Game Blast: Toronto Blue Jays (27-34) vs. Texas Rangers (36-25) – Dust Off The Brooms Edition

Jun 7, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Munenori Kawasaki (66) congratulates Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) after scoring in the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Johnson (0-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. Justin Grimm (5-4, 5.13 ERA)

Anyone else still tired? After yesterday’s 18-inning marathon I wouldn’t blame you.

Thankfully the Jays walked off with the win in the bottom of the 18th led by the unlikely combination of Emilio Bonifacio and Rajai Davis. Credit Emilio for striking the fear of god into Ross Wolf, who promptly threw the game away with a botched pickoff attempt to first.

Onto the next one.

After getting swept by the San Diego Padres last Sunday afternoon, the Jays somewhat surprisingly try to reverse their fortune this weekend going for a sweep of potent Texas Rangers.

Josh Johnson will make his second start after returning from the disabled list last week against the San Francisco Giants. He pitched well but there are concerns he’s turned into too much of a finesse pitcher as he threw a ton of off-speed stuff at the Giants. You can only throw so much junk without a commanding fastball. But then again what do I know? Maybe you can survive throwing 2-0 breaking pitches all the time.

I don’t know very much about Justin Grimm, other than the fact he was shelled against the Boston Red Sox his last time out. He lasted only 1.2 innings and allowed 8 earned runs, also known as a typical Ricky Romero start (just kidding Ricky – he actually looked like a real pitcher Friday night in Triple-A).

I wrote about it on Friday, but Jose Bautista just can’t seem to figure it out in June. He went 1 for 8 last night and didn’t get his first knock until the 12th inning. The struggle for Jose has been real lately. I know he will turn it around soon but he’s not helping his All-Star case at the moment.

Dustin McGowan made his first appearance in a Blue Jays uniform since 2011 yesterday. He walked a batter and hit another before Juan Perez replaced him with one out in the 10th. Perez allowed a fly ball but Bautista saved the day by throwing out Lance Berkman at home to extend the game.

Toronto Blue Jays starting lineup:

Texas Rangers starting lineup: