When the Soul of the City Was Laid To Rest: Jays 8, Detroit 3

Behind some good pitching and timely hitting, the Jays beat the Tigers 8-3.

On the Mound:

Carlos Villanueva surrendered 2 solo home runs in the first frame to Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, but only gave up two other singles and a couple of walks through his five innings. Villanueva left some pitches up and went deep in far too many counts, but other than the two dingers, neither hurt him.

At the Plate:

After the two home runs in the top of the first, the Jays immediately grabbed one back in the bottom of the inning courtesy of an Edwin Encarnacion opposite field single with two out. The score remained 2-1 in favor of the Tigers until Jeff Mathis came up with the bases juiced and two out in the fourth. Detroit starter Rick Porcello had loaded the bases on a single and two walks and Mathis made him pay when he drove the ball over the left fielder and cleared the bases with a double. Anthony Gose then cashed Mathis with an infield single.

The Jays extended their lead in the 7th when Brett Lawrie and the ageless one hit back-to-back triples. How many times do you see back-to-back triples.

Our lads extended their lead even further in the 8th when Travis Snider, who had earlier walked and scored, crushed a pitch over the right-center field fence. Not only was Travis' jack a no-doubt 400-footer on a down-and-in pitch, but it came against a lefty to boot. It sure is great seeing him in the majors again.

Of the Jays, only Yan Gomes failed to reach base safely, and he was asked to sacrifice bunt in one of his plate appearances, which he did successfully.

From the Pen:

Villanueva and Mathis handed the Jays a lead, but Carlos didn't make it easy on the pen by leaving after five. The relief corps was up to the task, with Aaron Loup, Brandon Lyon, Darren Oliver, and Casey Janssen combining for 6 Ks, no walks, and four hits over their four one-run innings. Only Oliver surrendered a run, and Janssen closed things out with a characteristically efficient last frame (11 pitches, 8 of them strikes, 1 K, no hits or walks).

All in all, a great team effort. Jay of the Day: Mathis, and we'll give honourable mention to Travis for his home run and Villanueva for a gutsy if unspectacular performance. Maybe another honourable mention for Loup, because he also pitched well and, hey, Tulane. Update: Based on vox populi, we'll give another JoD to Omar Vizquel for some extra base hitting and nifty fielding.

Tonight's title from a song I am really loving lately, "The House That Heaven Built" by BC's own Japandroids.