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TORONTO - For the fourth time on this home stand the Blue Jays enjoyed a lead of at least three runs. Justin Upton Authentic . They lost, overall a fourth in a row, while dropping their record to 1-3 in those games in which the offence has gotten off to a hot start. Brandon Morrow and the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins were the culprits in a disastrous third inning which saw the Red Sox score six times to erase a 3-0 deficit en route to a 7-6 victory. "I came in with one goal and that was to pitch late in the game and keep us in it," said Morrow. "I let down the team in a big way today." Morrow flirted with disaster from the get-go, walking two Red Sox in each of the first two innings only to escape with double play ground outs. After two quick outs in the third, it all unraveled as Morrow walked four-straight hitters to force in Bostons first run. Manager John Gibbons had Morrow on a short leash and promptly called for the newly-recalled Chad Jenkins, who immediately gave up back to back home runs, a grand slam to A.J. Pierzynski and a solo shot to Will Middlebrooks. "He just didnt throw strikes, its pretty simple," said Gibbons of Morrow. "Its a simple solution. Weve been walking way too many guys all year. I mean everybody. Thats unlike us. Weve got some strike throwers." The afternoons eight walks ran the pitching staffs season total to 99, second-most in all of baseball. After Morrows brief outing, which felt much longer than its 2 2/3 innings would indicate, Torontos starters have given the club 127 2/3 innings of work, an average of just less than 5 1/3 innings per game. The four clubs which trail the Blue Jays are nipping at Torontos heels and each has played fewer games. Gibbons, with 138 games left to play, isnt about to panic despite his clubs obvious weakness, a starting rotation which was thought to be a problem when everyone reported to Dunedin more than two months ago. The skipper closed ranks. "You know what, I mean this is a team," said Gibbons. "Its not hitters against pitchers. Its 25 guys. Im not going to get caught up in all this … weve been struggling in certain areas. Its no secret. But were going to get better." Theyre going to have to get better. Much better, in fact, with the schedule about to bombard them with 20 consecutive games starting Tuesday until the next off day on Monday, May 19. You dont want your best left-handed reliever pitching the seventh inning when youre trailing by four runs, for example, as Brett Cecil had to on Saturday. Back to Morrow, who has pitched six innings only once this year, reached five innings twice and on two occasions hasnt made it to the end of the fourth. Hes had issues controlling his fastball dating back to spring training. Most of his fastballs on Saturday were up. "Its embarrassing to not be able to command your fastball," said Morrow. "I had decent command of the other stuff. I threw my curveball for strikes, threw the split for strikes for the most part. I was just wild with the fastball, mainly arm side and up. Thats number one which I have to do. Command the fastball to be successful." Pitching coach Pete Walker was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes during a mound visit with Morrow. Home plate umpire Jeff Kelloggs strike zone was small but it went both ways. "He voiced his frustration a little bit out there," said Gibbons. "Nothing wrong with that." Morrow wasnt looking for excuses. "A lot of my pitches didnt miss by just a fraction of an inch," said Morrow. "I was all over the place for a lot of it. Its not a good feeling when you can take the blame for the game and place it squarely on your shoulders." The offence mounted a comeback, scoring twice off Junichi Tazawa in the eighth and once, on a solo home run by Jose Bautista, off Boston closer Koji Uehara in the ninth. The Jays had the tying run at second and the winning run at first when Edwin Encarnacion lined out to centerfield to end the game. Toronto will turn to R.A. Dickey on Sunday as the Blue Jays look to avoid a Red Sox sweep. The man with the unpredictable pitch is tasked with bringing some predictability to the starting rotation. Abraham Almonte Authentic .53 ERA in those games. On Tuesday night, he pitched seven solid innings and finally got his first victory as the Royals beat the Houston Astros 4-2. "Im just really proud for him because that was like his fifth time hes gone for his first win and hes had an opportunity to win ballgames two or three times and we couldnt hold it for him," Royals manager Ned Yost said. Cameron Maybin Blue Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end.PITTSBURGH -- For his first start with the Pirates, Edinson Volquez beat Adam Wainwright. Thatll do nicely as an early return on that off-season contract he signed with the Pirates. Tony Sanchez hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Sunday. Singed to a one-year, $5 million contract as a free agent in December, Volquez was sharp in his first start for the Pirates as he gave up one run and three hits in 5 2-3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. That came after Volquez pitched two scoreless innings of relief Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. "What you saw was fastball command with downhill angle, big-time spin and tilt on the breaking ball, a good changeup and getting ahead with good pitches," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He pitched a gem." Volquez got a standing ovation when he walked off the mound. "I think I did a great job and the fans appreciated what I did," Volquez said. "I just wanted to keep making another good pitch, keep the ball down and get them to hit the ball on the ground. All my pitches were there." Sanchezs double to deep centre field with two outs came off Wainwright (1-1) and snapped a 1-1 tie. "Im still nervous playing up here," Sanchez said. "My heart is racing. My head is spinning. It feels like the game is going 1,000 mph. So, its nice to be able to get some big hits." The hit by the rookie reserve catcher scored Pedro Alvarez, who led off the inning with a walk, and was Sanchezs second winning hit of the week as he singled home the winning run in the 16th inning of Wednesday nights victory over the Chicago Cubs. "I cant let what happen in the seventh inning happen, especially in a close game, a rivalry game like this," Wainwright said. "I walked the leadoff man then left a ball out over the plate with two outs and Sanchez took a good swing at it. You cant do that.&qquot; Tony Watson (1-0) retired all four batters he faced, striking out three, and ran his string of consecutive scoreless innings to 24, dating to last season. Wil Myers Blue Jersey. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth to convert his first save. St. Louis managed just three hits. Singed to a one-year, $5 million contract as a free agent in December, Volquez was sharp in his first start for the Pirates as he gave up one run and three hits in 5 2-3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts. That came after Volquez pitched two scoreless innings of relief Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. Volquezs 5.71 ERA last season with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers was the highest among the 81 pitchers who qualified for the ERA title. He also allowed 15 runs in 13 innings in exhibition games this spring. Wainwright went seven innings and allowed two runs and five hits after pitching seven scoreless innings in his first start of the season at Cincinnati in Mondays opener. He struck out seven and walked two. The Pirates opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Andrew McCutchen doubled with one out and scored on Neil Walkers two-out double. An RBI triple by the Cardinals Jon Jay in the sixth tied the score at 1-1 and chased Volquez. NOTES: St. Louis CF Peter Bourjos, who is off to a 0-for-13 start with his new team, got the day off. Jay started in his place. The Cardinals acquired Bourjos from the Los Angeles Angels in an off-season trade. ... RHP Jameson Taillon, Pittsburghs top pitching prospect, will undergo Tommy John surgery by David Altcheck in New York and hell miss 12 to 18 months. ... The Cardinals play their home opener Monday against the Cincinnati Reds with RHP Michael Wacha (0-0, 0.00) facing LHP Tony Cingrani (0-0, 0.00). ... The Pirates are off Monday then open a three-game series Tuesday night at Chicago with RHP Charlie Morton (0-0, 0.00) pitching against Cubs RHP Edwin Jackson (0-0, 1.29). cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
