Dustin McGowan ("No Run-DMC" to some, thanks SuckaMD!, a nickname I as a born-and-bred New Yorker am quick to adopt) faces off against fellow hard-thrower Javier Vasquez tonight as the Jays attempt to seal the 4-game sweep that would bring them all the way back to a game below .500.
Yesterday's game featured Doc Halladay finally getting a little run support. Doc pitched great - he had one bad inning which was helped along by an Eckstein throwing error - and gave up only 3 hits and no walks (one HBP) over 7 1/3 innings, while striking out 7. Doc was using his pitches to fine effect and, though he failed to record his 5th straight complete game, it was much more satisfying seeing him finally pick up a well-deserved win.
Offensively, Adam Lind continues to struggle - he had a couple of terrible at-bats yesterday, and finds himself on the bench today against the hard-throwing righty. I find this to be a bit annoying since it's not as if Stewart has done anything to earn the start (in the 2-hole, no less) but perhaps a day off will give the youngster a moment to recollect himself and find his stroke. The slumping Eckstein has been moved to 9th in the lineup.
Today's post comes from a question posed by rincewindw yesterday - What's your favourite Ontario-bred band? My answer was The Band (so far as that counts), but also mentioned Metric, the Constantines, and Kathleen Edwards. I already hit up the Constantines the other day with "I Will Not Sing a Hateful Song" and Kathleen Edwards only writes about Hockey, so that leaves Metric, a fantastic band. The title comes from their lovely song "Soft Rock Star" and certainly seems to fit today's game.
I'll be running and then back to watch the game, which I'm looking forward to. Let's go Jays!