Jays lose in extras

Blue Jays 3  Orioles 4 (10 innings)

If it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. I don't know how many very hard hit balls went straight into Oriole gloves but it was far too many. I guess that's baseball.

R.A. Dickey had an awful first inning and then followed it with 5 good ones. He allowed 3 runs in the first inning. He did have some bad luck on the leadoff single, a weak ground ball to third. But the double, walk and single following it weren't bad luck. We were down 3-0 quick.

Over the next 5 innings he would only allow 2 hits and a walk. In all, his best start of the season, so far.

That bottom of the 10th was just no fun. Joe Biagini got 2 quick outs in the 10th, and then Caleb Joseph doubled to the wall in right. Then he got very unlucky on a soft ground ball by Joey Rickard that was just too slow for Troy Tulowitzki to make a play on. A semi intentional walk to Manny Machado loaded the bases.

And then.....a passed ball and we lose. Thole really should have had it. He might have been crossed up, but he should have had it. Or blocked it.

The rest of the bullpen did a good job:

• Gavin Floyd threw 2 scoreless innings on 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
• Drew Storen kept us interested in the 9th, giving up a deep fly to center, about 5 feet short of the wall, to Chris Davis. A ground ball single that Josh Donaldson might have had a play on, but he lost at on the transfer to his throwing hand. Fortunately Thole threw out pinch runner Nolan Reimold trying to steal.. It was a perfect throw. A J.J.Hardy fly to med left ended the inning.

Guys having a tough night: Chris Colabello was 0 for 3, with a walk and 2 strikeouts. He was pinch hit for, in the 10th, with Justin Smoak. Smoak hit a nice single to right. I really think it is time to sit Chris. Kevin Pillar was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. He left 4 runners on base. Thole was 1 for 4, with 2 strikeouts.

Jays of the Day: Tulo (.114 WPA), Floyd (.196) and Storen (.138). Saunders gets an honorable mention, .093, but he had a couple of misadventure on the base paths: getting doubled off (I don't blame him) and not tagging up on a Bautista fly where Adam Jones made a great diving catch. He should have tagged and scored early, but, for unknown reasons he jumped off the bag before the catch and then had to come back. He was saved when Edwin singled him home.

Suckage: Biagini (-.362), Bautista (-.116, not really fair, if Saunders had scored on his fly ball he wouldn't have such a bad mark), Colabello (-.103, but made a nice dug on a bad throw by Donaldson that could have cost us a couple of runs), Goins (-.182), Pillar (-.192) and Thole (-.149, plus a great throw on a caught stealing, minus a bad passed ball).

I am going to take it as a good sign that we were, finally getting some hard hit balls, even if they found gloves far too often.

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