John McDonald Homers: Jays Beat Red Sox

by Tom Dakers on May 11, 2011 10:11 PM EDT in Toronto Blue Jays Game Recaps

Red Sox 3 Blue Jays 9

I love beating the Red Sox, sweeping them is even better. Quick recap cause I'm out the door.

We, finally, got lots of offense, John McDonald hit a homer and a 2 run double. Rajai Davis was 4 for 4 with a couple of steals. We had 12 hits in all and 5 walks. Everyone in the lineup got on base at least once.

Jesse Litsch had a pretty good game, going 5.2, with 6 hits, 1 walk and 4 k. He gave up a couple of home runs in the 6th before being pulled. Casey Janssen, Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco combined for 3.1 innings of shutout ball.

Jays of the Day are Patterson (.160 WPA), Mac (.141), Davis (.128), Janssen (.116) and Escobar (.099). Rivera had Suckage number at -.150.

We got some nice defense too. Yunel made a great play to start a DP in the 9th. Johnny Mac had a couple of nice plays at 3rd and David Cooper made a nice play early in the game.

Friday we start a 3 game set in Minnesota.

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WOOO!!! RAJAI DAVIS..that is all.

by Joseph Kirby on May 11, 2011 10:35 PM EDT reply actions

You forgot

WOOOOOO! Sept the red sox.

by IanJ on May 11, 2011 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Swept *

by IanJ on May 11, 2011 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

That too.

by Joseph Kirby on May 11, 2011 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions

The 1st SP to get demoted is now leading the team in W's.

Las Vegas must be a magical place.

by PFHLai on May 11, 2011 10:41 PM EDT reply actions

Sadly, he might go back there soon because of his option.

by bleh on May 11, 2011 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

To make room for whom?

That would be a huge mistake and send the message to the team and fans that winning isn’t important

by craig in calgary on May 11, 2011 11:22 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Davis hitting totally changes this team…..the speed really screws with the pitcher

Toronto Maple Leafs: All about the Lemon Grabs
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by LeafFan1989 on May 11, 2011 11:35 PM EDT reply actions

We found Buck’s Alias !!!

by bowling_kid25 on May 11, 2011 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

Rajai steals,

…Corey Patterson steals too. Ah yes this is looking promising.

We still need an extra bat…is Brett Lawrie coming up still a possibility?

by BrownMagician on May 12, 2011 12:13 AM EDT reply actions

No too many strike outs

by munniec on May 12, 2011 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Lawrie’s MLE: .275/.294/.451

Thames’s MLE: .276/.337/.472

Lawrie could probably use a full season at AAA (he’s just 21).

Thames might be a useful bat right away. (MLE = major league equivalent)

by Woodman663 on May 12, 2011 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Thames MLE OPS would be 3rd best on our team

behind only Jose and Lind

by JayTeam on May 12, 2011 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Uh-huh. And what’s Chris Woodward’s MLE? (Because we know what his real major-league ability is.) Or David Cooper’s?

Honestly, I would leave the young guys at AAA. Their development is more important than the Jays’ success.

by DavidLondon on May 12, 2011 7:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Patterson does a lot wrong too…
even on the basepaths, cant believe he tagged up on that jobau shot

by bowling_kid25 on May 12, 2011 1:54 AM EDT up reply actions

He should know by now that Jo-Bau’s batted balls are not going to be caught.

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

by Jevant on May 12, 2011 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions

i know right

by bowling_kid25 on May 12, 2011 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

It's nice to flip on the highlights...

… and see the Jays’ bats sizzling! :-)

… and, it’s always good to be the Sox.

… and, it’s even better when it completes the sweep!

"Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

by Jeremiah Stanghini on May 12, 2011 12:28 AM EDT reply actions

Somehow a Johnny Mac HR is more exciting than any Bautista HR.

by Paul Belardi on May 12, 2011 2:25 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

And Lackey's comments re: johnny Mac....

He succumbed to five runs in the seventh inning, with the Blue Jays driving Lackey from the game with a John McDonald two-run double with two outs in the frame. McDonald, who came into the game having gone 3-for-19 against the starter, also hit a solo home run off of Lackey in the fourth inning.

When asked about the frustration Lackey might have considering his past success against the Blue Jays’ infielder, the pitcher was direct.

"Everybody has had success with him in the past, let’s be honest," Lackey said. "You can’t give up hits to him when you’ve got other guys in that lineup that can hurt you."

Classy, huh??

by Summer02 on May 12, 2011 7:28 AM EDT up reply actions

not very classy, but I think Romero would feel the same if he gave up extra base hits to a guy like Ronny Cedeno when you’ve got a lineup with great hitters like Lyle Overbay and Pedro Alvarez out to hurt you too. Wait, what?

by Woodman663 on May 12, 2011 7:33 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

He was probably annoyed

At how JMac stopped to admire his shot, then sloooowly circled the basepaths. Haha!

by Kingofcalgary on May 12, 2011 7:55 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Sarcasm font above

by Kingofcalgary on May 12, 2011 8:01 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I don't see him ever vocalizing it, though

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on May 13, 2011 6:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Considering he freaked out on his fielders (especially Carl Crawford)

after the Bautista “single” that bounced high off the LF wall, the answer is no.

In honor of the Jays 2nd Baseman who played with fire in more ways than one.

by Damaso's Burnt Shirt on May 12, 2011 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Lackey looks like a man who is losing his mind.

I dont think he knows how to fix whatis wrong.

by IanJ on May 12, 2011 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Lackey's got a lot on his mind

Read this article at posted today Baseball Reference:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/11046

His wife is battling breast cancer, it is understandable how he could be distracted and uncharacteristically cantankerous.

Hugo thinks I'm a lazy academic

by bluejaysstatsgeek on May 12, 2011 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Do you think that a guy "with a lot on his mind" should be part of your rotation?

If he can’t manage the media, how would he be able to manage the challenges of starting pitching?

With all due respect to one’s personal challenges – that’s hardly an excuse for being an idiot..

"Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking." (J.M Keynes)

by HESS2479 on May 12, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

If his ERA was 2.8, I wouldn’t care how much he had on his mind. When it’s 8.2 I don’t care if he’s carefree and happy, there’s a problem.

I've been looking at the sky

by Back In Black on May 12, 2011 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions

+1

"Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking." (J.M Keynes)

by HESS2479 on May 12, 2011 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I have to agree

I think that a true test of anyone’s character is how they react to bad/awful things. It’s okay to mad/sad/etc about it, but being a jackass doesn’t help.

To be fair, I saw the hit and I thought it was long gone (arced too high). It’s not like CC threw the pitch that Jedi mashed. I think that was the pitcher’s fault and perhaps John Lackey should really speak to the pitcher who served up that fat one.

In honor of the Jays 2nd Baseman who played with fire in more ways than one.

by Damaso's Burnt Shirt on May 12, 2011 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Here's what I said at BR:

I am obviously not a Red Sox fan, but clearly, Lackey is not helping his team and his performance is showing up in some uncharacteristic reactions and comments. There must be some way to put him on an inactive list so he can spend time with his wife and help her through her recovery.

Hugo thinks I'm a lazy academic

by bluejaysstatsgeek on May 12, 2011 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Except for the bereavement list (which allows a player “to attend to a serious illness or death in his (or his spouse’s) immediate family” for up to 7 games), there is no other “inactive list” to put Lackey on under MLB rules.

by Minor Leaguer on May 12, 2011 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I wish more of the Jays wins were like this

I do wish the Jays starters would go deeper into games. Maybe an 8 man BP isn’t such a bad idea…

In honor of the Jays 2nd Baseman who played with fire in more ways than one.

by Damaso's Burnt Shirt on May 12, 2011 10:26 AM EDT reply actions

deeper into games?

Richard Griffin twitted: Litsch good athlete but pitchers are not sprinters. Dash for Papi popup took his legs and after that he threw 42 Ps in 1.1 IP 2 HRs ’n gone.

I hope other teams are not reading this and turn this into a routine to keep starts brief for Litsch.

by PFHLai on May 12, 2011 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Even if they wanted to get Litsch to dart half way across the field that situation almost never comes up, and almost certainly something that the opposing team could not replicate

I think you'll find I'm universally recognised as a mature and responsible adult.
Twitter is the thing with all the tweets...

by JohnnyG on May 13, 2011 7:20 AM EDT up reply actions

I was thinking of ranking the bunt a little higher among the various options against not-in-shape pitchers. If making the guy get off the mound and move around more to field the ball early on could exhaust him into making more mistakes in the 5th or 6th innings, that’s another widening window of opportunity to score runs.
Another reason to have a 8-man bullpen….

by PFHLai on May 13, 2011 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions