The Jays played well today but came up short as Jed Lowrie hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to win it.
On the Mound:
Ricky Romero pitched quite well but was the victim of several soft-hit balls that went for hits and gave up 4 runs over his 7 innings. The two in the third were partially his fault as he walked the number nine hitter, Darnell McDonald, on four pitches and also hit a batter, but the two in the 5th was just bad luck, bloops and seeing-eye grounders. Romero struck out 8 and walked one, getting a ton of ground balls in the process. The results weren't there this time, but if he keeps pitching like that, he'll win a lot more than he'll lose in the long run.
At the Plate:
The Jays had trouble against Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, who struck out 8 and walked 3 over 8 innings. But they managed to put 4 runs on the board against him, first striking on a J-Mac double in the 4th. Down three runs, the Jays charged back in the 6th when Jose Bautista led off with a single, Vernon Wells doubled into the gap to put him on third (Wells was smoking the ball all day but had only that hit to show for it), John Buck hit a fly ball to center to bring in Bautista, and then Lyle Overbay went deep (after Aaron Hill had popped out). That tied things up and eventually forced extras.
From the Pen:
The Jays used most of their relievers today, and generally the bullpen corps did a fine job. Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Shawn Camp got through the 8th and then Jesse Carlson pitched the 9th. Casey Janssen came in for the 10th and was great for the first inning, inducing a couple of groundouts and a lazy fly ball. Unfortunately things didn't go well in the 11th when Jed Lowrie hit a hanging curve into the Red Sox bullpen to win it.
In the Field:
Yunel Escobar made a couple of errors. He's been so smooth in the field and everyone has a rough day out there. The Jays also turned a couple of nice double plays, including a beautiful one started by Lyle Overbay in the 9th.
The Turning Point:
The Jays had a golden opportunity to win the game when, leading off the 10th, Travis Snider singled and then took second on a Bill Hall error. Man on second, nobody out. Some folks (including myself) were thinking bunt, but it didn't happen. Fred Lewis hit one to shortstop and Snider was caught between second and third and tagged out. Escobar then promptly ended the inning by grounding into a double play.
Jays of the Day: Overbay, Camp, and Carlson
Tomorrow should be an interesting one - a rematch between Shaun Marcum and Clay Buchholz. Let's go Jays!
Title from the early punk standard "Another Girl, Another Planet." I favor the Replacements version myself. There's something about the Red Sox that just gets under my skin in a big way. I hate losing to those guys.