A's 8 Jays 5
That wasn't as much fun, but we weren't going to win them all, so let's not jump off the bandwagon every loss eh?
Purcey had a bad start. I know it is tough to watch but we are going to have games like this with young pitchers, don't panic. And don't expect they will be sent to the minors after a bad start. We are going to get some of those. Anyway 3.2 innings and 4 walks isn't good. It did seem like the strike zone was smaller than normal. His bad inning was the fourth. A couple of singles, a walk, a triple and a wild pitch cost us 4 runs and a catcher. No word yet on what the injury to Barrett is but a shoulder or collarbone something is my guess. I imagine Raul Chavez is in the air somewhere between Vegas and Toronto right at this moment. Barrett and Purcey left the game at the same time and at that point the game was tied.
3 of the 4 relievers that threw for the Jays today, Cy Carlson, Jason Frasor and Shawn Camp, were perfect. Brandon League, not so much. 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs in 2 innings worked bought him a loss.
Offensively, the first 3 innings we looked great. After that we looked like the Jays from last year. Scutaro and Hill were each 2 for 4 with a walk and a homer. Millar and Lind were 1 for 3 each. Everyone else had 0fers, though Vernon Wells took 2 walks. Rios, Rolen, Barajas and Bautista each struck out twice as well.
Today's Cito rant is the same as normal, Millar and Bautista start against the lefty. Personally I'd like to see Snider play against lefties but ok. But today the lefty pitched 4 innings and the other 5 innings we faced right-handers. Why not get Snider and Overbay into the game? Well, because Cito thinks pinch hitting is an unfair advantage and he the Jays don't need to use such an underhanded tactic.
Another little complaint....there was a nice shot of Cito sitting and talking with Lind during the game. A really nice moment. But why don't we see the same moment with Alex Rios. I know Cito's seemingly taken Lind under his wing, but why should a manager play favorites? Does Lind play against lefties, while Snider sits because Cito likes Lind? Oh well, let's see how the season plays out.
Jays of the Day? Hill (.133 WPA) and Scutaro (.097). Suckage Jays? Misters League(-.299), Purcey (-.269), Rolen (-.125) and Rios (-.102).
Anyway we are still in first at 8-4 a half game up on the Orioles. Tomorrow, at 1:00 Eastern, Brian Tallet gets his first start for the Jays since he made one in 2006. Tallet has a 6.33 ERA in 7.1 innings. Trevor Cahill is making his 3rd start for the A's, he is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. Nice part is he is right-hander so we'll see Snider.