First, a little survey:
Raise your hand if you thought that J.A. Happ would be the 5th starter and Ricky Romero would be sent to Dunedin to work on his stuff before spring training would even start? Okay, a few of you might have expected that, but most wouldn’t have. Now raise your hand if you thought that JA Happ would be the pitcher in the rotation to have a win so far in this young season, or better yet, to have two more wins than any of the starters? That’s what I thought; no one really expected that, although with the strong spring he had I am not that surprised that he is pitching that well.
J.A. Happ earned his second win of the season in an 8-4 win over the Kansas City Royals. Happ pitched 5 innings and had 5 hits and four runs scored against him, with 4 strikeouts, but that is all that the Royals were able to muster up. Meanwhile the Jays managed to get runs without any home runs, something they’re not accustomed to. The Jays bullpen was solid with Sergio Santos and Aaron Loup, who did not allow a single run or hit. Adam Lind, Emilio Bonifacio and Jose Reyes each had drove in 2 RBI’s each, and I am happy to mention the Jays were the team to score first this time, finally. There is, however, some very bad news, one of the most feared situations became a reality. Jose Reyes sprained his left ankle and was carted off in the sixth inning, taken straight to a nearby hospital for an MRI. According to Alex Anthopoulos (GM of the Blue Jays), Reyes will be placed on the disabled list and will most likely be out for three months of the season. Damn, eh? With Reyes being out, that leaves a huge hole in the line-up. Here’s to a speedy recovery, and hopefully the Jays can rally around this devastating loss. And when Reyes comes back hopefully the Jays are in a good position in the standings.
The second game against the Royals started out pretty well with the Jays. They scored first thanks to a sac fly by Jose Reyes’ replacement Munenori Kawasaki in the top of the 3rd, and followed that up with a 2-run “Bautista Bomb” in the top of the 6th inning. It was all that they needed as the Jays won 3-2 and officially won their first series of the season. Dickey was credited with the win and was solid. He pitched like everyone knew he could and went 6 and a third with only one run against him (not his fault) with four strikeouts. This is the guy that Jays fans were waiting for and most are already anticipating his next start.
The bullpen was solid except for one run in the 9th, but that did not matter in the end. James Shields for the Royals was solid (would be nice if the Jays could get him somehow), as he pitched the whole game and struck out 6. According to Sportsnet, Shields has lost 6 times while pitching a complete game.
In the third and final game that the Jays managed to score first in the first inning and start off the game on a positive note (I think for the time being I will stop bringing up the ‘who scores first stat’). The Kansas Cith fans were not happy with the umpire early with the constant calls going against the Royals. The Royals kept picking off Kawasaki and Davis and they were safe every time. They also had a stolen base each and the crowd thought they should have been out – so did Alcides Escobar. Brendan Morrow and Ervin Santana were solid and both only had two runs scored against them. Both Santana and Morrow left with no decisions and it came down to the 9th inning to declare the winner. Chris Getz hit a double off of Darren Oliver and then Alex Gordon drove in Getz with a hit to end the game.
The Jays couldn’t get the series sweep, which would have put them at 6-6 instead of 5-7. I appreciate a good baseball game and this was one of them. Up next is a four game series against the Chicago White Sox.
Notes: Jose Reyes’ injury is a devastating one, but if the two games played after he was injured are any indication of how the Jays will be playing then I am not worried just yet. Reyes’ replacement, Munenori Kawasaki, has been pretty impressive. He might only have gone 1-3 in two games but he also had a sac fly, run, RBI and walked twice. He is a patient batter and I think that the Jay’s fans will embrace him quickly.
Even though Kawasaki has been solid I am not opposed to another addition to the team that can have an immediate impact, but the Jays might already have that addition in Brett Lawrie.
Brett Lawrie is attempting to play 2nd base in extended Spring Training in Dunedin, a position he played sparingly while in the Milwaukee Brewers minor League system. If Lawrie is able to take over at 2nd, it could mean major changes in the Blue Jay defence. Jose Bautista would play third base, Maicer Izturis would play shortstop, and Rajai Davis and Bonifacio could platoon in Right Field until Reyes returns.
The Blue Jays bullpen has been pretty solid, and except for the loss in the final game of the series, it is nice to see that it can hold a game and be depended upon. The starters are also warming up and I expect a good game from Mark Buerhle, who faces his old club the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Brett Cecil is a revelation; who would have thought that he would pitch 7 games so far this season leading the team and be one of the most reliable pitchers?
James Shields and Ervin Santana deserve a special mention. I know they are not on the Jays, but they were so good at handling the Jays that it is obvious Kansas City should not be taken lightly this season.
Final note: as aforementioned, this was the first series win for the Jays and things are looking good for the team. They are starting to warm up and I think if they can play 500+ baseball and stay close to the division leaders by the time Reyes comes back, they will become the dangerous team most expected. In the end is what we all wanted anyway, right?
Feel Free to leave comments below. You can follow me on twitter @NVincelli, and follow the site @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Find more info at our “Join Our Team” page.
photo credit: teamleaks.com
