Jays 6 Rays 7
So the game changed on two fly balls to left.
In the bottom of the first, with one out, Junior Caminero hit a fly down the left field line, Jesús Sánchez was going into foul territory to get it, then it landed fair. Very weird, because a ball going foul will spin/slice further foul. Apparently it hit one of the lovely catwalks or something, landed fair and bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. It was weird. Not so much Sánchez’s fault, but it looked so strange.
A homer followed
and it was 2-0 Rays.
In the fourth, after Max Scherzer loaded the bases on a walk, single, and walk, Richie Palacios popped one up to left. Sánchez was coming in on it, all looked good, and ummm he sort of ran by it, missing where the ball landed by 5 feet. Replays showed him glancing at at Andrés Giménez as he came in. Perhaps, he couldn’t find the ball again when he looked back. It is a white roof, and it would be hard to find the ball again. But…..it didn’t matter what Giménez was doing, it was Sanchez’s ball all the way. He should have been ignoring Andrés, calling him off, taking charge. There was no sign that he was calling the ball, and it almost looked like he was letting Giménez take it.
The inning went down hill from there, the Rays scored five, making it 7-1.
It seemed to put Scherzer off, there were a couple of run scoring bunts in the inning.
Scherzer went 4 innings, allowed 5 hits, 7 earned, 3 walks and 1 strikeout. I hate how baseball is scored. That Sanchez play should have been called an error, but it was too big a mistake to be called an error. Baseball scoring is stupid.
Braydon Fisher pitched a quick fifth with a strikeout.
Brendon Little got the first two outs of the sixth, giving up a ground ball single and getting a strikeout.
Paul Sewald got the last out, Junior Caminero on a strikeout.
Mason Fluharty pitched a clean eighth.
Tyler Rogers gave up a single in the ninth.
We tried for a come back:
- One in the fourth: Alejandro Kirk homered.
- Four in the fifth: With one out in the fifth, Josh Smith, Brandon Valenzuela and Charles McAdoo all singled getting us a run. Myles Straw (in for Brett Bateman, who seemed to picked up a hamstring issue, I hope it isn’t serious) walked. Nathan Lukes hit a sac fly. Kirk singled in our third run of the inning. And Kazuma Okamoto singled in one more and it was 7-5.
- One in the sixth: Daz Cameron (pinch hitting for Sánchez, because a lefty was in, not as punishment) hit a leadoff single. Two outs later, Charles McAdoo double bringing in one. It was 7-6, and we three innings.
But we only managed one walk the rest of the way. It was nice to see the comeback. Too bad it came up short.
We had nine hits. McAdoo, batting ninth, had three. Kirk had two. Okamoto, Cameron, Smith and Valenzuela had one each.
As well as Bateman coming out of the game with an injury (he will get an MRI tomorrow), Smith, after scoring, was down on the field in pain, but he stayed in the game. Apparently it was cramping.
Jay of the Day: McAdoo (0.34 WPA).
Other Award: Scherzer (-0.36, some of that ), Giménez (-0.19), Springer (-0.11), and Valenzuela (-0.09). And, of course, Sanchez for the fielding. I try to be fair, the Trop is an awful place for outfielders. And there have been many many fly balls lost in that roof, but he should have never taken his eyes off the ball. Once you do, you’ll never find it again.
Tomorrow we finish with Tropicana for the season. It is a 1:00 PM start time, eastern.
