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Lind hits two-run homer, Arencibia, Encarnacion…

Posted on 09 May 2012. Tags: california, detroit, eighth, game, lineup, ninth, opener, time, toronto, yoenis-cespedes

OAKLAND, CALIF. Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell shuffled things around before the game and it apparently served as a little bit of much-needed fuel for his lineup.

Adam Lind hit a two-run homer after being demoted from the cleanup spot to eighth in the order, and J.P. Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion each hit solo drives to lead Toronto past the Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Wednesday.

“Adam responded well to the move in the lineup,” Farrell said. “It was just nice to score some runs.”

Brandon Morrow (4-1) struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and won his fourth straight start, outpitching Tyson Ross in a matchup of former college stars from nearby California who were 2006 teammates. The Blue Jays right-hander went 23 2/3 innings without allowing a run before Jonny Gomes hit an RBI single in the fifth.

Arencibia homered leading off the seventh, this time coming through with a key hit in a close game. Farrell lifted him for pinch-hitter Omar Vizquel with the go-ahead run on third in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss — so delivering this time had to be a nice boost.

Encarnacion started the eighth with his 10th homer, ending an 0-for-21 funk and helping Toronto snap a three-game skid on the heels of a four-game winning streak. Colby Rasmus had an RBI single in the sixth that chased Ross (1-3).

Oakland didn’t generate much offence against Morrow, but received good news after the game that cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes has only a strain on the top of his left hand and not a break.

He was scratched about an hour before Tuesday’s game after injuring the hand in batting practice. He might try to hit Thursday before the opener of a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers to determine his availability.

“I am very happy to know it is not a significant injury,” Cespedes said.

Five of Morrow’s Ks came on called third strikes and he owns a sparkling 0.67 ERA during the four-start winning streak, allowing two earned runs over 27 2/3 innings.

He wasn’t happy with four walks — half of his eight total coming into this start. He had walked only one batter over his previous three outings.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I have been. I walked too many guys and it hurt me in the fifth. I didn’t have a good slider today and that probably affected things. My stuff was still good,” he said. “It’s always fun to come here. I always have family and friends who show up. I got a few texts from my coaches at Cal and then there are friends who show up unannounced.”

The Blue Jays bounced back after losing the opener of the two-game series on Brandon Inge’s game-ending grand slam against Francisco Cordero, who was demoted from his closer job before Wednesday’s game. Handed the ninth-inning duties by Farrell, Casey Janssen finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save in two tries this year.

“I tried to treat it like any other inning. My heart was going hard but that’s a good thing,” Janssen said. “I wanted to attack the zone and make them earn everything. I’ve done it before. By no means am I a veteran of the ninth, but I do have experience. You love pitching in those situations. I’ve felt I really haven’t contributed much this year and now I have the opportunity to make more of an impact.”

Farrell also dropped Lind to the eighth hole in the batting order to try to generate some offence. Lind — who came in hitless in seven at-bats, with just two hits in his past 29 at-bats and mired in a 5-for-37 funk overall — singled in the second and put his team ahead with a two-run drive into the right-field bleachers.

Ross was done after 5 2/3 innings, tagged for three runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked three as Oakland’s three-game winning streak ended.

“I was a little shaky in the first but found that rhythm and settled in a little bit,” Ross said.

A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki had a scheduled day off, but the timing was good considering he got hit in the left hand and then also the thumb Tuesday night.

“It’s a little sore, but when aren’t you sore?” Suzuki said.

NOTES: The A’s dropped to 5-2 in May. … Oakland’s Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington pulled off a double steal in the first. … A’s opening-day starter Brandon McCarthy, skipped in the rotation because of a sore right shoulder, is set to throw a bullpen session Thursday to determine if he can start Saturday against Detroit. “We’ll take it step by step,” pitching coach Curt Young said. … Toronto returns for a four-game set here Aug. 2-5. That will give Blue Jays INF and former Giants SS Omar Vizquel more time to catch up with pals from San Francisco. He is retiring at the end of the season and relishing each road trip these days. … Melvin on facing Detroit: “They’re loaded. They’re one of the elite teams in the American League.” … Someone chanted “Barry Zito!” in the eighth inning. The $126-million Giants LHP won the 2002 AL Cy Young Award while with the A’s.

The Associated Press

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Blue Jays back Morrow with 3 HRs, beat A's 5-2

Posted on 09 May 2012. Tags: california, eighth, game, ninth, time, toronto, yoenis-cespedes

Adam Lind hit a two-run homer after being demoted from the cleanup spot before the game, and J.P. Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion each hit a solo drive to help the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Wednesday.

Brandon Morrow (4-1) struck out a season-high 10 in six innings and won his fourth straight start, outpitching Tyson Ross in a matchup of former college stars from nearby California who were 2006 teammates. The Blue Jays right-hander went 23 2-3 innings without allowing a run before Jonny Gomes hit an RBI single in the fifth.

Arencibia homered leading off the seventh, this time coming through with a key hit in a close game. Manager John Farrell lifted him for pinch-hitter Omar Vizquel with the go-ahead run on third in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss _ so delivering this time had to be a nice boost.

Oakland didn’t generate much offense against Morrow and was awaiting word on the status of cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes, who was scratched about an hour before Tuesday’s game after injuring the top of his left hand in batting practice. Cespedes was undergoing X-rays and manager Bob Melvin expected to know more by the end of the day.

Five of Morrow’s Ks came on called third strikes and he owns a sparkling 0.67 ERA during the four-start winning streak, allowing two earned runs over 27 2-3 innings.

The Blue Jays bounced back after losing the opener of the quick two-game series on Brandon Inge’s game-ending grand slam against Francisco Cordero, who was demoted from his closer job before Wednesday’s game. Handed the ninth-inning duties by manager John Farrell, Casey Janssen finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save in two tries this year.

Farrell also dropped Lind to the eighth hole in the batting order to try to generate some offense. Lind _ who came in hitless in seven at-bats, with just two hits in his last 29 at-bats and mired in a 5-for-37 funk overall _ singled in the second and put his team ahead with a two-run drive into the right-field bleachers.

Ross was done after 5 2-3 innings, tagged for three runs and five hits. He struck out three and walked three as Oakland’s three-game winning streak ended.

A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki had a scheduled day off, but the timing was good considering he got hit in the left hand and then also the thumb Tuesday night.

“It’s a little sore, but when aren’t you sore?” Suzuki said.

NOTES: The A’s dropped to 5-2 in May. … Oakland’s Jemile Weeks and Cliff Pennington pulled off a double steal in the first. … A’s opening-day starter Brandon McCarthy, skipped in the rotation because of a sore right shoulder, is set to throw a bullpen session Thursday to determine if he can start Saturday vs. Detroit. “We’ll take it step by step,” pitching coach Curt Young said. … Toronto returns for a four-game set here Aug. 2-5. That will give Blue Jays INF and former Giants SS Omar Vizquel more time to catch up with pals from San Francisco. He is retiring at the end of the season and relishing each road trip these days. … Melvin on facing Detroit: “They’re loaded. They’re one of the elite teams in the American League.”… Someone chanted “Barry Zito!” in the eighth inning. The $126 million Giants LHP won the 2002 AL Cy Young Award while with the A’s.

There is the quick update of the day.

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Blue Jays-Athletics Preview

Posted on 09 May 2012. Tags: athletics, before-the-game, blue, brandon-morrow, california, detroit, game, michael-taylor, morrow, really-starting, toronto, tuesday, work, yoenis-cespedes

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Brandon Morrow has been sensational of late, overpowering opponents with his dominating fastball.

Morrow, however, could have his work cut out against the surging Oakland Athletics, who after taking the first of two in thrilling fashion, look to further their momentum Wednesday afternoon.

After scoring just two runs over the first eight innings Tuesday, Oakland (16-14) used a ninth-inning rally to defeat visiting Toronto 7-3. Cliff Pennington singled home Michael Taylor to tie the game at 3 before recently signed Brandon Inge hit a walk-off grand slam as the Athletics improved to 5-1 in May.

“I’m so happy here right now,” said Inge, who was playing in just his seventh game – and first at home – with Oakland since being cut by the Detroit Tigers. “I fit in. It’s a new start for me. I welcomed it. I know we have a young ballclub, but they can play. I’m honored to be a part of this ballclub and trying to help them win. That’s what feels the best.”

While the A’s were in high spirits following Tuesday’s result, those celebrations could be short lived with facing Morrow (3-1, 2.38 ERA).

Morrow has won three consecutive starts and is riding a scoreless streak of 19 2-3 innings after throwing a three-hitter during Thursday’s 5-0 win at the Los Angeles Angels. He needed just 102 pitches to record his second career shutout.

“It was just really fastball command the whole time,” said Morrow, who threw just two curve balls and no changeups. “I pretty much put it anywhere I wanted every time. … I felt like I could have hit that down-and-away strike with my eyes closed. I probably could have thrown all fastballs the way I was locating.”

After producing mixed results over his first three outings, it’s safe to say the hard-throwing right-hander has found his groove.

“I feel like I have a little bit better life to (my fastball), maybe not velocity but better life, especially down in the zone, than I did the first couple of starts,” he told the team’s official website. “Really starting to get into a rhythm mechanically.”

Morrow has gone 3-0 with a 3.99 ERA over five career starts against the A’s while limiting them to a .187 average. He hasn’t faced them since Aug. 17, 2010.

Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki is 2 for 12 with a homer lifetime against Morrow, and Pennington is 2 for 11.

The A’s, originally scheduled to give the ball to Brandon McCarthy in this game, instead turn to Tyson Ross (1-2, 8.55) after McCarthy felt soreness in his throwing shoulder.

Ross went 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA over his first two starts but has been hit hard in each of his last two. Six days after allowing a career-worst nine runs over four-plus innings of a 10-1 loss at Baltimore, Ross gave up seven in just 3 1-3 frames of Friday’s 7-2 loss at Tampa Bay.

“It all revolved around his fastball,” manager Bob Melvin told the A’s official website. “Suzuki called for some pitches and they weren’t getting there. He’s got to be more consistent than that.”

The 25-year-old right-hander could benefit from being back home, where he’s 2-2 with a 2.96 ERA over five career starts. Ross, who has never started against the Blue Jays (16-14), was college teammates with Morrow at California in 2006.

Oakland could be without Yoenis Cespedes again after he sat out Tuesday with an injured left hand suffered in batting practice before the game. The slugging center fielder is batting .245 with five homers and a team-best 21 RBIs.

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Blue Jays visit Athletics for quick set

Posted on 08 May 2012. Tags: athletics, game, hosting, network, sports, sports-network, toronto, trip

Written by

The Sports Network TSN

Defence leading the way for Jays

Posted on 08 May 2012. Tags: article, bis, blue, defence, defensive, defensive-runs, jedlovec, lawrie, number, numbers, rating, shift, toronto

If you think the Toronto Blue Jays have played winning defence so far this season, the numbers back you up.

Not the standard numbers, mind you. The Jays rank high in errors and low in fielding percentage. But their defence is responsible for almost four of their 16 wins because of the number of runs it “saved” from scoring, according to a company that pioneered defensive metrics.

Through May 3, Toronto led the majors with 37 Defensive Runs Saved, a metric invented by Baseball Info Solutions (BIS), publisher of The Fielding Bible.

Rule of thumb: 10 runs saved is roughly equivalent to one win, says company founder John Dewan.

Using that guideline, Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie is responsible for a win all by himself, without even picking up a bat. Lawrie leads all major-league defenders with 12 runs saved. Last season, in just 43 games, his defence saved 14 runs, according to the DRS findings.

Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay led all third basemen last year with 22 runs saved.

“Lawrie’s on pace to destroy that. He’s on a fantastic pace,” said Ben Jedlovec, a BIS research analyst, whose recent article for ESPN.com focused on the Jays’ defence.

“What it comes down to with Lawrie — and part of this is due to some very optimal positioning by the Blue Jays — is that he’s making plays in places where very few third basemen are making those plays,” Jedlovec said in a telephone interview.

Put simply, the Defensive Runs Saved stat indicates the number of runs a player saves on defence compared to an average player at his position. Players get extra credit for exceptional plays and lose points for errors and other plays they should have made.

Defensive metrics remain somewhat controversial, and according to some critics, unreliable, in part because the process begins with human observation rather than objective facts.

If a batter gets three hits in 10 at-bats, his batting average is inarguably .300. If Lawrie makes a play that most third baseman do not make, BIS awards him a numerical credit based on an eight-part formula that includes where the ball went and how hard it was hit.

BIS’s video scouts watch every pitch of every game — live and using replay when needed — and assign values to defensive plays. The next day, staff review each game (sometimes twice) to collect more data and double-check the earlier findings.

An average player earns a DRS rating of zero. BIS says a +10 is “great” and a +15 is worthy of a Gold Glove. On the other side, a -10 is “poor” and a -15 is “awful.”

So far, two other Blue Jays’ infielders — shortstop Yunel Escobar and second baseman Kelly Johnson — have joined Lawrie as DRS leaders at their positions. Escobar has saved seven runs and Johnson six, according to the BIS stats.

Colby Rasmus leads all centre-fielders with seven runs saved.

Jedlovic said Johnson has taken a step up after compiling a -3 rating over the past three seasons. The BIS metrics have always rated Escobar as an above-average but flawed shortstop, he added.

“He’s got a good plus-minus score — 28 over the last three years,” Jedlovec said. “He’s been good on double plays as well. But he makes a lot of what we call defensive misplays — little plays that cost a base or cost a run here and there, like not handling throws from other fielders, little things that add up. But range-wise, we have him as one of the best shortstops in baseball the last few years.”

While many fans regard Jose Bautista as an elite right-fielder, the DRS ratings say he is slightly below average. This year he has earned a -3. Last year he wore a -7.

“His range is actually pretty bad,” Jedlovec said. “It’s among the worst in baseball for right-fielders the last few years. But his arm and ability to throw out runners and prevent them from taking the extra base, that’s what saved him almost as many runs as he’s lost with his range.”

A significant factor in the Jays’ top DRS rating is their frequent use of an over-shift against notorious pull hitters. Through May 3, Toronto had used a shift 47 times and saved eight runs as a result, Jedlovec said.

Five of Lawrie’s 12 runs saved came when he moved to short right field in a shift against a left-handed batter such as David Ortiz or Carlos Pena.

Those three bunt singles that Pena dropped toward third base against the shift on April 17 at the Rogers Centre? They hurt Lawrie’s plus-minus rating. The DRS formula credits him for being in the right spot on the shift, but penalizes him for abandoning his post when Pena foils the shift with a bunt.

Another respected defensive metric — Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) — also uses the BIS data but does not give credit for runs saved by shifts.

Jedlovec said some defensive experts believe good coaching and strategy are more responsible for runs saved by shifts than player performance. But BIS believes in crediting the player.

“We’ve elected to leave it in there because it shows that when guys are shifting, they’re saving runs for their team,” he said.

Jedlovec acknowledged that DRS is better at logging what has happened than projecting whether a current trend will continue. But he does not think Lawrie’s play is a coincidence.

“A guy like Lawrie, playing this extremely well, that’s remarkable,” he said. “Chances are, there’s something there. It’s not entirely a fluke. It was in the sample last year and he’s repeating it this year.”

Some of the BIS defensive data, including far more than covered in this article, are available online at Fangraphs.com. The BIS website is at Baseballinfosolutions.com.

• Email: jlott@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

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Jays looking to maintain hold on slumping Angels

Posted on 05 May 2012. Tags: angel, angel-stadium, angeles-angels, angels, blue, career, games, games-at-angel, howie-kendrick, runs-or-fewer, season, texas, texas-on-monday, toronto

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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Toronto Blue Jays drop Seattle Mariners 7-2 to…

Posted on 29 April 2012. Tags: business, encarnacion, game, henderson, jays, plate, reporter, seattle, sports-reporter, texas, toronto

Mark Zwolinski

Sports Reporter

The Jays closed out a weekend series with two wins over the Seattle Mariners, and now await their biggest game of the season so far Monday when Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers come to town.

“Just another ball game,” said Jays catcher Jeff Mathis, whose two-run home run capped a five-run eighth Sunday in Toronto’s 7-2 victory.

With ESPN jumping across the border to broadcast the game, Darvish’s debut is shaping up to be anything but just another day at the ballpark.

The Jays, meanwhile, need to get down to the business at hand, which is making adjustments to an offence that has counted on Edwin Encarnacion’s monster month while hiding subpar efforts from Jose Bautista and other players. There is no panic with Bautista. He is batting .190 with three homers and 10 RBIs, well below his own lofty standards, but the numbers are not unlike the start of the 2010 season when he struggled in April before hitting a league-leading 54 home runs.

Starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez finally got a win Sunday — and some much-deserved run support — and registered his first victory at home in 15 career starts.

Toronto has received at least five innings from its starting pitchers in every game so far this month, an effort which could easily have translated into a better record than 12-10.

Several Jays have wrestled recently with their overall approach at the plate, but Encarnacion and Mathis are benefiting from recent adjustments. The DH is now keeping both hands on the bat in his follow through of his swing, Mathis similarly tweaked his plate approach in spring, opening his shoulder slightly to take a more direct and quick path to the ball.

Encarnacion belted his second homer in as many games Sunday and easily leads the club with seven homers and 20 RBIs. Mathis smoked a two-run homer in the eighth, an inning which got the Jays fired up after Encarnacion was hit by a pitch by fireballing right-hander Steve Delabar.

“It’s part of the game, he tried to go inside … I can’t say it was on purpose,” said the soft-spoken Encarnacion.

Whether it was or not, the Jays reacted. Brett Lawrie doubled with the bases loaded and Mathis followed with that homer, which energized the team and the home crowd.

“We responded the right way,” said Jays manager John Farrell.

In the five-run eighth Bautista and Encarnacion pulled off a double steal to help set the table for Lawrie. Pinch-hitter Rajai Davis later drew a throw to third, then bounced up and came home with the third run of the inning when a throw hit him and deflected down the left field line.

Davis came out of the game afterwards and went for X-rays on his wrist. The results came back negative, but the speedy outfielder will be re-evaluated Monday.

This young Jays club showed in that big eighth inning that they are an aggressive bunch who remain full of belief in themselves. The team is still waiting for Bautista to come around, but at the moment, no one getting too worried about it.

“I wouldn’t call it worried, his bat speed is unbelievable,” Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said. “Jose is a smart player. He’ll come out of it, it’s a matter of time. He’ll be fine, I just can’t say when.”

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Slammin' Saunders: Mariners centre-fielder…

Posted on 28 April 2012. Tags: blue, brandon, fourth, game, jesus, lawrie, mariners, night, ninth, outfield, seventh, thames, toronto

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays appeared to have turned things around Friday night after closing out a road trip with three straight losses.

Instead, an error-filled ninth inning resulted in one of their toughest defeats of the young season.

The Seattle Mariners took full advantage of the Blue Jays‘ shoddy defence and came back for a 9-5 victory at Rogers Centre. Canadian Michael Saunders delivered the crushing blow, launching a rainbow grand slam over the right-field wall in the 10th inning off Luis Perez (2-1).

“I was just trying to hit a ball to the outfield more than anything,” Saunders said. “He hung me an off-speed pitch and I was able to put it up there.”

The Jays had a chance to end the game in the ninth inning. With two out, third baseman Brett Lawrie fielded a routine grounder but his throw to first was in the dirt, allowing Kyle Seager to reach base.

“I take full responsibility for that,” Lawrie said. “That game should be over. Everyone should be out and celebrating the win and instead we’re all a little bit down after that one, including myself.”

Munenori Kawasaki came on as a pinch-runner for Seager and moved to third when catcher J.P. Arencibia‘s throw to first sailed down the right-field line.

“I thought J.P. in that situation probably didn’t make the right decision with trying to force a throw and trying to force the pickoff attempt,” Farrell said. “Unfortunately that’s what took place.”

Dustin Ackley was intentionally walked before John Jaso drove in Kawasaki with the tying run on a single to centre field.

“It’s a tough game and if you give major-league guys extra outs, you get hurt,” Arencibia said.

Seattle improved to 11-10 with their fourth straight win while the Blue Jays fell to 10-10 with their fourth loss in a row.

Charlie Furbush (2-1) worked two outs for the victory. Former Toronto pitcher Brandon League retired the Blue Jays in order in the 10th inning.

Saunders, a Victoria native, helped force extra innings with a solo homer in the ninth off Francisco Cordero.

“We came back and showed the character that’s in this dressing room,” Saunders said. “It wasn’t just a couple of hits. It was a full team game.”

Eric Thames and Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Blue Jays while Jesus Montero had the other home run for Seattle. Both teams had 11 hits on the night.

Encarnacion opened the scoring in the second with a solo shot to deep centre field off Mariners starter Blake Beavan.

Seattle scratched out a run in the third inning after uncharacteristic back-to-back walks from Jays starter Ricky Romero. Saunders advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored when Lawrie booted a grounder to third from Brendan Ryan.

The Jays made it a 3-1 game in the fourth inning. Encarnacion started the rally with a one-out double, Thames followed with an infield hit and Colby Rasmus drove both runners in with a double into the right-field corner.

Ackley led off the sixth inning with a double to end Romero’s no-hit bid. The Blue Jays ace set down the next three Mariners in order.

Seattle chased Romero in the seventh inning. Montero hit a solo homer and Casper Wells drove in Miguel Olivo with a two-out RBI double. Reliever Jason Frasor got Ryan to fly out to end the threat.

Toronto nearly took the lead in the bottom half of the seventh but Mariners right-fielder Ichiro Suzuki threw out Arencibia at home plate to end the inning.

The Jays had built a 5-3 lead in the eighth when Thames hit a solo shot and Lawrie, who’s from Langley, B.C., scored on a sacrifice fly from Arencibia.

Romero allowed two earned runs over six-plus innings. He gave up four hits and three walks while striking out five.

Beavan gave up three earned runs over five-plus innings.

Announced attendance was 24,303 and the game took three hours 35 minutes to play.

Notes: Outfielder Travis Snider underwent an MRI exam Friday after injuring his right wrist a night earlier with the Las Vegas 51s. Snider, who lost the left-fielder job to Thames at spring training, has a .400 batting average after 19 games with Toronto’s triple-A affiliate. … The Blue Jays and Mariners will continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon at 4:07 p.m. Eastern Time. Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow (1-1) is scheduled to start against Kevin Millwood (0-1). … Toronto holds a 187-166 edge in all-time meetings between the teams.

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Mariners-Blue Jays Preview

Posted on 28 April 2012. Tags: blue, kansas, kevin-millwood, mariner, ninth, season, series, texas, toronto, white

While the Seattle Mariners continue to surge, the Toronto Blue Jays remain in a rut.

After rallying to win the series opener in extra innings, the visiting Mariners look to extend their winning streak to five games Saturday and hand the Blue Jays a fifth straight defeat.

A week ago, Seattle (11-10) was in the midst of a four-game skid in which it totaled eight runs and was on the wrong end of last Saturday’s perfect game thrown by Chicago’s Philip Humber. However, since losing 7-4 to the White Sox on Sunday, the Mariners have totaled 21 runs during a three-game sweep at Detroit and won 9-5 in 10 innings at Toronto on Friday.

“The perfect game might have been the best thing that happened to us” said Canadian-born outfielder Michael Saunders, who homered twice and drove in five runs in the series opener.

Seattle was no-hit for five innings by Toronto’s Ricky Romero and trailed 5-3 in the ninth, but Saunders opened that inning with a solo shot and John Jaso tied the game with an RBI single. Saunders delivered the knock out blow with his 10th-inning grand slam.

A usually light-hitting fourth year outfielder, Saunders hit .189 (7 for 37) with two RBIs in his first 12 games of the season but is batting .364 (8 for 22) with nine RBIs in his last six.

“I still have a long way to go but I’m seeing results and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in the box,” Saunders said.

Seattle, which has not won a series at Toronto since 2008, could face a major challenge Saturday against Blue Jays starter and former Mariner Brandon Morrow (1-1, 3.71 ERA).

Morrow, who spent his first three seasons in Seattle mostly working out of the bullpen, went 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA as a starter against the Mariners in 2011.

The right-hander allowed 10 runs in 13 innings over his two previous starts before throwing 6 2-3 innings of a 4-1 win at Kansas City on Monday, allowing the only run on a solo homer.

Now, Morrow will try to help the Blue Jays (10-10) end their longest skid of the season.

After being held to three runs while being swept in three games at Baltimore, Toronto came alive at the plate Friday but the bullpen blew its fifth save in nine chances.

“We’re all a little bit down,” said third baseman Brett Lawrie, who committed a key error in the ninth that led to the tying run.

Eric Thames homered and had three hits while Edwin Encarnacion hit his fifth home run as the Blue Jays lost for just the second time in their last 10 home meetings with the Mariners.

Toronto slugger Jose Bautista’s average dropped to .183 after an 0-for-4 night Friday. The two-time defending major league home run champ hit 97 in the past two seasons but has only three in 71 at-bats thus far in 2012.

However, he’s 7 for 12 (.583) with three homers against scheduled Seattle starter Kevin Millwood (0-1, 7.04).

The right-hander allowed one run, four hits and struck out seven in six innings of a 4-3 win at Texas in his season debut April 11, but has yielded 12 runs and 17 hits in 9.1 innings over his last two outings.

Millwood, who gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 7-4 loss to Chicago on Sunday, is 2-7 with a 5.17 ERA in 12 career starts against the Blue Jays.

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Blue Jays self-destruct in loss to Mariners

Posted on 28 April 2012. Tags: blue, charlie-furbush, former-toronto, fourth, game, jesus, night, ninth, outfield, reliever-jason, seattle, seventh, toronto

The Toronto Blue Jays appeared to have turned things around Friday night after closing out a road trip with three straight losses.

Instead, an error-filled ninth inning resulted in one of their toughest defeats of the young season.

The Seattle Mariners took full advantage of the Blue Jays’ shoddy defence and came back for a 9-5 victory at Rogers Centre. Canadian Michael Saunders delivered the crushing blow, launching a rainbow grand slam over the right-field wall in the 10th inning off Luis Perez (2-1).

“I was just trying to hit a ball to the outfield more than anything,” Saunders said. “He hung me an off-speed pitch and I was able to put it up there.”

Munenori Kawasaki came on as a pinch-runner for Seager and moved to third when catcher J.P. Arencibia’s throw to first sailed down the right-field line.

Dustin Ackley was intentionally walked before John Jaso drove in Kawasaki with the tying run on a single to centre field.

“It’s a tough game and if you give major-league guys extra outs, you get hurt,” Arencibia said.

Seattle improved to 11-10 with their fourth straight win while the Blue Jays fell to 10-10 with their fourth loss in a row.

Charlie Furbush (2-1) worked two outs for the victory. Former Toronto pitcher Brandon League retired the Blue Jays in order in the 10th inning.

Saunders, a Victoria native, helped force extra innings with a solo homer in the ninth off Francisco Cordero.

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