Jays Beat Athletics Via Shawn Marcum’s One-hitter & Jose Bautista’s Inside-the-Park-Homerun
The Toronto Blue Jays (63-55) have extended their winning ways along the sunny California coastline, as they defeated the Oakland Athletics (57-60) by the score of 3-1.
The win came off the shoulder of starting pitcher Shawn Marcum (11-6), who finished with a complete-game, one-hitter that helped to erase the memories of two previous disappointing outings. The dominant win also served to show that he has yet to hit the proverbial wall expected for pitchers coming off major arm surgeries.
The Jays offense partly came in unusual fashion yesterday, as Jose Bautista scored Toronto’s first run of the game via an inside-the-park homerun in the fourth inning.
What made the Bautista’s MLB leading 37th homerun of the season so unusual, was A’s left-fielder Conor Jackson, who appeared to give up on the ball, after Bautista’s drive bounced back onto the field and rolled back up the left field foul line, towards the infield.
In the confusion, the Oakland squad simply watched the ball roll while Bautista, taking nothing for granted, chugged around the bases to score.
After Bautista crossed the plate, giving the Jays a 1-0 lead, the replay showed what Conor Jackson saw; the ball had struck the foul pole – which signifies a standard homerun. However, the umpires failed to signal the homerun and the official scorer marked the strange play as an inside the park homerun.
The Blue Jays will send Brandon Morrow (9-6) to the mound tonight to face the A’s Dallas Braden (7-8).
Blue Jays Sign First Round Pick (11th Overall) Deck McGuire & Many Others
Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was not only a busy man when it came to signing his targetted draft picks, but he also turned out to be an accurate man, as the Jays reached agreement with 33 of 56 players.
The Jays main target to sign, not intending to discount the value of the others, was 11th overall pick RHP Deck McGuire.
As a junior pitcher for the Georgia Yellow Jackets McGuire attained a career record of 28-7, with a 3.28 ERA in 45 starts, and as such, he has been compared to another of the Jays highly touted pitching prospects – 2009 first rounder Chad Jenkins.
McGuire is considered to have a dominant presence in terms of his physical size (6’6″, 218-lb), and pitching abilities (4 quality pitches), and is almost guaranteed a slot with either Class A Lansing or Dunedin for the 2011 season.
McGuire signed for a reported 2-nillion dollar signing bonus at 11:59p.m. EST (one minute before the deadline).
Alex Anthopoulos was also able to sign the Jays second rounder (61st overall) LHP Griffin Murphy, their fourth round pick RHP Samuel Dyson, and the highly regarded Dickie Thon.
Thon, who was a steal by the Jays nabbed in the fifth round, was projected to go as high as a late second round pick, but more generally regarded as a third rounder; dropped in the draft due to his announcement that he will be committing his time and energy to his scholastic endeavours at Rice University.
Jays Sign Two More Picks..But Not First Rounder, Deck McGuire
]The Toronto Blue Jays have announced the signing of two more draft picks from this years’ 2010 draft.
The players to put ink to paper were 15th-round pick and LHP Zak Adams, as well as 17th-round selection RHP Myles Jaye.
The Blue Jays have now locked-up 29 of their picks from the 2010 draft, but the wait continues for Jays fans to see if the Toronto brass can get first-rounder Deck McGuire, taken 11th overall, to sign on the dotted line.
The Jays are also looking to secure second-rounder, 61st overall, Griffin Murphy before midnight to ensure the team doesn’t lose his rights.
If McGuire or Murphy don’t sign with the Jays, they fall under the MLB rule that indicates that all unsigned picks from the first three rounds are compensated with a selection one spot later in the next draft.
Jays Place David Purcey on DL
The Toronto Blue Jays have placed relief pitcher David Purcey (0-1/2.81 ERA/.185BAA in 24 appearances) on the 15-day DL.
Purcey has been experiencing lingering effects from an ankle injury that he sustained last week, thus forcing the the Jays to make the decision to place him on the 15-day disabled list.
The Jays have summoned RP Jesse Carlson from AAA Las Vegas as a left-handed specialist in the bullpen.
Carlson, who was a common sight to see for Blue Jays fans during the 2008 and 2009 season, has been playing in the minors with Las Vegas this entire season; where he has amassed a record of 3W-1 L/4.24 ERA/43 K’s/4SV’s in 51 innings of work.
Jays Shine in California Sun, beat Angels.
The Toronto Blue Jays (62-55) managed to bounce back against the Los Angeles Angels (60-58) in the rubber match of the three-game series with a 4-1 victory.
Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero (10-7) was able to outduel his Angels counterpart, Dan Haren (1-3 with Angels), through 7-innings before giving the ball up to Jason Frasor for a scoreless eighth inning, followed by a scoreless ninth inning and the save by Jays closer – Kevin Gregg (27th).
The Blue Jays offense was supplied by 5-6-7 hitters in the line-up, as Adam Lind cranked his 17th homerun of the season, while Aaron Hill drove in two runs and Lyle Overbay cashed in a run with a sacrifice fly.
The Jays will continue their California road trip with a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics
Next up:
- Today: Toronto (Shaun Marcum 10-6, 3.87) at Oakland A’s (Brett Anderson 3-3, 2.88)
- Tuesday: Toronto (Brandon Morrow 9-6, 4.45) at Oakland A’s (Dallas Braden 7-8, 3.56)
- Wednesday: Toronto (Mark Rzepczynski 1-1, 4.42) at Oakland A’s (Gio Gonzalez 10-8, 3.49)
Blue Jays Sign Ricky Romero to five-year extension
Ricky Romero 2009 and 2010 Combined Career: 52GS, 22W, 16L, 3CG, 1SO, 273K, 3.94ERA, 1.40WHIP, .267BAA
Jays Beat Angels – Wells, Encarnacion &Tallet Clear Waivers + Trades with Braves & Twins in the Works?
The Toronto Blue Jays (61-54) stretched their new win streak to two games last night, thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, brought to us by the letter “W”, the number “3″ and the arm of Marc Rzepczynski (1-1) .
Toronto looks to extend their winning ways to three games tonight, putting Brett Cecil (9-5) on the mound against Ervin Santana (11-8).
On a side note, a day after Lyle Overbay cleared waivers, three more Jays – Vernon Wells, Edwin Encarnacion and Brian Tallet have all cleared waivers.
Although it is unlikely that Wells will be moved (this year), the rumour mill is heating up with talks of Toronto and Atlanta are discussing the potential move for the second time this season.
As a result of the Chipper Jones injury, and the average play of part-time replacement Brooks Conrad, the possibility of Jays 3B Edwin Encarnacion moving to the Atlanta Braves is growing.
The main stumbling block seems to be the Braves side as they are still weighing the pros and cons of Encarnacion’s shaky defence against his powerful, yet streaky bat.
Another team that still remains interested in Blue Jays pitching is the Minnesota Twins.
With the spring training loss of closer Joe Nathan and the recent loss of Jose Mijares, the Twins have been in contact with the Jays pre-dating this year’s non-waiver trade deadline.
The talks have moved between the two clubs from Jason Frasor to Scott Downs without a deal, however it is more likely that the Twins latest interest – Brian Tallet - could be had for a much cheaper price then the two previous Jays pitvhing targets. There is no word on the players being discussed on the returning side to Toronto.
Will the Jays strike deals with the Braves or Twins?
Stay tuned!
Jays Earn Comeback Win over Red Sox, Overbay Clear Waivers…Plus our BlueJays Rant Reader Poll
The Toronto Blue Jays (61-54) earned a hard fought victory over the Boston Red Sox (66-51) yesterday afternoon with a ninth inning 4-run rally.
Trailing the Red Sox by three-runs entering the ninth inning and facing the generally daunting task of Boston closer Jonathan Paplebon, the Jays managed to put together a series of hits.
First it was a homerun by non-other than MLB homerun leader Jose Bautista (36th); followed by a single by Adam Lind to drive in Vernon Wells, a double by Edwin Encarnacion to score Dewayne Wise and a sacrifice-fly to center field, by Fred Lewis, that was just deep enough to score Aaron Hill.
Final score Jays 6, Red Sox 5 in what was an exciting games for the 37,271 fans in attendance – who, for all the bosses reading, were obviously sick yesterday afternoon, but were forced to go into the sunshine and soak in the beautiful weather…to get healthy…doctor’s orders.
An interesting side note, Lyle Overbay did not play yesterday, except for a pinch hit opportunity that he earned a walk from, which left some to speculate that this was a result of Overbay clearing waivers and about to be moved (quite possibly to Boston).
With Overbay being held out of the game on the same day he cleared waivers, the question is posed to you…
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Red Sox Beat-up Blue Jays…Plus our BlueJaysRant Reader Poll
It was an ugly game to watch for Blue Jays fans last night, as the Red Sox manhandled Shawn Marcum and the Toronto club 10-1, one night after Boston enjoyed a late innings 7-5 win.
It seems that the Blue birds are unable to get over the hump when faced against the Red Sox, while the same Toronto team has been able to hold thier own around the likes of the other AL East powerhouses’ Tampa Bay and New York (combined 11W-14L, including a sweep against the Rays).
This season the Jays are 2W-9L against the Red Sox, and with seven games remaining, the Jays have a chance to even the score.
This leaves the question to you…
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Jays Lose a Close One to Red Sox, Bautista sets Record…Plus our BlueJaysRant Reader Poll
The Toronto Blue Jays (59-53) came close, but didn’t have enough to pull off another consecutive AL East victory.
The loss last night came at the hands of the Boston Red Sox (65-49), who have to be in panic mode to earn a play-off spot before they become a perennial 3rd place team to the Yankees and Rays.
During the game, both starters were roughed up early as the Jays Rickey Romero surrendered 5 eraned in 6IP, while his counterpart, Red Sox pitcher, Daisuke (Dice-k) Matsuzaka was tagged for 4 earned in 5.2IP.
Although in a losing cause, the Jays were once again smacking homeruns out of the Rogers Centre, adding three more to their league leading total; yet any end-game the fireworks were held at bay as Boston remained diligent in their offensive production enabling them to squeek out the 7-5 late innings win.
Despite the loss, one Jays batter – Jose Bautista - earned a consoloation prize and added his name to the Blue Jays record books by hitting a homerun in 11 consecutive series. The previous leader in this category was formaer Blue Jays slugging 1B Carlos Delgado who had homeruns in 10 consecutive series.
The continuation of his monster season, Jose Bautista looks to maintain the league lead in homeruns tonight, but now he can also look to add to his new record in the Jays next series.
This leaves the question to you…
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