Burnett Stumbles Again, As Jays Lose In Seattle
Posted July 27, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
But unlike the train that runs near Seattle’s Safeco field, those hopes were derailed again Wednesday night.
Burnett was clobbered for six runs and 10 hits in just four innings and was gone by the fifth, as the Mariners easily outslugged Toronto 7-4, taking the three game series.
It was Burnett’s shortest outing of the year and his third loss in the last four.
And the trouble began early. After the Jays took a one run lead in the first, Seattle quickly responded with three of their own on a two-out RBI double by Raul Ibanez, and run scoring singles from Richie Sexon and Greg Dobbs. Sexon and Andre Beltre later homered for the home side.
“It wasn’t A.J.’s night,” sums up manager John Gibbons. “He had trouble locating the ball and (Seattle) came out firing. They came out aggressive and got some big hits.”
But the big bucks Burnett’s recent problems on the mound are troubling and the Jays will be watching closely to see if he can pitch his way out of it. His record is just 2-4.
The night belonged to 43-year-old Jamie Moyer, who held the big bats in check for six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.
“Toronto’s a club that, of the teams I’ve faced this year, they give you good at-bats top to bottom,” he reflects. “Regardless of the situation, they make you earn what you get.”
The Jays had a chance to go ahead in the eighth, with the bases loaded. But rookie reliever Mark Lowe induced Reed Johnson to hit into an inning ending double play to stop the threat – and any chance at a comeback.
The loss was costly, since the Red Sox lost and the Yankees won. The Bronx Bomber victory moved them into the lead in the wild card race.
The western swing continues and doesn’t get any easier for Toronto. They begin a four game set in Oakland Thursday night.
