RAYS 3, Blue Jays 2: Edwin Houdini and his pen pals save the day
By Scott Caruso | July 30th, 2008 | Posted in Game Recap
Somewhere amidst all of the trade deadline rumors, a baseball game between the Rays and the Jays broke out. And, again, it took a gutty pitching performance to make up for a lackluster offensive showing for the Rays to take a win. Somehow, someway, the little engine that could from St. Pete has won another series and ended up with a 4-3 road trip despite playing like absolute diddly-poo.
That’s right. I said diddly-poo.
Houdini Act: Edwin Jackson was not very good during his 5 innings of work today, but, man, was he gutsy and lucky. Working out of jam after jam, E-Jax somehow earned himself a win today and left the Blue Jays’ fans cursing their offense’s ineptitude. To be honest, it was kind of like watching our offense in reverse.
This could have turned into the classic Edwin Jackson meltdown game, too. He got beat up in the first inning, allowing a 2-run moonshot of a homerun to Lyle Overbay, but really settled down and never let himself give up the big hit or the big walk that cost himself the game. Was he lucky? Absolutely. Was it enough for a win? It sure was.
Last year, Edwin Jackson would have folded like a 2-7 off-suit. This year, the new and improved Edwin got the game to his stellar bullpen, and it was all over from there.
Pen Pals: Remember last year? Remember Shawn Camp and Chad Orvella and Brian Stokes and Casey Fossum and (insert guy who is no better than your local grocery manager) being trotted out there and expected to get big outs? Well this year’s team is anything but that. J.P. Howell has ice-water in his veins. Grant Balfour could easily be closing right now. Dan Wheeler is solid as ever. And Troy Percival is a stabilizing veteran presence who makes the rest of the bullpen better just for being there. If (when?) the Rays make the playoffs, the entire bullpen will be the MVP of this squad. Even as the offense has faltered, the bullpen has delivered big performance after big performance and has been an absolute joy to watch.
Not O-”K”: Alright… this whole striking out thing with runners on third base is REALLY getting old. How long is it going to last? The worst offender tonight was Carl Crawford, who wasted a perfect sacrifice bunt from B.J. Upton by flailing at a ball out of the zone on a 2-0 count and eventually going down on strikes. Between C.C. and Pena and – yes – even Longoria, there have been so many strikeouts with runners in scoring position that it’s almost laughable at this point. When will the madness end?
Gabe Gross… looks like his swinging a mop up at the plate right now. If the Rays add a few players, he should be worried for his job.
On Strike: One of Troy Percival’s biggest problems in recent outings has been his inability to throw strikes. Today started out as no exception – his first three were out of the zone – but he settled down and threw 10 of his next 14 over the plate. As long as he’s working ahead, he can still get some of the best out.
Home Cooking: Not only does the offense get a day off, but the Rays also get to return home on Friday night. Could there be any better remedy for what ails the bats?
Tags: Blue Jays
