TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista was under a lot of pressure after signing a long-term contract extension and becoming the face of the franchise after his breakout 2010 campaign.

He responded with one of the best individual seasons in team history. On Monday, he just might be rewarded for his efforts.

Bautista is a contender for the American League MVP award after hitting .302 with 43 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .447 on-base percentage.

“He’s as good as it gets,” Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in a recent interview. “I’m certainly hopeful for him and he certainly deserves it.”

There is no clear favourite for the AL honour this year.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox are also in the mix along with New York’s Curtis Granderson. Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers could also be a factor.

The results of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote will be announced at 2 p.m. ET Monday.

“I realize that I had a good year on the individual side,” Bautista said. “But I do realize that there are other guys around the league who had great years as well.

“All I can do right now is be hopeful.”

Anthopoulos said Bautista is a well-rounded player who can do it all.

“I think with what Jose means to the team and the organization — playing Gold Glove defence both in right field and at third — and the offensive numbers speak for themselves,” Anthopoulos said. “With everything he’s done, he’s by far for me the MVP.”

Bautista recently won his second straight Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL after a vote by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers.

The 31-year-old slugger led the major leagues in home runs, walks (132), slugging percentage (.608) and on-base plus slugging (1.056) to become the first player since Barry Bonds in 2001 to lead in four offensive categories.

However, unlike the other contenders, Bautista was not playing meaningful baseball in September.

Whether the baseball writers take that into consideration remains to be seen.

“Obviously from a biased standpoint, I think it’s the best player in the league,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s not the best player on a playoff team.”

Former Toronto outfielder George Bell was named league MVP in 1987. He is the only Blue Jay to have won the award.

The six-foot-one 192-pound Bautista smiled when asked who he would select if he had a vote.

“Obviously myself if I was allowed to,” Bautista said with a laugh. “Who wouldn’t?”

His No. 2 pick would be Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera.

“He’s the one guy that some people are overlooking,” Bautista said. “He was on the field for 160 games for the Detroit Tigers and they made the playoffs.

“I think I would vote for him.”

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers won the AL MVP award last year. The 2011 National League MVP award winner will be named Tuesday.

Jays infielder Brett Lawrie said Bautista posts big numbers and does the little things too.

“He’s a tremendous player,” Lawrie said. “He’s worked hard to get where he’s at right now.

“I’m glad he’s on my team, I can tell you that.”

(Sports Network) – The Toronto Blue Jays take aim at a seventh straight win this evening when they wrap up a brief two-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

The Blue Jays stopped the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak in Monday’s opener, as Aaron Hill and Yunel Escobar both had a pair of hits and an RBI to lift Toronto to a 4-2 victory. Juan Rivera and J.P. Arencibia also brought in runs for the Blue Jays, who have won seven of their last 10.

Toronto starter Kyle Drabek (3-2) got the win, allowing just one run on three hits and six walks.

“I thought tonight he really took a step forward in his own development,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “He pitched, he didn’t throw, and really kept his emotions in check.

“I really think tonight was a step forward in the right direction.”

Jhonny Peralta had a solo homer for Detroit, while Victor Martinez went 0- for-4 to end his 13-game hitting streak. The loss was just the second for the Tigers in their last 12 games.

Max Scherzer, who was gunning to become the first seven-game winner in the majors, gave up an unearned run in the seventh inning in a no-decision. Joaquin Benoit (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing three runs in the eighth.

Benoit is now pitching to a 7.98 ERA on the year.

“He’s obviously struggling,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said of Benoit. “We keep looking to see if we can see something and we’ll continue to do that. Needless to say, he struggled obviously. It looks to me like his location is the most important thing. It’s not velocity.”

Getting the call for the Blue Jays tonight will be righty Jesse Litsch, who has won his last two starts. Litsch won for the third time in four starts and improved to 4-2 on the year on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox, as he allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“He had good stuff, he used his fastball effectively, showed a little increase in velocity,” Toronto manager John Farrell said. “He did another good job.”

Litsch, who has pitched to a 4.14 ERA on the year, beat the Tigers two starts ago and is 1-1 in four starts against them with a 2.92 ERA.

Detroit, meanwhile, will counter with right-hander Rick Porcello, who is 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA. Porcello won his third straight decision last Tuesday in Minnesota, as he held the Twins to a run and three hits over five innings.

Since surrendering 10 runs in losing his first two starts, Porcello has gone 3-0 and has allowed a total of seven runs.

Porcello has faced the Blue Jays four times and is 2-2 against them with a 3.75 ERA.

Detroit took three of four from the Jays earlier in the season after the teams split eight games a year ago.

 

By: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette

Toronto Blue Jays’ Adam Lind, left, scores past Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila during the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Friday, May 6, 2011.

Jim Leyland praised him for Phil Coke for his perseverance. The struggling left-hander didn’t much feel like talking about it.
Coke gave up a career-high 11 hits and extended his winless streak to four starts as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-4 on Friday night.
Leyland said Coke’s line wasn’t a fair indication of how the left-hander had pitched.
“I thought he really hung in there and did OK,” Leyland said. “He gave up some hits that were just hit in the right place, the exact right place.”
But a downcast Coke cut short his postgame interview session, pleading to be left alone.
“Sorry guys, I’m really not much for conversation this evening,” he said.
Coke pitched six innings, giving up four runs. He walked none and struck out five.
Adam Lind homered and drove in two runs while Jesse Litsch struck out a career-high nine for the Blue Jays, who pounded out a season-high 15 hits.
Lind had an RBI single off Coke (1-5) during a three-run first and added a solo drive to center in the eighth, his seventh of the season. Toronto’s first baseman extended his hitting streak to 11 games and is batting .477 (21 for 44) over that span.
“He’s hitting home runs, he’s doing it all right now,” Litsch said.
Lind, who came in tied with three other players for the AL RBI lead, went 2 for 5 as the Blue Jays collected a season-high 15 hits. Lind has 27 RBIs, including 15 in his past 10 games.
“He’s obviously a very powerful guy but he’s got tremendous balance with just a great swing,” Leyland said. “He’s been swinging exceptionally well.”
Litsch (3-2) won for the second time in three starts since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on April 25. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings and walked three.
“He did a really good job of mixing speeds and location,” Detroit’s Scott Sizemore said. “He had everything going tonight.”
The nine strikeouts were one more than Litsch had against the New York Yankees on Sept. 23, 2008.
“A lot of them were cutters,” Litsch said. “They were just going straight down. That’s where I want to be.”
Brandon Inge hit a two-run double off Shawn Camp in the ninth and Sizemore added an RBI single as Detroit cut the deficit in half. Frank Francisco came on and ended it by getting Brennan Boesch to line out, picking up his second save.
“Too little, too late,” Leyland said.”
Detroit had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the first, but Litsch got out of it when Boesch was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on Victor Martinez’s single to left.
“That was obviously a big play,” Leyland said. “We thought we had one on the board. We didn’t get anything to show for it and they end up getting three on the board.”
Toronto jumped on Coke in the bottom half, with five of the first six batters collecting singles. Lind opened the scoring with a base hit to left before Juan Rivera and J.P. Arencibia followed with run-scoring singles up the middle.
The Blue Jays got one more in the third. Rivera led off with a single and scored when Arencibia doubled up the alley in right-center.
After his shaky first, Litsch set down seven of the next eight batters but gave up a run in the fourth. Martinez drew a one-out walk, moved to third on a double by Magglio Ordonez and scored on Jhonny Peralta’s RBI grounder.
“We didn’t do a whole lot with him,” Leyland said.
Lind’s homer off Brayan Villarreal put Toronto up 5-1, and a two-out bloop single by Corey Patterson in the eighth scored two more. Brad Thomas surrendered the hit but both runs were charged to Villarreal.
The Tigers had homered in nine consecutive games in Toronto dating to Apr. 21, 2008, but failed to clear the fence in this one.
NOTES: Blue Jays 2B Aaron Hill (right hamstring) and OF Jose Bautista (stiff neck) remain on track to return Sunday, manager John Farrell said. … Blue Jays LHP Ricky Romero, whose scheduled start Thursday at Tampa Bay was pushed back because of soreness in his side, is expected pitch against the Tigers on Saturday. … Lind had a career-high 14 game hitting streak in 2010.

After insisting home-run king Jose Bautista would be their third baseman this season, the Toronto Blue Jays have decided to move him back to right field.

The move is permanent, manager John Farrell said Tuesday. It is based on Edwin Encarnacion having come into camp roughly 14 pounds lighter and the resulting defensive improvement he has shown. Encarnacion, originally ticketed as the designated hitter and backup first baseman, will be the everyday third baseman, as he was for much of last season.

Juan Rivera, who played right field regularly this spring, will get most of his at-bats as the DH and will spell Bautista and Travis Snider in the corner outfield spots when they get a day off, Farrell said.

Bautista brings a superb arm to the outfield and gives the Jays “greater impact out there,” Farrell said.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos, Farrell and the coaching staff began to discuss the move “10 or 12 days ago,” as Encarnacion’s defensive improvement — especially his footwork — became more apparent, Farrell said.

Bautista has always said the Jays are a better defensive team with him in right field. But he insisted Tuesday that he does not “prefer” right field to third base.

Farrell made it clear this was a club decision.

“We went to him. He didn’t come to us,” Farrell said.

Asked if he saw the move coming, Bautista said: “Absolutely not.” He said  he was told Monday night that management was considering the change. On Tuesday morning, they confirmed it.

“I think it speaks volumes of the work Edwin has done in the offseason,” Bautista said. “He came in in shape and improved his range and worked on his feet.”

Email: jlott@nationalpost.com | Twitter: @LottOnBaseball

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Brad Penny was strong for five innings of his start against Toronto on Saturday. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press file)

Brad Penny pitched five solid innings and pinch-hitter Ryan Strieby had a two-out single in the eighth, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 win over a Toronto Blue Jays split squad Saturday at Lakeland, Fla.

Toronto’s other half beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4, in Dunedin.

Strieby’s hit went off third baseman John Tolisano’s glove and scored Ramon Santiago, who led off the inning with a triple just past diving right-fielder Moises Sierra.

“There were a lot of good things in that game. Yesterday we won, but it was ugly. There were things to be disturbed about in that game,” Leyland said of Friday’s 7-4 win over the Cardinals. “Today, there really wasn’t a lot to be disturbed about.”

For one, Miguel Cabrera continued to break out of a 4-for-23 spring start. After hitting a double and homer Friday, he manufactured Detroit’s first run in the fourth. He walked, went first to third on Brennan Boesch’s single, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Inge.

“If you want to be aggressive in a game, you have to be do that now in spring training,” said Cabrera, who added a single to raise his average to .241. “You’ve got to keep working hard, keep playing, trying to be consistent.”

Toronto led 3-1 in the seventh, but Detroit rallied back on a solo homer by second baseman Scott Sizemore and a fielder’s choice by pinch-hitter Scott Thorman.

Penny gave up leadoff hits in four of his five innings, but limited Toronto to two runs — one earned. After not pitching since May in St. Louis last season because of a lower back injury, the free agent has a 0.87 earned-run average in three spring starts.

Poor location

“I was behind all day. I didn’t feel great, so I wasn’t throwing it real hard at all. My location wasn’t great either, so that’s not a good combination,” said Penny. “It’s the third time I’ve faced hitters since May, so I’m pleased with it. As long as I’m healthy and throwing, I don’t really care about my results in spring, good or bad.”

Meanwhile, Jose Bautista hit a tying two-run double in the fifth inning, Mike McCoy had a go-ahead RBI single in a two-run seventh and the other half of the Jays’ split beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4.

Ricky Romero, named Friday as the Blue Jays opening day starter, gave up four runs on four hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings before being removed after 73 pitches. He gave up two runs in the first inning, one on Andrew McCutcheon’s double. McCutcheon drove in two more in the third with his second homer this spring to put the Pirates up 4-1.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo home run in the fourth before Bautista tied it an inning later.

“He never seemed to find a rhythm [to] use multiple pitches for strikes,” said rookie Blue Jays manager John Farrell of Romero. “He had a hard time even establishing one pitch for a go-to strike if he fell behind in the count. It was a struggle for him, no question.”

Romero said he felt fine warming up in the bullpen, but once the game started, “I just had no feel for my fastball or anything else.”

“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, just a bad day,” Romero said. “It’s embarrassing to go out there and walk five guys. I’ve been known to walk guys before but this is really uncharacteristic of me.”

On the injury front, outfielder Scott Podsednik was scratched from Toronto’s lineup, one day after his spring debut, due to a flareup of plantar fasciitis, inflammation in his left heel.

“It’s a little more tender than I expected it today,” Podsednik said, “so we’re going to give it day, try to do what we can to calm it down, come back tomorrow and see where we are.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Brett Lawrie tends to hit the ball to the opposite field. On Saturday, the highly touted Toronto rookie from Langley, B.C., impressed his manager by pulling one for a key hit.

The three-run shot triggered the Blue Jays’ six-run eighth inning against right-hander Brayan Villarreal, and sent Toronto to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

“One of the most exciting things today was that he turned on the ball like he did,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said of Lawrie. “His swing is a power stroke inside-out, but to show the ability to clear his front hip the way he did today, that was impressive.”

Lawrie said turning on the ball “comes a lot with not thinking. When you tend to think up there things get rather bad for you.”

The eighth inning included two errors by Tigers second baseman Gustavo Nunez on consecutive plays, allowing two runs to score. It spoiled Tigers starter Jacob Turner’s performance — three shutout innings including three strikeouts in his second start against the Blue Jays.

“Last time I faced these guys I didn’t have a feel for (the changeup) coming off my fingers,” Turner said. “Today I felt good with it. It’s one of those confidence pitches. Once you start throwing it for strikes I feel I can throw it whenever I need to.”

Kyle Drabek, whose first start for the Blue Jays was delayed five days because of a stiff neck, allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts in two innings.

The 19-year-old Turner has “a lot of confidence for a young guy and he should,” Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. “He’s got the stuff. He can get big league hitters out. If he keeps improving and doing what he does, he’s going to get them out for a long time.”

NOTES: Left-fielder Travis Snider had a single in two at-bats in his spring debut after missing Toronto’s first seven games with an upper rib injury sustained before training camp while playing golf. … Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, who played in a B game Wednesday, his first spring appearance due to tightness in his right quadriceps muscle, is likely to sit out at least three more games. … Toronto made its first roster moves, returning first baseman Mike McDade, catcher A.J. Jimenez and right-handers Deck McGuire and Chad Jenkins to its minor league camp. … Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez will start Sunday against Detroit’s Justin Verlander. … Ricky Romero will start Sunday for the Blue Jays against Pittsburgh’s James McDonald.

Brett Lawrie tends to hit the ball to the opposite field. On Saturday, the highly touted Toronto rookie impressed his manager by pulling one for a key hit.

The three-run shot triggered the Blue Jays’ six-run eighth inning against right-hander Brayan Villarreal, and sent Toronto to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

“One of the most exciting things today was that he turned on the ball like he did,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “His swing is a power stroke inside-out, but to show the ability to clear his front hip the way he did today, that was impressive.”

Lawrie said turning on the ball “comes a lot with not thinking. When you tend to think up there things get rather bad for you.”

The eighth inning included two errors by Tigers second baseman Gustavo Nunez on consecutive plays, allowing two runs to score. It spoiled Tigers starter Jacob Turner’s performance — three shutout innings including three strikeouts in his second start against the Blue Jays.

“Last time I faced these guys I didn’t have a feel for (the changeup) coming off my fingers,” Turner said. “Today I felt good with it. It’s one of those confidence pitches. Once you start throwing it for strikes I feel I can throw it whenever I need to.”

Kyle Drabek, whose first start for the Blue Jays was delayed five days because of a stiff neck, allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts in two innings.

The 19-year-old Turner has “a lot of confidence for a young guy and he should,” Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. “He’s got the stuff. He can get big league hitters out. If he keeps improving and doing what he does, he’s going to get them out for a long time.”

NOTES: Left fielder Travis Snider had a single in two at-bats in his spring debut after missing Toronto’s first seven games with an upper rib injury sustained before training camp while playing golf. Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, who played in a B game Wednesday, his first spring appearance due to tightness in his right quadriceps muscle, is likely to sit out at least three more games. Toronto made its first roster moves, returning first baseman Mike McDade, catcher A.J. Jimenez and right-handers Deck McGuire and Chad Jenkins to its minor league camp. Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez will start Sunday against Detroit’s Justin Verlander. Ricky Romero will start Sunday for the Blue Jays against Pittsburgh’s James McDonald.

Infielder Brett Lawrie came to Toronto in the deal with Milwaukee for pitcher Shaun Marcum. He’s considered one of the top prospects in baseball. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Brett Lawrie tends to hit the ball to the opposite field. On Saturday, the highly touted Toronto rookie from Langley, B.C., impressed his manager by pulling one for a key hit.

The three-run shot triggered the Blue Jays’ six-run eighth inning against right-hander Brayan Villarreal, and sent Toronto to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

“One of the most exciting things today was that he turned on the ball like he did,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said of Lawrie.

“His swing is a power stroke inside-out, but to show the ability to clear his front hip the way he did today, that was impressive.”

Lawrie said turning on the ball “comes a lot with not thinking. When you tend to think up there things get rather bad for you.”

The eighth inning included two errors by Tigers second baseman Gustavo Nunez on consecutive plays, allowing two runs to score. It spoiled Tigers starter Jacob Turner’s performance —three shutout innings including three strikeouts in his second start against the Blue Jays.

“Last time I faced these guys I didn’t have a feel for (the changeup) coming off my fingers,” Turner said. “Today I felt good with it. It’s one of those confidence pitches. Once you start throwing it for strikes I feel I can throw it whenever I need to.”

Kyle Drabek, whose first start for the Blue Jays was delayed five days because of a stiff neck, allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts in two innings.

The 19-year-old Turner has “a lot of confidence for a young guy and he should,” Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. “He’s got the stuff. He can get big league hitters out. If he keeps improving and doing what he does, he’s going to get them out for a long time.”

DUNEDIN, FLA. The Toronto Blue Jays dropped a 4-1 decision to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, sending them to their fifth defeat in six games.

With the tying run at the plate in the ninth and runners at first and third, Anthony Gose was picked off first base by right-hander Cesar Valdez and John Tolisano struck out swinging to end the game.

Gose’s huge lead, which had been so admired and discussed four days earlier against the Detroit Tigers, was criticized widely versus the Pirates, as Canadian Scott Richmond took the loss.

“The thing you start to look at is playing the game according to the game situation,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said of his overzealous rookie. “You get an aggressive baserunner on the basepaths and we’re down three. His run doesn’t mean anything, so those are the learning experiences that we’ve got to continue to highlight, particularly when these guys are still in camp getting reps and exposure.”

Left-hander Brett Cecil threw 54 pitches in his three innings, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts. It was his second start of the spring schedule.

“I’ve never faced these guys before, so I’m trying to feel my way around,” Cecil said. “That’s probably why a lot of counts got to 2-2, 3-2. I guess I ended up making pitches where their weakest spots were. If I had to say anything was wrong with that outing, just the curveball. The first 3-4 I threw were down in the dirt. I wouldn’t say it was all that bad. It’s always good to work up the ladder.”

The Blue Jays’ star of the game was centrefielder Rajai Davis.

Leading off the first inning, he lined a hit out over shortstop. Left-fielder Matt Diaz did not slow play the ball, but Davis hustled around first and beat the throw into second base. In the fourth inning, with Jon Rauch making his spring debut, Davis cut a single off in the alley and nailed Steve Pearce at second base.

Toronto Star

Brandon Inge #15 of the Detroit Tigers fields a ground ball during the third inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run double in his second game back with Detroit, leading a Tigers split squad to a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Cabrera cleared the bases with a drive to left-centre that rolled to the fence in a four-run third inning. He was 1-for-4 and scored a run as the designated hitter. He’s expected to play first base Wednesday against the Houston Astros.

Cabrera was 0-for-2 with a walk Monday against the New York Yankees in his first appearance since his arrest Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence. He is to be arraigned March 16.

The slugger hit .328 with 38 homers and 126 RBIs last season, finishing second in AL MVP voting to Texas’s Josh Hamilton.

Victor Martinez drove in the game’s only run with a sacrifice fly off Henderson Alvarez in the sixth inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 in an exhibition game Sunday.

“I was just throwing a nice, easy sinker,” right-handed pitcher Brad Penny said after tossing the first two innings of the Tigers’ second straight shutout.

“I got three ground-ball outs [in the second], and I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten three ground-ball outs because I usually don’t throw a sinker.”

The only run was unearned after a leadoff single by Andy Dirks, a bunt by Will Rhymes and a throwing error by Toronto catcher Joe Molina. Martinez followed with the sacrifice fly.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

The Associated Press  February 27, 2011 – 4:14 pm

Posted in: Baseball, Sports  Tags: Detroit Tigers, Mark Rzepzcynski, MLB, Spring training, Toronto Blue Jays, Victor Martinez

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Their exhibition opener shed little light on the virtues of the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays. Of course, early exhibition games rarely have such impact.

With John  Farrell managing his first game, the Jays lost 4-0 to the Detroit Tigers. Toronto managed just five hits, two by Yunel Escobar, and each of its first three pitchers yielded runs.

Farrell said Grapefruit League wins will take on far greater significance at the end of March.

“Wins are important because it does begin to develop a little bit of an internal belief in this group that will be here when we break this camp,” Farrell said.

“Personally, I might place a little bit more value or weight on those last two weeks, 10 days. Right now we’re getting the chance to take a look at a lot of different people and really build up some stamina.”

Starter Brett Cecil, a 15-game winner last season, escaped a first-inning jam and allowed a second-inning run. He was neither impressed with his work nor worried about it.

“Every pitch was on the opposite part of the plate than where I wanted it,” he said. “I left balls up. The changeup was real flat, straight in there. But it was the first time out.”

A year ago, Cecil was battling for a starting job and wound up missing a key chunk of spring training after he cut his finger. He opened the seasons at Triple-A. This spring, he can prepare for the season without anxiety.

“I’m pretty sure I know where I’m going to be this year, so it’s all about getting ready for the first start and taking it from there,” the left-hander said.

After Cecil pitched two innings, Robert Ray followed, allowing a run in his two-inning stint. Jesse Carlson allowed two runs in his one inning, hurting his cause with two walks.

On Saturday morning, Anthony Gose enjoyed a strong game against his former organization as the Jays’ B team defeated the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor-leaguers 8-1 in Clearwater.

The speedy Gose, a centre-field prospect, had two hits and stole a base after leading off the game with a single.

“There are certain guys that we’ve already discussed that have the green light,” Farrell said. “We don’t want to get in their way, particularly with Anthony. One of his real strengths is his ability to steal bases and his speed.

“We had a chance to just watch his talents play out — and he does things so gracefully — that it was a chance to set the tone.”

Gose stole 45 bases last season but was caught 32 times. The Jays are working with him on improving his jumps and reads.

Toronto wants to find out ” how efficient he can become a base stealer,” Farrell said. “He has a long history of it already at an early age so we’ll continue that path with him.”

Email: jlott@nationalpost.com | Twitter: @LottOnBaseball

By Sean Yuille – Managing Editor

Read More: Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays

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Feb 26, 2011 - The Detroit Tigers followed up yesterday’s exhibition win over Florida Southern with a 4-0 victory today over the Toronto Blue Jays in their Grapefruit League opener. The game was played Dunedin, Florida, at the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in front of a crowd of nearly 4,000 people.

Phil Coke got the win for the Tigers, pitching two innings and allowing only one hit. Duane Below picked up the hold for the Tigers, also going two innings. The other pitchers that played for the Tigers were Al Alburquerque, Brad Thomas, Brendan Wise, John Bale and Robbie Weinhardt. They all pitched one inning.

The Tigers’ four runs came from Scott Sizemore, Ryan Strieby and Casper Wells. Sizemore had a pair of RBI and Strieby and Wells each had one.

The Tigers’ next spring training game will take place in Lakeland on Sunday against the Blue Jays. On Monday, Detroit will take on the New York Yankees in Lakeland.

Dunedin, FL (Sports Network) – Scott Sizemore went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs, as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, in Grapefruit League action.

Ryan Strieby and Casper Wells each knocked in a run for the Tigers, who went 81-81 in 2010.

Phil Coke gave up one hit over two innings of work to get the win.

Yunel Escobar and John McDonald had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays, who went 85-77 in 2010.

Brett Cecil allowed one run on three hits over two innings in defeat.

GAME NOTES:

The Sports Network

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays have sent left-handed reliever Wilfredo Ledezma outright to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 29-year-old will be a non-roster invitee to spring training, the Blue Jays said Tuesday.

Ledezma was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates last Wednesday. He was 0-3 last season with a 6.86 ERA in 27 games.

A native of Guarico, Venezuela, Ledezma is 15-25 with a 5.26 ERA in 187 games with Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Arizona and Washington.