Game 145 – It had to end sometime

Well the Jays win streak finally came to an end. I just didn’t think it would be Halladay on the losing end. It was just not Halladay’s night. He gave up 2 runs in the 1st and 3 more in the 6th. The Sox simply hit him, collecting 9 hits over 6 innings. Halladay walked 1 and struck out 8. Never a good sign when Halladay records more outs in the air (6) than on the ground (4).

Mark Buehrle certainly didn’t help matters as he pretty much had his way w/the Jays after the 1st. Buehrle gave up 7 hits and 2 walks in 7.1 innings leaving w/the shutout intact but a runner on base (who eventually scored). Buehrle threw 10 first pitch balls to the 29 hitters he faced. Of those 10, 5 of them got hits. Compare that w/2 hits in 17 AB (and 2 BB) when he throws a 1st pitch strike.

Three of the hits off Buehrle came in the 1st inning, but Buehrle only had to face 4 batters. After the leadoff 1B by Scutaro, Buehrle got Bautista to ground into a double play. Rios started things going again w/a base hit and Wells followed w/his own hit. The problem is Wells tried to stretch it into a 2B and got thrown out.

I thought Buehrle should have been left in the game. After that 1st inning he really was cruising as only 1 runner had even reached 2nd base. He had only thrown 105 pitches and he is one of the few pitchers who can still throw a CG. Plus he has got a 5 run lead so you have some margin for error. My guess is Ozzie wanted the RH to face Rios and Wells. It backfired as Rios homered and Wells singled, but Dotel got Barajas to ground into the DP.

When teams are on these long winning streaks you get that feeling that somehow they will find a way to win. Well the Jays almost completed the comeback tonight by scoring 2 runs in the 9th w/just 1 out and still threatening. If not for what turned out to be a huge 2-out PH RBI single by Anderson in the bottom of the 8th, the Jays would have the tying run at 3rd and the go ahead run at 2nd. Even still the Jays had the tying run at 2nd and just 1 out. Bautista grounded out which scored one and moved the tying run to 3rd. I actually thought the Jays should have gone to the lefty Wilkerson to hit against Jenks there. It all brought Rios to the plate w/a chance to tie it, but Jenks struck him out.

I thought Thome should have been sent on the Ramirez 2B in the 6th as he probably would have scored fairly easily. However, w/none out it is not a bad call to play it safe and hold him, especially knowing Thome’s speed.

I know Buehrle can be tough on lefties but why sit Overbay when you have Halladay pitching. I don’t care who the opposing pitcher is, when Halladay is on the mound you put out your best infield defence. I counted 3 plays tonight that Bautista missed and Overbay would have made, 2 of which were errors charged to other Jays. Speaking of which, the Jays have made 3 errors in 2 of the last 3 games. Must be something about this city.

Both teams made the most of their scoring opportunities. The Jays were 2 for 5, and the Sox were 5 for 15.

Let’s go to the stats:
Adv+: Pierzynski
P-Adv+: Halladay (8)
NAdv: Swisher
P-NAdv: Halladay (10)
WG: Rolen (12), Scutaro (12), Ramirez
ME(f): Bautista (1)