Blue Jays Game Recap: Drew Hutchison Shows Grit

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s your Blue Jays Game Recap for May 6th, 2014 against the Philadelphia Phillies

Toronto Blue Jays- 6    Philadelphia Phillies- 5

W: Marcus Stroman L: Antonio Bastardo SV: Aaron Loup

Drew Hutchison was dealing through the first 5 innings of the game. He had given up a hit in every inning, but none scored. He was at 56 pitches through the 5th. He didn’t run into any trouble until the 6th when Carlos Ruiz led off the inning with a double and Chase Utley followed with a single. That put runners on first and third for Ryan Howard. If this were 2006, I might have been nervous. But, this is 2014 and Howard didn’t hit a HR, but stroked a single to CF to drive in Ruiz. All of this came with none out. Then it was gut check time for #HutchShow. He induced an infield fly from Marlon Byrd, a K of Domonic Brown, a walk (his first of the game) to PH John Mayberry Jr. to load the bases, then Hutchison made his mistake pitch. Cody Asche stepped to the plate and hit a grand slam to RF and tied the game 5-5.

It was an ugly inning, yes. But, John Gibbons showed  faith in the 23 year old starter and allowed #HutchShow to start the 7th. And, Gibby was rewarded. #HutchShow followed up his bad 6th inning by showing the poise that has made him one of my favorites with a 1-2-3 7th inning. So, Gibbons let his starter being the 8th and he responded with another 1-2-3 inning. For me, that ability to bounce back after a really bad inning where the lead slipped away is one of the things that will make Drew Hutchison the “ace” of the Blue Jays staff one day. His final line: 8 innings, 9 hits, 5 ER, BB, 6K on 109 pitches. It wasn’t an easy start. It wasn’t a pretty start. But, it was a gutsy start.

Cole Hamels put forth an effort that will leave the Phillies wanting more. In the 2nd inning, Edwin Encarnacion blasted his 3rd HR of the year. It was a laser! Check it out. In the 4th, Bautista ripped a double down the third base line. With the hit, he has reached base in EVERY game this season. That’s 33 games, people. Edwin Encarnacion followed that with a single. Juan Francisco grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Bautista to make the score 2-0. With Francisco on, Colby Rasmus entered and launched a LOOOONG HR to just right of CF. Here you go. Rasmus has 8HR on the season. Even #HutchShow got in on the action. In the 3rd inning, he picked up his first MLB hit with a single. In his next at bat, #HutchShow slaps an opposite field single to LF. It is worth noting that #HutchShow is batting .666 against the lefty! Adam Lind should take notes. Hamels would end up with a line of 6 innings, 10 hits, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2HR.

With the game tied at 5, Marcus Stroman made an appearance in the 9th. This would be a much more pressure filled situation than his debut in Pittsburgh. He started off the inning with a K of Jayson Nix. Cody Asche, who refused to go away, singled right after that. Jimmy Rollins came on to pinch hit. Stroman let a wild pitch go that sent Asche to 2nd with one out. Rollins grounded out to 1st. Ben Revere would ground out after that to send the game to extra innings. It was a good result in a high leverage situation for the rookie.

Melky Cabrera started the 10 with a single for his 48th hit of the season, which gives him the most in the AL. Bautista played the shift perfectly. He poked a single into RCF and Melky could have crawled to third. With runners on 1st and 3rd, Antonio Bastardo tosses a wild pitch and Bautista scampers to 2nd. Juan Francisco shoots a sac fly to score Cabrera to break the tie.

Once again, John Gibbons showed confidence in his young arms. He let Stroman come out for the bottom of the 10th. Although this was probably more to do with getting the lefty matchup of Aaron Loup versus Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. And, it worked. Utley and Howard both grounded out to seal Stroman’s first MLB win and the Blue Jays their 3rd IN A  ROW!

Both teams will fly to Toronto to begin a series at Rogers Centre. Mark Buehrle (5-1) will take on Cliff Lee (3-2).