Jays waste a good start from Marco Estrada, lose to Mariners

Mariners 4 Blue Jays 3

You know, if we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck at all.

In the 4th inning, Jays are up 1-0 and Marco Estrada is just cruising along. All is good. He gets the first two outs of the 4th, getting the two best hitters in the Mariners lineup, Cano and Cruz. Then Kyle Seager taps a ball down the third base line and it is clearly going to go foul, but it takes a very strange hop off the ever so lovely new turf at Rogers and, instead of being a foul ball, it turns into an infield single. Just bad luck.

Now the 4 pitch walk to Welington Castillo, that followed, that was just bad work on Macro's part.

Then a fly ball to right that Chris Colabello decides to dive at, when he had no chance to catch, turning a simple single into a triple. Colabello is definitely not an outfielder. Next up, Estrada gets to 1-2 on Mike Zunino, and Zunino taps off the end of the bat and it bounces over the bag at third. Any luck at all, it would have been a foul ball. But it isn't foul and 3 runs score.

Baseball.

Other than the bad luck in that inning, Estrada pitched a good game. There was the solo homer he served up to Nelson Cruz, but Cruz tends to hit home runs. In all, 7 innings, 6 hits, 4 earned, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. 3 of the hits and 3 of the runs came in that 4th inning.

On offense, we didn't quite do enough. Edwin Encarnacion hit a home run in the first inning. And we got 2 more runs in the 9, Edwin hitting a ball off the wall in right, an out later, Chris Colabello hits a home run, bringing us to just a run back. Unfortunately, we couldn't get that run. Josh Donaldson, pinch hitting, flied out to center, on a 3-0 pitch, to end the game.

We did have chances. We had 7 hits and 3 walks, not bad, considering if was Felix Hernandez starting for the Mariners. 5 of the 7 hits came off 2 bats. Colabello had 3 and Encarnacion had 2. Danny Valencia and Ryan Goins (who also had a walk, a good day at the plate for Ryan, who expected him to draw a walk off King Felix?) had a hit each.

There was a kind of interesting moment in the 9th, after the Colabello home run. Kevin Pillar tried for a bunt single, bunting up the 1st base line and almost made it. He tried diving past first baseman Logan Morrison, and almost made it, Morrison just touched his foot with the tag. Originally, he was called safe, but, they got the call right on the review. I don't mind bunt single attempts, but down by a run, 1 out and no one on in the 9th, I'd rather he take a shot at an extra base hit.

For those of us that like to second guess managers, we had our chance in the bottom of the 8th. Goins hit a lead off single (now I would have pinch hit for Goins, but let's ignore that for the moment). Next up is Munenori Kawasaki. Now I love the guy, and he's given us far more late game heroics than we could ever hope for from someone with a .235 career batting average, but you really have to pinch hit for him. Or I would.

Gibby was, apparently,  planning to pinch hit for Ezequiel Carrera, who was up after Muni. Ezequiel isn't much of a hitter but, to me, he's massively better than Muni. Anyway Kawasaki hit into a double play. For what it's worth, Carrera followed the double play with a walk.

Jays of the Day: Colabello had the number (.111) but I'm taking points off for that stupid dive, so let's just give it to Edwin (.105).

Suckage: Estrada has the number (-.144) but I can't give him one, I thought he pitched a good game. So let's just 'honor' Pillar (-.188, 0 for 4, 1 k, tho if he could have beat out that bunt....), Muni (-.132) and Martin (-.100, despite the terrific throw to catch Mike Zunino trying to steal in the 9th).

Tomorrow we have Mike Buehrle trying to continue the streak of good starts that the Jays have going. Almost Jay James Paxton starts for the M's.