We’ve reached the last day of July, and as we approached today’s game we couldn’t help but feel that finally all the stars were aligned, and the universe was unfolding as it should: the Blue Jays are in first place.
When Robert Browning wrote “God’s in his heaven/All’s right with the world!” he was talking about baseball, wasn’t he? Sure he was. Aren’t those lines from Pippa Passes? Isn’t that Browning’s epic about the mythic day that Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak commenced, when he took over first base for the Yankees because Wally Pippa had a headache? No? I’ve had it wrong all these years?
It was a lovely summer Sunday on a holiday weekend, especially sweet for those who remain behind in a quiet city while the hordes head off to cottage and beach. And a perfect day to contemplate the start of game three of the current series between the Jays and the Orioles here in Toronto at the blessedly open TV Dome. What could go wrong? Aaron Sanchez at eleven and one was going up against Chris Tillman at fourteen and three, in a battle of aces. Given that I’m newly philosophical about the occasional loss, even seeing Tillman prevail over Sanchez in a well-pitched game would be a delight and a balm for the soul. Or would it?
Last night, long after we were all cleaned up and cooled out, basking in the glow of our having dismantled the Orioles yesterday afternoon for our second straight win in the series, the happy news came in that Albert Pujols had led the LA Angels to their second win in three games over the Red Sox, which placed us not only first in the division, a half-game ahead of the Orioles, but a full two games ahead of the Red Sox, who, I remind you yet again, are the real threat to the Toronto team this year.
Today’s game had to be gut-check time far more for the Orioles than the Blue Jays. First of all, they’d lost five in a row. Secondly, the Jays, their closest pursuers in the division, had taken the first two games of the series, and had actually taken over first place with Saturday’s win. Thirdly, with their starting pitching seemingly in disarray, Chris Tillman, their ace, their rock, the only starter they could really depend on, was going today, and if they lost to the Jays behind Tillman, they’d find themselves in a six-game tailspin, with four more games to play before Tillman’s turn would come up again.
As for the Jays, it’s not as if things were free and easy for them. Having finally squeezed into the lead, the last thing they wanted to do was fall right back out of it. And today;s the last day of this late July homestand; tomorrow they’ll embark on a difficult road trip of seven games in seven days, four against the surging Astros in Houston, and three in Kansas City against a Royals team that has been licking its wounds lately, and may just be waiting to take their frustration out on last season’s ALCS rivals. Finally, the Aaron Sanchez dilemma is likely creeping closer to its resolution, especially with the trade deadline tomorrow offering the team the possibility of picking up another starter. Having a replacement starter available and knowing that Sanchez would pass his previous high in innings pitched today meant a very loud clock would be ticking over his head. Like the Orioles not being able to afford wasting a Tillman start, the Jays could not afford to waste a Sanchez start.
Through six innings, Sanchez was the better pitcher, cruising as he has since his one loss back in April. Only in the third inning and the fifth, through the first six, did he leave baserunners on, Jonathan Schoop’s infield single in the third, and a walk to Matt Wieters followed by Schoop’s second hit in the fifth, both of which came with two outs.
In the seventh, when the Orioles scored two on Sanchez, it was the first inning that he let two hitters on consecutively, walking Chris Davis and giving up a double to Mark Trumbo, at the start of the inning, and though he closed the door on the Orioles hitters after that, the second-and-third with nobody out scenario was his undoing, because the Orioles cashed both runners while making outs, a Pedro Alvarez ground out to second, and a Matt Wieters fly ball to left. That was it for Sanchez, as he finished the seventh inning having given up 2 runs on 4 hits, while walking 2 and striking out 3. He took just 91 pitches to accomplish this, and even dropped his league-leading ERA among starting pitchers from 2.72 to 2.71.
Chris Tillman certainly kept his team in the game, but he didn’t go as deep as Sanchez. He ran up 111 pitches in his five and two thirds innings, and he left with his team down 2-0, and no chance of claiming a win for the Orioles. All that being said, for the most part Tillman made the pitches he needed to make. In the first, after walking Jose Bautista leading off, he threw a double-play ball to Josh Donaldson. In the second, when the Jays scored their first run, it could have been worse. With one out Russell Martin doubled to right, and was followed by an infield single by Kevin Pillar. Like Sanchez, he gave up the run on a fielder’s choice, not a hit. In the third he stranded Bautista’s leadoff double. In the fourth he made his one serious mistake, grooving a first-pitch changeup to Troy Tulowitzki, who hit it a long, long way for the two-nothing Jay lead. Though he followed by walking Martin (as who wouldn’t?) he then got the double play he needed, and struck out Kevin Pillar to end the inning.
After retiring the side in order in the fifth, Tillman still looked good for at least another full inning, especially when he started the sixth by striking out Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders, though by then he was up to 98 pitches. But then a streak of wildness and a long at bat for Troy Tulowitzki allowed two runners on, sent his pitch total to 111, and spelled the end of his day. On his seventh pitch to Tulo, he came high and inside, and nicked the Jays’ shortstop’s throwing hand, on the thumb. After being attended to, Tulo took his base and waited while Martin drew a six-pitch walk. At thiat point, manager Buck Showalter called for Darren O’Day to come in to retire Kevin Pillar on a popup to Chris Davis at first. There would be no two-out heroics for Pillar on this day.
The pitch that Tulo took on his thumb was an obvious worry, and though he returned to the field for the next half-inning, and even threw out the third out on a routine play. But as we later learned, he couldn’t grip the bat properly, and Josh Donaldson came out to play third in the top of the eighth inning, with Darwin Barney sliding over to shortstop and the Jays consequently losing their designated hitter, which was of some significance in a game that would eventually go twelve innings. Not only did the loss of Tulo impact the game at hand, but his departure naturally left a heavy pall over the proceedings from the viewpoint of the Jays’ fans, who of course could only remember his loss to the team during the stretch run after the freak collision with Kevin Pillar last year. After the game he would be listed as day-to-day with a small chip fracture in his thumb.
With the game tied two-two after seven and both strong starters gone, it moved quickly through the next four innings, as one effective bullpen squared off against the other. For the Jays, Joaquin Benoit, Roberto Osuna, Jason Grilli, and Brett Cecil gave up two hits and one walk over four complete innings, while striking out five. For the Orioles, O’Day, who picked up Tillman in the sixth and then pitched the seventh, Brad Brach, Zach Britton for two innings for the first time this year, and Mychal Givens were equally effective, giving up one hit and two walks while striking out four.
Then we came to the twelfth, and the Jays’ sparkling run of relief work came to an end, as the Orioles’ bullpen proved just a little deeper on this particular day. Franklin Morales came in to match up with the left-handed-hitting Pedro Alvarez, but committed the cardinal sin for a lefty reliever, walking the lefty leadoff man on four pitches. Then home plate umpire Brian O’Nora for some incomprehensible reason called a balk on Morales on what looked for all the world like a routine throw-over to first. After Morales struck out Matt Wieters for the first out, Jonathan Schoop followed with his third base hit of the night, a single to left, and the Orioles had broken through. When Morales walked J. Hardy on a full count, Manager John Gibbons had seen enough, and called down for Jesse Chavez to come in face Adam Jones with two on and one out.
Jones put the game out of reach on the first pitch from the hot-or-cold, never warm, Chavez, as he drove it over the fence in left centre, extending the Baltimore lead to six to two. With the horse already trotting down Bremner Boulevard, Chavez locked down the Orioles by striking out Nolan Reimold and Manny Machado. Too little, too late.
Logan Ondrusek, whom the Orioles have just signed after a year and a half in Japan, where he was the closer for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and who pitched for them in yesterday’s loss to the Jays, mopped up today, and pitched exactly the same as yesterday, a clean inning with one strikeout. He looks very effective, and might be a surprisingly valuable addition to the Baltimore bullpen.
(A word about the names of Japanese Nippon Baseball League teams: each team is directly sponsored by a corporation, and the corporation’s name is included in the team name. Thus the fabled Tokyo Giants, which are owned by the predominant newspaper publishers Yomiuri, are in fact the Yomiuri Giants. If you look carefully at their logo, which at first glance resembles the old New York Giants logo, it is actually an English monogram of “YG”. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows, who do incorporate the city name in their team name, are owned by a pharmaceutical company that developed a probiotic dairy product, yakult, which is marketed worldwide.)
So after a disappointing finale to another terrific performance by Aaron Sanchez, the Orioles’ bullpen outlasted the Jays’, and the Orioles escaped town with a desperately-needed win. Meanwhile, the Jays’ fans were likely more troubled by the condition of Troy Tulowitzki than they were by the loss. We did take two out of three, and it’s not even August yet, after all.
Off to Houston tomorrow night. The Tigers shellacked Dallas Keuchel and the Astros 11-0 yesterday. We hope they don’t recover from that any time soon.
Leave a Reply