May 27, 2011
Can I hear you say "D'oh!"?
The worst part: Alex Rios scored the winning run.
A-Not got on base in a 1-1 game when John McDonald picked a horrible time to commit his first error of the season, sailing a ball over the head of first baseman Juan Rivera to lead off the ninth. It should’ve been a routine out and the Blue Jays shouldn’t have had any trouble with the bottom of the White Sox batting order. Instead, Rios took second on the play and moved to third on a Marc Rzepczynski wild pitch and then scored when Juan Rivera and Rzepczynski couldn’t connect on a grounder to first base from speedy Juan Pierre. No. 9 hitter Gordon Beckham, who was hit by a pitch, scored from second on the play, giving the White Sox an insurance run in their 3-1 victory over the Jays at the ‘Dome on Thursday.
Rivera backed up to field the ball, which was hit just inside the first base foul line. When he turned to head toward the bag, Rivera’s eyes ballooned with the sight of Pierre racing closer. Rzepczynski (2-1), meanwhile, wasn’t close to where he should’ve been. Rivera’s errant toss plopped off the pitcher, who laid on the ground holding his head as Beckham ran around third and headed home.
It was another ugly loss – the Jays’ third straight – and dropped them down to 24-26 as they began a seven-game homestand.
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May 25, 2011
Frank Francisco took the blown save and loss for Tuesday’s brutal meltdown in the Bronx, but manager John Farrell should also get an “L” for this one. There’s no way Marc Rzepczynski should have been allowed to face Russell Martin in the eighth inning with a runner on second. Martin, a right-handed hitter, drilled a single to centerfield for his second RBI of the game, bringing the Evil Empire to within 4-3 heading into the ninth. Francisco couldn’t hold the lead and the Jays lost 5-4 to the Yankees despite another outstanding game from Ricky Romero, whose ERA dropped to 2.91.
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May 24, 2011
JP Arencibia had 4 RBIs on Monday.
Beat the Yankees and you’ll earn a smile from every Blue Jays fan. Beat them up like they’re rich-brat Little Leaguers and you’ll start to get some serious attention from the rest of the league.
J.P. Arencibia delivered the big blow — a bases-loaded double — in a five-run sixth inning as the Jays smacked around the Bronx Bombers in a 7-3 win on Monday that’s sure to raise eyebrows in the States from fans wondering if this team might be more than The Jose Bautista Fireworks Show.
Arencibia finished 2-for-4, adding an RBI single in the eighth that gave him a fourth RBI on the night, and J-Bop belted his MLB-leading 19th dinger as the Jays improved to 9-3 in their past 12.
Emergency starter Carlos Villanueva (2-0, 1.53 ERA!) went five impressive innings, surrendering one run on two hits at the Death Star, aka Yankee Stadium. Villanueva came out of the bullpen in place of injured Jesse Litsch. Chances are he’ll get another look or three with a performance like this one. (Can you say, Now warming up in the bullpen, Jo-Jo Reyes?)
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May 23, 2011
When J.P. Arencibia launched a rocket for his eighth home run of the season on Sunday he did it with no one on base. It was a big hit, but not the big hit the Jays were searching for all afternoon.
They stranded 11 men on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and that “1” — a single by Edwin Encarnacion that should have scored Rajai Davis from second — didn’t result in an RBI.
So they lost 3-2 to the lowly Houston Astros at the ’Dome and are now 7-10 in one-run games as they head into a three-game series in the Bronx against the Evil Empire.
Arencibia’s homer in the sixth was the game’s final run, even though the Jays had runners on in each of the final three innings and loaded the bases in the ninth. But Aaron Hill grounded out to third base and the Blue Jays fell back to .500 (23-23). Houston (17-3) left town with a series win.
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May 22, 2011
One day after it looked like the end of the world — as far as Jo-Jo Reyes and the Jays might know it — was upon us, Jose Bautista showed the future just could be pretty damn bright.
J-Bop belted a three-run shot in the sixth inning that sparked the Blue Jays to overcome a 4-0 deficit and led them to a 7-5 victory over the Astros at the ’Dome on Saturday, aka “The Rapture.”
We’re all still here. And Bautista is still hammerin’ balls the way those Bible thumpers who think the apocalypse is now smack “the good book.” J-Bop ended the scoring in the ninth with a solo shot, his major league-leading 18th. Yunel Escobar also went yard, plating the winning run with a two-run blast in the seventh that put the Jays ahead 6-4. Escobar was instrumental to J-Bop’s big hit in the sixth when he grounded to shortstop, a ball Houston’s Clint Barmes let slip through his legs. That spelled doom for the ’Stros.
In a way the outcome makes up for Friday night, when the Jays blew a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning, costing the winless Reyes that oh-so-coveted first victory. Jon Rauch blew the lead and Frank Francisco gave up three runs in the ninth to take the 5-2 loss. Thanks to Bautista and Escobar, though, the sting from that one didn’t last so long.
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May 20, 2011
JP Arencibia homers for Ryley James Martin on Thursday.
J.P. Arencibia not only made his good buddy Ricky Romero a winner on Thursday night, he got us all to remember winning on the diamond isn’t everything. Arencibia and Romero dedicated the Jays’ 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay to Ryley James Martin, a 2½-year-old Oshawa boy who passed away on Wednesday after battling leukemia.
Arencibia and Romero had met Ryley on April 2 for 15 minutes when he had the chance to visit the team in the dugout at the ’Dome. After hitting a two-run, seventh-inning home run off of Tampa Bay starter Wade Davis, Arencibia cried.
“I shed a few tears after that home run because it was for him,” Arencibia told reporters after the game while holding a photo of him and Ryley together. “It’s killing me. I have nieces and nephews, and anytime something like that happens, it’s tough.”
Later, on his Twitter feed, Arencibia kindly and thoughtfully wrote: “Great win but its a game … We played this game for one person tonight RJM! RIP little buddy! Will never forget that smile!”
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April 26, 2011
Look at what a few runs and solid starting pitching will do.
Jose Bautista went deep again and Corey Patterson swatted a three-run shot during a six-run fifth inning that put an end to the Jays’ two-game skid. Kyle Drabek (2-0) went six innings, allowing three runs and lowering his ERA to 3.30 in a 6-4 win over the tough Rangers (14-8). Refreshingly, Toronto fans didn’t have to sweat out a win for a change.
A few more like this and someone in marketing will have to think about this: Hustle. Heart. Homers. Hallelujah!
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April 23, 2011
Should we stuff the ballot box for Johnny Mac on May 2?
This country needs a great leader — why not a guy named John McDonald?
The Jays’ blue-collar second baseman was inspirational on Good Friday, smacking his first home run of the season in the 11th inning to deliver a 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay at the ’Dome. Yeah, it’s nowhere close to building a railway across the nation like his namesake, but considering our options, the 36-year-old from East Lyme, Connecticut just might be the one who gets your vote. He wouldn’t need much to make a move in the polls. (Becoming a Canadian citizen first might be a good idea, though. Or maybe if he just says he likes it here that’ll be enough.)
McDonald’s homer — which came on an Adam Russell sinker that stayed in the middle of the plate — keeps the Jays (9-10) in second place in the AL East. He drove home Juan Rivera who miraculously managed to get a hit. The homer also rewards McDonald’s teammates for playing tough yet again — it was their seventh come-from-behind win of the year — and sends a not-so-bad crowd of 23,192 home happy.
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