Jays return to Canada! Game Recap versus Reds

April 3rd featured the Jays return to the great country of Canada as well as Russell Martin‘s return to Montreal. For the second time in as many years, the Jays closed out their spring training season playing in the not-so-great Olympic Stadium before a sold out crowd.

The announced attendance for the game was a remarkable 46,314, making the question of expansion in Montreal seem like quite an attractive option.

Mark Buehrle got the nod for the Jays facing off against veteran Jason Marquis.

Game Notes:

• Buehrle continued his spring training success early on against the Reds, mixing speeds effectively and keeping Reds hitters off balance. Through three innings, he allowed just two hits.
• Josh Donaldson proved just how good he can be on an incredible diving stab to his right before throwing out Devin Mesoraco at first base.
• Buehrle’s night was over after 4 innings but it wasn’t for a lack of success as he left after allowing only three hits and no runs, giving way to Matt Boyd.
• Boyd continued his predecessor’s success keeping it at 0-0 in his one inning of work before giving way to Liam Hendriks.
• The Jays offence were unable to handle Marquis who threw five shutout innings before transferring to the fire throwing Aroldis Chapman. Devon Travis was able to collect a single off Chapman, just the Jays’ second of the night, but was stranded by his teammates.
• Edwin Encarnacion added to the Jays hit total in the 7th with a one-out double but again, the Jays were unable to cash in on the hardly noticeable offence.
• The Reds scored first in the 8th on a two-run Skip Schumaker single that would have been caught if Donaldson were still at third instead of the replacement Munenori Kawasaki.

Grades:

In only four innings, there’s really nothing to complain about with Buerhle. The only reason this isn’t an A or A+ grade is just the fact that he didn’t throw 6+ innings the way he would have a week from now. With that said, Buehrle was exceptional implementing his changeup and efficient command in the game. If he can carry that forward into the season, we are looking at one Mark Buehrle’esque season.

Edwin takes home the hitter of the game by default of simply having to name one. The Jays offence left a lot to admire in Friday night’s action as Encarnacion represented the lone extra-base hit of the game. Jose Bautista and Travis had singles, but neither were struck well enough to feel even remotely good about.

With that said, Encarnacion’s double was a sight for sore eyes. He managed to hit it hard into the left-field corner, past the Reds’ shift, before exiting the game with a 1-for-3 effort at the dish. Obviously it’s still spring training so nothing really should be made of this one game circus performance.

As long as Brett Cecil comes out of the pen and does his job, this award will almost exclusively be his. Cecil did just that tonight. In his one inning of work, Cecil worked around a two-out single in his inning of work to cap off what was a good night for the Jays’ bullpen minus Aaron Loup. Loup allowed the Reds’ only two runs scored and was thus on the record for the loss.