Toronto finished up the final game of the 2 game series with the Texas Rangers in a 4-1 loss. Roy Halladay worked all 9 innings in a gutty performance but it just wasn’t his night. The Loss brings the Jays record to an even 8-8 and puts them in 4th place just above the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
This is the 2nd game in a row for the Jays where they haven’t recorded a long ball. This might not seem like all that big of a deal but when you consider the fact that they played 5 extra innings of baseball last night it kind of makes you wonder where the bats have gone. They only recorded 1 RBI in this game on 8 hits. Included in those 8 hits is only 1 extra base hit which was a double off the bat of catcher Greg Zaun. The lone RBI came from lead-off man David Eckstein who brought home Toronto’s only run in the bottom of the 7th inning. Eckstein went 2-for-5 in the game with the solo RBI. The only other performance worth mentioning is that of Alex Rios who has continued to make solid contact recording 2 more hits in this game bringing his average to .328. Rios also stole a base in this game bringing his total to 5 on the season but even though he was in scoring position, the Jays couldn’t get the timely hit to bring him home.
Roy Halladay took the mound for Toronto and did everything in his power to keep his team alive in this game. He pitched all 9 innings allowing 11 hits, 4 runs, only 1 walk and 6 strike outs. He was given the loss for the game bringing his record to 2-2 this season and his ERA to a healthy 3.27. Vincente Padilla got the start for Texas and pretty much had his way with Toronto batters. He worked 7 innings giving up 7 hits and only 1 run. He earned the win for his team bringing his record to 2-1 this season. He handed the ball over to Jamey Wright in the 8th who blanked the Jays. Wright then handed that ball over to closer C.J. Wilson who got his 5th save of the season getting 1 strike out along the way.
There isn’t much more I can say besides Toronto needs to get the bats going if they plan on keeping up in the AL East. Boston and New York are beginning to find their way out of the below .500 hundred starts they began the season with and this can spell disaster if Toronto doesn’t find their way out of this inconsistency in the hitting department.
Next Up: Toronto will open up a 4 game series with the struggling Detroit Tigers who currently stand at 5-11. This might be the perfect match up as far as the hitters are concerned as Detroit has one of the most suspect bullpens in the MLB. Blue Jay lefty David Purcey will get his 1st start of the season filling in the whole that A.J. Burnett left after pitching in the extra inning extravaganza on Wednesday. He will match up against Tiger’s veteran south paw Kenny Rogers.
