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Message #: 28515
The Jays may win out and still lose the East by a game, but we're finally willing to stop most of the season-long underachieving and give a division title a shot. Facing a usage-depleted Detroit squad, the Toronto bats actually showed up for a series and we were swimming in baserunners, scoring 32 runs and amassing 38 LOB, plus many of our troops gunned down on the bases and many timely DPs hit into as usual. Speaking of depletion, TOA regulars Robby Alomar, John Olerud, Pat Borders, Manny Lee, Greg Briley and Scott Livingstone combined to start pretty much not at all in the series.... Game 1: Scott Aldred and his dreadful card made his season debut as a starter for Detroit -- so naturally we couldn't touch him. Toronto batters got just one *baserunner* off Aldred's card in 5+ innings as he matched zeroes with TOA starter Tim Fortugno and his much superior card. A leadoff walk in the 6th sent Aldred packing at last, and 3 batters later second baseman Mike Fitzgerald (no, that isn't a typo) came through with that rarest of things -- a good split card for a Toronto batter! -- and the result was a 3-run homer. Fortugno left in the 7th having allowed just 1 run (unearned) and Doug Jones finished up. We tacked on 4 runs by batting around in the 9th, the key hit being Ed Sprague's bases-clearing double. Final score: 8-1, but it was very close most of the day (since we LOBbed 12) despite Toronto's massive advantages in baserunners (20-9) and total bases (19-5). =========================================================== Game 2: With a significant assist from Luckless Charlie Leibrandt, who was brutalized, the Jays once again turned major offensive advantages into a narrow win. Leibrandt blew a 3-0 lead, then a 7-3 lead, and his manager eventually got the message. The Jays treated DEA starter Buddy Groom as badly as the Tigers manhandled L.C.L., both starters allowing 7 runs in 4+ innings. Toronto walloped extra-base hits all over the park, though we could not purchase an easy BPHR (something the Tigers couldn't miss, on the other hand), racking up an enormous 34-17 advantage in total bases via 5 doubles and 4 home runs among our 17 hits. Final score: 12-8. Mike Timlin got the relief win and Henke the save. =========================================================== Game 3: Then the pitchers arrived, for both teams, as Cy Young candidate Jack Morris (well, he would be if he got any support) and scrap-heap pickup Tom Bolton engaged in a pitching duel. A passed ball gave the home team an unearned 1-0 lead in the second, and that was almost enough to decide the contest. Trailing by exactly the margin of that unearned run in the 9th, John Olerud opened with a single for the Jays but was erased on one of the 5 rally-terminating DPs we would hit into in games 3 & 4. Down to our final out, Joe Carter smacked a no-split-card-required (thank heavens) home run to tie the game! Morris pitched into the 9th before weakening, but Doug Jones escaped a minor jam in that frame and notched the win when we put 2 runs across via 4 hits in the 10th. Final score: 4-2. TOA pitchers held Detroit to 5 hits (and just 6 total bases) in 10 IP, but a timely unearned run nearly killed us again. =========================================================== Game 4: Dave Stieb tossed the final complete game of his Toronto career, permitting the Tigers' gophers a couple of bites but little else. Not much of a power show from the Jays today, but 14 hits (12 singles, 2 doubles) and 7 walks proved to be plenty of offense anyway. We scored 8, LOBbed 10 and still found time to hit into 3 DPs. Final score: 8-3. Converted catcher Fitzgerald had another pair of hits, and stole his first base in 3 seasons. The overworked Robby Alomar's understudies at 2B had a decent series though a few blown-x's were to be expected (HAL knows when and where we play weak fielders). Fitzgerald, who never played a game at 2B in 9 seasons until this series, went 4 for 7 with 4 RBI, and Jefferson McKnight put up a 4 1 3 3 line in the game 2 slugfest, with a double and a home run. Alan |
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