Rangers 5 Jays 4
Well, we knew he wasn't going to go 34-0, but it is still a surprise whenever Doc loses. He did go 8 innings but gave up 5 runs on 8 hits, 2 homers and no walks. He struck out 9 but it was Doc at his best. Brandon League pitched a quick 9th, striking out 2.
Offensively, we scored 4 when we needed 6. The Ranger's less than intimidating bullpen held us to 1 run over the last 3 innings. Aaron Hill hit his 5th homer of the season and Lyle Overbay went 2 for 2 with 2 walks.
We did load the bases in the 8th and got 1 run in, but with the bases loaded Rod Barajas smoked a line drive that was caught by Michael Young at third base. Then Snider flied out. Maybe it's just me but Barajas seems to be hitting the ball hard almost every time up and the ball always seems to find a glove. I'm not his biggest fan but I am feeling sorry for him.
Alex Rios had a double to drive home a run and had a hard hit out in the first inning. Maybe he is working his way out of his slump. The only ofers on the day were Vernon Wells and Barajas.
Jays of the Day are Hill (.238 WPA), Overbay (.150) and Scott Rolen (.103). Suckage Jays: Doc (-.247) gets his first Towers award of the year and Snider (-.256) and Wells (-.215) get Hinske awards. The guys in the thread figured Barajas (-.300) didn't deserve a suckage award as he was robbed of a hit in the 8th that would have put us ahead.
There was a scare moment in the top of the 6th when plate umpire Kerwin Danley was hit in the side of the head by the end of a broken bat. Hank Blalock swung at a pitch, broke his bat and most of the bat hit Danley. He went down quick and stayed down. They put on a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and took him off the field on a cart. He didn't move much when he was down. They are saying he has a concussion.
In spite of the loss we are still in first, 1.5 games ahead of the Damned Yankees. Tomorrow David Purcey starts for the Jays, while Matt Harrison goes for the Rangers. For more about Matt Harrison go to this great post by Jessef. With an ERA of 8.44 we should be able to get a few runs off him. But then the way Purcey's looked the last couple of starts we may need a bunch of runs.