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A quick well pitched game by both pitchers. Only problem was that the Jays didn't score after the 1st and Jhonny Peralta carried the Tigers to victory with two HRs and four RBIs and preventing the Jays from sweeping the Tigers.
On the Mound:
Brett Cecil did a decent job despite the home plate ump's tight strike zone to LHP/RHB. Brett threw 109 pitches (73 for strikes) and went 6 and 2/3 innings allowing a mere 4 hits and 4 walks (two or three of them on what looked like strike 3) and 7Ks. The Tigers scored all they needed in the 2nd inning when they got a lead off walk (questionable ball four) to Delmond Young (he of 12BBs/69Ks coming into the game), a double to Ryan Raeburn and then went 0-2 to Jhonny Peralta who hit several foul balls then worked the count to 3-2. Cecil watched his 3-2 curveball get smacked into the LF seats for a 3 run HR. After that, Brett pitched well up to a questionable ball 4 on Austin Jackson in the 7th with two out.
At the Plate:
Rajai Davis was pretty much the lone Jays batter who could solve Doug Fister. He led off the game with a single, stole a base, then took 3rd base on the errant catcher's throw and scored when Colby Rasmus grounded one to 3rd. Davis out ran the ball and Miguel Cabrera could only throw Rasmus out. After that it was all Doug Fister. The Jays put runners on in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th but usually with 2 out. Thanks to a generous strike zone for RHP/LHB, the Jays generally had no chance against Fister's slow curve which was consistently called a strike.
Davis went 2 for 4. Rasmus, Encarnacion, Escobar, Johnson and Gose all had one hit apiece. Jeff Mathis' 8 game hitting streak was stopped as he went 0-4 with 3 strike outs. The Jays hitters as a group struck out 11 times and only worked two walks.
From the Pen:
Jeff Mathis got the Jays out of the 7th when he threw out Austin Jackson trying to steal. Joel Carreno pitched well in the 8th by getting the Tigers 2-3-4 hitters out in order. He got two quick outs in the 9th and then faced Jhonny Peralta. Joel got two quick strikes and then hung a slider on the inside part of the plate. BOOM! Another blast to LF field. Evan Crawford came on to pop up Don Kelly.
In the bottom of the 9th, the Jays went down quickly as Jose Valverde struck out two and got Gose to ground out to Peralta to end the game. The Jays are now 51-50 and go on long 10 game road trip starting with Seattle.
No Jays of the Day today. Jeff Mathis is the suckage Jay of the Day with his -0.133. Grounding out with two men on and two out and then striking out with one man on and two out will do that to your WPA.