In the midst of the turmoil in the front office of the Blue Jays last off-season, there was a story circulating that one of the first things that Mark Schapiro did after he arrived in Toronto was to castigate Alex Anthopoulos for stripping the cupboard bare of pitching prospects to fuel the team’s 2015 pennant run.
The most prominent deal Anthopoulos completed last July was the acquisition of David Price. Though it’s often necessary to wait a couple of years to evaluate which team gained the most from a prospects-for-proven-star deal, I think it’s possible at this point to state that the Price deal was a good one for the Jays. Price is what he is and does what he does. It’s undeniable that he took over leadership of the staff when he arrived, and inconceivable that the team would have gone as far as it did without him. Even though the Price side of the trade ledger ended effectively on the day that the Royals eliminated the Jays in the ALCS, the three months that he was a Blue Jay certainly seem worth what the Jays gave up to the Tigers, even in the long term.
Since one of the prospects sent to Detroit for Price has pitched twice against the Jays this season, both times contributing substantially to Detroit wins, it seems like a good idea to look at the Detroit side of the ledger regarding the Price trade. Daniel Norris, who actually started the 2015 season in the Jays’ rotation, was arguably the centrepiece of the trade from the Tigers’ perspective. Even from the Toronto side, there was sadness at seeing him go, not only because of his potential, but also because he is such an unusual personality in comparison with his professional baseball contemporaries. Sadly, Norris has struggled with both injury and health issues, even a bout with thyroid cancer, and is at present far from achieving the potential he has always offered.
Since he’s the main topic for discussion concerning tonight’s 3-2 streak-ending Tiger win over the Jays, let’s leave Matt Boyd to the side for a moment. Meanwhile, a Cracker Jack toy and a crumpled ticket stub (note: explain ticket stub to younger readers) from an old Jays’ win at home to the first person to name the third pitching prospect the Tigers received for David Price. No, sorry to all, but the answer is Jairo Labourt. If Daniel Norris is a work in progress, Labourt is just the idea of a work that might be in progress eventually. Currently pitching in high A ball, mainly starting, his record comprises a high ERA, relatively low total innings pitched, more than a strikeout an inning, but also almost a walk an inning. Oh, and a WHIP of 1.68.
On the other hand, Matt Boyd is on the Tigers’ staff, and has received the occasional start, though again his numbers aren’t greatly impressive to date, 0-2 with an ERA of 5.77 and a WHIP of 1.43. But two of his starts have been against the Blue Jays, both times matched up against Aaron Sanchez. In both of them, the Tigers won 3-2. In neither of them, including last night, has he stayed around for the win, but in both of them he has pitched at least five innings, departing down 1-0 to the Jays on June seventh, and up 2-1 over the Jays tonight. While he’s not quite ready to surpass Justin Verlander or Jordan Zimmerman in the pecking order of the Tigers’ starting staff, his results against the Jays this year bode well for his future success with the Tigers.
Boyd had to show some grit immediately in the bottom of the first to work his way out of a jam that was exacerbated by a defensive lapse. After Zeke Carrera led off by grounding out to second, he walked Josh Donaldson. Edwin Encarnacion followed with a line single to centre. But Tiger centre fielder Cameron Maybin charged too hard on the hop and misplayed it far enough away for an error that allowed Donaldson and Encarnacion to move up. But Boyd then caught Russell Martin looking on a great 3-2 curve ball, and induced Troy Tulowitzki to hit a short fly to centre.
But after Kevin Pillar led off the second with a single, Boyd settled down and retired eleven of the next twelve batters. Junior Lake interrupted a string of eight in a row with an infield single to third leading off the fifth, and advanced to second as Nick Catellanos’ errant throw got away from Miguel Cabrera. Lake almost died at second. Boyd struck out Devon Travis and got Darwin Barney on a foul fly to right. But Carrera tripled home Lake with two outs for the Jays’ first run. Manager Brad Ausmus let Boyd stay in to finish his inning, which he did, walking Donaldson but getting Encarnacion to foul out to Cabrera at first, stranding the last two runners. If a little short, Boyd’s line was workmanlike: 5 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. At 86 pitches, he probably could have started the sixth, but Ausmus decided not to take a chance.
Meanwhile, Boyd’s old minor league team-mate Aaron Sanchez was almost as effective, but also was finished after five, his pitch count having ballooned alarmingly early. He struck out the side in the first inning and retired the Tigers in order in the third and fifth, but gave up single runs in the second and fourth, which accounted for the lead that stood when he and Boyd were taken out. The second was a particularly messy affair in which both Sanchez himself and right fielder Junior Lake contributed to his problems, and Carrera, on the other hand, bailed him out with a brilliant throw to the plate.
The first three batters reached against Sanchez in the second, on a walk to Victor Martinez, a single to left by Castellano, and a bloop single to right by Justin Upton that might have been catchable if Lake had read it better off the bat. Because the ball hung up, Martinez had to stop at third, and the bases were loaded for Steven Moya. Moya hit a hard liner right at Carrera in left. As Martinez, no speed demon, tagged at third, Carrera positioned himself to launch a perfect strike that Russell Martin caught on the fly right in front of the plate, just off the ground, right before Martinez slid into it. It couldn’t have been placed more perfectly if Carrera had been standing over Martin and dropped the ball into his glove, like a clothespin into a milk bottle. This was clear-cut, no thought of appeal to New York here, and Sanchez was almost out of the inning. Except.
Except that a passed ball by Martin moved Castellanos and Upton up to second and third. And except that Sanchez walked Saltalamacchia, a .203 hitter, on a three-two pitch. And except that he then plunked Andrew Romine, a .222 hitter on a one-two pitch to force Castellanos in. “Ouch”, said Romine. I agree. Tigers, 1-0 after two.
The run in the fourth off Sanchez was a bit more straightforward. With one out Justin Upton doubled. After Sanchez fanned Steven Moya for the second out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (we old scribes just call him “Salty”, okay?) cashed Upton with a base hit. Sanchez managed to avert more trouble when the lumbering Salty came all the way around to third on a single by Andrew Romine, followed immediately by a Romine theft of second. But with two more ducks on the pond, Ian Kinsler grounded out to third to end the inning. The two-run deficit Sanchez took into the fifth didn’t seem to be nearly as big a concern as the fact that he threw 27 pitches in the fourth, and his count was already at 86 by the end of the inning. A fairly major load was looming for the Jays’ bullpen, not to mention the Tigers’.
As mentioned earlier, the Blue Jays finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, but couldn’t produce the second run they needed to get Sanchez off the hook for the loss. Credit to Boyd for getting the best of Encarnacion with a couple of runners on base. A good way to bring his night’s work to a close!
If you like tight, well-pitched ball games, this one was a treat. Unless you were hoping for the Jays to pull it out again like Thursday night. After the starters took their seats, both bullpens held, Biagini (two innings), Grilli, and Storen for Toronto, one Wilson, Rondon, the other Wilson, and closer Francisco Rodriguez, K-Rod, for the Tigers. Rondon gave up the tying run on a Devon Travis solo homer in the seventh, and Grilli gave up the game-winning run on a Victor Martinez solo homer in the eighth.
Ironically, Rondon had stayed on to wrap up the seventh after giving up the dinger to Travis, so he was the pitcher of record when Martinez hit his shot in the eighth. That’s how you get a blown save and a win in the same game. Grilli took the loss for the Jays. K-Rod’s save put him at 24 out of 26 in save opportunities for the season. So here’s a puzzle for you out there: how does a team that’s four games over .500 give its closer 26 save opportunities, whereas a team that’s ten over .500 only gives its closer 20 opportunities. I’m sure there’s an answer to this out there somewhere.
The Jays’ streak is now officially over at seven straight, and tomorrow gives them an opportunity to go into the All-Star break with a shiny new one-game winning streak. As of today’s post-game, it’s Dickey versus TBA tomorrow. TBA. That’s an odd name; wonder where he’s from?
Let’s end with Jairo Labourt. I have an image in my mind of two old guys sitting on benches outside a seniors’ residence thirty years in the future. One of them is a creaky, shades-wearing little old curmudgeon of a Bob McKown. The other is one of his regular callers, let’s say “Bob from Burlington”, perhaps. They are discussing the fact that the Baseball Hall of Fame has just announced the name of its newest electee, Jairo Lebourt. And Bob from Burlington is shouting into Rob McKown’s ear, “Yeah, well we gave that guy away fer nuttin’!”
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