The first inning was the worst inning as the Jays lost their first game of 2009, a 5-1 setback to the Tigers at Ted's Shed Wednesday night.
Miguel Cabrera got the Tigers purring with a three-run blast in the first off Jesse Litsch, who needed 24 pitches to get out of the inning. It looked like the home side would bounce back as Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill hit back to back doubles to break the goose egg aganst Detroit righty Zach Miner. Alex Rios then pushed Hill to third with a base knock but those two wound up getting gunned down at the plate. Hill was thrown out by Brandon Inge at third after a groundout by Adam Lind and Rios was pegged on a throw by right fielder Josh Anderson after Rios tagged up on a Scott Rolen fly ball. That 9-2 double play ended the inning and the ball game for all intents and purposes.
Litsch had only one clean inning out of six. His downfall was the long ball as Cabrera got him again in the fifth and Inge sent one over the wall in the sixth. Cabrera's hitting .700 so far this season while Inge continues his home run binge as he is on pace for a 162 homer season. Litsch gave up five runs on seven hits, a walk and a hit batsmen. His K/BB ratio was a very respectable 5-1 but the groundout/flyout ratio was 6-7.
Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet combined for three innings of shutout relief as Frasor scatted a hit and a walk over two frames while Tallet punched out two in his inning of work. The Detroit pen of Bobby Seay, rookie Ryan Perry and Fernando Rodney matched that and was one out better with 3 1/3 hitless frames in relief of Miner.
The Jays could only muster six hits and two walks off Minor. Scutaro, Rios and Vernon Wells reached base twice but "Scoots" had the only two hit night and scored the only run so that's why he is the Batter's Box Jay of the Game.
If you're going to today's game, you'll get to witness baseball history in the making. With lefty Ricky Romero set to face the Tigers Rick Porcello, it'll mark the first time that two first round draft picks will face each other on the mound in their major league debut since the implementation of the 1965 draft. Romero was the Jays first pick in 2005 while Porcello was the Tigers first choice in 2007. That tidbit is courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau and the Canadian Press. First pitch is 12:37 p.m. at the Rogers Centre.
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In other TDIB notes........
* The Braves bullpen blew a 10-3 as the Phillies scored eight times in the seventh for a 12-11 win on a day the Phils got their World Series ring. Former Jay Matt Stairs got a hero's welcome and contributed a pinch-hit walk and a run scored during the big rally.
* The O's beat the Yankees again 7-5 as Koji Uehara pitches five solid innings in his ML debut while batterymate and former Jay Gregg Zaun contributeed a RBI double and a run scored.
* The Rays are back at .500 and so are the Red Sox after Tampa beat Boston 7-2 at Fenway Park.
* The Marlins are 3-0, Rangers are 2-0, the Mets and their bullpen are 2-for-2, Cubs win, the Royals win their first, and the Pirates and Rockies win again.
* Out west, the Brewers have their first "W" of 2009, the Dodgers have their second "W", and the A's rally for a win against the Angels.
* Here are the guys likely to pitch today!
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20090408233202871