Post by Fish Troll on Apr 3, 2007 0:10:38 GMT -5
Jays prevail vs. Tigers in 10th
Ryan notches first save of the year; Frasor picks up win
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
DETROIT -- With one swing of the bat, Troy Glaus spoiled Detroit's party. A few hours after the Tigers' faithful roared as the 2006 American League championship banner was raised at Comerica Park, Glaus paved the way for Toronto's first victory of the year.
The Blue Jays' third baseman pulled a changeup from Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney into left field for a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning on Monday. The hit sent Jason Smith jogging across home plate to snap a tie and sent Toronto on its way to a 5-3 Opening-Day win in front of 44,297.
"Everybody wants to be up there in a spot where you get a chance to make a difference," Glaus said. "I was fortunate enough to come up later and have that opportunity, and it was fortunate enough to work out."
Considering that the Blue Jays held a three-run advantage in the first with ace Roy Halladay on the mound, the late-inning heroics were probably the last thing Toronto expected it would need. Detroit excercised extreme patience at the plate against Halladay, though, and the Jays' offense slumbered between the first and final frame.
Halladay's pitch count rose steadily through his outing and peaked at 104 when his outing came to a close after six innings. Along the way, the Tigers knotted the score with one run in the third, and another pair in the fifth -- twice a run came on an RBI sacrifice fly by Detroit designated hitter Gary Sheffield.
"They were taking a lot of pitches," said Halladay, who had four strikeouts and was charged with two unearned runs. "Teams like that, where they won't really expand the zone for you, they make it tough. On the first day, to have that patience and to be able to work the count like that says a lot about some of the guys over there."
"We were talking about trying to get a pitch we could really do something with," said Tigers first baseman Sean Casey, summing up Detroit's gameplan versus Halladay. "He has that kind of bowling-ball sinker; [we were] trying to get it up. I thought as a whole we had a good approach today against him."
Toronto gave Detroit an early glimpse of its potent offense in the opening frame. Leadoff man Reed Johnson got things rolling with a walk and a stolen base against Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman. Then, first baseman Lyle Overbay followed with an RBI double off the wall in left, and Vernon Wells and Alex Rios added run-scoring hits to put Toronto ahead, 3-0.
"Bonderman is pretty tough," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "It wasn't like we were pounding him. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball and he settled in."
After the first, Bonderman, who lasted six innings, and Detroit relievers Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones limited Toronto to just two hits over the next eight innings. That gave the Tigers enough time to mount their comeback.
"We just have a philosophy here that when you face a guy like [Halladay], you have to compete your fanny off," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "You get down, 3-0, against a guy like that, it's easy to throw the towel in. We didn't do it; we kept battling away. We had some real good at-bats and we got ourselves back in the game."
The difference in the contest, according to Halladay, was the work of Toronto's bullpen. After Detroit chased the starter from the game, Casey Janssen turned in 2 1/3 scoreless frames, and Jason Frasor (1-0) and closer B.J. Ryan shut down the Tigers the rest of the way. Ryan, who tallied 38 saves in '06, picked up his first save of the year.
"[The Tigers] make you work and that's always tough the first time out to be pitch-efficient," Halladay said. "They did a good job. They had some long at-bats and definitely made it tough, but Janssen came in and did a great job for us."
The bullpen's performance bought enough time for Toronto's offense to come back to life. Rodney (0-1) loaded the bases with one out by giving up a single to Overbay, walking Wells and hitting designated hitter Frank Thomas with a pitch.
That's when Glaus strolled to the plate.
"In a situation like that -- bases loaded, less than two out -- you're just trying to do something," Glaus said. "[You just want to] get it far enough out there that somebody can score, whether it be a broken-bat bleeder, sac fly, whatever. Who cares? It all looks the same in the box score."
Halladay is just glad that the box score will include a "W," especially after a shaky performance.
"It's good to get out of here with the first one," Halladay said.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Ryan notches first save of the year; Frasor picks up win
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
DETROIT -- With one swing of the bat, Troy Glaus spoiled Detroit's party. A few hours after the Tigers' faithful roared as the 2006 American League championship banner was raised at Comerica Park, Glaus paved the way for Toronto's first victory of the year.
The Blue Jays' third baseman pulled a changeup from Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney into left field for a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning on Monday. The hit sent Jason Smith jogging across home plate to snap a tie and sent Toronto on its way to a 5-3 Opening-Day win in front of 44,297.
"Everybody wants to be up there in a spot where you get a chance to make a difference," Glaus said. "I was fortunate enough to come up later and have that opportunity, and it was fortunate enough to work out."
Considering that the Blue Jays held a three-run advantage in the first with ace Roy Halladay on the mound, the late-inning heroics were probably the last thing Toronto expected it would need. Detroit excercised extreme patience at the plate against Halladay, though, and the Jays' offense slumbered between the first and final frame.
Halladay's pitch count rose steadily through his outing and peaked at 104 when his outing came to a close after six innings. Along the way, the Tigers knotted the score with one run in the third, and another pair in the fifth -- twice a run came on an RBI sacrifice fly by Detroit designated hitter Gary Sheffield.
"They were taking a lot of pitches," said Halladay, who had four strikeouts and was charged with two unearned runs. "Teams like that, where they won't really expand the zone for you, they make it tough. On the first day, to have that patience and to be able to work the count like that says a lot about some of the guys over there."
"We were talking about trying to get a pitch we could really do something with," said Tigers first baseman Sean Casey, summing up Detroit's gameplan versus Halladay. "He has that kind of bowling-ball sinker; [we were] trying to get it up. I thought as a whole we had a good approach today against him."
Toronto gave Detroit an early glimpse of its potent offense in the opening frame. Leadoff man Reed Johnson got things rolling with a walk and a stolen base against Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman. Then, first baseman Lyle Overbay followed with an RBI double off the wall in left, and Vernon Wells and Alex Rios added run-scoring hits to put Toronto ahead, 3-0.
"Bonderman is pretty tough," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "It wasn't like we were pounding him. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball and he settled in."
After the first, Bonderman, who lasted six innings, and Detroit relievers Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones limited Toronto to just two hits over the next eight innings. That gave the Tigers enough time to mount their comeback.
"We just have a philosophy here that when you face a guy like [Halladay], you have to compete your fanny off," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "You get down, 3-0, against a guy like that, it's easy to throw the towel in. We didn't do it; we kept battling away. We had some real good at-bats and we got ourselves back in the game."
The difference in the contest, according to Halladay, was the work of Toronto's bullpen. After Detroit chased the starter from the game, Casey Janssen turned in 2 1/3 scoreless frames, and Jason Frasor (1-0) and closer B.J. Ryan shut down the Tigers the rest of the way. Ryan, who tallied 38 saves in '06, picked up his first save of the year.
"[The Tigers] make you work and that's always tough the first time out to be pitch-efficient," Halladay said. "They did a good job. They had some long at-bats and definitely made it tough, but Janssen came in and did a great job for us."
The bullpen's performance bought enough time for Toronto's offense to come back to life. Rodney (0-1) loaded the bases with one out by giving up a single to Overbay, walking Wells and hitting designated hitter Frank Thomas with a pitch.
That's when Glaus strolled to the plate.
"In a situation like that -- bases loaded, less than two out -- you're just trying to do something," Glaus said. "[You just want to] get it far enough out there that somebody can score, whether it be a broken-bat bleeder, sac fly, whatever. Who cares? It all looks the same in the box score."
Halladay is just glad that the box score will include a "W," especially after a shaky performance.
"It's good to get out of here with the first one," Halladay said.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070402&content_id=1874630&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor
