Insanity. Utter insanity. We wuz robbed.
On the Mound:
It wasn't a good start for Brett Cecil. Brett was throwing strikes, but made a couple of costly mistakes with pitches up. More worrying, he seemed to lack the ability to put hitters away once he had gotten them to two strikes. The Angels have been hitting well and it's just been two starts from Cecil, but he wasn't sharp. His final line was 10(!) hits in 5 innings, with 3 Ks, 1 home run ( a solo shot by Howie Kendrick), and 1 walk. If you're looking for a silver lining, he did get 7 groundballs to 4 in the air, and induced a couple of double plays that mitigated the damage. I'm not ready to panic yet, but it'd be nice to see him come back with a strong start next time.
At the Plate:
The Jays' first two runs scored on outs - an RBI groundout by Travis Snider in the second and a sac fly by Adam Lind in the 3rd. J.P. Arencibia had a great day at the plate, with a couple of well-stung doubles, one of which he was able to stretch into a "triple" when he ill-advisedly broke for third and Howie Kendrick bobbled the ball to give away a sure out. Rajai Davis came up with a big 2-run single in the fourth, and Aaron Hill followed it up with a single to cash Davis (who had moved up to second on the previous throw home). Jose Bautista had a great day at the plate and was just all over the bases all day long, with some great at-bats, but he did fly out with the bases loaded and two out in the 12th. John McDonald was hitting the ball sharply all day and had three hits to show for it. It was a good day for the Jays at the plate, with each starter having at least one productive plate appearance (walk, hit, or run-scoring out). That is, until the game was on the line. After the 4th inning, no more scoring. Time after time, with runners in scoring position and a chance to win, the Jays just weren't able to convert. Finally, in the 13th, the Jays appeared to score a run on an Edwin Encarnacion infield single. But Yunel Escobar, who had drawn a walk as a pinch-hitter for Mike McCoy, was called out for obstruction on the basepaths. I must say, I didn't notice anything of the kind. And the chance to win slipped through the Jays' fingers.
From the Pen:
Carlos Villanueva relieved Cecil in the 6th and pitched two great innings. He allowed a walk and no hits, struck out 3, and induced a couple of ground ball outs. Great stuff. Marc Rzepczynski followed Villanueva and pitched two great innings of his own. Jason Frasor took over in the 10th and pitched a great inning, overmatching Peter Bourjos and Maicer Izturis on high fastballs and getting Howie Kendrick to ground out. After Frasor was the victim of an Edwin Encarnacion throwing error in the 11th, Octavio Dotel gave up a hit and a walk to load the bases with no one out, but Dotel managed to wriggle out of it. Camp relieved Dotel in the 12th and pitched a good inning. He got into trouble in the 13th, but managed to find his way out of it due to a nice play by Travis Snider and some poor baserunning by the Angels.
In the Field:
John McDonald had a great day at short, making a number of nice plays. He was just fantastic. Travis Snider made a mistake in the third to give away an extra base, a precursor for how the game would end. In the bottom of the 11th, Encarnacion fielded a routine grounder and, with plenty of time, made a poor throw that Adam Lind couldn't snag, leading to a bases-loaded, no one out situation in the 11th. Luck and great pitching by Octavio Dotel prevented E^3 from being the goat. Snider made a nice sliding catch in the 13th and a smart play to double up Torii Hunter at first base, but not so in the 14th. Snider got a horrible read off a line drive off Peter Bourjos' bat and got eaten up on the ball, which went right over his head as he was flatfooted. Bourjos scored the winning run on a single by Maicer Izturis and that was all she wrote.
Today's title provided by the great San Pedro (close enough to Anaheim) band the Minutemen, from their song "Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want the Truth?"