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let down the team in a big way today.\' Morrow flirted with disa

(2014-08-13 19:45:06) 下一個
TORONTO - For the fourth time on this home stand the Blue Jays enjoyed a lead of at least three runs. wholesale nfl jerseys . They lost, overall a fourth in a row, while dropping their record to 1-3 in those games in which the offence has gotten off to a hot start. Brandon Morrow and the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins were the culprits in a disastrous third inning which saw the Red Sox score six times to erase a 3-0 deficit en route to a 7-6 victory. "I came in with one goal and that was to pitch late in the game and keep us in it," said Morrow. "I let down the team in a big way today." Morrow flirted with disaster from the get-go, walking two Red Sox in each of the first two innings only to escape with double play ground outs. After two quick outs in the third, it all unraveled as Morrow walked four-straight hitters to force in Bostons first run. Manager John Gibbons had Morrow on a short leash and promptly called for the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins, who immediately gave up back to back home runs, a grand slam to A.J. Pierzynski and a solo shot to Will Middlebrooks. "He just didnt throw strikes, its pretty simple," said Gibbons of Morrow. "Its a simple solution. Weve been walking way too many guys all year. I mean everybody. Thats unlike us. Weve got some strike throwers." The afternoons eight walks ran the pitching staffs season total to 99, second-most in all of baseball. After Morrows brief outing, which felt much longer than its 2 2/3 innings would indicate, Torontos starters have given the club 127 2/3 innings of work, an average of just less than 5 1/3 innings per game. The four clubs which trail the Blue Jays are nipping at Torontos heels and each has played fewer games. Gibbons, with 138 games left to play, isnt about to panic despite his clubs obvious weakness, a starting rotation which was thought to be a problem when everyone reported to Dunedin more than two months ago. The skipper closed ranks. "You know what, I mean this is a team," said Gibbons. "Its not hitters against pitchers. Its 25 guys. Im not going to get caught up in all this … weve been struggling in certain areas. Its no secret. But were going to get better." Theyre going to have to get better. Much better, in fact, with the schedule about to bombard them with 20 consecutive games starting Tuesday until the next off day on Monday, May 19. You dont want your best left-handed reliever pitching the seventh inning when youre trailing by four runs, for example, as Brett Cecil had to on Saturday. Back to Morrow, who has pitched six innings only once this year, reached five innings twice and on two occasions hasnt made it to the end of the fourth. Hes had issues controlling his fastball dating back to spring training. Most of his fastballs on Saturday were up. "Its embarrassing to not be able to command your fastball," said Morrow. "I had decent command of the other stuff. I threw my curveball for strikes, threw the split for strikes for the most part. I was just wild with the fastball, mainly arm side and up. Thats number one which I have to do. Command the fastball to be successful." Pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes during a mound visit with Morrow. Home plate umpire Jeff Kelloggs strike zone was small but it went both ways. "He voiced his frustration a little bit out there," said Gibbons. "Nothing wrong with that." Morrow wasnt looking for excuses. "A lot of my pitches didnt miss by just a fraction of an inch," said Morrow. "I was all over the place for a lot of it. Its not a good feeling when you can take the blame for the game and place it squarely on your shoulders." The offence mounted a comeback, scoring twice off Junichi Tazawa in the eighth and once, on a solo home run by Jose Bautista, off Boston closer Koji Uehara in the ninth. The Jays had the tying run at second and the winning run at first when Edwin Encarnacion lined out to centerfield to end the game. Toronto will turn to R.A. Dickey on Sunday as the Blue Jays look to avoid a Red Sox sweep. The man with the unpredictable pitch is tasked with bringing some predictability to the starting rotation. cheap jerseys from china . Forward Evgeni Malkin led the Russian attack with a goal and two assists. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring and added an assist. Ilya Kovalchuk, Valeri Nichushkin and Aton Belov also scored for Russia. jerseys from china . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a course-record 10-under 62 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Chris Heisey did a lot of standing around before he got his chance to snap Cincinnatis historic slump. Heiseys pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning ended the Reds longest scoreless streak to open a season and sent Cincinnati to a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night following a long rain delay. The Reds set a modern franchise record by failing to score in the first 17 innings of the season. Their previous worst was 13 scoreless innings in 1909 and 1934. It got broken by a player making only his second at-bat of the season. "Theres nothing like it," Heisey said. "Sit around 10 hours, then get one at-bat. Thats part of being a pinch-hitter." Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier opened the ninth with singles off Carlos Martinez (0-1). After a sacrifice, Brayan Pena was walked to load the bases and Heisey singled to centre. "Hits have been at premium these past two days," Heisey said. "Its nice to play close games early and get the blood pumping." The Reds were the last team in the majors to score a run this season. Heiseys hit broke an 0-for-11 slump with runners in scoring position and gave Bryan Price his first win as the Reds manager. "It feels great from a selfish standpoint," Price said. "From a team standpoint, its even better. It was important to get that first win and get the ball rolling." J.J. Hoover (1-0) pitched out of a threat in the ninth, getting Matt Adams on a called third strike with two runners aboard. "It all comes down to the big hit," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "When youre having trouble getting many of them, you just need the right one at the right time. They put it together when they had to." The NL Central rivals waited 2 hours, 40 minutes to get started. They wanted to get the game in because heavy rain was forecast for Thursday afternoon when they conclude their series. The Reds promoted it as opening night, complete with pregame player introductions and postgame fireworks. The introductiions were cancelled because of the long delay, and the fireworks were shot off as the grounds crew removed the tarp and prepared the field for the first pitch. cheap nfl jerseys. Neither starter had a problem because of the delay. Left-hander Tony Cingrani gave up a pair of singles and two walks in seven innings. He spent the off-season working on his secondary pitches. Last year, he threw his fastball 81.7 per cent of the time, the second-most by a starter in the majors, according to STATS LLC. Michael Wacha allowed three hits in 6 2-3 innings. He got shortstop Zack Cozart to ground into a forceout with the bases loaded in the fourth. Cozart saved a run with a diving catch in centre field in the eighth, grabbing Matt Carpenters sinking liner with a runner in scoring position. The defending National League champions opened the season with a 1-0 win on Monday, when Yadier Molinas seventh-inning homer made the difference. It was the first time since 1953 that the Reds were shut out on opening day. Its the first time in Great American Ball Parks 12-year history that theres been back-to-back 1-0 games. St. Louis hasnt started a season with back-to-back shutouts since 1963, when the Cardinals posted three consecutive shutouts. NOTES: RH Lance Lynn starts for the Cardinals on Thursday. He beat the Reds three times last season. RHP Homer Bailey, who missed time during spring training with a strained groin, starts for the Reds. ... Cardinals OF Jon Jay carries a 14-game hitting streak from last season. ... Joey Votto doubled in the first inning for his 1,000th career hit. ... Cingrani picked Adams off first base in the fifth inning. He led the Reds staff by picking off six runners last season. ... Reds manager Bryan Price said RH Jonathan Broxton could come off the DL during the series in St. Louis next week. Hes recovering from surgery on his pitching forearm last August. Broxton would become the closer until Chapman returns. ... C Devin Mesoraco also could be activated off the DL in St. Louis. Hes sidelined by a strained oblique. ' ' '
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