Ten Years Ago Today
The Jays and Cleveland faced off in a marathon 19-inning game, marking the second-longest contest by duration and tying for the most innings the Jays have ever played.
Games like this are unforgettable; I wish we saw more of them.
I’m fairly certain Matt set a record with his recap—these epic games always generate a lot of writing.
We ended up losing 2-1, giving Cleveland their 14th consecutive win. Fortunately, the Jays snapped their streak the next day and won the last two games
of the series.
Over the course of the game, the Jays used ten pitchers—well, eight pitchers and two utility infielders.
- Marcus Stroman started the game and pitched 6.2 innings, allowing just one run. In the third, Carlos Santana led off with a double, and Jason Kipnis drove him in with a single. Stroman gave up five hits, one walk, and struck out six, throwing 96 pitches before exiting in the seventh with the bases loaded after a single, an error by Justin Smoak, and a walk.
- Brett Cecil came in and got the final out of the inning. With hindsight, John Gibbons might have let him pitch the eighth—but who could have predicted the game would go 12 more innings?
- Jason Grilli pitched a clean eighth inning.
- Roberto Osuna gave up a leadoff single but managed to escape the inning unscathed.
- Joe Biagini pitched the tenth, hitting a batter and surrendering a single. Again, if Gibby had known the game would last 19 innings, Osuna and Biagini likely would have pitched longer.
- Jesse Chavez delivered three perfect innings. Later that season, he would pitch three innings in another extra-inning game against the Padres, earning the win in the 12th.
- Drew Storen handled the 14th and started the 15th, leaving after a walk and a strikeout.
- Bo Schultz (remember him?) induced a double play to end the 15th. He pitched two more innings, leaving the game after 48 pitches. That’s when things got interesting.
- Ryan Goins pitched the 18th inning, surrendering two singles that put runners on the corners with no outs. He then got a force at the plate on a grounder to second. The Jays intentionally walked Tyler Naquin—a bold move with a utility infielder on the mound—but it paid off. Goins coaxed Chris Gimenez into an inning-ending double play.
- Darwin Barney took over for the 19th, giving up a leadoff homer to Carlos Santana but then retiring three straight, ending the inning with a strikeout.
Unfortunately, we could only manage one run against nine Cleveland pitchers. Our lone score came in the sixth on a Justin Smoak home run. Trevor Bauer, Cleveland’s scheduled starter for the next day, threw the final five innings and earned the win.
In total, we collected just 11 hits over 19 innings. Darwin Barney, who started at second base, had three; Troy Tulowitzki also recorded three, and Kevin Pillar chipped in with two.
Ezequiel Carrera (0 for 7), Josh Donaldson (0 for 6), and Michael Saunders (0 for 7) all went hitless.
Not everything about the game was enjoyable.
Vic Carapazza, the home plate umpire, struggled as usual with calling balls and strikes. Edwin Encarnacion was ejected in the bottom of the first after a polite dispute over the strike zone. Vic, as you may recall… Well, Matt told it better:
Maybe that name seems familiar—Carapazza was behind the plate in Game 2 of the ALDS when the Blue Jays were not too happy with the strike zone. In any event, the 1st was a harbinger of things to come, as Carapazza was very liberal in giving Josh Tomlin the corners at the top of the strike zone. Over the first eight innings, eight Blue Jays were set down looking, only the first and last were clearly the correct call. Besides the one above, there was another bad one to Ezequiel where the pitcher totally missed his spot yet got a very borderline call. The frustration all came to a head with more fireworks in the 13th inning, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
In the 13th:
Donaldson was hit leading off, but a fielder’s choice by Travis brought up Saunders. He was called out on a fastball on the inside corner that he thought was inside, and just barely avoided drawing a line in the dirt which would have surely provoked an ejection. Russell Martin was behind him, and was called for a swing on 1-2 curve on which he he didn’t come close to going around. After an afternoon of having calls go against him, he had a few words for Carapazza, who tossed him, at which point Martin went absolutely ballistic and was barely restrained by DeMarlo Hale and Luis Rivera.
Goins went on the DL the next day with forearm tightness. He hit 90 MPH on his fastball in his inning. Ryan would be out until early August and then was sent to Buffalo until late August. That’s likely why he didn’t come out for a second inning of work. He was surprisingly impressive on the mound.
Schultz would also be sent down to the minors after the game.
From the recap:
Super Jays of the Day: Schultz (+0.595), Chavez (+0.410)
Jays of the Day: Basically all the pitchers, even a fake one. Stroman (+0.156 WPA), Cecil (+0.121 WPA for 3 pitches), Grilli (+0.106), Osuna (+0.137), Biagini (+0.137), RYAN FREAKING GOINS (+0.137). Tulowitzki was the lone hitter (+0.159, 3/6, 2 BB).
Super Suckage: Barney (-0.573, -0.272 as a hitter and -0.301 as a pitcher). I feel bad doing that, since it’s not really his fault he had to pitch. Also, Vic Carapazza. Let’s turn him away at the border next time.
Suckage: Basically, all the hitters. Carrera (-0.395), Saunders (-0.369), Travis (-0.342), Martin (-0.181), Smoak(-0.185), Donaldson (-0.162), Thole (-0.099).
If you want to check out the boxscore, it is here.
