Blue Jays: Spring Training Game 12 vs. Baltimore Orioles

The Blue Jays haven’t been playing all that great as of late. While they didn’t play awful on Wednesday, they could not manage to claw back from a rough start.

After losing to Team Canada, the Blue Jays were looking to get back in the win column against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Jays, they were unable to turn things around. The team went down early and fought back, but it was not enough and ultimately ended up losing by a score of 6-4, falling to 2-9-1 in spring league play.

Right-handed pitcher Mat Latos started the game, and it wasn’t a performance for the ages. The former National League ace went two innings, allowing three hits and five earned runs. Another negative to point out would be that he walked three batters as well, and didn’t manage to strikeout a single batter. Latos, who signed late in the offseason with the Blue Jays, is fighting for a job out of the bullpen with the team. A performance like this will not help his stock.

After Latos left the game, the team gave quite a few pitchers some action. Wil Browning, Lucas Harrell, Jeff Beliveau and Leonel Campos really impressed, as they all threw shutout innings for the Blue Jays. Right-handed pitcher Joe Biagini also pitched well, allowing one earned run off one hit, a homerun, over two innings pitched.

Of these pitchers, Biagini is the only lock to make the team. And even his spot is up for question, as some believe it may be best to stretch him out in AAA to start the season. Latos and Beliveau also have shots at making the team, as Beliveau is a left-handed pitcher for a team that is starving for southpaws, while Latos is a veteran arm who the team is hoping can bounce back from a rough season.

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At the plate the Blue Jays hit quite well, stroking 11 hits and walking once. Unfortunately for the team this only led to 4 runs, which was ultimately not enough.

One player that stood out was a noteworthy offseason signing – Cuban infielder/outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The right-handed hitting slugger came off the bench and hammered a three-run home run, all while finishing 1-2 on the day.

The team’s other RBI came from another top prospect – outfielder Anthony Alford. While he hasn’t had a great spring, Alford played well today, going 1-3 with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

The other Blue Jays to register hits were Ryan Goins (1-3), Richard Urena (1-3), Rowdy Tellez (1-3), Bradley Jones (1-1), Darrell Ceciliani (1-3), Jon Berti (2-3), Juan Graterol (1-3) and Emilio Gurrero (1-1).

While record means nothing in spring league action, no team wants to be 2-9-1. The Blue Jays will bounce back, and more likely than not, it will be soon. The team plays next on Thursday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m., and the game will be played at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida.

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