Jays Rally To Defeat Twins
Posted September 8, 2009 11:17 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
This has been a season of little action with few highlights for John McDonald, so Tuesday night was a rare chance for the popular infielder to bask in the spotlight.
McDonald’s three-run homer just inside the foul pole in left capped a six-run sixth inning as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied past the Minnesota Twins for a 6-3 victory.
The homer was just the second this season for McDonald, who was only making his 18th start (54th appearance) because second baseman Aaron Hill is in Florida following the birth of his daughter Paige Victoria on Monday evening.
He had four RBIs coming in and then nearly doubled his total with one swing.
A Randy Ruiz sacrifice fly and Edwin Encarnacion two-run single had tied things up earlier in the frame as the Blue Jays (62-76) picked up a third win in five games before a crowd of 13,488, swelled by some rowdy university freshmen.
While McDonald’s homer briefly put the “U of T sucks” chants on hold, it more importantly made a winner out of Ricky Romero (12-7), who delivered one of his sharpest starts in nearly a month.
The rookie lefty allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks over 6 2-3 innings, his longest stint since going seven frames in a 7-2 win over Baltimore on Aug. 2.
Jesse Carlson picked up the final out of the seventh, Scott Downs pitched a scoreless eighth and Jason Frasor closed things out in the ninth for his seventh save, sending the Twins (69-69) to a 10th loss in their past 12 games in Toronto.
Things didn’t look good for Romero early on, as Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., opened the scoring with a ground-rule double in the first that was picked up by an on-field game staffer who thought the ball was foul. Denard Span was allowed to score from first base on the play.
The Twins made it 3-0 in the third on Jason Kubel’s two-run double and looked to be cruising behind rookie lefty Brian Duensing, who was making his fifth big-league start.
But Duensing hit a bump in the fifth when he allowed the first three batters to reach and Jon Rauch (2-1) couldn’t bail him out.
Ruiz, back in the lineup after getting hit in the face by a Josh Towers fastball Sunday, smashed a fly ball to centre off Rauch to make it 3-1 and two batters later Encarnacion’s sharp grounder skipped off Brendan Harris’ glove at third and into left field, allowing two runs to come in and tie things up.
An out later McDonald, who will be a free agent after the season, hammered Rauch’s first pitch to decide things.
Notes: Blue Jays LF Adam Lind shared AL player of the week honours with Rays 3B Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays. Lind hit .321 (9-for-28) with nine runs, four doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs in eight games. … The Blue Jays added LHP David Purcey, RHP Jeremy Accardo and C-1B Kyle Phillips from triple-A Las Vegas. Purcey will take over the rotation spot that will soon be vacated by rookie Brett Cecil, who is about to reach his innings cap. … Hill is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays on Friday in Detroit. … A revised itinerary for the Blue Jays’ upcoming road trip has yet to be approved by authorities. Their plan was caught up in a dispute between Canada and the United States over charter airline flights, and approval is expected Wednesday. … Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn and Mike Komisarek took in the game…A fan was ejected in the ninth for throwing a ball on the field.
