Post by #1 Jays Fan on Apr 11, 2008 19:12:31 GMT -5
TORONTO -- All the good accomplished during an impressive opening week for the Toronto Blue Jays is a distant memory now, undone by a miserable three-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics.
Thursday's 3-2 loss in the series finale was an especially painful one, as Travis Buck capped a torrid series by ripping a two-run double in the 12th after the Blue Jays squandered chance after chance to score.
They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position during the ninth, 10th and 11th innings when a clutch hit would have won the game, and were a brutal 2-for-16 overall. The Jays now limp off for three games in Texas -- a black hole for them in recent seasons -- with their bullpen chewed up and their offence in a deep rut.
"We're going to see what we're made of," said centre-fielder Vernon Wells. "We haven't played well there for as long as I've been here. Obviously if we don't start playing better baseball the same thing is going to happen to us there."
Chris Denorfia opened the 12th with single off Brandon League (0-1) and advanced to second on Bobby Crosby's groundout. Following an intentional walk to Jack Hannahan and Kurt Suzuki's pegging, Emil Brown hit into a fielder's choice for the second out. But Buck wouldn't let League off the hook, ripping a hanging sinker into left-centre to bring home a pair for a 3-1 lead that silenced a crowd of 16,521.
"I left it up and he put it in the air," said League, "otherwise it's another ground ball."
Said Buck, who arrived in town mired in an 0-for-22 drought: "(League) wasn't throwing the split-finger for strikes. We were just going up there looking for the fastball."
Keith Foulke came on in the bottom of the inning and gave up an RBI single to Wells before closing things out for his first save. That made a winner of Joey Devine (1-0), who escaped jams in the 10th and 11th to give his team a chance.
The sweep came after the Blue Jays (4-5) took three in a row from the World Series champion Red Sox, who were much more pleasant visitors than the Athletics (6-4), who have won seven straight games in Toronto.
"We got off to a good start in this homestand," said manager John Gibbons, "and then we coughed it up."
The game only got to extra innings when the Blue Jays ended a scoring drought of 15 straight innings in the eighth to tie the game 1-1. Marco Scutaro led off with a triple against Alan Embree and came around to score on Shannon Stewart's drive to deep right.
That erased the only run Oakland managed off a strong Shaun Marcum, on a fifth-inning RBI double by the suddenly hot Buck -- 7-for-16 in the series with six doubles.
For most of the game the Blue Jays were handcuffed by Dana Eveland, another left-hander who stymied them the way the soft-tossing Greg Smith stymied them a night earlier.
Their effectiveness was somewhat surprising, considering that the Blue Jays were 26-17 and batted .296 as a team versus left-handed starters in 2007. But they both picked apart the corners, giving Toronto's right-handed sluggers little to work with.
"It's two guys we haven't seen, we're kind of learning on the go," said Wells. "They did their job and got us out. We failed, that's the bottom line."
.The finale was, at least, a well-played ballgame, especially when compared to the slop the teams offered up in Wednesday's 6-3 Oakland win, a three-hour 31-minute affair that was about as much fun as an algebra exam.
Marcum was terrific in taking a no-decision, getting burned only on Buck's double. He struck out eight in seven innings, allowing six hits and a run.
Eveland, who like Smith was obtained in the Dan Haren deal with Arizona, gave up three hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings and had to escape trouble on a few occasions. In the second he retired the side after Wells' leadoff double and in the sixth, he sat down Stewart, Rios and Wells after the first two batters reached.
He left with two on and one out in the seventh, but Santiago Casilla came on and got pinch-hitter Matt Stairs to hit into a double play.
Jesse Litsch (1-0) starts for the Blue Jays on Friday against Vicente Padilla (1-0)
"We just played bad baseball, that's all it is really," said second baseman Aaron Hill. "They hit, we didn't, everything went in their favour and we can't let that happen again. Hopefully learn from it and do a much better job next time."
Notes: Before the game the Athletics placed Canadian right-hander Rich Harden on the disabled list with a strained shoulder. It's the Victoria native's sixth stint on the DL in the last four years. Joey Devine was recalled from triple-A Sacramento, while Lenny DiNardo is expected to start in place of Harden on Saturday. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says closer Jeremy Accardo needs to use his split-finger fastball more often to be more effective. Accardo took the loss in the first two games of the series. ... Toronto Raptors forward Jamario Moon threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Jays lefty Brian Tallett struck out four batters in throwing scoreless ninth and 10th innings.
Thursday's 3-2 loss in the series finale was an especially painful one, as Travis Buck capped a torrid series by ripping a two-run double in the 12th after the Blue Jays squandered chance after chance to score.
They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position during the ninth, 10th and 11th innings when a clutch hit would have won the game, and were a brutal 2-for-16 overall. The Jays now limp off for three games in Texas -- a black hole for them in recent seasons -- with their bullpen chewed up and their offence in a deep rut.
"We're going to see what we're made of," said centre-fielder Vernon Wells. "We haven't played well there for as long as I've been here. Obviously if we don't start playing better baseball the same thing is going to happen to us there."
Chris Denorfia opened the 12th with single off Brandon League (0-1) and advanced to second on Bobby Crosby's groundout. Following an intentional walk to Jack Hannahan and Kurt Suzuki's pegging, Emil Brown hit into a fielder's choice for the second out. But Buck wouldn't let League off the hook, ripping a hanging sinker into left-centre to bring home a pair for a 3-1 lead that silenced a crowd of 16,521.
"I left it up and he put it in the air," said League, "otherwise it's another ground ball."
Said Buck, who arrived in town mired in an 0-for-22 drought: "(League) wasn't throwing the split-finger for strikes. We were just going up there looking for the fastball."
Keith Foulke came on in the bottom of the inning and gave up an RBI single to Wells before closing things out for his first save. That made a winner of Joey Devine (1-0), who escaped jams in the 10th and 11th to give his team a chance.
The sweep came after the Blue Jays (4-5) took three in a row from the World Series champion Red Sox, who were much more pleasant visitors than the Athletics (6-4), who have won seven straight games in Toronto.
"We got off to a good start in this homestand," said manager John Gibbons, "and then we coughed it up."
The game only got to extra innings when the Blue Jays ended a scoring drought of 15 straight innings in the eighth to tie the game 1-1. Marco Scutaro led off with a triple against Alan Embree and came around to score on Shannon Stewart's drive to deep right.
That erased the only run Oakland managed off a strong Shaun Marcum, on a fifth-inning RBI double by the suddenly hot Buck -- 7-for-16 in the series with six doubles.
For most of the game the Blue Jays were handcuffed by Dana Eveland, another left-hander who stymied them the way the soft-tossing Greg Smith stymied them a night earlier.
Their effectiveness was somewhat surprising, considering that the Blue Jays were 26-17 and batted .296 as a team versus left-handed starters in 2007. But they both picked apart the corners, giving Toronto's right-handed sluggers little to work with.
"It's two guys we haven't seen, we're kind of learning on the go," said Wells. "They did their job and got us out. We failed, that's the bottom line."
.The finale was, at least, a well-played ballgame, especially when compared to the slop the teams offered up in Wednesday's 6-3 Oakland win, a three-hour 31-minute affair that was about as much fun as an algebra exam.
Marcum was terrific in taking a no-decision, getting burned only on Buck's double. He struck out eight in seven innings, allowing six hits and a run.
Eveland, who like Smith was obtained in the Dan Haren deal with Arizona, gave up three hits and three runs in 6 1-3 innings and had to escape trouble on a few occasions. In the second he retired the side after Wells' leadoff double and in the sixth, he sat down Stewart, Rios and Wells after the first two batters reached.
He left with two on and one out in the seventh, but Santiago Casilla came on and got pinch-hitter Matt Stairs to hit into a double play.
Jesse Litsch (1-0) starts for the Blue Jays on Friday against Vicente Padilla (1-0)
"We just played bad baseball, that's all it is really," said second baseman Aaron Hill. "They hit, we didn't, everything went in their favour and we can't let that happen again. Hopefully learn from it and do a much better job next time."
Notes: Before the game the Athletics placed Canadian right-hander Rich Harden on the disabled list with a strained shoulder. It's the Victoria native's sixth stint on the DL in the last four years. Joey Devine was recalled from triple-A Sacramento, while Lenny DiNardo is expected to start in place of Harden on Saturday. ... Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says closer Jeremy Accardo needs to use his split-finger fastball more often to be more effective. Accardo took the loss in the first two games of the series. ... Toronto Raptors forward Jamario Moon threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... Jays lefty Brian Tallett struck out four batters in throwing scoreless ninth and 10th innings.
