What a game.
I hate to steal a line from the Diamondbacks crew, but what a beautiful finish after such an ugly start. Tonight's Yankees - Blue Jays clash seemed almost like two games in one.
The first half of the game saw another starting pitcher struggle and be sent to the showers early, as Kyle Drabek pitched well through 5 innings before collapsing in the 6th, giving up a single, a home run, a single, and a walk around a fly out. Coinciding with the poor pitching, the offense was sputtering as well. The Blue Jays had scored 2 runs through 5, continuing the trend from the road trip that saw the power seemingly sapped from the bats and the swings slowed down with runners on. The early struggles were particularly surprising as they came against AJ Burnett, the former Blue Jay whose ex-teammates had lit him up since he departed for the Bronx. One batter in particular, Travis Snider, was having a dreadful game, going 0-for-4 with a ground out and 3 strikeouts in the first 8 innings.
The second half of the game was defined by clutch (yes, clutch) hitting and continued yeoman's work from this stressed bullpen. Jason Frasor, Marc Rzepczynski, Carlos Villanueva, Shawn Camp, and Jon Rauch held the powerful Yankees lineup to just 2 hits and a run across 4.2 innings, which gave the offense an opportunity to make a move late in the game -- an opportunity they refused to waste.
After being shut down by David Robertson (6th), Joba Chamberlain (7th), and Rafael Soriano (8th), Mariano Rivera came into the game in the 9th with a 2 run cushion. The inning led off with a bang, as Yunel Escobar drilled a ball to deep centerfield, reaching second easily with a stand up double. Snider followed with a weak ground ball to the second baseman. Seemingly wearing the team motto on his back, Snider flew down the baseline before diving into first base. Despite his best efforts, he was out, and now 0-for-5. Escobar advanced to 3rd on the play, which was important because on ball 4 of the Jose Bautista at-bat, Yankees catcher Russ Martin lost control of the pitch and Escobar was able to score: 5-4 Yankees. It doesn't show up in the box score, but Jose Bautista sprinted to first out of the box despite the fact he had walked, looking for an opportunity to possibly take 2nd if there was a play (or mis-play) at the plate. True hustle and heart. Adam Lind followed with a single, which moved Bautista up to 3rd base, and brought Johnny Mac to the plate. McDonald pushed the first cutter he saw from Rivera up the first base line and Bautista slid home beating the throw from Teixeira: Tie game. Rivera would work his way out of a bases load jam, but the damage had been done and the Yankee confidence was shaken.
After Jon Rauch dispatched the Yankees with an ugly top of the 10th, Encarnacion led off the bottom half with a ground ball single through the left side. Jayson Nix and Escobar would follow up with back-to-back deep fly outs, so deep and loud that Encarnacion was unable to tag up and advance. So with two out, up stepped Travis Snider, wearing the proverbial collar with an ugly 0-for-5 day to his name. Snider took the first cutter from Rivera, before plowing the 1-0 pitch into the right-center gap. Encarnacion raced around the bases, and as Snider rounded 1st a small smile could be seen on his face. As he reached second, he turned to see Encarnacion crossing home plate. Game over, Blue Jays win.
The Lunch Box Hero let out a cheer and threw his helmet as he was mobbed by his teammates rushing the field. Snider finished the game 1-for-6, but guaranteed when he goes home tonight he'll be thinking about the 1, not dwelling on the first 5. This is why baseball is such a beautiful game, it only takes one swing to change everything.
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