-turned 30-year-old has continued his great pitching into this campaign, although there's been a slight drop off from his dominating season in 2013. His peripherals are remarkably similar to last year, but he has a .316 BABIP this season which has caused to ERA to be a slightly higher 3.24 compared to last year's 2.90 mark.

The fourseam, changeup, slider, and curveball are the go-to pitches for the St. Louis native, with the fastballs still hanging in the mid-90's. It's pretty wild how Scherzer is a completely different pitcher depending on who is up at the plate. Lefties see fastballs, curveballs, and changeups almost exclusively, while same-handed hitters only see the fastball and slider. Max's slider is his best off-speed pitch, although it has a .422 BABIP this year which has likely made his numbers look a little worse than they should.

Unlike most pitchers, who have a changeup that mimics the movement of their sinker, Scherzer's actually drops much more dramatically than his fastball as seen below in graph and GIF form:

via cdn0.vox-cdn.com

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista DH
4. Dioner Navarro C
5. Juan Francisco 1B
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Munenori Kawasaki 3B
8. Ryan Goins 2B
9. Anthony Gose RF

Bullpen Usage

Blue Jays

• Yesterday:Dustin McGowan (1.0 IP, 15 pitches), Brett Cecil (1.0 IP, 10 pitches), Casey Janssen (0.2 IP, 13 pitches), Aaron Loup (0.1 IP, 4 pitches)
• Two Days Ago: Casey Janssen (1.0 IP, 14 pitches)

Find The Link

Find the link between Max Scherzer and the other pitcher who came to the Blue Jays in the J.A. Happ trade not named David Carpenter.

Max Scherzer went eight strong innings and struck out 11, holding the Blue Jays to just one run, but Joe Nathan came out in the ninth and blew it up.

A combination of low scoring early on and a blown ninth inning by Joe Nathan sent the Tigers and the Blue Jays into extra innings. Another injury prompted a scrambling in the bullpen and as a result, the Tigers lost 3-2 in the 10th and Max Scherzer was denied his 14th win of the season for the second consecutive time.

Scherzer absolutely dominated the Blue Jays through eight innings, striking out 11 and allowing just four hits, but as has happened too often with the Tigers lately, he received nearly no run support. He had the chance to pitch his second career complete game, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus pulled him after the eighth inning and just 106 pitches.

The bullpen has been dependable lately, but after a prolonged outing by Nathan Friday night, Ausmus brought him on again and the result wasn't so pretty. He departed after two hits (one an RBI single) and two walks before Ausmus pulled him in favor of Joakim Soria.

Soria pitched out of the ninth inning on just five pitches, but he had to come out of the game before throwing a single pitch in the 10th when he felt discomfort in his left side. Currently listed as a left side strain, Soria said it's something he's never experienced before and is taking precautions until the Tigers have a more definitive answer.

The offense, meanwhile, continued to struggle as it was held to just four hits by Marcus Stroman. Victor Martinez gave the Tigers their only big hit of the day, an RBI double to the left field corner that scored Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera in the sixth. While they drew four walks in the game, including a leadoff walk by Ezequiel Carrera in the 10th, the only walk that came around to score was Cabrera.

ROARS:

Max Scherzer: The reigning AL Cy Young champion had FOX Sports Detroits' Rod Allen and Mario Impemba giggling like school girls and Dan Dickerson woke up the dead after Scherzer recorded his 11th strikeout after eight dominant innings. He gave up just one run in the sixth inning and had five 1-2-3 innings but he received a no-decision in the end.

Hey Joba, is Max pitching a really good game today? pic.twitter.com/hZigzxXqZ8

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

Victor Martinez: With two on and two out in the sixth inning, Martinez nailed a pitch to the left field corner for a two-run RBI double that put the Tigers on the board 2-0. (MLB.com video)

Rajai Davis: Returning to Rogers Centre, Davis has recorded back-to-back multi-hit games. Saturday he hit back-to-back singles in the first and third innings after going 2-5 with a game-winning catch in foul territory Friday night. Davis finished 2-4 for the day with both hits being sent in the opposite direction and he reached second base in the first on an error.

Joakim Soria: He had very little time to warmup, but Soria did what Nathan couldn't do to save his life on Saturday. Soria needed just five pitches to get the next two batters out and gave the Tigers another chance at a win as they went into the 10th inning.

HISSES:

Miguel Cabrera: Looking off-balanced, Cabrera had another rough day at the plate as he finished 0-4 with a walk. That walk, however, turned out to be the game-leading score at the time. A hiss overall, nonetheless.

Brad Ausmus: Scherzer and catcher Bryan Holaday had been working well together all afternoon and Ausmus' decision to pull Scherzer when things were going smoothly resulted in a stressful ninth, extra innings, and the loss. Ausmus and Scherzer both agree Scherzer was done after eight innings but Scherzer's final inning, his exit and hesitation on both parts in answering post-game questions suggested otherwise.

Joe Nathan: Nathan had neither control nor command of the strike zone on Saturday. A leadoff single, stolen base and an intentional walk resulted in the tying run off the bat of Dioner Navarro. Nathan had Colby Rasmus in an 0-2 count, but the next four pitches landed outside the strike zone and Rasmus walked to load the bases and Nathan's day was done.

Live footage of Nathan in Toronto ... pic.twitter.com/MaRftm05Rx

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

Ok, now that's funny MT @DetTigerUpdates MLB 14: Blown Save - Joe Nathan Special Edition pic.twitter.com/dhoCtUab9k

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 9, 2014

NOTES::

Things got off to an interesting start. Rajai Davis hit a leadoff single in the first inning but he overran the bag enough for the Blue Jays to attempt to throw behind Davis. The first baseman couldn't hold onto the ball and Davis made it to second base on the error, but a quick pickoff move by pitcher Marcus Stroman erased Davis from the basepaths.

Joakim Soria came out to pitch the 10th inning but he hadn't even thrown a warmup pitch before head athletic trainer Kevin Rand came running out of the dugout as Soria was holding his left side. He departed and remained in the dugout, still holding his side as Chamberlain pitched instead. He officially left the game with a left side strain and will be re-evaluated on Sunday.

Chamberlain allowed the winning run, an RBI double off the bat of Nolan Reimold, but were it not for the ninth inning antics of Nathan, Chamberlain would not have been forced into the position in the first place.

STREAKS AND STATS:

• Victor Martinez's two-run gave him 68 RBI for the season, which is exactly double the number of strikeouts (34) Martinez has recorded this season.
• Joe Nathan gave up his sixth blown save of the season, and his first since June 21.
• The Tigers' lead in the AL Central has been cut to two and they are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
• Rajai Davis is 4 for 9 with two doubles in the series against the Blue Jays. The rest of the Tigers offense was a combined 2-25 on Saturday.
• In August, Miguel Cabrera is hitting just .185 with five hits, one home run, three RBI, seven walks (one intentional) and has grounded into three double plays.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs

ROLL CALL:

TOP TEN COMMENTERS:

TOP RECS:

David Price makes his second start, trying for his first win as a Tiger. He will face fellow left-hander Mark Buehrle in Toronto.

Detroit Tigers (63-51) at Toronto Blue Jays (62-56)

Time/Place: 1:07 p.m., Rogers Centre

SB Nation blog:Bluebird Banter

Media: Fox Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network

Pitching Matchup: LHP David Price (11- 8, 3.11 ERA) vs. LHP Mark Buehrle (11- 8, 3.27 ERA)

David Price will make his second start as a Tiger, looking for his first victory wearing the olde English D. Price had a solid effort in his Tigers' debut, working 8 2/3 innings, and the Tigers won in 12 innings at Yankee stadium, but he was denied the victory, earning a no- decision for his efforts. Price has had very good success against the Blue Jays, with a career record of 15-2, and 7-0 at Rogers Centre.

Mark Buehrle shot out of the gate to start the 2014 season with ten wins against just one loss in his first twelve starts. His luck ran out, as he has recorded just one victory and seven defeats in his last eleven starts. Buehrle held a sparkling 2.64 ERA at the all star break, earning his fifth All Star appearance, but he has a 7.32 ERA in the second half of the season.

The two left handed starters each have a record of 11-8 coming into this game. The two teams have had nearly the same offensive output this season, but Price is trending upward, while Buehrle has cooled off recently. Noticeably, Price tends to work an extra inning or two per game while Buehrle is hitting the showers.

Current Tigers have hit Buehrle pretty well over their careers, with Victor Martinez batting .355/.367/.539/.907, Rajai Davis hitting .353/.353/.471/.824, and Alex Avila hitting .308 against the left- hander.

Hitter to fear: Jose Bautista is batting .341/.423/.727/1.150 for his career against Price, with five home runs.
Hitter to fail:Colby Rasmus is just 4 for 22, with a line of .182/.280/.182/.462.

Outlook

The Tigers need to give Price some run support, and the sooner they get to Buehrle, the better.  Price is the ideal pitcher for the Tigers, as he attacks hitters, going deep into games and logging more innings than any pitcher, thus fitting right in line with the strategy of  bullpen avoidance.

The Tigers stole a game on Friday with back to back home runs in the ninth inning after trailing the entire game. They gave it back on Saturday with another bullpen implosion. Sunday's game is what Ernie Harwell would call "the rubber game of the series", with both teams needing a win to bolster their post season hopes.

Prediction

The Tigers squander chances against Buehrle, but plate enough runs as Price holds the Jays in check. The bullpen, sans Joe Nathan, survives a scare to seal the Tigers victory.

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from August 9th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 3-5vs. Columbus Clippers

CF Antoan Richardson 2-4, 3B, SB, PO
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-4, RBI
LF Zoilo Almonte 1-4, RBI, K
C John Ryan Murphy 0-2
Jose Gil 0-2, K
DH Kyle Roller 0-3, BB, K
RF Zelous Wheeler 0-3, BB, OF assist
1B Corban Joseph 1-4, 3B, K
3B Rob Segedin 1-2, RBI
SS Carmen Angelini 0-3

Zach Nuding 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 49 of 81 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/4 FO, fielding error
Pat Venditte 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K, 2 HR, 26 of 42 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/3 FO
Edgmer Escalona 1.0 IP, 1 K, 5 of 6 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/0 FO

Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 4-6 vs. Bowie Baysox

DH Jake Cave 2-5, 3B, K
LF Ben Gamel 1-5, RBI
C Gary Sanchez 1-5
1B Greg Bird 2-3, 2 BB, K
RF Tyler Austin 3-5, K
CF Mason Williams 1-4, K
3B Dante Bichette Jr 1-4, K
2B Casey Stevenson 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K
SS Ali Castillo 0-3, BB, throwing error, fielding error - 13 this season

Daniel Camarena 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 44 of 76 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/3 FO
Francisco Rondon 1.2 IP, 2 BB, 1 K, 17 of 30 pitches for strikes, 3 GO/1 FO
Jacob Lindgren 1.2 IP, 1 BB, 11 of 20 pitches for strikes, 4 GO/0 FO
Danny Burawa 1.0 IP, 2 K, 7 of 11 pitches for strikes
James Pazos 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 11 of 24 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/0 FO

High-A Tampa Yankees: W 2-1 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

CF Mark Payton 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, K, CS
SS Cito Culver 1-4, BB, SB
3B Eric Jagielo 2-4, RBI, BB
RF Aaron Judge 0-4, BB, 3 K, fielding error (4)
LF Ericson Leonora 1-4
2B Angelo Gumbs 0-4, 2 K
DH Jose Rosario 1-4, 2B, K
1B Reymond Nunez 1-4, 2B, 2 K
C Kyle Higashioka 0-4

Caleb Smith 0.0 IP, 1 H - left the game with a leg injury
Kyle Haynes 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 3 GO/2 FO
Ramon Benjamin 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 K, 3 GO/2 FO
Chris Smith 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 HR, 4 GO/2 FO
Cesar Vargas 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: W 2-1 vs. Rome Braves

CF Michael O'Neill 3-5, SB - 35th of the season
SS Tyler Wade 0-4, BB, 2 K
RF Dustin Fowler 1-5, K
3B Miguel Andujar 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K
DH Mike Ford 1-3, BB, K
LF Yeicok Calderon 2-4, K
1B Kale Sumner 0-2, 2 BB
2B Gosuke Katoh 2-4, 2B, K, SB
C Eduardo de Oleo 1-4, SB

Andy Beresford 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K, 8 GO/1 FO
Angel Rincon 3.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 5 GO/1 FO
Eric Ruth 2.0 IP, 1 H, 4 K, 1 GO/1 FO

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees: L 6-11 vs. Mahoning Valley Scrappers

CF Devyn Bolasky 0-3, 2 BB, fielding error - first of the season
SS Vicente Conde 1-5
2B Ty McFarland 1-5, K, fielding error, throwing error - 16th of the season
C Isaias Tejeda 0-5, K
RF Austin Aune 1-4, 1 HR, RBI, BB, K
1B Chris Breen 0-3, BB, 3 K
DH Connor Spencer 4-4, 2 2B
LF Nathan Mikolas 2-3, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, BB
3B Renzo Martini 0-4, RBI, K

Jordan Foley 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 5 GO/3 FO
Jordan Montgomery 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Sam Agnew-Wieland 2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5 GO/2 FO
Tim Giel 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 GO/0 FO

GCL Yankees 1:L 1-8 vs. GCL Pirates

SS Tyler Palmer 0-2, BB
2B Billy Fleming 0-3, K, fielding error (5)
DH Leonardo Molina 0-3, K
RF Alexander Palma 1-3, 2 SB, fielding error (1)
3B Drew Bridges 0-3, K
1B Dalton Smith 1-2, 2B, RBI, K
CF Dominic Jose 0-3
C Alvaro Noriega 0-2
LF Miguel Mojica 0-1, BB

Simon De la Rosa 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5 GO/2 FO
Reynaldo Polanco 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 GO/1 FO
Dayton Dawe 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 GO/1 FO

GCL Yankees 2: L 2-10 vs. GCL Tigers

LF Jose Augusto Figueroa 3-4, BB, SB
SS Graham Ramos 1-3, 2 BB, K, SB
1B Jake Hernandez 1-5, 2B
DH Chris Gittens 0-2, BB, K
R.J. Johnson 1-1, RBI, BB
RF Wilmer Romero 0-2, RBI
Frank Frias 0-1
Kevin Alexander 0-1, K
3B Jesus Aparicio 0-4, K, fielding error, throwing error 
C Rainiero Coa 1-4
2B Jake Anderson 2-3, 2B, BB, K
CF Jordan Barnes 0-4, OF assist

Carlos Diaz 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 2 GO/1 FO, PO
Eduardo Rivera 1.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB, K, 2 GO/0 FO
Lee Casas 1.1 IP, K, 2 GO/1 FO
Abel Mora 0.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER
Felix Santiago 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 GO/3 FO
Mike Noteware 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 GO/2 FO

In a 19 inning marathon, the Tigers' offense was held scoreless for the final 15 2/3 innings by the Blue Jays' bullpen. Much in thanks to Joba Chamberlain's blown save, Detroit's short-handed bullpen was left in shambles.

The Detroit Tigers blew a 5-0 fourth inning lead, finally caving to the Toronto Blue Jays in 19th innings, 6-5. Jose Bautista drove in the game-winning run off Rick Porcello, who was forced into relief duty after the Tigers ran out of relief arms. Both the Tigers and Blue Jays would use eight pitchers, combining for 629 pitches thrown. Detroit drops 2-of-3 to Toronto, both losses of the walk-off, extra inning variety.

Neither starting pitcher would be around to see the end of the game, exiting relatively early.

David Price was far more inefficient than he was in his Tigers debut. Price was pulled two batters into the seventh after 112 pitches, ultimately charged with four runs on five hits, striking out six and walking three in six plus innings.

Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle was victimized by the Tigers' bats for five runs (two earned) and nine hits over just 3 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.

The Blue Jays bullpen proved to be absolutely lights out, holding the struggling Tigers' offense scoreless for 15 2/3 innings. Chad Jenkins tossed a scoreless 19th to earn the win.

The Tigers' bullpen had their issues, specifically Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain. Coke allowed both inherited runners to score in the seventh inning. Joe Nathan was scheduled to have the day off, so Chamberlain entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with a one run lead. Chamberlain would cough up the lead, recording his third blown save of the season.

Asked to pitch in extended outings, Blaine Hardy and Pat McCoy combined for six scoreless innings of work. Nathan followed with a scoreless inning of his own. The bullpen left shorthanded due to Joakim Soria's injury, Porcello was forced into a relief role. He tossed two scoreless frames before not recording an out in the bottom of the 19th, taking a loss he never should have had to worry about.

Both offenses ended up with impressive numbers, but it was due more to the length of the game and each team having wasted several scoring chances. Detroit would finish with 22 hits, Toronto 17.

But in a game of attrition taking 6:36, the Blue Jays ultimately prevailed.  The loss cuts the Tigers lead in the AL Central to just 1/2 game over the Royals. The Tigers owned a seven game lead on July 24.

Post game, when asked about his overworked bullpen, manager Brad Ausmus (who watched most of the game from the clubhouse after being tossed for arguing balls and strikes five hours earlier) would only say this:

"We'll have to do some shuffling."

That may be the understatement of the season. Expect numerous moves to be made in the next 12-16 hours, if only to get fresh arms for a couple of days.

ROARS:

David Price: His final line took a hit when two inherited runners scored on Phil Coke's watch, charged with a four earned runs. Regardless, Davis pitched well but inefficiently, throwing 112 pitches in six-plus innings.

J.D. Martinez: The slumping outfielder snapped out of a lengthy post All-Star game funk with two early hits, driving in three of Detroit's first four runs.

Rajai Davis' defense: Davis has made three excellent catches since Friday night. Two came this afternoon, both off the bat of Jose Bautista. Davis made a leaping catch at the base of the center field wall to take away extra bases to end the third.

Bautista's bid for a sixth inning single ended in the Davis' glove thanks to a sliding grab.

Al Alburquerque: Taking over for Phil Coke, Alburquerque was in rare form. He faced four Blue Jays batters in his 1 1/3 innings, all four went down on strikes.

Blaine Hardy: Say what you will about the bullpen, but Blaine Hardy stepped up big time. The rookie lefty took over in the tenth, allowing two hits in his three scoreless innings of work.

Torii Hunter: The veteran right-fielder had four hits with a run scored.

Nick Castellanos: The rookie third baseman was 3-for-4 with an RBI before being pulled in the eighth inning.

Pat McCoy: Picked up where Hardy left off with three scoreless innings.

Joe Nathan: Supposed to have the day off, ended up tossing a scoreless 16th inning.

Rick Porcello: Left with no other options, Porcello pitched the last three innings. Two were scoreless. Things went south in the 19th, but if the Tigers do anything on offense, Porcello is back at the hotel instead of pitching in a ridiculously long game.

Your recapper and fan who watch the entire game: I watched, tweeted and recapped all 19 innings. Seven plus hours of my life I'll never get back. I'm sure plenty of fans feel the same. It was all I could to keep from getting out the pitchforks and torches during parts of the game.

HISSES:

Alex Avila's offense: Slash numbers continue to drop, hitting just .216/.319/.366 on the year after an 1-for-5, two strikeout day.

Tigers' base running: Once again, Detroit's aggressive approach on the bases cost them dearly. Nick Castellanos was thrown out trying to steal third in the fifth inning. Rajai Davis was doubled off first base in the sixth on a botched hit and run. Capping off a bad day on the bases, Ezequiel Carrera was caught stealing in the eighth and Andrew Romine was retired in a rundown for the second out of the 13th.

I'm shocked .... it's that high. RT @NeilWeinberg44 Tigers were 24th in base running entering the day.

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

Phil Coke: The first left-hander out of the pen had been pitching well as of late. But Coke wasn't effective today, allowing two hits and both inherited runners to score in his 1/3 of an inning.

Joba Chamberlain: Asked to get the final three outs, Chamberlain instead blew the Tigers' second straight save by giving up two hits, two walks and a run in his inning of work. He proceeded to load the bases and was one pitch away from also taking the loss, but struck out Juan Francisco on a full count to send the game into extra innings.

Tigers' offense post fourth inning: From the fifth through 19th innings, the Tigers were unable to mount any sustained offense. Seven Blue Jays bullpen arms combined to shut out the Tigers over the final 15 plus innings.

Reminder to the Tigers offense - As shown by the Jays, It's not against baseball rules to score runs anytime past the 4th inning.

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

NOTES:

If you were wondering why numerous Tigers were wearing bright green wristbands, they were in honor of former Tigers catcher Joe Siddall, now the Blue Jays radio broadcaster. Siddall recently lost his 14-year-old son to cancer.

After both Nick Castellanos and Alex Avila were punched out by home plate umpire Bill Miller to strand a pair and end the third, a feisty Brad Ausmus took issue. He was tossed for arguing balls and strikes. It was the third ejection for Ausmus this season.

"Screw you, Dartmouth Boy. You're going home!" pic.twitter.com/Cqw7osr1TZ

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

And will strain an oblique RT @HookSlideBYB All part of the plan. Ausmus sneaks into the bullpen, puts on Soria's uni, will pitch the 9th

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

Here's a better representation of Miller's strike zone today. pic.twitter.com/05Lm1S2rua

— HookSlide (@HookSlideBYB) August 10, 2014

The Tigers allowed David Price to remain in the game with two down in the sixth after a smoked line drive off the bat of Danny Valencia caught him in the left thigh/knee and caromed into right field. Price retired the final better he faced in the sixth via a strikeout. Despite the liner and a pitch count north of 100, Price started the seventh inning. He didn't retire the batters he faced and was replaced by Phil Coke after six plus innings and 112 pitches. Both runners would come around to score.

The Tigers were shorthanded in the bullpen thanks to Joakim Soria's injury and not calling anyone up for today's game. By the time the 19th inning rolled around, the Tigers were out of relievers. Detroit also ran out of position players in the 11th when Eugenio Suarez pinch-hit for Ezequiel Carrera and Bryan Holaday pinch-ran for Alex Avila.

These tweets say it all:

"I'll put on the rally cap, but I ain't happy about it." pic.twitter.com/QbPLMbJmKB

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

Rod: "We are in the 19th inning, Mario." Mario: "Yes. We are."

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

PLEASE SEND HELP! I'm being held prisoner by the Detroit Tigers offense!

— Bless You Boys (@blessyouboys) August 10, 2014

STREAKS AND STATS:

The Tigers need Miguel Cabrera's bat. But he was nonexistent offensively on the road trip until today.

Miguel Cabrera's single ends an 0-for-14 skid. 1st hit since Tuesday in NY. 1st ball out of infield since sac fly Wednesday.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) August 10, 2014

Before singling in two runs in the first inning, J.D. Martinez had just five RBI in 72 at-bats over 21 games post All-Star break. Today was his first multi-RBI game since the break.

Martinez added an RBI double in the third, giving him his first multi-hit game since the All-Star break as well. Entering today's game Martinez was just 2-for-22 on the road trip..

David Price struck out Steve Tolleson in the second inning, becoming the first pitcher in MLB to reach 200 strikeouts on the season. It's the third time in Price's career he has reached 200-or-more strikeouts and first since 2012 when he fanned 205.

Today's game was the longest for the Tigers since they went 17 innings against the Yankees on June 1, 2003. At 19 innings, it ties yesterday's Angels - Red Sox matchup as the longest in MLB this year.

This was also the longest game in Blue Jays franchise history.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs

ROLL CALL:

TOP TEN COMMENTERS:

TOP RECS:

The Blue Jays need to make room for Adam Lind, and I'd imagine for a reliever, before tomorrow's game against the Seattle Mariners, so they have sent Ryan Goins down to the Buffalo Bisons.

Since his return to the Jays, Goins has been hitting .250/.250/.317 in 18 games. He looked good, in his first few starts but seems to have lost whatever spark he had. He didn't take a single walk and he only had 3 extra base hits in this stint with the Blue Jays. His defense looked great but he does need to get a hit on occasion.

With the Bisons he was hitting .285/.331/.344 in 79 games.

The Jays haven't announced the corresponding move, but odds are it is Adam Lind returning to the lineup. We could really use his bat.

It is possible that the Jays will call up a pitcher and have Lind wait a day before joining the team, but I doubt it. I think it is more likely that Chad Jenkins is going to make the trip back to Buffalo and someone come up to give us some depth in the pen.

I'd imagine that, among the guys in the pen. that  McGowan, Loup and maybe Janssen could pitch tomorrow. Perhaps Cecil too. But I would think they will want someone else that could go 2 or 3 innings.

Bye Ryan, I imagine we'll be seeing you again before long.

UPDATE

It isn't Adam Lind coming up, it is Brad Mills getting the call. We do need an arm in the pen,  but I figured Lind was ready. Hope this stint goes better than the last for Mills.

The boys in blue kick off a tough little eight-game road trip tonight at 10:00 pm Eastern, as they face off against fellow wild card chasers in the Seattle Mariners. The M's haven't scored a ton of runs this year, but have also allowed the lowest amount of runs in the league (by a margin of ten) so it wouldn't be a stretch to expect a few low scoring games in the upcoming few days. There hasn't been a lot of offence from any of the Seattle players other than superstar Robinson Cano, who currently has a .332 AVG and a impressive .398 OBP. If you'll recall, the Mariners were also able to acquire Austin Jackson for Nick Franklin at the deadline, which doesn't seem very fair.

On the pitching side of the ball, Seattle's top three starters in Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Chris Young have been dominant. Luckily for the Blue Jays, they don't have to face any of these pitchers during this series. HAHAHA just kidding, they have to face all three of them obviously. Their bullpen has been pretty nasty too, with the enigma that is Fernando Rodney closing out games.

via ESPN Depth Charts

The pitching matchup this evening is Felix Hernandez against Drew Hutchison, which is a fair battle in terms of number of letters in their last names at least. The Venezuelan won his Cy Young in 2010 with a 2.27 ERA, so it seems like a safe bet to pick him to win his second one this year considering he is currently sporting a 1.97 ERA and a 2.04 FIP. He's hardly surrendering walks this season, as seen in his 4.8% BB-rate, although you'd have to think his 5.3% HR/FB rate is making everything look a little bit than it actually should.

The 28-year-old still has his fastball, sinker, changeup, curveball, and slider, although the velocity is certainly not what it used to be. Hernandez has a remarkably similar repertoire against righties and lefties, with only the slider and curveball being used against same-handed and opposite-handed hitters respectively. In the 2014 season, 30% of his pitches have been changeups against batters on both sides of the plate, which is a little different than the days when his changeup was rarely thrown to righties.

The changeup wouldn't be an issue against right-handed hitters if they could identify it out of his hand considering it's never in the strike zone:

Hopeful Lineup

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista DH
4. Adam Lind 1B (wishful thinking)
5. Dioner Navarro C
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Munenori Kawasaki 2B
8. Juan Francisco 3B
9. Anthony Gose RF

Bullpen Usage

Drew Hutchison and Brad Mills might have to take this one the distance tonight, while Seattle will likely be without their closer Fernando Rodney.

Blue Jays

• Yesterday: Todd Redmond (2.2 IP, 50 pitches), Aaron Sanchez (3.0 IP, 37 pitches), Brett Cecil (1.1 IP, 27 pitches), Dustin McGowan (1.1 IP, 28 pitches), Aaron Loup (0.1 IP, 5 pitches), Casey Janssen (1.0 IP, 16 pitches), Chad Jenkins (6.0 IP, 73 pitches)
• Two Days Ago: Aaron Loup (1.0 IP, 16 pitches)

Mariners

• Yesterday: Dominic Leone (1.2 IP, 14 pitches), Tom Wilhelmson (2.0 IP, 27 pitches), Fernando Rodney (1.0 IP, 27 pitches)
• Two Days Ago: Brandon Maurer (1.2 IP, 21 pitches), Yoervis Medina (1.0 IP, 7 pitches), Fernando Rodney (1.0 IP, 19 pitches)

Find The Link

Find the link between Felix Hernandez and the Yankees Italo-Venezuelan backstop.

Are figured we could have a poll on what was the most amazing performance from yesterday?

The contenders:

• 6 shutout innings from Chad Jenkins. The guy has what would have been a quality start but he has it from the 14th inning on. He gave up some hits (7), but didn't let anyone score when we really needed it. He had 4 strikeouts. He was running on fumes by his 6th inning.
• Aaron Sanchez also gave us shutout innings, 3 of them. He only allowed 1 base runner, a Nick Castellanos single. Dioner Navarro. helped out by throwing out pinch runner Ezequiel Carrera stealing, Boy, Sanchez throws some great pitches.
• Melky Cabrera got on base 8 times, 3 singles and 5 walks (2 of them intentional, there were 7 intentional walks on the day. He started the day with a .366 OBP, and ended it with a .374. Pretty terrific.
• Jose Reyes, after the error, had 4 hits. He made up for the error.
• Anthony Gose, on his birthday yet, gets a big pinch hit, steals a base (thank you replay people), and scored the tying run.
• Colby Rasmus catch off the Miguel Cabrera fly to the wall. That was a game saver. He also made a great catch off a sinking liner in the 19th.

The Canadians invade Seattle as the Blue Jays come to town for a crucial three-game series against the Mariners.

At a Glance:

The Mariners wrap up their nine-game homestand with a crucial three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. In a summer full of significant games, these next three stand out. Each game is becoming more and more critical and, with all of the Wild Card competitors bunched together, games against teams like the Blue Jays become extremely important.

The Blue Jays are built to score runs and score runs they have. Their home park, Rogers Centre, inflates offense by four percent but even adjusting for park effects, they're still second in the AL in weighted runs created. So, in these next three games, we'll find out what happens when a premiere offense meets historic run prevention. Or we would find out if the Blue Jays' lineup hadn't been wrecked by injuries -- Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie will miss this series and Adam Lind could be activated from the disabled list during this series.

The Mariners trot out their top three starters in this series, starting with a King's Court tonight. Michael Saunders should be returning to the lineup within the next few days and a corresponding move would need to be made off the 25-man roster. Reports are that James Jones will take Erasmo Ramirez's spot on the roster until Saunders is ready. The Mariners won't need a fifth starter until the last weekend in August if Lloyd McClendon manages his rotation correctly -- there is an off day each week for the next three weeks.

The Blue Jays:

At one point this season, the Blue Jays were leading the wide open AL East by six games but they've fallen back into the pack chasing the second Wild Card spot. August has not been good month for the Blue Jays even though they just wrapped up a series win against the Tigers over the weekend. They loved playing the Tigers so much that they decided to play an entire extra game and then tacked on another inning for good measure. Their game on Sunday went nineteen innings! The team arrived in Seattle at 10:30pm after a long cross-country flight. These guys will be exhausted.

Key Players

RF Jose Bautista - Since 2010, Jose Bautista has accumulated 174 home runs, the most in the majors during that time period, and his 156 wRC+ ranks fourth overall. Those totals are even more impressive when you consider the injuries that have forced him to miss over one hundred games in the past two years. This year, his .217 isolated power would be a five-year low for him but his overall line hasn't been affected because his batting average on balls in play is a robust .307 and he continues to take so many walks, driving his OBP over .400.

SS Jose Reyes - It seems like injuries are the name of the game when talking about the Blue Jays. Jose Reyes was traded to the Blue Jays just a year after signing an impressive six-year contract worth over $100 million in 2012. Sadly, various injuries have forced him to miss over 30% of the Blue Jays' games in the year and a half since joining the team. When healthy, he brings an above average offensive profile built on speed. Most of his value is tied to his bat as he's been rated as just an average shortstop by advanced defensive metrics.

IF Munenori Kawasaki - I think we all know who is really holding this team together -- Munenori Kawasaki. It's rare to see a ball player who plays with such unreserved joy for the game these days. Even though his on-field play is severely lacking, his off-field antics and charisma have made him a cult hero in Toronto. Of all the recent former Mariners, I miss watching Muni the most. I only wish he had stayed in Seattle longer so that the Munenori Kawasaki Fan Club could have a larger chapter.

Probable Pitchers

Just 23-years-old and already a survivor of Tommy John surgery, Drew Hutchison has shown great promise for the Blue Jays this year. He's striking out almost a batter an inning and has limited his walks but he's shown a bit of a home run problem. His batted ball profile skews pretty heavily towards fly balls and he's been punished at home because of it -- batters are slugging .511 against him at home pushing his FIP at home up to 5.22. Safeco Field plays right into his strengths so the Mariners could have a hard time against him.

J.A. Happ has filled the back-end of the rotation for three teams in his career, the Phillies, the Astros, and now the Blue Jays. His fastballs are his only plus pitches and he uses them to get strikeouts at an above average clip. However, walks and home runs have severely limited his upside so we find him here as the Blue Jays' fifth starter. His offspeed pitches are all below average so he doesn't feature pronounced lefty/righty splits.

When I started researching which pitches R.A. Dickey threw, I was surprised by the amount of disparate information I was finding based on the different pitch classification systems. They all agreed on the use of his knuckleball, I think he's the only one of his kind left in the majors. As for his secondary pitches, I found data for a two-seamer, a changeup, and, oddly, an eephus (PITCHf/x has him throwing an eephus which I assumed were misclassified knuckleballs). Ultimately I went with the data at Brooks Baseball since they seem to be the most consistent from year to year. After his Cy Young year in 2012, Dickey has had a hard time with his home park during his stint with the Blue Jays. Like with Hutchison, Safeco Field should be a boon for Dickey.

The Big Picture:

The AL West

The A's took two of three from the Twins over the weekend; they start a four-game series against the red hot Royals today. The Angels have cooled off in the last week, losing three of four against the Dodgers before losing two of three against the Red Sox over the weekend. They face the Phillies to start the week and should right themselves against a weak NL team.

The Wild Card Race

The Royals have won seven straight and have vaulted themselves into the second Wild Card spot. In an odd turn, we should be rooting for the A's against the Royals, the Mariners could use all the help they can get this week. The Yankees continue to hang around the back of the Wild Card race; they play three against the Orioles to start this week.

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $18,000 Fantasy Baseball league tonight, and you can win up to $2,000. Join today!

Isn't this great?

It’s terrifying how little baseball there is left. Only 45 games. That’s all. In a matter of seven weeks, we’ll know how this all ends—or doesn't. We’ll know the answer to a question we’ve been wondering about since last October, probably longer.

But for as anxious as it makes me feel to know the time of no baseball is ever more rapidly encroaching, today is as good a day as any to sit back and revel in what we have now. This is the baseball we’ve been waiting years for.

I’ve made an attempt, despite the Mariners’ growing proximity to the finish line, to not take too much stock in the wild card standings. With so many teams in the race, we’ve seen over the past few days how quickly you can go from stalking one team to have another shoot by on the outside. All the Mariners have to do is play well, I've tried to think, and the rest will take care of itself.

Today though, and for the next two days, playing well includes beating a team that's exactly tied with them in the standings. And not only that, but a team whose fans are obnoxious as hell. Normally, I can't stand these series. The Canucks venture down from Canada to boisterously cheer for their mediocre team to beat our less-than-mediocre team, and it's all usually more annoying than it's worth. This, of course, is much different.

The Blue Jays landed in Seattle last night after 11:30pm. That'd be 2:30am in the city from which they departed. And this was before they made their way through customs and back to the hotel. The last time they'd seen a bed was when they left yesterday morning for a day game, which would've been at about 6:30am here in Seattle.

So they wake up today, eyes bloodshot and bodies fatigued—especially those arms, oof, those arms—and will head off to Safeco right about now, shuttled to the ballpark like Christians to the Colosseum, where they'll face the best pitcher in the American League at the height of his powers.

At a time when there's little else left to decide the race to the playoffs than head-to-head match-ups and random variation, there's no way around it—this is big. And the environment will represent that.

This is going to be something else, what with all the Cascadia-based Canadians who'd rather cheer for a team on the other side of the continent than one mere hours from their homes. Or maybe there are a good chunk of Canadians from other parts of that fine country who'd rather travel here than Toronto to watch a game—for which I can't blame them.

While I wish we could do this without the throng from north of the border, maybe this is what we need, a catalytic series to set this fan base ablaze.

Jays fans are going to be fired up, and M's fans should match them at every juncture. And as a quick aside, I credit the Mariners organization, especially Kevin Martinez and his colleagues, with what they've done to make clear the opportunity—nay, the obligation—that lies before us. Up until last night, there were King's Court tickets for $12—a King's Court that will now now encompass eleven sold out sections. I snagged mine, and I'm doing everything I can today to make sure I finish work right at five, so I can walk over to Safeco with that back-row ticket in my pocket at the earliest possible opportunity.

To be perfectly honest, I'm failing to provide words for what this is like. I wish I had great stories harkening back to the glory days, but I've never done this—not like this. I was here in 2000 and 2001, but my 12-year-old self had just moved here from Wisconsin, believing that soldout crowds and playoff baseball were just what it was always like here. In the upswing years of 2007 and 2009, I was away at college. This isn't relevant to you, of course, but again—this is all new. And it's amazing.

As someone who loves baseball, and loves the Seattle Mariners even more—how the hell does it get any better? For a weeknight game in mid-August, there are going to be 40,000 on hand and this generation's Pedro is pitching for our team.

And really, there have been so many moments "isn't this great?" moments this season, while I'm either walking out of the office or taking the bus into the city for a big game, that they're all starting to run together. While I plan to enjoy this series with everything I have, the bigger picture is just that this is how it is now.

This is who the Mariners are, and this is where they will be. And if it didn't seem real before, after those series against Boston and Oakland and whoever else, it should now. It's no mystery why this team is where it is, and you should have confidence they can hang as well as anyone.

Look at this roster, look at what they've done lately. Are there blemishes still? Unquestionably. But this is as complete a team as Seattle has seen in years. They have the finest run prevention in baseball, and now have enough offense to do what's needed. Mike Zunino runs into one for a three-run shot? That's ballgame. An Austin Jackson liner finds some room to roll with a few men on? Well g'luck coming back. Some nights, it won't be there, but even then, finding more than a few runs against this staff is as rare as finding anything more than a slight grin on Lloyd McClendon's face.

For fans who have watched all along, I don't need to tell you to enjoy this. First, because you can't not. And second, you know this can be rare, as success in baseball is fleeting for almost any team.

But for everyone else, everyone who's catching this teal-tinted success out of their fandom's periph, jump in. Maybe you've been away for a few years, possibly longer—grabbing a bobblehead or two a season, but little else. Now, if you haven't already, it's time to invest—whether you love the Mariners, baseball, sports or just compelling stories.

This team may yet break your heart—it's probably going to break my heart—but hell if I won't enjoy this as much as anything I've ever watched in sports. This is our team, and for the next seven weeks, we get to scoreboard watch and count down the hours to gametime.

And while I want to say it all starts tonight, that this is the biggest game Safeco Field has seen in years, I've probably said that three times already this season. The ride is not just beginning, but it's getting to the best part.

Get ready, Seattle. This could be something else.

Go M's.

There was a point--around the 15th or 16th inning, if I recall--where I became tempted to reach over a few seats to my right to pick up a handful of what looked like garlic fries that had been spilled on the concrete floor in our section of the Rogers Centre.  Even though I had consumed a rather large roti before the game (shoutout to the folks at Butter Chicken Roti at College and Croft for putting enough food in me to help me resist floor fries), it had been some three hours since the last concession stand closed (and like three-and-a-half since the last beer was consumed) and the end of the game wasn't anywhere in sight. There was no food and no drinks left (except tap water, which is for losers) but I managed to battle on, an inning at a time, through the end of the longest game in Blue Jays history.

Despite the physical toll, by the 12th inning or so I felt that I had to stay at the game even though it meant cancelling farewell dinner plans with a friend who is going away for a year (we met up for drinks after--I'm not a terrible person) because I felt that this was going to be a marathon. True story: when Jose Reyes tied the game in the 9th, I turned to my friend and told her that that this was going 19 like the Red Sox game the night before.

Having missed the 18-inning games from 2005 and 2013, yesterday's 19-inning game allowed me to make some observations:

• The 10,000 or so fans who decided to remain for the entire game were really into it, standing and cheering whenever the Jays got a runner on base. Most of the annoying fans from my section--specifically one man stomped off when Jose Bautista grounded out with the bases loaded in the 13th--were gone and I actually enjoyed sitting with other human beings in the stands.
• They play "OK Blue Jays" but not "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" in the 14th inning stretch.
• Speed of the World's Fastest Groundscrew: 5th inning clean up > 10th inning clean up > 15th inning cleanup
• People were lining up at the drinking fountain between innings to fill up their water bottles. They did not know that that the taps in the bathroom sinks offers the same product without the wait.
• The ball from Jose Bautista's walkoff hit remained on the outfield turf for a good 3-5 minutes before some guy ran out from the Blue Jays dugout to pick it up for safekeeping. Scott Crawford of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (which had set up some exhibits in the 200-level porch) should've jumped down to take it.
• After the game ended I spotted two people lining up to use the payphone, they were talking to each other about how their phone had died (all the spots at the phone charging station were taken up already). I wonder how many year it has been since people had to lineup to use the payphone.
• The sun was beaming down pretty strongly on to the first-base side of the Rogers Centre and yet some ushers were preventing people from moving to shaded sections (of the same pricing level!) in the 13th or 14th innings. In our section the usher prevented people from moving to the abandoned lower rows of the same section. I know that it is probably what they were trained to do, so I blame their supervisors (or their supervisors' supervisors) for not allowing flexibility in special circumstances. As Emerson once wrote, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
• Kids can still scream at the top of their lungs at the six-hour mark.

Yea, I'd say that it was worth it to stay for the whole game. Let's do 19 again tonight! (Just kidding. Please don't.)

The Tigers righty left Monday's game with shoulder soreness after getting lit up in the first inning against the Pirates.

Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander left Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after one inning with shoulder soreness, according to MLive.com's Chris Iott.

Verlander struggled to even get through the first inning against the Pirates, giving up four hits and five runs while walking two batters in the process. Following the first frame, Detroit lifted Verlander for reliever Justin Miller and announced the right-hander had been removed due to shoulder soreness.

Per Iott, Verlander will have an MRI Tuesday.

Following the game, Verlander acknowledged he has had a problem that's "been lingering for a while," though how long and what that problem is exactly remain unclear.

Speaking to Iott, Verlander said, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous. I've never been through this before."

Despite his reputation and past success, 2014 has been a down season for the 31-year-old Verlander. The 2011 AL Cy Young winner entered the game with a 4.57 ERA and 4.08 FIP in 157⅔ innings, striking out 115 batters and walking 53; his ERA now stands at 4.76 after Monday's pounding. He is on pace to finish with his highest ERA since 2008, when he posted a 4.84 mark.

Verlander's velocity was sitting at just 88-90 mph, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, which is a worrying sign:

One evaluator had Verlander's fastball at 88-90 mph tonight.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) August 12, 2014

The right-hander's dip in velocity has been a talking point all season long, with Verlander's average fastball velocity dropping every season dating back to 2009. According to Brooks Baseball, the 31-year-old is averaging a career-low 93.8 mph on his fastball this season, though Monday night's dip stood out especially.

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Although Verlander's injury would be bad news for a Tigers team that is set to pay the righty $28 million annually through 2019, Detroit does have plenty of pitching depth if Verlander is sidelined for an extended period.

The Tigers acquired David Price prior to the trade deadline and also boast a staff that includes reigning AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, and Rick Porcello, who has had a breakout season in 2014.

The club placed Sanchez on the DL earlier Monday, however, so Verlander's injury comes at an inopportune time. Detroit has already called up left-hander Robbie Ray to start Tuesday after the Tigers played in a 19-inning game against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

If Verlander does miss an extended period of time, the Tigers will likely call up either Drew VerHagen or Kyle Lobstein from Triple-A to provide depth in the team's rotation.

With the Tigers holding onto a half-game lead in the AL Central, both Verlander and Sanchez's injuries leave them scrambling as they attempt to qualify for the playoffs.

Blue Jays 1 @ Mariners 2 - Top 6

We have a pitchers' duel here, folks. Felix Hernandez gave up a solo shot to Jose Bautista and a Colby Rasmus double but that's all. Drew Hutchison was hit hard in the 4th inning but escaped by giving up just two runs. He had a nice bounce-back fifth, striking out the side. Great Blue Jays crowd in Seattle probably shouting:

GO JAYS GO!!!

Felix's streak reaches 16 games and the Mariners blow the Blue Jays out 11-1 and make their fans cry.

Felix Hernandez: Felix Hernandez (.212 WPA)

Cy Young: Austin Jackson (-.123 WPA)

Questions:

1)  Are you more excited about the annoying Canadian fans going home sad or the sad Canadian fans going home annoyed?

2) Most important development today for the AL playoff race: Machado injury, Verlander injury, Willingham acquisition or the Mariners bludgeoning the Blue Jays?

3)  The Blue Jays will be leaving one player behind when they leave.  You choose:

Blue Jays 1 Mariners 11

Well if you are going to watch a bad baseball game, you might as well do it at the bar, where there is beer to distract you.

Basically, Felix Hernandez was good. Drew Hutchison wasn't.

Drew did start well, he got through the first 3 innings without allowing a run. The fourth didn't go as well, a walk, double, sac fly and single cost him two runs. He had a nice quick 5th inning. Then it all went bad in the 6th. A Robinson Cano homer started the inning. A one out walk followed. Then a fly to right that Jose Bautista likely should have caught, instead it went for a triple. A strikeout later, Endy Chavez doubles.  And that was it for Hutchison.

The soon to be DFAed (it became official soon after the game ended) Brad Mills comes in and he was awful. He gave up 3 more hits and a walk before finally getting out of the inning. In total Mills went 2.1, alled 3 hits, 3 walks, hit a batter and gave up 5 earned.

On offence, we had 3 hits, a Jose Bautista home runs, which gave us a short lived lead in the 4th and 2 hits from Colby Rasmus and that was it, we struck out 11 times.

Bautista gets Jay of the Day. Suckage goes to Hutch (-.245) and I'll give one to Mills.

We had 1312 comments in the GameThreads. Pikachu led the way, good job.

After being pummeled into submission by Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays have given up on the 2014 season. A formal concession of the American League Wild Card race is expected before tomorrow's game.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

In mid-June, with the Blue Jays out to a six-game lead in the surprisingly weak AL East, Toronto was on top of the world. Canadian sports fans were abuzz with dreams of postseason glory. National media outlets ran features on manager John Gibbons. Analysts pointed to high expectations for Toronto's 2013 squad as a precursor to their 2014 success, and audiences everywhere bought in. "I was all aboard the Jays train," said baseball enthusiast and noted Canadian Tim Horton after tonight's game. "But after the last few days... well, it's been horrifying. I just keep shaking my head, asking myself, what happened?"

What happened indeed. Just as the Jays finally seemed to be living up to their potential, everything came crashing down. Slugger Edwin Encarnacion hit the DL with a quad injury, and first baseman Adam Lindfollowed with a fractured foot. Dynamic infielder Brett Lawrie broke his finger; after spending more than a month on the DL he came back and immediately reinjured that troublesome left oblique. GM Alex Anthopolous let the trade deadline pass him by, allowing the Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers to steal the best pitchers available while adding only utility man Danny Valencia. Before anyone realized what was happening, the AL East's June kings found themselves clinging desperately to a Wild Card slot.

Then they played nineteen innings in Detroit.

"Looking back, that game was really rough on them," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "Just a textbook pyrrhic victory. They won, but they burned their whole bullpen doing it. Then they had to catch an overnight flight to Seattle for a game against the best pitcher in the American League, and, well... the rest is on the scoreboard."

And what a scoreboard it was. Seattle pounded the exhausted Jays' pitching staff for 11 runs on 10 hits, six of which went for extra bases. Meanwhile, the Mariners' King Felix dominated, striking out eight while walking none and allowing only three hits. After the game, MLB commissioner Bud Selig released a memo declaring the Toronto Blue Jays officially eliminated from playoff contention.

To whom it may concern:

WHEREAS the Toronto Blue Jays are not currently in possession of a place in Major League Baseball's postseason,

WHEREAS several team members have succumbed to injury and/or narcolepsy in attempts to help their team attain such possession,

WHEREAS the unholy smackdown laid upon those Blue Jays by the Mariners of Seattle on this August 11th has made it abundantly clear that the sleep-deprived and injured Jays are utterly incapable of reattaining their former peak standing,

WHEREAS a clear majority of the 20,000 Jays fans in attendance at Safeco Field on that night have since abandoned ship and converted to Mariners fandom,

WHEREAS Major League Baseball cannot allow a clearly inferior team with a dwindling fanbase to participate in the hallowed tradition of the one-game Wild Card play-in,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Major League Baseball's commissioner's office hereby officially bars the Toronto Blue Jays from participation in any playoff games until September of 2015. Should the Toronto Blue Jays end the season in possession of a wild card spot, they will automatically forfeit it to the team with the next-best record.

Signed,

The Right Honorable Commissioner Rev. Dr. Bud Selig, Esq.

August 11, 2014

Although the Commissioner's injunction is not legally binding, sources close to Jays' ownership expect the team to acquiesce. "It's a disappointing end to the year for sure," said manager John Gibbons, "but I can't say it wasn't deserved. Honestly, we've been running on empty for weeks. D'you really think this team could've competed with Seattle anyways? Look at this game's lineups. Go top to bottom, position to position, and tell me which Blue Jays you'd take over their Seattle counterparts. Bautista over Chavez. Melky over Morales. That's the whole list. We're quite simply not prepared for a stretch run."

Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, the only player to score against the Mariners tonight, passed out from exhaustion after the game and could not be reached for comment. Speaking on his behalf, losing pitcher Drew Hutchinson told reporters "Whatever, man. We don't care about the season any more. We give up. Jose's got the right idea - we all just want some sleep. We just want to forget these two days ever happened. If that means the end of the playoff chase, so be it."

Perhaps not coincidentally, Toronto utility infielder Munenori Kawasaki was seen being pulled aside by GM Alex Anthopolous in the midst of a postgame attempt to inspire his teammates through dance. What exactly was said is unclear, but Kawasaki immediately abandoned all motivational efforts. Some sources say that, in light of this most recent humiliation, Selig has threatened the Jays with contraction. Certainly, if that were true, it would explain Kawasaki's sudden solemnity.

In the end, the only thing faster than the Blue Jays' remarkable ascent was their staggering collapse. From their peak as kings of the AL East, the Jays have devolved into a mere cautionary tale for other AL contenders: watch out for the Mariners. If you don't bring your A game, they'll beat you so bad that your team is disbanded.

Bullet points!

• King Felix was King Felix again tonight, extending his major league record streak of Ultra Quality Starts to sixteen. In particularly fine form was the Royal Curve, which he was snapping off for strikes at will. When Colby Rasmus' second-inning double made it clear that the Jays were sitting fastball, Felix and Mike Zunino immediately starting mixing in an assortment of first-pitch breaking balls for strikes. The result was a stellar evening that increased the King's MLB-leading fWAR from 6.1 to 6.3. At this point, I agree with Jonah Keri:

You can make an excellent argument that Felix Hernandez should be front-runner for AL MVP right now.

— Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) August 12, 2014

• MLB.com's recap title for this game: "Felix extends record run as bats bring thunder". What you might not know, if you weren't watching, is that the "thunder" bit was literal. In case you need a new desktop background, here's a screenshot from Robinson Cano's second at bat in the fifth inning. Hat tip to user Jacob Hausdorf for screengrabbing the MLB.TV feed for this shot.

• Toronto reliever Brad Mills became the latest pitcher DFA'd as a direct result of the Mariners' offense. He was cut by Toronto immediately after the game, presumably so that they can call up another pitcher to relieve their utterly spent bullpen. It's been a rough year for Mills, who was made famous in mid-June after being traded to the Oakland Athletics for one dollar. At least he got to face Brad Miller once before he went.
• Here is a table showing Robinson Cano's 2014 offensive production by month.

• Speaking of Cano, he showed in the second inning why he's such a highly rated defensive second baseman. After Colby Rasmus doubled to lead off, Dioner Navarro bounced a grounder right to Cano, who charged hard and threw Rasmus out at third. Few second basemen even try that play. Immediately thereafter, Cano made a nice throw across his body to turn an inning-ending double play. Thanks in part to his efforts, Felix faced just three more than the minimum through seven innings - and one of those was on a dropped strike three by Mike Zunino. Felix and Cano, you guys. They're good at baseball.

It'll be J.A. Happ leading the Jays against fly ball wizard Chris Young tomorrow. With any luck, the next game'll be half as fun as this one was. Go Mariners!