Blue Jays Blank Rays
Myworld was at Dunedin to watch Ricky Romero toss four innings of no hit ball to lead the Blue Jays to a 5-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 5,500 over the Tampa Bay Rays. The attendance was greater than the Blue Jays and the Red Sox, so perhaps Tampa/St. Pete is beginning to embrace the Rays. They were limited to two hits in the shutout today, so there was not a lot to get excited about.
Brett Lawrie got things started for the Blue Jays in the second. He hit a one out single, stole second and then scored on a J.P. Arencibia single to left. Brett appeared to have his groin tighten up on him on the run home and he was replaced in the fourth inning by Jonathan Diaz.
Jonathan Diaz continued to play well, laying down a perfect bunt to the first base side of the mound, with Jeff Nieman in no hurry to cover first. That bunt single was followed by three other singles and the departure of Nieman. Dane de la Rosa gave up a fifth straight hit, but then struck out the last two hitters to begin a streak of four straight strikeouts.
The Rays were no hit until the sixth. Desmond Jennings got on base twice via walks, but was erased on a double play grounder in the first inning and stranded on second in the fourth inning. Chad Jenkins came in to start the fifth and retired the side in order. In the sixth Brandon Guyer broke up the no hitter with a bunt down the third base side. Chris Jimenez followed with a single that moved Guyer to third, giving the Rays first and third with no outs. Jennings popped to third, Sean Rodriguez struck out for the third time in the game and Evan Longoria flied to left to end the inning. The Rays only base runner in the last three innings was as a result of an Omar Vizquel error.
Travis Snider had a solo homer in the sixth to finish the scoring for the Blue Jays.
Game Notes: Ricky Romero started the game throwing five straight balls, but settled down after that, retiring 11 of the 12 hitters he faced…Mike McCoy looked good in centerfield for the Blue Jays. This should add to his versatility. He can also play third, second and short and runs extremely well…Elliott Johnson did not look good in center field for the Rays…Jonathan Diaz went 1 for 2 with a ground out to short…Travis Snider had a baserunning blunder after his single. Elliott Johnson went back to the warning track for Snider’s fly ball, and when it appeared he would catch it Mike McCoy went back to tag up at second. Johnson dropped the ball, McCoy went to third, J.P. Arencibia had rounded second, but returned when he say that McCoy had not yet reached third, but Travis Snider was already running into second. The Rays tagged Snider out as he tried to return back to first, but McCoy was able to beat the throw home…Omar Vizquel booted a ball at second. Myworld also saw him make a noodle throw to first that bounced in front of the first baseman for an error. Two attempted fielding plays and two errors. McCoy and Diaz could beat him out for the utility role if Omar does not improve his defense.
Prospect Watch:Chad Jenkins pitched three shutout innings, including getting out of a first and third with no out situation. Chad was a first round pick in 2009, but has dropped in his prospect status. Outings like this could give him a look at the fifth spot in the rotation, though his competetion Dustin McGowan also looked good yesterday…Jake Marisnick struck out in his only at bat…David Cooper popped to third in his one at bat as DH…Brandon Guyer broke up the Jay’s no hitter with a bunt single. He also struck out in his two at bats…Tim Beckham flied to center in his only at bat, coming in at short as a late inning defensive replacement…Matt Bush pitched one inning and retired all three hitters he faced, but two of the outs were well hit balls to centerfield.