Announcement

**rudy** · 07-11-2005, 01:36 PM

Great idea, AG, and welcome to the forums.

I've stickied the thread and will continue to stick it until/if updates are discontinued.

We started something like this at the beginning of the season, but it sorta died off. Hopefully you will continue to post the summaries, because as I said, I think its a great idea.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-11-2005, 03:02 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome and I will make sure I continue to update this everyday unless I am away at the lake which does'nt happen very often.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-14-2005, 11:51 PM

Rays 3 Jays 0

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Call it the Lilly edition of Murphy's Law.

Ted Lilly took his first step toward filling Roy Halladay's shoes on Thursday night, but the ace-like effort wasn't enough to lift his team to a win. The Blue Jays couldn't get anything going against Casey Fossum, kicking off the second half of the season with a 3-0 loss against the Devil Rays.

"I was happy with the way I threw the ball," said Lilly, slotted in as Toronto's top pitcher until Halladay returns from a broken left tibia. "I definitely had a feeling, with the way [Fossum] was throwing out there, that it was going to be a tight ballgame. He was throwing any pitch at any time for strikes. Any time a guy's doing that, it's going to be tough."

Tough wasn't the word. Fossum was rarely challenged, and he led the Devil Rays to their first shutout since last August. Tampa Bay had gone 125 games without blanking an opponent, but Toronto manager John Gibbons said he wasn't worried about his offense.

"Tonight was one of those nights, because we've been swinging the bats good," he said. "They just played better than we did tonight. I don't think it's any more than that and I don't want to delve into it any more than that.

"Ted pitched good. He really did. We just got shut out, that's all."

Gibbons' analysis may be sparse, but it's also right on the money. Lilly (7-9) was effective all evening, working seven-plus innings to equal his season high. The southpaw allowed just two baserunners in the first five innings, but he walked the leadoff man in the sixth to set up the game's first key threat.

Tampa Bay (29-61) bunted Nick Green into scoring position, and one out later, Jorge Cantu drove him home with a single up the middle. Both Lilly and Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun said that hit was the game's key moment. If Lilly had wriggled out of the jam against Cantu -- or walked him and retired the next batter -- it might have been a completely different ballgame.

"Zaun didn't want me to give him anything good to hit with a lefty on deck. I kind of kicked myself in the butt, because I have a hard time giving in," said Lilly. "I wanted to go after him. I still threw a 2-0 fastball -- and he hit it. I'd been doing well against him for the most part, so I wanted to be aggressive with him. It came back to bite me."

"That's definitely the turning point. I did want a different pitch, but the selection wasn't so much the issue," said Zaun. "The issue there, with a left-hander on deck and a lefty on the mound, is, you've got to make Cantu hit your pitch. If you pitch to him at all, he's got to hit your pitch.

"If you throw the pitch you're looking to throw and he gets a cheap base hit, you tip your cap to him because you're rolling the dice there. You're thinking, 'OK, we're going to go after him and have the left-hander lead off the next inning.'"

That was all the visitors would get until the eighth inning, when the Rays cashed in on another Lilly mistake. Toronto's starter hit Carl Crawford with a pitch, prompting the Jays (44-45) to go to the bullpen. The move didn't matter; Tampa Bay used the same scoring strategy, bunting the runner into scoring position and bringing him home on another single by Cantu.

Still, Lilly was pleased with his outing and hopeful that he could pitch better over the course of the second half.

"I expect myself to do that. We'll see what happens," he said. "This is one game. Basically, what it comes down to is, I got outpitched tonight."

The slim measure of support was more than Fossum (4-7) needed. The left-hander controlled the action, allowing just two runners to reach scoring position in the first seven innings. Both were erased in the same jam -- the second inning. After that, Toronto managed just two hits for the duration of Fossum's outing.

"He worked ahead, threw strike one and kept us off balance," said Gibbons. "We had that one chance there in the second -- I think it was second and third with one out -- but other than that, he held us in check."

Toronto made things interesting in the ninth, pushing runners to first and second with nobody out. Danys Baez, Tampa Bay's closer, responded with two strikeouts and a game-ending fly ball. That gave the right-hander 14 saves, and it also gave his team a win in the first game of this four-game series.

"We didn't play poorly tonight. We just got outplayed," said Zaun. "They got the big hits when they needed them -- we didn't."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=tor

Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 0 TOR
Toronto (44-45)
Lost 4
July 14, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 7 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Standings through 7/14/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .285
Lugo, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 .288
Cantu, 3B 4 0 2 2 0 2 2 .286
Huff, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .252
Baez, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Perez, DH 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .273
1-Gathright, J, PR-DH-CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .282
Hollins, CF-RF 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .259
Lee, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .236
Hall, C 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .270
Green, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 2 3 .263
Totals 31 3 7 3 2 9 15

1-Ran for Perez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Perez (6, Lilly).
HR: Hollins (8, 9th inning off Batista, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Crawford; Lugo; Cantu 2; Perez 2; Hollins 4; Hall.
RBI: Cantu 2 (58), Hollins (29).
2-out RBI: Cantu.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Perez; Green 2.
S: Crawford; Lugo.
GIDP: Green.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: (Lugo-Green-Lee).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .268
b-Catalanotto, PH-LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
Rios, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .279
Wells, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269
Hillenbrand, 3B-1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .298
Hill, DH 4 0 2 0 0 1 2 .341
Zaun, C 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .276
Hudson, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .254
Hinske, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .237
a-Menechino, PH-3B 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .244
McDonald, SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .290
Totals 32 0 6 0 0 6 13

a-Struck out for Hinske in the 8th. b-Grounded out for Johnson in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Zaun (13, Fossum).
TB: Johnson; Rios; Wells; Hill 2; Zaun 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hinske 2; Zaun.
GIDP: Rios.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: (Hudson-McDonald-Hillenbrand).

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Fossum (W, 4-7) 7.2 4 0 0 0 4 0 4.02
Baez (S, 14) 1.1 2 0 0 0 2 0 2.58

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lilly (L, 7-9) 7.0 4 2 2 2 8 0 5.21
Chulk 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.95
Schoeneweis 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.20
Batista 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 1 3.12

Lilly pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

HBP: McDonald (by Fossum), Crawford (by Lilly).
Pitches-strikes: Fossum 91-59, Baez 26-19, Lilly 101-74, Chulk 3-3, Schoeneweis 12-11, Batista 15-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Fossum 11-8, Baez 1-1, Lilly 7-6, Chulk 1-0, Schoeneweis 1-0, Batista 3-0.
Batters faced: Fossum 27, Baez 6, Lilly 28, Chulk 2, Schoeneweis 2, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Baez 1-0, Chulk 1-1, Schoeneweis 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Kerwin Danley. 1B: Jim Reynolds. 2B: Chad Fairchild. 3B: John Hirschbeck.
Weather: 75 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 8 mph, L to R.
T: 2:27.
Att: 20,010.

Lily pitched anothe great game tonight but as usual the Jays couldnt get it going offensively. It was a ok game tonight but hopefully its not a sign of thngs to come.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-16-2005, 11:32 AM

Bluejays 11 Rays 6

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- In a two-night span, the Blue Jays went from shutout to breakout. The Jays weren't able to score a single run Thursday night, but they got production from all over the lineup in Friday night's 11-6 win over Tampa Bay.

"Last night, [Casey] Fossum threw strikes, and that was basically it. He just shut us down last night," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "[Hideo Nomo] was missing, but he wasn't missing by much. We just swung the bats good tonight."

All nine of Toronto's starters reached base safely in the rout. Eight of them had at least one hit, and seven scored at least one run. Three Jays -- Frank Catalanotto, Shea Hillenbrand and Orlando Hudson -- had at least two RBIs. Most of the damage came against Nomo, who started for the road team and was unable to complete three innings.

"We were real flat last night. Ted [Lilly] threw a great game and we couldn't do a thing to help him," said Hillenbrand. "Baseball's really tough -- the adversity you have to go through on a nightly basis. Thankfully, there's 162 games. We've just got to keep going."

The Jays (45-45) notched one run in the second, but they seized control with a six-run third. Hillenbrand cracked a two-run homer in that rally, and Hudson hit a bases-loaded infield single to push home two runs. One scored on the hit, the other on a throwing error.

Nomo (5-8) walked one more batter before he left, and two more runs were subsequently charged to him. Hillenbrand, who played with Nomo in Boston, improved to 10-for-20 with two homers and two doubles against the right-hander.

"He was one of my favorite teammates I had in Boston, because he's such a great person," said Hillenbrand, at a loss to explain the statistics. "Strong competitor, quiet family guy -- and in the same way, he helped me a lot, from a pitching standpoint. That probably has nothing to do with it.

"I don't know. I grew up in L.A. watching him for the Dodgers and I got to play behind him when he threw a no-hitter. It's just one of those things."

Despite the ample support, it wasn't all clear sailing for Gustavo Chacin. The southpaw allowed one baserunner in the first three innings and stumbled a bit in the fourth. Julio Lugo led off that rally with a double and scored on a single, before Chacin (8-5) served up a two-run homer to Jonny Gomes.

"I think that one inning was such a long inning. That happens a lot in baseball," said Gibbons, talking about the delay between Chacin's third and fourth innings. "The guy was sitting over there for a while, and I think we batted around in that inning. They get out of rhythm a little bit at times."

"I still felt great after the long inning," said Chacin, refusing the easy out. "I just missed a couple spots, and that's where I got hurt."

The Rays (29-62) wouldn't score again until the sixth, when Damon Hollins hit another two-run shot. Chacin left the game shortly after that, having allowed nine hits and five earned runs. The highlight of his night -- literally and figuratively -- was a Gold Glove-caliber defensive play in the third inning.

With no outs and a man on first, Chacin dodged a comebacker and stuck his glove behind his back to make the play. The ball knocked his glove off his hand, but he scampered after it, scooped it up barehanded and tossed to first for a harmless out.

"The guy hit a real hard ball to me, and that ball's going to hit me in my legs," said Chacin, recalling the play. "I tried to get out of the way and put my glove behind me. It hit my glove and we got the out. That's my first time. I've never had a play like that.

"That's my reaction. Get out of the way, but pull my glove behind me."

The teams traded runs in the late innings, but the Rays were never able to turn things into a save situation. Justin Speier closed things out with a scoreless ninth inning. Toronto is now 8-3 against Tampa Bay this season, with two more games remaining in the current series and eight more this season.

"It was a big offensive night everywhere out there tonight, and Chacin did his job," said Gibbons. "It was a good win for us, but it wasn't an easy win. It was one of those games that had that feel. They just kept pecking away. That team battles you and swings the bat."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 11, Tampa Bay 6 TOR
Toronto (45-45)
Won 1
July 15, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 6 11 1
Toronto
0 1 6 3 0 0 1 0 X 11 15 1
Standings through 7/15/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Crawford, LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .281
Lugo, SS 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 .289
Cantu, 3B 4 2 2 1 1 1 2 .288
Gomes, RF 5 1 2 3 0 1 3 .279
Perez, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .265
a-Cortez, PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-Cash, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .172
Huff, DH 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .252
Hollins, CF 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .265
Hall, C-1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .269
Green, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 3 2 .262
Totals 39 6 11 6 1 8 16

a-Batted for Perez in the 7th. b-Struck out for Cortez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Lugo (16, Chacin), Huff (13, Chacin).
3B: Gomes (2, Frasor).
HR: Gomes (8, 4th inning off Chacin, 1 on, 0 out), Hollins (9, 6th inning off Chacin, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Lugo 3; Cantu 2; Gomes 7; Huff 2; Hollins 5; Hall; Green.
RBI: Cantu (59), Gomes 3 (18), Hollins 2 (31).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crawford; Gomes 2; Huff.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
E: Cantu (12, throw).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 4 0 0 0 1 2 5 .249
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .288
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .266
Wells, CF 5 2 3 1 0 0 3 .274
Hillenbrand, 3B 5 1 1 2 0 2 2 .297
Hill, DH 4 2 2 0 1 1 1 .345
Zaun, C 4 2 3 0 1 0 1 .284
Rios, RF 3 2 1 1 2 0 1 .279
Hinske, 1B 4 1 1 1 0 2 3 .238
Hudson, 2B 4 1 2 3 1 0 2 .258
Totals 38 11 15 10 6 9 18

BATTING
2B: Hill (15, Brazelton), Hudson (15, Brazelton).
HR: Hillenbrand (10, 3rd inning off Nomo, 1 on, 1 out), Wells (18, 7th inning off Carter, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Catalanotto 2; Wells 6; Hillenbrand 4; Hill 3; Zaun 3; Rios; Hinske; Hudson 3.
RBI: Rios (38), Hillenbrand 2 (44), Hudson 3 (42), Catalanotto 2 (23), Hinske (39), Wells (51).
2-out RBI: Hudson 3; Catalanotto 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Adams 3; Wells.
SF: Hinske.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (6, fielding).

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Nomo (L, 5-8) 2.2 8 7 7 3 5 1 7.24
Brazelton 1.1 4 3 3 1 0 0 6.87
Borowski 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6.00
Miller 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5.23
Carter 2.0 1 1 1 1 3 1 5.02

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 8-5) 5.1 9 5 5 0 3 2 3.81
Frasor 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 0 3.89
Schoeneweis 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.11
Chulk 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.86
Speier 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.97

Pitches-strikes: Nomo 82-51, Brazelton 29-17, Borowski 11-10, Miller 16-8, Carter 35-19, Chacin 92-61, Frasor 18-12, Schoeneweis 6-6, Chulk 18-12, Speier 13-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Nomo 1-2, Brazelton 1-3, Borowski 2-1, Miller 0-2, Carter 2-1, Chacin 7-6, Frasor 2-0, Schoeneweis 0-0, Chulk 2-0, Speier 1-1.
Batters faced: Nomo 19, Brazelton 9, Borowski 4, Miller 5, Carter 8, Chacin 26, Frasor 5, Schoeneweis 2, Chulk 3, Speier 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Brazelton 3-2, Frasor 1-0, Schoeneweis 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jim Reynolds. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: John Hirschbeck. 3B: Wally Bell.
Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, R to L.
T: 3:03.
Att: 20,841.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-16-2005, 05:35 PM

Rays 6 Jays 5

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Don't let the relaxed demeanor fool you.

Josh Towers may not seem too volatile, but that's because he knows how to evict his anger when nobody's watching. The slender right-hander let the media in on his secret Saturday, when he worked four innings and allowed six runs in Toronto's 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay.

"This [stuff's] frustrating. You should see me when I come in after a game like this," said Towers, speaking calmly. "I think I broke everything in this clubhouse. It may not look like it, but I destroyed some [stuff]. I'm beating myself up, because this is getting out of hand.

"My next start's in five days. This one's done. This one's over, and there's nothing I can do now."

Nothing he can do but reflect, that is. Start by start, his season is slipping away. Towers (6-8) has been on the ropes for much of the last two months, posting a 1-7 record and a 6.22 ERA in his last 11 starts. Before that, he went 5-1 with with a 3.17 ERA.

"I keep thinking back to last year," said Towers, who thrived last summer when the Jays were in the doldrums. "I'm trying to remember what it felt like to go seven innings. Know what I'm saying? It's hard, because you press a little bit."

He has reason to press. If not for Roy Halladay's recent injury, Towers' spot in the rotation would likely be in jeopardy. As it is, he seems to be on somewhat solid ground for the foreseeable future. Toronto manager John Gibbons spoke in hushed and halting tones after the game, and he withheld his analysis of his starter's recent track record.

"You guys can form your own opinion on that," said Gibbons. "He's our guy. He's one of our guys."

"I feel, at times, I've got a short leash," Towers said. "But then when you throw games like today and the game in Texas a while back, how do you instill confidence? How do you talk him into letting you stay out there when you've already given up 10 hits in four innings?"

Tampa Bay (30-62) started things off early Saturday, notching five singles in the second inning -- none of them particularly well-hit. The road team came away with three runs in that rally, and they added one more in the fourth on a solo homer from Aubrey Huff. Finally, Carl Crawford took care of the rest of the scoring with a fourth-inning drive into the second deck.

The game may have actually turned one play before Crawford's homer. Joey Gathright, Tampa Bay's speedy leadoff man, hit a ball back to the box and outraced Towers to the bag. Toronto's pitcher dove and made contact with Gathright, but it was unclear whether he tagged him with his free hand or his glove.

First base umpire John Hirschbeck ruled the runner safe, but Towers said Hirschbeck didn't even see the play.

"If you make the wrong call and thought you saw something wrong, that's fine. I'm not going to be happy, but at least that's your excuse," he said. "When you say, 'I didn't see the play,' but you won't ask for help, that's just not professional. I don't know what else to call it.

"If we get the call right on Gathright and [Crawford] hits a home run, that's fine, because of how well our offense did. They kept battling back -- it would've been a tie game and we're still playing."

The Blue Jays never went away, challenging Tampa Bay's pitchers throughout the game. The first rally came in the third, when they trailed by four runs. Toronto got four straight extra-base hits in that inning -- three doubles and a triple -- to cut the deficit to one run. Mark Hendrickson maintained the slight edge, though, and Toronto (45-46) didn't score again until the sixth.

"We're not a high-powered offense. It's tough to overcome big deficits, because we're not a big long-ball hitting team," said Gibbons. "We've got to string some hits together -- that kind of thing."

The next threat started with a one-out error, and Hendrickson (4-6) compounded things by walking the next batter. The Rays went to the bullpen at that point, and pinch-hitter Reed Johnson drove a run-scoring single to make it 6-4.

Without any further delay, Alex Rios followed with his second double, knocking in his second run and pulling the Jays within one. Toronto never got any closer -- Travis Harper walked Vernon Wells to load the bases and retired the next two batters to escape the jam.

The late innings dissolved quickly. The Jays pushed the tying run to third in the eighth, but they weren't able to convert. In the ninth, Danys Baez retired three straight batters to earn his 15th save.

"It feels good to win two out of three," said Lou Piniella, the road team's manager. "Let's see if these kids get into the habit of winning with a little more consistency and we [could] have a little more fun than we did the first half. I'd love that for this team."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/b...bamlb_tormlb_1

Tampa Bay 6, Toronto 5 TOR
Toronto (45-46)
Lost 1
July 16, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay
0 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 12 1
Toronto
0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 9 1
Standings through 7/16/05 | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Gathright, J, CF 5 1 3 1 0 1 0 .318
Crawford, LF 5 1 2 3 0 1 2 .283
Lugo, SS 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 .288
Cantu, 3B 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .288
Huff, RF 5 2 2 1 0 1 2 .255
Hollins, RF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .265
Gomes, DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .271
Lee, 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .241
Hall, C 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 .269
Green, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .259
Totals 38 6 12 6 3 6 13

BATTING
HR: Huff (9, 3rd inning off Towers, 0 on, 1 out), Crawford (10, 4th inning off Towers, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Gathright, J 3; Crawford 5; Lugo; Cantu; Huff 5; Lee 2; Hall.
RBI: Hall (20), Gathright, J (3), Crawford 3 (51), Huff (46).
2-out RBI: Gathright, J; Crawford.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cantu; Lugo 2; Lee.
GIDP: Crawford.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Lugo (25, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby), Gathright, J (5, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby), Crawford (28, 2nd base off Towers/Huckaby).

FIELDING
E: Lugo (16, fielding).
DP: (Lugo-Green-Lee).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 .267
a-Catalanotto, PH-LF 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .291
Rios, RF 5 1 3 2 0 1 3 .285
Wells, CF 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 .274
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 0 2 1 0 0 4 .298
Hill, 3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .335
Menechino, DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .234
c-Hinske, PH-DH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
Hudson, 2B 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .256
Huckaby, C 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .156
b-Zaun, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .283
Adams, SS 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 .248
Totals 35 5 9 5 6 3 20

a-Singled for Johnson in the 6th. b-Grounded into a double play for Huckaby in the 7th. c-Grounded out for Menechino in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Rios 3 (18, Hendrickson, Hendrickson, Harper), Johnson (10, Hendrickson), Hillenbrand 2 (22, Hendrickson, Hendrickson).
3B: Wells (2, Hendrickson).
TB: Johnson 2; Catalanotto; Rios 6; Wells 3; Hillenbrand 4; Huckaby.
RBI: Rios 2 (40), Wells (52), Hillenbrand (45), Catalanotto (24).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Menechino 2; Rios; Hill 2; Wells.
S: Catalanotto.
GIDP: Zaun.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Huckaby (1, throw).
DP: (Downs-Adams-Hillenbrand).

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hendrickson (W, 4-6) 5.1 7 5 4 3 3 0 6.35
Harper (H, 8) 1.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 7.53
Miller (H, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.98
Borowski (H, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.68
Baez (S, 15) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.52

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers (L, 6-8) 4.0 10 6 6 0 1 2 4.85
Downs 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 6.20
Speier 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.88
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.79
Batista 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.05

IBB: Wells (by Harper).
Pitches-strikes: Hendrickson 94-53, Harper 16-10, Miller 21-11, Borowski 6-4, Baez 10-7, Towers 84-57, Downs 28-17, Speier 14-9, Frasor 10-8, Batista 18-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Hendrickson 8-5, Harper 2-1, Miller 3-0, Borowski 0-2, Baez 1-2, Towers 4-7, Downs 4-1, Speier 0-3, Frasor 0-1, Batista 0-1.
Batters faced: Hendrickson 27, Harper 6, Miller 4, Borowski 2, Baez 3, Towers 22, Downs 7, Speier 5, Frasor 3, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Harper 2-2, Borowski 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: John Hirschbeck. 2B: Wally Bell. 3B: Jim Reynolds.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:54.
Att: 24,801.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-16-2005, 11:49 PM

Well I'll be gone from July 17th-22nd so rudy dont think I just stopped updating this. Anybody can do this when im away if they want.

**Chris from NY** · 07-18-2005, 10:33 AM

I'd help but I'm not very good at stuff like that. But thanks for making this thread. I've been hoping for a while that someone would make a thread like this. Can't wait until you return so you can keep up the updates.

**rudy** · 07-18-2005, 01:56 PM

Lets see how this on turns out:

from: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/b...bamlb_tormlb_1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 5 12 2
Toronto 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 0

Standings through 7/17/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Gathright, J, CF 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .312
Crawford, LF 5 0 0 0 0 0 4 .279
Lugo, SS 4 3 3 1 1 0 0 .293
Cantu, DH 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 .290
Huff, RF-3B 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 .255
Lee, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .237
a-Hollins, PH-RF 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .268
Cortez, 2B-3B 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 .125
b-Gomes, PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .278
Perez, 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .262
Hall, C 4 0 1 2 0 0 1 .269
Gonzalez, 3B 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .265
1-Green, PR-2B 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
Totals 38 5 12 5 5 4 16

a-Singled for Lee in the 8th. b-Singled for Cortez in the 8th.
1-Ran for Gonzalez in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Hall (9, Batista), Lugo (17, Batista), Cantu (21, Batista).
HR: Lugo (3, 4th inning off Walker, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Gathright, J; Lugo 7; Cantu 3; Huff; Hollins; Cortez; Gomes; Hall 2; Gonzalez.
RBI: Lugo (36), Huff (47), Hall 2 (22), Cantu (60).
2-out RBI: Hall 2; Cantu.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cortez; Crawford; Green; Perez 2.
GIDP: Hall.
Team LOB: 11.

BASERUNNING
SB: Cantu (1, 2nd base off Walker/Zaun), Lugo (26, 3rd base off Schoeneweis/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Green (5, fielding), Lugo (17, throw).
DP: (Lee).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 .251
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .291
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .266
Wells, CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .271
Hillenbrand, DH 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 .296
Hill, 3B 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 .341
Zaun, C 3 1 1 2 0 1 2 .284
Huckaby, C 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .154
Rios, RF 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .285
Hinske, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .237
Hudson, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .253
Totals 35 4 8 2 2 11 16

BATTING
2B: Hill (16, McClung), Hinske (20, McClung).
HR: Zaun (7, 2nd inning off McClung, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto; Hill 3; Zaun 4; Rios; Hinske 2.
RBI: Zaun 2 (37).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hillenbrand; Hinske; Johnson.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
PB: Zaun (4).
DP: (Hudson-Adams-Hinske).

Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McClung 6.0 6 4 3 1 8 1 7.05
Orvella (W, 1-1) 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.06
Baez (S, 16) 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.45
Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Walker 6.0 6 1 1 0 2 1 2.44
Chulk (H, 7) 0.2 1 0 0 2 0 0 3.80
Schoeneweis (H, 9) 1.0 1 2 2 1 0 0 4.55
Batista (BS, 3)(L, 4-3) 1.0 4 2 2 2 2 0 3.40
Speier 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.86

McClung pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.

IBB: Huff (by Batista).
HBP: Hillenbrand (by McClung).
Pitches-strikes: McClung 98-61, Orvella 21-13, Baez 21-14, Walker 83-50, Chulk 19-8, Schoeneweis 18-10, Batista 37-20, Speier 8-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: McClung 4-6, Orvella 1-3, Baez 0-2, Walker 7-9, Chulk 2-0, Schoeneweis 1-2, Batista 1-0, Speier 0-1.
Batters faced: McClung 27, Orvella 6, Baez 5, Walker 24, Chulk 4, Schoeneweis 5, Batista 9, Speier 1.
Inherited runners-scored: Orvella 1-0, Schoeneweis 2-0, Batista 1-1, Speier 3-0.
EjectionsToronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons ejected by HP umpire John Hirschbeck. (9th); Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun ejected by HP umpire John Hirschbeck. (8th).
Umpires: HP: John Hirschbeck. 1B: Wally Bell. 2B: Jim Reynolds. 3B: Chad Fairchild.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:56.
Att: 25,198.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

**Reed Johnson** · 07-26-2005, 11:17 PM

Sorry I have'nt done this in a while but I went my grandma and grandpa's for a couple of days. Well todays game was great! Chacin is looked good getting his 4th straight win and the Jays produced 8 runs on 14 hits! Koskie went 1 for 4 in his return with a walk.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- One bat came back to an eight-bat salute. The Blue Jays welcomed Corey Koskie back from a two-month stint on the disabled list on Tuesday night and celebrated with an 8-0 win over the Angels.

"It was nice to see him standing over there. The more he plays, the better he's going to get," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "He's a big part of this. When he's gone, you forget about it. He kind of gives us that new look we were looking for in the beginning of the year."

The game was every bit as one-sided as the final score seems. The Jays (50-49) dashed out to a three-run lead in the first inning, and they added four more runs in the fourth. Seven of the home team's starters scored at least one run, and all nine had at least one hit. Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand had the biggest night, collecting three hits and four RBIs.

Still, the biggest news was Koskie's return, which came after a 58-game absence. The third baseman went 1-for-4 and had an uneventful night in the field. He made one assist and one liner ripped past him, but all in all, it was a rewarding night at the office.

"I had some good passes and I took some pretty good pitches. Overall, I felt great -- maybe just a tad late," said Koskie. "Those boys -- they swung it pretty well. But when you get a pitching performance like that and get some runs with it, there's not much more you could ask for."

Gustavo Chacin took all the run support and made it stand up, foiling the Angels for most of the game. The southpaw allowed just two hits in the first five innings -- one was erased on a pick off and the other on a double play. Chacin (10-5) worked through the eighth, then handed the ball to Toronto's bullpen.

"He was right on tonight. That's probably the best I've seen him in a while," said Gibbons. "He was just pounding that strike zone, pitch after pitch. He's capable of that, and it gives him his 10th win. He's having a heck of a rookie year."

"That guy pitched a terrific game," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "Anytime we had a count in our favor or had a chance to do something, he came up with a great pitch. He reminds me a little of a combination of Teddy Higuera and Fernando Valenzuela. There are a lot of intangibles he has on the mound, just from a first glance."

The other starter had the opposite kind of night. Paul Byrd worked just three-plus innings, his shortest start this season. Byrd (9-7) made a major mistake in the first inning, when he gave up a three-run homer to Hillenbrand. The shot traveled over the left-field fence, and it came one out after Vernon Wells drove a ball to the warning track.

"That guy pitched a terrific game. Anytime we had a count in our favor or had a chance to do something, he came up with a great pitch."
-- Angels manager Mike Scioscia, on Gustavo Chacin

"We've been swinging the bat good. We're starting to hit our stride," said Gibbons. "We got that big home run early, but I thought Vernon had one, too. He just hit it in the wrong spot. ... Then, we spread it around pretty good."

Toronto came back for more in the fourth, chasing Byrd with four straight hits. The Jays got two singles sandwiched around two doubles before the Angels (59-41) went to the bullpen. Kevin Gregg came in and settled things down, but not before Hillenbrand put the seventh run on the board with a two-out single.

The final run scored in the eighth inning, courtesy of a solo shot from Wells. It was his 20th of the season, which gives him four straight seasons with at least that many. Only five other Jays have had a streak that long -- Carlos Delgado, Joe Carter, George Bell, Jesse Barfield and Fred McGriff.

"This team's hot right now," said Byrd. "It seems like if we played them to pull, they hit it the other way. And if we played them the other way, they pulled it."

"Paul Byrd made some mistakes in key situations to some good hitters," said Scioscia. "To Hillenbrand, he hung the slider in the first inning and got them on the board. When you're not making good pitches against good hitters, they're going to be magnified. Good hitters aren't going to miss them."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 8, LA Angels 0 TOR
Toronto (50-49)
Won 1
July 26, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
Toronto
3 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 X 8 14 0
Standings through 7/26/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .290
Erstad, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .278
Guerrero, RF 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 .311
1-Sorensen, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Anderson, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .296
2-Paul, PR-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .161
Molina, B, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .306
Rivera, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .239
Cabrera, SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .242
Finley, CF 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 .236
Izturis, 3B 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .292
Totals 32 0 8 0 2 4 19

1-Ran for Guerrero in the 9th. 2-Ran for Anderson in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Guerrero (18, Chacin).
TB: Figgins; Guerrero 4; Anderson; Finley 2; Izturis.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Erstad 2; Rivera; Cabrera 2.
GIDP: Anderson; Figgins.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
PO: Figgins (2nd base by Chacin).

FIELDING
E: Izturis (6, fielding).
DP: 2 (Erstad-Cabrera, Cabrera-Erstad).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 3 2 2 1 2 0 2 .266
Catalanotto, LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 6 .314
Johnson, LF 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .278
Wells, CF 5 1 1 1 0 1 3 .276
Hillenbrand, 1B 5 1 3 4 0 0 0 .301
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .248
Zaun, C 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 .278
Hinske, DH 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .247
Rios, RF 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .283
Hudson, 2B 4 1 3 1 0 0 2 .272
Totals 37 8 14 8 4 3 19

BATTING
2B: Rios (20, Byrd), Hudson (18, Byrd).
HR: Hillenbrand (13, 1st inning off Byrd, 2 on, 1 out), Wells (20, 8th inning off Peralta, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto; Wells 4; Hillenbrand 6; Koskie; Zaun; Hinske; Rios 2; Hudson 4.
RBI: Hillenbrand 4 (58), Rios (41), Hudson (44), Adams (44), Wells (61).
2-out RBI: Hillenbrand.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Catalanotto 3; Adams.
GIDP: Zaun; Hinske.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (Hudson-Adams-Hillenbrand, Adams-Hudson-Hillenbrand).
Pickoffs: Chacin (Figgins at 2nd base).

LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Byrd (L, 9-7) 3.0 10 7 7 1 0 1 4.10
Gregg 3.1 3 0 0 2 2 0 6.75
Peralta 1.2 1 1 1 1 1 1 4.50

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Chacin (W, 10-5) 8.0 6 0 0 2 4 0 3.45
Batista 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3.11

Byrd pitched to 4 batters in the 4th.

HBP: Rios (by Gregg).
Pitches-strikes: Byrd 63-42, Gregg 63-33, Peralta 26-18, Chacin 95-57, Batista 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Byrd 5-4, Gregg 4-4, Peralta 2-2, Chacin 11-8, Batista 0-3.
Batters faced: Byrd 19, Gregg 16, Peralta 7, Chacin 29, Batista 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Gregg 1-1, Peralta 2-0.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Phil Cuzzi. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Jerry Crawford.
Weather: 68 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:29.
Att: 18,754.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

**Reed Johnson** · 07-27-2005, 11:52 PM

Another good game again tonight. I would have prefered to win with Koskie geting a hit or at least a sac fly but a win is a win! I will be happy beyond beleif if the Jays can win tomorrow to sweep the Angels. Thankfully the Yankees and Orioles lost today but the Red Sox won.

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/w...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

TORONTO -- Could it have ended any other way?

A wild game finished with a wild pitch Wednesday night, when the Blue Jays beat the Angels in extra innings. Russ Adams led off the 10th with a single and eventually scored on an errant pitch from Brendan Donnelly to give Toronto a 3-2 win.

"It was a great ballgame all the way around. Good pitching on both sides. Great defense, both sides," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "Two pretty good teams going at it, and we caught that big break there at the end. What more can you say?"

The Jays didn't just catch one break -- they also dodged a bases-loaded situation in the top of the 10th. Toronto closer Miguel Batista ended the Angels' best threat with a ground ball back to the mound, setting the stage for his offense to win the game.

Toronto (51-49) started off slowly in the 10th, with Adams singling to left-center and moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. The Angels responded by intentionally walking Vernon Wells, setting up a force at second or third and bringing Aaron Hill to the plate -- a rookie struggling through an 0-for-18 skid. An infield single later, that streak was history.

With three men on base and one out, the Angels pulled their center fielder into the infield to give themselves an extra glove. It didn't matter: Donnelly (6-3) threw a 1-0 pitch in the dirt and past his catcher, enabling Adams to scramble home. His teammates met him at the plate and mobbed him with hand shakes and head slaps, celebrating their fifth straight win at home.

"The last thing you want to do is get thrown out on a passed ball -- with [Corey] Koskie at the plate, one out and the bases loaded," said Adams. "It was just one of those instinct-type plays, and it bounced high enough and far enough away from him. I knew it was going to just roll toward the backstop and I could get there."

With the extra frame, a pair of effective pitching performances went to waste. Josh Towers and Bartolo Colon both received no-decisions for their efforts. Towers, Toronto's starter, pitched into the seventh inning and allowed six hits. Colon worked through the seventh, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. When he left, the Angels (59-42) had never trailed.

"Colon was on. Josh was on," said Gibbons. "It just had that feel that it was probably going to be a low score. A break here or there might make the difference."

Said Towers: "I felt like it was an unbelievable game today -- on both sides. We pitched pretty well. I know Bartolo and those guys pitched extremely well. It just couldn't have gotten any closer of a game."

All of the road team's runs came in the first three innings. Vladimir Guerrero hit a homer in the first, but he got a little help to do it. Eric Hinske, Toronto's first baseman, dropped a foul pop to prolong the slugger's at-bat. Five pitches later, Guerrero sent a looping shot over the right-field fence. The other run came in the third, courtesy of a two-out single by Darin Erstad.

"We played hard again tonight," said Erstad. "We just didn't get that hit when we needed it. We'll move on. We're kind of in one of those funks right now where we can't piece it together. We'll have a couple guys have a couple good games and other guys won't. It's just not rolling right now. We'll grind through it and we'll be all right."

Toronto played from behind in the early innings, only to come up with two tying rallies. Gregg Zaun drew a two-out walk in the second and eventually scored on a soft liner to center field from Alex Rios. Wells helped engineer another tie in the fifth, when he hit a one-out triple and scored on Koskie's single.

That wasn't Koskie's main contribution, though. Just one day after making his return from the disabled list, Koskie risked life and limb to make a sprinting catch in the 10th inning. The third baseman was chasing a foul pop by the stands, and he made the play before losing his footing and tumbling into the side fence.

"That's Corey. Corey's done that his whole career," said Gibbons. "That's the one thing you notice when you play against him. And that's why he gets banged up sometimes, because he doesn't try to protect himself."

"Unbelievable. That's one of the best plays I've ever seen," said Adams, who was just two steps away. "I wanted to make sure he was OK, because he slid right into the side."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=tor

Toronto 3, LA Angels 2 TOR
Toronto (51-49)
Won 2
July 27, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
LA Angels
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0
Toronto
0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 10 2
Standings through 7/27/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, 3B 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .289
Erstad, 1B 5 0 3 1 0 0 2 .282
Guerrero, DH 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 .310
Anderson, LF 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 .294
Finley, CF 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .235
Molina, B, C 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 .299
DaVanon, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .238
Cabrera, SS 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .246
Kennedy, 2B 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .332
Totals 40 2 10 2 2 4 20

BATTING
2B: Kennedy (13, Towers), Erstad (25, Batista).
HR: Guerrero (19, 1st inning off Towers, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Figgins; Erstad 4; Guerrero 4; Anderson; Finley; Cabrera 2; Kennedy 2.
RBI: Guerrero (63), Erstad (43).
2-out RBI: Guerrero; Erstad.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Guerrero; Figgins; Molina, B 3.
GIDP: Erstad.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Erstad (8, 2nd base off Towers/Zaun), Cabrera (9, 2nd base off Towers/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Kennedy-Cabrera-Erstad).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .264
Catalanotto, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .313
Wells, CF 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 .278
Hillenbrand, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .301
1-Hill, PR-DH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .309
Koskie, 3B 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .248
Zaun, C 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 .276
Hinske, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .247
Rios, RF 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 .283
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 2 .272
Totals 36 3 10 2 3 6 13

1-Ran for Hillenbrand in the 8th.

BATTING
3B: Wells (3, Colon).
TB: Adams; Catalanotto; Wells 4; Hillenbrand; Hill; Koskie; Hinske; Rios; Hudson.
RBI: Rios (42), Koskie (17).
2-out RBI: Rios; Koskie.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Hudson; Koskie; Adams.
S: Catalanotto.
GIDP: Koskie.
Team LOB: 9.

FIELDING
E: Hinske (4, fielding), Adams (18, throw).
DP: (Hinske-Adams-Towers).

LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Colon 7.0 7 2 2 2 5 0 3.72
Shields 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.13
Donnelly (L, 6-3) 0.1 2 1 1 1 0 0 3.40

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Towers 6.2 6 2 1 1 2 1 4.60
Schoeneweis 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.50
Frasor 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.20
Batista (W, 5-3) 2.0 2 0 0 1 0 0 2.98

Schoeneweis pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Donnelly.
IBB: Wells (by Donnelly), Guerrero (by Batista).
Pitches-strikes: Colon 108-71, Shields 21-14, Donnelly 14-6, Towers 99-67, Schoeneweis 8-6, Frasor 10-8, Batista 32-18.
Ground outs-fly outs: Colon 6-10, Shields 5-0, Donnelly 1-0, Towers 9-9, Schoeneweis 0-0, Frasor 1-1, Batista 3-3.
Batters faced: Colon 30, Shields 6, Donnelly 4, Towers 27, Schoeneweis 2, Frasor 4, Batista 9.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 2-0, Frasor 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Phil Cuzzi. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Jerry Crawford. 3B: CB Bucknor.
Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 11 mph, In from CF.
T: 3:00.
Att: 18,998.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

**Reed Johnson** · 07-28-2005, 11:48 PM

We swept the Angels! What a wild game today. It went 18 inning, the longest game in Jays history. I was so nervous all through extra innings knowing that this win was so important. I was jumping up and down when Hudson hit Rios in to win the game. Excellent outing by David Bush him and Lackey got into a pitchers duel today. The orioles lost today and the Yankees won, Boston had a off day. Toronto is now only 4 games back of Boston!

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- Sometimes, you need two scoresheets.

The Blue Jays played the longest game in franchise history on Thursday night, a 2-1 win over the Angels that lasted 18 innings. It was also the longest game in the big leagues this season -- not to mention Toronto's second walk-off win in as many nights.

"I want to go home. I want to sleep. I want to eat," said Vernon Wells, Toronto's center fielder. "It was a first for a lot of us, playing in a game that long. It was just good we came out on the winning side of it.

"It was a long one. It was fun to be a part of once, but hopefully, we don't do it again."

Some players may have had dead legs, but the winning run came on some speed work. Alex Rios, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 14th inning, singled, stole second and moved to third base on a wild pitch. He came home on a single from Orlando Hudson, marking Toronto's sixth straight win at home -- the team's longest streak this season.

"It's tough to sweep first-place clubs, and we did that. Maybe we're on to something here," said John Gibbons, Toronto's manager. "You don't feel as bad when you win those marathons. We've said all along, 'Our guys, they gut it out for nine innings.' Win, lose or draw, they show up. It's a fun team and it's a team the town can be proud of."

Both teams were quiet for most of the night, with the starting pitchers spinning twin shutouts through eight innings. Dave Bush was at his best for Toronto, but he gave up a one-out triple in the ninth to give the Angels their best threat.

The Jays (52-49) responded by intentionally walking two batters, then Steve Finley drove in the road team's lone run on a ground ball. Scott Schoeneweis got one out and Justin Speier got the other, cutting off the Angels (59-43) at one run.

"It's not very often you pitch into the ninth inning and don't even pitch half the game. Obviously, the bullpen did a great job, throwing more than nine innings of shutout ball," said Bush. "After a while, you try to hang on as long as you can. We tried to figure out anything we could do to get a win and get out of here."

The drama was just beginning. Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels' closer, walked Russ Adams in the ninth and gave up a one-out bloop hit to right field. That pushed the rookie to third base, and Shea Hillenbrand sent him home with a flare to left field. Wells hustled from first to third on the play, but Rodriguez retired the next two batters to send the game to extra innings.

"I can definitely say one thing: Ernie Banks and that 'Let's play two' thing -- he ain't never strapped on the catching gear before. That's for sure."
-- Gregg Zaun

"We had an opportunity, but K-Rod's one of the best in the game. Especially in situations like that," said Wells. "We just played a whole other game after that, so it was a good time."

"That's a tough game for both teams. Two well-played games -- 18 innings. It was great to get a W right there," said Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun, who caught the whole game. "I can definitely say one thing: Ernie Banks and that 'Let's play two' thing -- he ain't never strapped on the catching gear before. That's for sure. That's a lot of game right there."

After the ninth, the game settled into a battle of the bullpens, with both teams struggling to break things open. Toronto's Vinnie Chulk did most of the heavy lifting -- he came on in the 10th inning and retired nine straight Angels. Jason Frasor and Miguel Batista each worked a scoreless inning, and Pete Walker got nine outs to set up the winning rally.

"All you do is try to win that game today. You can't worry about tomorrow," Gibbons said. "If we're a little beat up tomorrow, so be it. It was a good win tonight."

Said Walker: "The game was flowing there and I had a feeling I might be getting in towards the end. Overall, the bullpen pitched outstanding. Dave Bush threw a tremendous game -- it's a shame he didn't get a chance to win that game. The bullpen did a great job, coming in and putting some zeroes up."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=mlb

Toronto 2, LA Angels 1 TOR
Toronto (52-49)
Won 3
July 28, 2005
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 R H E
LA Angels
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 1
Standings through 7/28/05 | Wrap | Gameday

LA Angels AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Figgins, LF 8 0 1 0 0 3 4 .286
Erstad, 1B 8 0 1 0 0 1 2 .279
Rivera, RF 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .239
1-DaVanon, PR-RF 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 .235
Anderson, DH 7 0 0 0 1 2 4 .289
Molina, B, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295
a-Guerrero, PH 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .310
2-Molina, J, PR-C 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .219
Finley, CF 7 0 1 1 0 0 2 .233
Cabrera, SS 7 0 2 0 0 2 3 .247
Izturis, 3B 6 0 1 0 0 0 2 .286
Kennedy, 2B 7 0 2 0 0 2 2 .331
Totals 62 1 9 1 4 10 24

a-Intentionally walked for Molina, B in the 9th.
1-Ran for Rivera in the 9th. 2-Ran for Guerrero in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Erstad (26, Walker).
3B: Rivera (1, Bush).
TB: Figgins; Erstad 2; Rivera 3; Finley; Cabrera 2; Izturis; Kennedy 2.
RBI: Finley (43).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Anderson; Figgins 2; Cabrera; Molina, J 2; Kennedy.
S: Izturis.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: DaVanon (9, 2nd base off Frasor/Zaun), Figgins (35, 2nd base off Bush/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Molina, B-Kennedy).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 6 1 1 0 1 1 0 .262
Catalanotto, LF 6 0 0 0 1 2 2 .306
Wells, CF 7 0 2 0 0 2 1 .278
Hillenbrand, 1B 7 0 1 1 0 3 2 .298
Koskie, 3B 6 0 1 0 1 3 2 .245
Hill, DH 6 0 0 0 0 2 3 .300
Zaun, C 7 0 0 0 0 2 4 .269
Johnson, RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .277
a-Hinske, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .246
Rios, RF 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .285
Hudson, 2B 7 0 2 1 0 0 2 .272
Totals 58 2 9 2 4 17 16

a-Struck out for Johnson in the 13th.

BATTING
TB: Adams; Wells 2; Hillenbrand; Koskie; Johnson; Rios; Hudson 2.
RBI: Hillenbrand (59), Hudson (45).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Koskie; Zaun 2; Hudson.
S: Hill.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rios (9, 2nd base off Shields/Molina, J).
CS: Catalanotto (2, 2nd base by Lackey/Molina, B).

FIELDING
E: Hillenbrand (7, fielding).

LA Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Lackey 8.0 4 0 0 1 9 0 3.70
Rodriguez (BS, 3) 1.0 2 1 1 2 3 0 1.99
Donnelly 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.25
Yan 3.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.83
Peralta 3.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.00
Shields (L, 6-6) 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 0 2.26

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bush 8.1 5 1 1 2 4 0 4.33
Schoeneweis 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.46
Speier 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.54
Chulk 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.59
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.11
Batista 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.92
Walker (W, 4-3) 3.0 3 0 0 1 2 0 2.89

WP: Shields.
IBB: Koskie (by Rodriguez), Anderson (by Bush), Guerrero (by Bush).
Pitches-strikes: Lackey 109-70, Rodriguez 29-16, Donnelly 28-19, Yan 28-17, Peralta 35-23, Shields 13-9, Bush 106-65, Schoeneweis 4-3, Speier 18-14, Chulk 28-20, Frasor 19-10, Batista 15-8, Walker 40-27.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lackey 8-5, Rodriguez 0-0, Donnelly 2-3, Yan 3-3, Peralta 3-5, Shields 1-0, Bush 9-12, Schoeneweis 1-0, Speier 1-0, Chulk 5-4, Frasor 1-1, Batista 2-1, Walker 3-4.
Batters faced: Lackey 27, Rodriguez 7, Donnelly 6, Yan 9, Peralta 11, Shields 3, Bush 32, Schoeneweis 1, Speier 4, Chulk 9, Frasor 4, Batista 4, Walker 13.
Inherited runners-scored: Schoeneweis 3-1, Speier 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Ed Rapuano. 1B: Jerry Crawford. 2B: CB Bucknor. 3B: Phil Cuzzi.
Weather: 75 degrees, clear.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to RF.
T: 4:50.
Att: 19,706.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

**pads4ever** · 07-28-2005, 11:53 PM

Great series for the Jays......not so great for the Angels.....nice sweep. I was impressed with the Jays. How come you guys aren't further up in the standings? I was really impressed with Chacin....hope they can hang onto him.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-29-2005, 12:32 AM

Originally posted by pads4ever

Great series for the Jays......not so great for the Angels.....nice sweep. I was impressed with the Jays. How come you guys aren't further up in the standings? I was really impressed with Chacin....hope they can hang onto him.

The reason we're not higher up in the standings is consistency IMO. In the first half of the season the pitchers were really good and the batters stunk and then for the second half the batters were great and the pitchers stunk. But this series was a good one. Also we are losing to the bad teams and winning against the good ones.

**Reed Johnson** · 07-31-2005, 12:14 AM

After sweeping the Angels the Jays havenow lost 2 in a row to texas

. Dustin McGowan made his ML debut giving up only 1 run in 5 innings of work. Frasor then came into the sixth and blew the 2-1 lead so he got the loss. Also the winning run, in my opinon, shouldnt have counted because Zaun tagged him before he touched the plate. We lost the game because of the damn umpire!

Rangers 3 Jays 2

Game Summary: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=tor

TORONTO -- It was a matter of inches and a matter of opinion.

A controversial play at the plate was the difference in Saturday's game, which turned out to be a 3-2 win for the Rangers over the Blue Jays. Kevin Mench, the road team's right fielder, slid home with the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of a tight game. That slide -- disputed or not -- gave the Rangers six straight wins over Toronto and a 2-0 edge in the current series.

"I thought he was out. I thought he was wide," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "It was big, but we didn't mount much offense today. That's what it came down to."

The key play came in the top of the sixth inning, with two outs and Mench on first base. Gary Matthews Jr. chopped a ball off the plate for Texas (53-50), and Toronto reliever Jason Frasor had to wait for it to come down. When it did, he had to hurry a throw, which went inside the baseline and off the back of the Matthews' helmet.

"I knew he was flying. I know he's fast," said Frasor, who took the loss. "I had a bad grip. I threw it anyway, but it took off on me."

The ball bounced into foul territory, and Matthews, running full-out, plowed into Shea Hillenbrand before falling to the turf in obvious pain. Hillenbrand also fell down before giving chase to the ball, and both players talked about the impact after the game.

"The throw hit me in the back of the helmet and it flicked over in front of my face," said Matthews. "I couldn't see until I was two inches in front of his shoulder. It felt like a punch in the face. I was a little woozy, a little sleepy."

"It was such a huge collision. I don't know what hit me or where," said Hillenbrand of the play at first base.

Toronto's first baseman recovered and went after the ball, but Mench was busy steaming his way around the bases. Finally, Hillenbrand gathered and made a strong throw to the plate, but the runner arrived at roughly the same time.

It was close, but the home-plate umpire was in perfect position and signaled safe for the go-ahead run. Gibbons and Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun argued to no avail, and neither team was able to score for the rest of the game.

"I put my glove right in front of the plate and his hand came right into it. There wasn't really anywhere for him to go," said Zaun. "I didn't think there was any question about it. He slid wide and he tried to reach back with his hand, but my glove was sitting right in front of the plate with plenty of time. Another one of those calls cost us the ballgame."

Despite a no-decision, Toronto starter Dustin McGowan pitched well in his Major League debut. The rookie walked the first two batters he faced, but settled down shortly thereafter. The right-hander worked five innings and allowed just two hits, striking out six batters against three walks. The only run he allowed came on a sacrifice fly in the second inning.

"He had a little trouble with his fastball -- getting it over -- but the breaking ball and the changeup were there for him," said Zaun. "That says a lot about the kid's makeup. Hopefully, we'll be able to use that mid-90's fastball a little bit more the next time."

The Jays (52-51) gained an early lead, thanks to a wild play in the first. With no outs and the bases loaded, Alfonso Soriano fielded a ball and tried to tag a runner, but he would up having to throw to first for the fielder's choice. The first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez, then threw wildly into left field, allowing both runs to score.

Five innings later, there was redemption by long ball. After Frasor got two quick outs in the sixth, Gonzalez reached him for a solo homer over the right-field fence. That tied the game at 2, and two plays later, Mench slid home with the go-ahead run.

"That was the only place he was going to hurt me -- down-and-in," said Frasor about the home run. "That's right where he likes it. It was supposed to be a cutter in, but it came out more like a curveball and hung up over the plate."

Box Score: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne...mlb_1&c_id=tor

Texas 3, Toronto 2 TOR
Toronto (52-51)
Lost 2
July 30, 2005
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Texas
0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 7 1
Toronto
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 1
Standings through 7/30/05 | Wrap | Gameday

Texas AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Dellucci, LF 4 0 0 0 1 3 4 .259
Young, M, SS 4 0 1 0 1 0 1 .327
Teixeira, DH 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .276
Blalock, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .278
Soriano, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 2 2 .279
Gonzalez, 1B 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 .229
Mench, RF 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 .276
Matthews, CF 3 0 2 0 0 1 1 .263
Hidalgo, CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .221
Barajas, C 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .255
Totals 32 3 7 2 5 9 17

BATTING
2B: Matthews (14, McGowan), Barajas (16, Frasor).
HR: Gonzalez (3, 6th inning off Frasor, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Young, M; Gonzalez 4; Mench 2; Matthews 3; Barajas 2.
RBI: Barajas (31), Gonzalez (6).
2-out RBI: Gonzalez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Soriano; Dellucci 3.
SF: Barajas.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Soriano (16, 2nd base off Chulk/Zaun).

FIELDING
E: Gonzalez (2, throw).
DP: (Young, M-Soriano-Gonzalez).
Pickoffs: Shouse (Adams at 1st base).

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Adams, SS 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 .268
Catalanotto, LF 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .302
Wells, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .278
Hillenbrand, 1B 4 0 0 1 0 1 2 .297
Koskie, 3B 3 0 2 0 1 1 1 .253
Zaun, C 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .265
Hinske, DH 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 .241
Johnson, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .273
Hudson, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .269
Totals 31 2 6 1 4 9 17

BATTING
2B: Catalanotto (17, Benoit).
TB: Adams 2; Catalanotto 2; Koskie 2; Hudson.
RBI: Hillenbrand (60).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun; Johnson 3.
GIDP: Wells.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
CS: Adams (2, 2nd base by Shouse/Barajas).
PO: Adams (1st base by Shouse).

FIELDING
E: Frasor (1, throw).
DP: (Hudson).

Texas IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Benoit (W, 3-1) 5.2 5 2 1 3 6 0 1.94
Gryboski (H, 5) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.16
Shouse (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.42
Loe (H, 3) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.19
Cordero (S, 26) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.54

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
McGowan 5.0 2 1 1 3 6 0 1.80
Frasor (BS, 1)(L, 1-5) 1.0 4 2 2 0 1 1 4.40
Chulk 2.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.44
Batista 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 2.86

WP: Gryboski.
HBP: Wells (by Benoit), Barajas (by McGowan).
Pitches-strikes: Benoit 111-71, Gryboski 5-4, Shouse 18-11, Loe 19-13, Cordero 13-7, McGowan 91-49, Frasor 29-20, Chulk 27-13, Batista 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Benoit 5-6, Gryboski 0-1, Shouse 2-0, Loe 1-0, Cordero 1-1, McGowan 6-3, Frasor 1-1, Chulk 1-5, Batista 1-0.
Batters faced: Benoit 25, Gryboski 1, Shouse 3, Loe 4, Cordero 3, McGowan 21, Frasor 7, Chulk 7, Batista 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Gryboski 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: Ed Hickox. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Gary Cederstrom.
Weather: 79 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 9 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:14.
Att: 23,039.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

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