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Vladimir Guerrero agrees to deal with Blue Jays

Posted on 11 May 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Vladimir Guerrero has agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, a potential veteran boost for a lagging lineup.

The deal was announced Thursday by the Blue Jays before a four-game series at Minnesota. General manager Alex Anthopoulos, speaking on a conference call, cautioned there’s no guarantee the 37-year-old will join the major league team. Guerrero will be sent to the team’s extended spring training program in Dunedin, Fla., where the Blue Jays will assess his condition. If they like what they see, he’ll play in some minor league games before he’s added to the 25-man major league roster.

”I understand obviously it’s big news because it’s who Vladimir Guerrero is, a likely Hall of Famer and so on, but it’s a minor league contract,” Anthopoulos said. ”There are no assurances.”

Anthopoulos refused to place a timetable on any possible track to Toronto for Guerrero, a .318 hitter over 16 major league seasons with 449 home runs, tied for 35th on the career list.

”There’s no point in even spending time on that, because I don’t even know what we have,” Anthopoulos said.

Guerrero batted .290 last year with 13 homers and 63 RBIs in 145 games and 562 at-bats for Baltimore, all as a designated hitter. Edwin Encarnacion has been the Blue Jays’ primary DH this season, and with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs entering Thursday’s game he’s hardly their problem. Toronto’s team batting average entering the series was .237, third-worst in the American League.

But if Guerrero’s trademark uppercut, whole-body swing still has some pop left in it, there will surely be ways to provide at-bats for him. First baseman Adam Lind was recently dropped to eighth in the order, and Encarnacion can play there. Guerrero could give struggling slugger Jose Bautista more protection in the middle of the lineup, too.

”It’s more about the potential of what Vladimir could offer. We haven’t had discussions about turning over our roster. We haven’t had discussions about making wholesale changes,” manager John Farrell said. ”But when a guy with his pedigree and his track record comes available and finally comes to an agreement with us, we’ll give that every opportunity to see what it can produce for us.”

As Anthopoulos said several times, ”there’s no such thing as a bad minor league signing.”

Time will tell, then if the low-risk move yields a high reward.

”You never know if you can get lightning in a bottle,” the GM said. He added: ”I’d love to say Vladimir Guerrero is an elite top-10 major league hitter, but I’d be very surprised if we got an elite top-10 major league hitter on a minor league signing. If that was the case, it’d be a great signing, probably one of the greatest signings of all time.”

—

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Guerrero signs minors deal with Jays

Posted on 10 May 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero has agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, a potential veteran boost for a lagging lineup.

The deal was announced Thursday by the Blue Jays before a four-game series at Minnesota. General manager Alex Anthopoulos, speaking on a conference call, cautioned there’s no guarantee the 37-year-old will join the major league team. Guerrero will be sent to the team’s extended spring training program in Dunedin, Fla., where the Blue Jays will assess his condition. If they like what they see, he’ll play in some minor league games before he’s added to the 25-man major league roster.

“I understand obviously it’s big news because it’s who Vladimir Guerrero is, a likely Hall of Famer and so on, but it’s a minor league contract,” Anthopoulos said. “There are no assurances.”

Anthopoulos refused to place a timetable on any possible track to Toronto for Guerrero, a .318 hitter over 16 major league seasons with 449 home runs, tied for 35th on the career list.

“There’s no point in even spending time on that, because I don’t even know what we have,” Anthopoulos said.

Guerrero batted .290 last year with 13 homers and 63 RBIs in 145 games and 562 at-bats for Baltimore, all as a designated hitter. Edwin Encarnacion has been the Blue Jays’ primary DH this season, and with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs entering Thursday’s game he’s hardly their problem. Toronto’s team batting average entering the series was .237, third-worst in the American League.

But if Guerrero’s trademark uppercut, whole-body swing still has some pop left in it, there will surely be ways to provide at-bats for him. First baseman Adam Lind was recently dropped to eighth in the order, and Encarnacion can play there. Guerrero could give struggling slugger Jose Bautista more protection in the middle of the lineup, too.

“It’s more about the potential of what Vladimir could offer. We haven’t had discussions about turning over our roster. We haven’t had discussions about making wholesale changes,” manager John Farrell said. “But when a guy with his pedigree and his track record comes available and finally comes to an agreement with us, we’ll give that every opportunity to see what it can produce for us.”

As Anthopoulos said several times, “there’s no such thing as a bad minor league signing.”

Time will tell, then if the low-risk move yields a high reward.

“You never know if you can get lightning in a bottle,” the GM said. He added: “I’d love to say Vladimir Guerrero is an elite top-10 major league hitter, but I’d be very surprised if we got an elite top-10 major league hitter on a minor league signing. If that was the case, it’d be a great signing, probably one of the greatest signings of all time.”

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Oakland A's winning streak snapped by Toronto…

Posted on 09 May 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Tyson Ross’ stat line did not sparkle Wednesday, but progress for the A’s pitcher must be judged in relative terms after the ugly results of his previous two outings.

The A’s saw their three-game win streak end with a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, but A’s manager Bob Melvin saw improvement from his No. 5 starter.

Ross, who lost to Brandon Morrow in a battle between former Cal pitchers, made it through 52/3 innings, getting yanked after allowing Colby Rasmus’ two-out RBI single that pushed the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-1 in the sixth. Ross walked three and surrendered a two-run homer to Adam Lind in the fourth.

But Ross did apply some of the adjustments he made in his delivery while working with A’s pitching coach Curt Young in the days leading up to the start.

That counted as good news for the A’s, along with the revelation that center fielder Yoenis Cespedes might be back in the lineup soon. Cespedes was diagnosed with a strained muscle in the back of his left hand after hurting himself during batting practice Tuesday. He’s listed as day to day.

As for Ross, Melvin said the pitcher took steps in the right direction.

“I thought he was better,” Melvin said. “Early on, he walked a couple guys, got behind in some counts. I think as the game went on, he was better. He had better rhythm today, at times better breaking stuff. Certainly he was better than the last two outings.”

That wasn’t tough to

accomplish.

Ross (1-3) allowed nine runs in four-plus innings against Baltimore on April 28, then got tagged for seven runs in 31/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Friday.

He allowed five hits and three runs Wednesday.

“I’m trying to get my lower half underneath me a little better and create more power,” Ross said. “I think I did a good job of that. My velocity was up a little bit.”

But he was outpitched by Morrow (4-1), his former Cal teammate who hosted Ross on a recruiting trip.

The game marked the first time two former Cal pitchers started against each other in the major leagues.

Morrow struck out 10 over six innings and helped put a halt to the A’s three-game winning streak. The A’s stranded 10 runners, teasing an announced crowd of 14,815. But they never truly cashed in.

The first inning told the story.

A double steal from Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington put runners on second and third with one out. But Jonny Gomes fouled out behind first base. After Seth Smith walked to load the bases, Kila Ka’aihue flied out to center to end the threat.

“We were a couple hits away,” Melvin said. “We were there a couple times, we just couldn’t come up with the second hit.”

Lind’s two-run shot in the fourth gave Toronto the lead.

Gomes’ two-out single scored Pennington in the fifth to bring the A’s to within 2-1. But with runners on the corners, Smith popped out to end the inning.

The A’s pulled to within 4-2 on Josh Reddick’s run-scoring single in the seventh, but with runners on first and second, Gomes went down swinging and Smith flied out to left.

  • Brandon McCarthy, pushed back in the rotation because of soreness in his right shoulder, said he intends to make his scheduled start Saturday. McCarthy, who has battled shoulder issues throughout his career, said the only way he would go on the disabled list is if his shoulder doesn’t respond well in Saturday’s outing.
  • The A’s bullpen served up two homers after Ross left. J.P. Arencibia homered off Pedro Figueroa to make it 4-1 in the seventh and Edwin Encarnacion went deep off Jerry Blevins in the eighth to make it 5-2.
  • A’s assistant general manager David Forst said no plan has been finalized for when and where Manny Ramirez will begin his 10-game minor league assignment. He is eligible to join the major league club May 30, the day his 50-game suspension ends. If the A’s simply count backward from that date and have him play 10 straight games, he could join Triple-A Sacramento starting May 20 at Albuquerque.
  • Kurt Suzuki was out of the lineup after being hit in the left hand by Jose Bautista’s backswing Tuesday night. Melvin said Suzuki probably would have gotten Wednesday off anyway, but that the rest was especially needed after the injury. Suzuki was hit by a pitch in the same area of his hand May 2 at Boston.

    “He was in pain last night,” Melvin said. “He’s really tough, but last night it got him. Gripping the bat is an issue.”

  • Reddick made his second straight start in center field in place of Cespedes. There’s no word on when Coco Crisp (inner ear infection) might return from the D.L. He is eligible May 18. Crisp would be a natural fill-in at center were he healthy.
  • Brett Anderson threw 15 pitches in a simulated game in Phoenix.

    Big number

    10 Runners left on base by the A’s during Wednesday’s loss. Five of those runners were in scoring position when the inning ended. The A’s are hitting .208 with runners in scoring position this season.

    • That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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    Jays looking to maintain hold on slumping Angels

    Posted on 05 May 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    While Albert Pujols’ slump may be most glaring, the rest of the Los Angeles Angels haven’t done much to pick up the slack for their struggling superstar.

    After getting shut out in consecutive games, the Angels and Pujols will try to end their woes while denying the Toronto Blue Jays a season-high fifth straight win Saturday night (9:05 p.m. ET).

    Pujols’ batting average dropped to .194 – easily a career low through a season’s first 27 games – after he went 0 for 4 in Friday’s 4-0 defeat to Toronto. The three-time NL MVP, 5 for 54 with one RBI over his last 14 games, has no home runs and five RBIs.

    His 33-game, 137-at bat homerless drought in regular-season play is the longest in his career.

    “I’m fine. I mean, this is baseball. It’s a long year,” Pujols said. “I’ve been in this situation before, so I need to have faith and stay strong, knowing this bad time will pass. If it’s meant to be like this the whole year, I’ll deal with it. But I’m a great hitter and I know I can hit.”

    The Angels (10-17), batting .239 as a team, have already been shut out six times and have scored three runs or fewer in 15 games.

    A matchup with Kyle Drabek (2-2, 2.40 ERA) might not help them get back on track. The 24-year-old right-hander has yielded two runs or fewer in each of his five starts this season.

    However, he’s lost his last two outings while receiving one total run of support. His 4-1 loss to Texas on Monday is the only defeat over the last seven games for the Blue Jays (16-11).

    Toronto has outscored opponents 43-18 during its 6-1 stretch, and has homered in eight consecutive contests. Jose Bautista hit his fifth of the season and second of the Blue Jays’ four-game winning streak on Friday, but he’s still batting only .177 in 2012.

    “I’m trying to have good at-bats, but I’m not seeing too many pitches over the heart of the plate,” Bautista said. “A lot of bad breaks have been going my way, and I just hope the tide turns soon.”

    C.J. Wilson (3-2, 2.70) will get the ball for the Angels on Saturday.

    The left-hander lasted a season-high 7 1-3 innings in a 4-3 win over Minnesota on Monday, allowing all three runs but keeping the Twins scoreless until the eighth.

    “The first seven innings were about as well as I’ve pitched all year,” Wilson said.

    Wilson didn’t pitch well the last time he faced Toronto, getting tagged for seven runs and seven hits over 3 2-3 innings of a 7-3 defeat for Texas on July 31. He’s 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays.

    Drabek did not get a decision in his only start against the Angels on April 8, 2011, allowing two runs over six innings of a 3-2 Blue Jays victory in Anaheim.

    Drabek has never faced Pujols, but Torii Hunter and Howie Kendrick are each 3 for 4 in their career against him. Blue Jays slugger Adam Lind is 4 for 7 off Wilson.

    Toronto is seeking its first five-game winning streak since July 8-15.

    The last four games at Angel Stadium have featured a complete-game shutout, including Jered Weaver’s no-hitter for the home team Wednesday.

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    Orioles bats show up Jays in sweep

    Posted on 27 April 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

     
    Apr 26, 2012 – 10:44 PM ET
    | Last Updated: Apr 27, 2012 12:57 AM ET

    BALTIMORE —  Before every series, the Toronto Blue Jays and their coaching staff gather for an advance meeting to discuss the next opponent. When Friday’s meeting convenes in the Rogers Centre, the discussion may include a new enemy: themselves.

    The Blue Jays lost three straight games in Baltimore. They scored a total of three runs, only one of which was earned. They collected 16 hits and batted .168. During one stretch, they went 20 consecutive innings without touching home plate.

    “We’ll have a chance to talk [Friday] in our advance meeting,” manager John Farrell said after his club lost 5-2 Thursday night. “I don’t think anybody likes coming out of here with a sweep.”

    Asked what he would tell his troops, he replied: “There’ll be a message.”

    The road trip started with four straight victories in Kansas City and ended in humiliation against the Orioles. Once a Toronto patsy, Baltimore holds a 5-1 lead in the current season series.

    “I’m not really worried about our offence,” said Jose Bautista, who went 1-for-11 in the series and is batting .194. “I know we’re going to pick it up. I just hope we do it sooner than later.”

    That was as close as he came to displaying concern after the latest loss.

    “I’m not going to dwell on it,” he said. “We’ve got more important games ahead of us. Our pitchers are doing awesome, so on the offensive side  we just would like to give them better support.”

    The Jays take a 10-9 record into a weekend series at home against Seattle. The Mariners come to Toronto buoyed by their three-game sweep of the Tigers in Detroit.

    “We’ve got to play better collectively, as a group, as a staff,” Farrell said.

    Bautista said he did not expect anything unusual in Friday’s advance meeting, nor did he plan to address his teammates.

    “Other than just playing hard and trying to lead by example and doing things like that, I don’t think I have to do anything extraordinary [in the meeting],” he said. “If I started doing stuff like that when things are not going great, it’s just not going to come natural.”

    As for his own lacklustre performance so far, he said the solution is straightforward.

    “I got myself out three times today by swinging at bad pitches. I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again: Swing at strikes. That’s all I’ve got to do.”

    Rookie Drew Hutchison allowed the Orioles two runs on six hits in five-plus innings. Baltimore starter Brian Matusz came in with a 7.98 ERA and a personal 12-game losing streak, but the Jays managed just five hits and two unearned runs against him in six innings.

    The game turned in the eighth when Adam Jones homered off Casey Janssen. Two batters later, Chris Davis hit a two-run shot off Darren Oliver.

    In the sixth, Luis Perez bailed Hutchison out of a jam. In the seventh, Janssen did the same for Perez. But Jones led off the eighth with his sixth homer.

    The Jays’ only scoring came on a three-base error by first baseman Nick Johnson on an Eric Thames bouncer in the sixth. First ruled a triple, the play was changed after the official scorer noticed that Johnson had waved his backhand at a playable grounder that wound up in the right-field corner.

    That gave Toronto a brief 2-1 lead. But in the bottom of the sixth, Hutchison gave up a double and an infield single, on which shortstop Yunel Escobar made an ill-advised throw that bounced past first, allowing the tying run to score. From deep in the hole, Escobar had no chance to get Jones on the play.

    Farrell started an unusual lineup, sending up eight right-handed batters against the left-handed Matusz. Typically, when he loads up with righties, he has kept lefty-hitting Colby Rasmus on the field, but in this case he rested Rasmus and put Rajai Davis in centre.

    Thames was the lone lefty hitter in the lineup, leaving Kelly Johnson and Adam Lind on the bench. Brett Lawrie batted second for the first time in his career and Ben Francisco served as the DH.

    This was nothing new for Matusz. Thames was just the fifth left-handed batter he had faced in four starts, and for good reason. Entering the game, righties were batting .396 against Matusz.

    But for the past three nights, it hardly mattered who batted for the Jays or which batter’s box they occupied.

    Hutchison improved on his debut performance last Saturday in Kansas City, when he allowed five runs in 5 1/3 innings. Against Baltimore, he allowed six hits, walked one and struck out two.

    “I think I threw the ball pretty well,” Hutchison said. “I got into a nice rhythm there for four innings. I felt like I executed some quality pitches.”

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    Orioles go after fourth straight win and sweep of…

    Posted on 26 April 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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    The Sports Network

    Rasmus homers twice as Blue Jays down Royals

    Posted on 22 April 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Drew Hutchison had a lot of help from his offence to win his major league debut.

    Colby Rasmus hit two home runs to back Hutchison and the Toronto Blue Jays handed the Kansas City Royals their ninth straight loss, 9-5 Saturday night.

    Edwin Encarnacion also homered and drove in three runs for the Blue Jays, who stroked a season high 14 hits.

    “The offence did a great job and made it a little easier on me,” Hutchison said. “I wouldn’t say easy, but anytime they are putting up that type of run support it gives you a chance to go out there and really compete.”

    Hutchison (1-0), who had never pitched above Double-A before Saturday, left after 99 pitches and 5 1-3 innings, allowing five runs and eight hits, including two homers. Hutchison became the eighth youngest starting pitcher in Blue Jays history at 21 years, 243 days.

    “It was good to get it out the way and it was a lot of fun,” Hutchison said. “I kind of took a look around. I really wasn’t that nervous. There was a little bit of a different feeling, but I enjoyed it.”

    He became the first Blue Jays pitcher to win his debut since Ricky Romero on April 9, 2009. The Royals losing skid is their longest since losing 10 in a row July 10-24, 2009. They have lost a club record nine consecutive home games, dating to last season.

    Rasmus hit a two-run homer off Everett Teaford (0-1) in the sixth to put the Blue Jays ahead to stay, 6-5. He and Encarnacion homered off rookie reliever Kelvin Herrera in the three-run seventh. It was Rasmus’ third career multihomer game.

    “I thought Drew threw the ball as we anticipated,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “He had the one four-run inning where he worked behind in the count. He got a key ground ball double play in the one inning to slow down another potential threat. I thought he kept his poise. He threw strikes with his fastball particularly. All and all I think an impressive first-time out.”

    Left-hander Darren Oliver, who at 41 is nearly twice the age of Hutchison, entered in the sixth after Alcides Escobar’s single advanced Mike Moustakas to third. Oliver struck out Mitch Maier and retired Yuniesky Betancourt on a fly to preserve the lead. Escobar had four hits, matching his career high.

    “That’s just a great job by him to come in there and really defuse that situation,” Hutchison said.

    By somebody old enough to be his father.

    “I guess, but I won’t say that too loud,” Hutchison said. “His locker is right down there.”

    Royals manager Ned Yost said Hutchison “did a good job.”

    “He commanded the ball, worked both sides of the plate and kept it down,” Yost said. “We had opportunities to score, and did score. You want your bullpen to hold them and we just couldn’t do that.”

    Royals starter Luis Mendoza faced 19 batters and 11 reached base — 10 hits and a walk — before being pulled with one out in the fourth. The Blue Jays batted around in a four-run fourth that Adam Lind started with a double.

    Five consecutive one-out singles by Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie, Rasmus, J.P. Arencibia and Yunel Escobar knocked Mendoza out of the game, giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 advantage. In three starts, Mendoza has allowed 24 hits, walked nine and struck out four in 13 innings.

    Teaford, who had not pitched since April 13, replaced Mendoza and walked Kelly Johnson to load the bases before getting Jose Bautista to line out into an inning-ending double play.

    Alex Gordon homered in the first for the Royals. Eric Hosmer, who hit into a triple play Friday, hit a two-run homer off Hutchison in the four-run fifth to give the Royals a short-lived 5-4 lead. Maier had an RBI triple and scored on Betancourt’s single before Hosmer’s homer.

    That’s all the news for today.

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    Blue Jays-Royals Preview

    Posted on 22 April 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    The Toronto Blue Jays have been consistently inconsistent through their first 14 contests this season, alternating between two consecutive wins and two losses in a row.

    Another matchup with the struggling Kansas City Royals might help them finally break that pattern.

    While the Blue Jays will seek a season-high third straight win Sunday, the Royals will attempt to avoid both the longest home losing streak in their history and their longest skid in four seasons.

    Toronto (8-6) has had plenty of difficulty getting into a groove, but a visit to Kansas City could provide the cure. After a one-run victory in Friday’s series opener, the Blue Jays pulled away for a decisive 9-5 win Saturday with help from Colby Rasmus.

    The center fielder hit a pair of homers for the third time in his career and drove in four runs. Edwin Encarnacion also homered and finished with three hits and three RBIs.

    “(Rasmus) has been in a good place for quite a while,” manager John Farrell told the Blue Jays’ official website. “We’re seeing the average … and the overall production continue to climb. I think he feels comfortable.”

    The Blue Jays had a season-high 14 hits Friday, and matched their season high in runs while sending the Royals (3-11) to a ninth consecutive defeat. Kansas City also dropped to 0-8 at Kauffman Stadium, adding to the worst home start in franchise history, and suffered its ninth straight loss there overall to tie a club record.

    “Just keep pluggin’,” manager Ned Yost told the team’s official website. “They’re good enough to find a way to break out of it, and when they do they’re going to score a bunch of runs and this streak will be way in the rear-view mirror.”

    Kansas City hasn’t dropped 10 in a row overall since July 10-24, 2009. Danny Duffy (1-1, 2.13 ERA) will try to help prevent that dubious feat with another solid outing.

    The left-hander was outdueled by reigning AL MVP Justin Verlander during a 3-2 loss to Detroit on Monday – giving up all three runs on a pair of homers – after allowing one hit over six innings of a 3-0 win in Oakland on April 10.

    Duffy was tagged for five runs and eight hits over four innings in his only matchup with Toronto, a 9-8 home loss last June 8.

    His counterpart for Sunday’s game, fellow southpaw Ricky Romero (2-0, 3.72), has been steady against the Royals, allowing three runs in each of his three matchups. He threw eight innings in his only visit to Kansas City last June 9 but was on the wrong end of a 3-2 defeat.

    Romero is seeking his third win in as many starts after he got plenty of help in a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. He gave up three runs and scattered eight hits over six innings.

    Romero is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three total starts against Kansas City.

    That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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    Seven-run sixth inning pushes Blue Jays past…

    Posted on 15 April 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

    CBSSports.com wire reports


    TORONTO — Brian Matusz was disappointed after losing his 11th straight decision.

    The long-suffering Baltimore left-hander pitched better than in his first start, but simply wasn’t good enough to win.

    Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer, Brett Lawrie added a solo shot and the Toronto Blue Jays used a seven-run sixth inning to beat the Orioles 9-2 on Sunday.

    Matusz (0-2) allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings and saw losing streak hit 11, the longest active run of defeats in the majors.

    “It’s so frustrating,” Matusz said. “I know what went on last year, I know it was a horrible year and so far I’m off to a horrible start. It’s building up and it’s frustrating. I’m just flat-out not getting the job done.”

    Matusz, who walked four and struck out four, has not won since June 6, 2011, against Oakland. He was 1-9 in 12 starts last season.

    “His fastball command is still not quite where it needs to be,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He had some counts he couldn’t quite put guys away.”

    Matusz was chased after giving up four runs in four innings in Monday’s start against the Yankees. The former first round pick fell to 0-3 with a 13.09 ERA in four career starts against Toronto.

    “I was really erratic out of the windup today, never found a rhythm,” he said. “At times when I got ahead in the count, I didn’t make a quality pitch to finish it.”

    That was the case in Toronto’s seven-run sixth. Matusz got ahead 0-2 on Jose Bautista, who led off with a double, and again on Encarnacion, who drilled a two-run homer to left as Toronto took the lead for good.

    “We had the momentum going and they jumped right back on top with a big inning,” Matusz said. “Things like that can’t happen. We’re too good of a team to let that happen.”

    After winning the first two games of the series, it was a disappointing finale for the Orioles, who gave up more runs in one inning than they had allowed in any game so far this season.

    “We needed this sweep,” Baltimore outfielder Adam Jones said. “We wanted this sweep. It’s still awesome winning a series here since we hadn’t won one since `08. But you get two, you want the three. You want to stomp on their throats.”

    Yunel Escobar had three hits and drove in two runs and right-hander Kyle Drabek won his consecutive starts for the first time in his career as the Blue Jays avoided what would have been their first three-game sweep by Baltimore since April 2005.

    “Drabek is nasty,” Jones said. “He’s got good stuff. He’s was just pounding the strike zone.”

    Drabek (2-0) allowed one earned run and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

    Encarnacion reached base four times, drove in two runs and scored twice. Lawrie had two hits and three RBI.

    Luis Perez got two outs in the eighth and fellow lefty Evan Crawford made his major league debut in a scoreless ninth.

    Baltimore took the lead in the second on Ronny Paulino’s RBI groundout. Toronto tied it in the fourth when Lawrie hit his first homer of the season.

    The Orioles reclaimed the lead in the sixth when Jones hit his third home run, a drive off the facing of the third deck in left.

    “Crushed it,” Jones said. “Point blank.”

    Toronto broke open the game in the bottom half, sending 13 batters to the plate. After Encarnacion’s homer, Ben Francisco singled and Rajai Davis walked before Orioles manager Buck Showalter replaced Matusz with former Blue Jays closer Kevin Gregg, who was booed as he took the mound.

    Jeff Mathis greeted Gregg with an RBI single, Escobar followed with a two-run double and Kelly Johnson also doubled. Gregg walked Bautista and Escobar to load the bases for Lawrie, who drove in the seventh run of the inning when he was hit on the left shoulder.

    “[Gregg] made some mistakes and paid the price for it,” Showalter said.

    Gregg finally ended the inning when Francisco, the seventh batter he faced, flied out.

    Toronto added one more against Troy Patton in the eighth when Encarnacion hit a two-out double and scored on Lawrie’s single.

    Notes

    • Baltimore C Matt Wieters got his first day off this season. He was replaced by Paulino.
    • The Orioles fell to 5-1 when scoring first.
    • Baltimore DH Nick Johnson was hit on the left arm by a pitch in the eighth, but stayed in the game.
    • Seven of Encarnacion’s 11 hits this season have extra-base hits.
    • Toronto has not been swept at home since June 10-12, 2011, when they dropped three straight to Boston.

    If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

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    McGowan ready to return favour after Jays stuck…

    Posted on 01 March 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    DUNEDIN, Fla. – Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan is grateful the organization stuck with him during his long road back from injuries.

    He’s ready to prove that he’s worth the wait.

    For the first time since 2008, McGowan’s off-season routine was not overloaded with shoulder rehabilitation. He finally feels fresh again and will get a chance this spring to show he belongs in Toronto’s starting rotation.

    “Any other organization I might have been done, I might have been looking for a new team,” McGowan said Thursday. “But (GM) Alex (Anthopoulos) stuck with me and I’m glad the (organization) did. Now it’s my turn to return the favour to them and I hope I do that.”

    The six-foot-three, 235-pound right-hander has shown flashes of brilliance since making his big-league debut in 2005.

    After an impressive 12-10 campaign in 2007, McGowan underwent surgery the following year to repair fraying of the labrum in his right shoulder. He underwent another procedure two years later to repair a torn right rotator cuff.

    Despite the physical and mental drain, McGowan never lost sight of his goal of a big-league return and stuck it out over a seemingly endless run of rehab.

    “It’s kind of like Groundhog Day,” McGowan said. “It seems like you do the same thing every single day. The exercises you have to do are tedious little things but I had to do them.

    “That’s pretty much what every day consisted of.”

    His hard work paid off last September when he made his first major-league appearance in over three years. It was a key building block for the 29-year-old Savannah, Ga., native, who has been in great spirits over a warm, sunny opening week of camp at the team’s spring training facility.

    McGowan said he feels refreshed and “fully charged” after a normal off-season.

    “I feel like I’m more energized,” he said. “I actually got to rest this off-season. I took some time off to spend with my family instead of steadily going to rehab. It takes a toll on you over time.

    “But I had time to clear my mind and enjoy my family for an off-season and that was a good thing.”

    It wasn’t easy to maintain his focus when he was out of action. McGowan was determined to persevere even when questions about the future crept into his mind.

    “There were some times you have thoughts of, ‘Am I ever going to pitch again?’” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have those thoughts.

    “It was those days that I went out and threw and my arm felt really good and I said, ‘I know it’s there.’ So I needed to work harder to get it to be a consistent thing.”

    McGowan received a nice ovation on Sept. 6 when he stepped back on the Rogers Centre mound for a relief appearance. It was one of his career highlights.

    “That to me was a bigger achievement than being called up for the first time to the big leagues — because of the stuff I went through,” he said. “I never dreamed I’d have to work that hard for three years just to pitch again. When I got back up here it was a surreal moment for me.”

    McGowan was 0-2 with a 6.43 earned-run average last season. More importantly, he showed that he had the required velocity, control and pitch variety for the big-league level.

    Now he’s in consideration for a spot at the back end of the starting rotation.

    “I know the numbers don’t look great (from 2011) but I thought the stuff was outstanding,” Anthopoulos said. “I’m probably as excited about him as I am about any of our starters.”

    In addition to his shoulder issues, McGowan underwent ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow in 2004 and needed knee surgery in 2009. It’s no surprise that his top goals for this year are to simply stay healthy and be consistent on the hill.

    “It’s going to take a lot of hard work,” he said. “But it’s something I’m willing to do. I’m willing to put the time in. I’m looking forward to it.”

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