Jays option Kawasaki to make room for Reyes
Posted June 25, 2013 10:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Their offence suddenly cooled in steamy and stormy St. Pete’s, perhaps the return of Jose Reyes on Wednesday afternoon is just what the Toronto Blue Jays need to re-ignite.
The all-star shortstop sat on the bench Tuesday night as his teammates lost for a second straight night after an 11-game win streak, falling 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Toronto optioned fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki after the game to clear space for Reyes, who has been out since April 13 with a sprained left ankle and whose speed, penchant for getting on-base and energy will be welcomed back into the leadoff spot.
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All of that has been lacking in the two losses, and while a very solid Jeremy Hellickson was responsible for that Monday, a wild Matt Moore was much more gettable on Tuesday and the Blue Jays’ inability to make him pay for his season-high matching six walks cost them.
Other signs of how their fortunes have turned were all over this game.
A bases loaded with one out opportunity in the third for the Blue Jays was one example, as rather than hammering Moore, they let him off the hook on strikeouts by Rajai Davis and Colby Rasmus, two of the lefty’s 11 over six frames.
In the third, Mark Buehrle essentially recorded five outs in the inning, as second baseman Mark DeRosa bobbled the relay on a sure inning-ending double play ball and on a subsequent Yunel Escobar single, Wil Myers was called safe at third base by umpire Paul Emmel even though it looked like Jose Bautista’s throw from right field got him. James Loney popped out to end the inning as Buehrle escaped the threat.
The left-hander wasn’t as fortunate in the fourth, as with the bases loaded, Rays left-fielder Sean Rodriguez hit a fly ball to right that Bautista caught and fired home to try and get the tagging Jose Molina. While the throw beat the lead-footed catcher, Molina somehow avoided J.P. Arencibia’s tag to earn the safe call, and rather than a game-saving defensive play, the two other runners advanced and scored on a Ben Zobrist sac fly and Wil Myers base hit.
In the top of the seventh, DeRosa was robbed of extra bases and perhaps an RBI when his liner sailed right into Evan Longoria’s glove at third base. The same thing happened in the top of the eighth.
In the bottom of the seventh, Escobar ended Brett Cecil’s streak of 40 straight at-bats without a hit on a single up the middle, and after James Loney followed with another single and the two proceeded to double steal, Kelly Johnson ended the lefty’s scoreless innings run at 19.2 innings.
Put all together, the Blue Jays aren’t quite as crisp as they’ve been and breaks have stopped going their way, something not wholly unsurprising after 11 wins in a row.
With Reyes back in the lineup Wednesday afternoon in the series finale, they’ll look to the all-star shortstop to spark another strong stretch.