Blue Jays Game Recap: “Melk Machine”

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Here is your Blue Jays Game Recap for May 20, 2014 vs Boston Red Sox.

Blue Jays- 7   vs   Red Sox- 4
W:  J.A. Happ (3-1)  L:  Felix Doubront (2-4)  SV: Casey Janssen (4)

It was a pretty quiet start to the series. The first 3 innings were quick.

In the third, Melky Cabrera laced a double to LF. Edwin Encarnacion launched a bomb to left field that looked like it might go foul. It did not. Encarnacion’s 10th homerun of the year gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. His homerun actually hit a billboard over the Green Monster and across the street! Check it out:

In the 4th, Eirk Kratz launched a no doubter to CF to bring the score to 3-0. If Encarnacion hadn’t hit his earlier, Kratz’s shot would have been impressive. Instead, it was just an ordinary long homerun. “Just”. The 5th saw some fireworks. Jose Reyes hit a double to LF. Cabrera chased him home with a double of his own to CF. After a pitching change (more on that in a bit) Encarnacion came up and continued his night of awesomeness. He blasted his 2nd homerun of the night and 11th of the year to bring in Cabrera and bring the score to 6-0.

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In the top of the 6th, Cabrera “Melked” his 7th homerun off Pesky Pole in RF. That was Cabrera’s 3rd hit: 2 2B, HR for 8 total bases. He would add a single in the 8th for 9 total bases. He reached base 5 times tonight.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, I was starting to get nervous. Up until that point, J.A. was in the HAPPtain’s seat. He was dealing. But in the 4th, he walked David Ortiz and Mike Napoli back to back. The next batter, Jonny Gomes ripped a come backer that J.A. reached behind the HAPP to knock down. It actually ruined a potential double play. Instead, the bases were loaded. Xander Bogaerts ripped a scorcher that would have scored at least one. Except, Brett Lawrie pounced on it. He dove to his left and looked to have caught it. He didn’t. Instead, he leaped to his feet to step on third and toss to Kratz at home for the double play. This play is exactly why Brett Lawrie should win a Gold Glove this year! Do yourself a favor and watch THIS! I’ve watched it 8 times already.

J.A. Happ was pounding the strike zone. To start the game, he had struck out 6 of the first 9 batters, including 5 in a row. Through 3 innings, he was at just 41 pitches. It was starting to look like an un-Happ-like start: quick, lots of strikes. But, just like you would have expected, Happ started to run out of gas in the 5th. Brock Holt led off the innings with a double. Jackie Bradley Jr hit a double to left field. Dustin Pedroia followed with the 3rd double of the inning to score Bradley Jr. That brought it to 6-2. His final line: 5+IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 6K, 90 pitches.

The next inning, Mike Napoli got on with a single. Jonny Gomes hit a ball off the top of the Green Monster. Napoli was caught between third and home. In a moment of comedy, the Blue Jays tried to tag a sliding Napoli at 3rd. he was called safe. John Gibbons ran on to argue. But, John Ferrell was on his way to argue that Gomes’ hit was actually a HR. There were two plays being argued at the same time. Ferrell won. It was ruled a homerun. That brought the score to 7-4.

Felix Doubront was not showing much zip on his fastball. Instead, he relied on his off speed pitches. After giving up 4 runs, the trainer and manager were called out to the mound. After a short discussion, Doubront was removed from the game. It later came out that he was pulled due to “left shoulder fatigue”. Fatigue? As in, “tired”? Really. i don’t mean to make light of an injury, but…His line: 4IP, 5H, 5ER, 3BB, 2K, 2HR.  

Betsided

came on to take over. He didn’t have much more luck.

The Blue Jays had their hitting shoes on tonight. They tallied 11 hits. And, they weren’t cheap hits. They totaled 27 bases.

Dustin McGowan chipped in 1.1IP, 2H, K.  A Celebratory Brett Lawrie High Five to Rob Rasmussen who made his MLB debut tonight. His first assignment? Oh, you know…David Ortiz. He handled it like a pro, getting Ortiz to ground out to 1st. It was a short lived experience, though. Steve Delabar came in to face the next batter. But, imagine that story: “I was called in specifically to face one of the most prolific hitters of the era”. “Tell us more, Grandpa Rob”. Here’s hoping he gets lots more stories to tell.

Aaron Loup came in to pitch the 8th and get the Blue Jays out of a jam after Delabar allowed a single and a walk. Loup did his job and shut down the Red Sox. Casey Janssen came on to close things out in the 9th with the score 7-4. He gave up a lead off single to Pedroia. Shane Victorino squirted a single up the middle that was just out of the reach of Reyes. That brought David Ortiz up to the plate with 2 on and none out. Janssen struck him out! The next batter, Mik eNapoli, grounded to Brett Lawrie for a 5-3 double play to end it! BOOM!

The series will continue tomorrow with Drew Hutchison (#HutchShow) (2-3, 3.64) vs Clay Buchholz *(2-3, 6.17)