Not a great start from Burnett, but it got the job done. I think it was the right move bringing in the lefty to face Broussard, but I would have let A.J. finish the AB vs Laird rather than intentionally walk him once he fell behind.
Great effort by the bullpen again, but I don’t like the 2 walks from Downs. I happened to be on the internet in the morning before the game so I read that the Jays had activated Ryan for the game. I have to say I was pretty surprised. Not sure if it is the right move, I think he would have been better off getting a couple more outings in the minors, where there is less pressure, to make sure he doesn’t have anymore setbacks. Ryan didn’t make it easy on himself giving up the leadoff triple but he showed what he can do pitching out of it. I imagine the Jays will not use Ryan on back-to-back days for the foreseeable future, maybe through April and part of May, but until that game appears that Gibbons feels they need and they have a 1-run lead going to the 9th or the tying run gets on base in the 9th you have to wonder if Gibbons will go to Ryan even he if pitched the prior day. I guess only time will tell whether he is fully recovered, although it may be a few mths before he is fully back to his effectiveness of ’06 or longer.
I can’t say I was as surprised that League was the one being sent down. As much as I love League, clearly he was not high on Gibbons’ list. So here is hoping he goes down to AAA and gets regular work and will be back up before long and ready to challenge Accardo for the RH setup role.
Of note, all 4 Rangers runs came today from the leadoff batter in the inning and the only inning they got the leadoff man on and did not score was the 10th.
I don’t get Byrd bunting in the 6th after the leadoff single. The guy is your 5th hitter, one of your power positions and you have the 6 and 7 hitters coming up. Sure it worked as they got their 1 run to take the lead, but then promptly gave it right back. On the Jays side I didn’t like Hill bunting in the 7th w/runners at 1st and 2nd. He is your 2 hitter for a reason and your down by 1 playing on the road, let him swing away and see if the middle of your order can get you the lead.
This was my 1st chance to see Josh Hamilton and he looks like he has got some pop, he absolutely crushed the HR on Fri night. No wonder he was the 1st overall pick, glad to see him get his life back on track.
Stats: Not sure if I mentioned this in my explanation of Advances, but if the hitter hits into a DP, but still moves the runner to 3rd it counts as a Non-Advance. Sure he moved the runner to 3rd, but it defeats the purpose getting him there w/2 outs. He just has a tougher job when there is a runner at 1st since not all groundballs to the RH side will get the job done.
Adv: Young
P-Adv: Burnett (1)
NAdv: Inglett (1), Barajas (1), Overbay (2)
P-NAdv: Feldman 3
WG: Hill (2), Kinsler
ME(r): Laird
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