The Blue Jays return home after a 4-2 road trip that saw them take two of three from Baltimore. Homers by Dalton Pompey, Kevin Pillar and Jose Bautista and a strong performance from the bullpen rescued a shaky Drew Hutchison in a 10-7 triumph at Camden Yards Sunday afternoon. The Jays are tied with the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.
The Rays won the Battle of Florida by taking two of three to the Miami Marlins over the weekend to even their record at 3-3. Tampa bounced back from a 10th inning loss in the series opener Friday in a game that saw them score seven runs in the seventh to erase a 9-2 deficit. Matt Andriesi — Tuesday's listed starter — made his major league debut Friday.
Series Schedule & Probable Starters
Monday at 7:07 pm ET — Jake Odorizzi (1-0, 0.00) vs R.A. Dickey (0-0, 1.42)
Tuesday at 7:07 pm ET — Matt Andriesi (0-0, 0.00) vs Daniel Norris (1-0, 4.76)
Wednesday at 7:07 pm ET — TBA vs Mark Buehrle (1-0, 3.00)
Thursday at 7:07 pm ET — Chris Archer (1-1, 2.13) vs Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 8.10)
Current members of the Jays are just 5-for-39 against Jake Odorizzi. Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion and Dioner Navarro are all 1-for-6 against Odorizzi. Reyes is 9-for-20 with three walks against Chris Archer while Justin Smoak is 3-for-5 with a homer. Encarnacion is 4-for-21 but three of those hits were home runs.
Extra Innings...
The Toronto Star talks about the dumbeffery that has taken place during past home openers at the Dome.
The team worked with the Toronto police and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to put policies in place to reduce the drunkenness, such as limiting alcohol sales in the 500 level to one drink per person, not selling beer in the seating area in the 500 level and adding extra security. Problems have decreased substantially enough that even those minimal measures may be dropped. Mario Coutinho, the Jays’ vice-president of stadium operations and security said: “Quite frankly, this year we probably won’t have that in place. It’s been that good.”Great! Give the drunken idiots more ammo!! What a great idea!
Kyle Schultz, a 42-year-old high school teacher, said he finds that hard to believe. He was at a home opener just two years ago when a group of young men, who arrived drunk in the second inning, threatened to fight him — he still isn’t sure why — and security had to intervene to throw them out. He’s had beer spilled on him from the upper deck, watched teens smoke pot in their seats and seen several fights. Schultz says he likes the atmosphere of the home opener, but any enjoyment is “outweighed by the idiocy.” His 9-year-old son would like to go to Monday’s opener, but Schultz said he doesn’t feel comfortable bringing him: “It’s not an appropriate game for him at all.”
Hopefully, the fans will behave themselves but I think the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup is more likely to happen. If you're brave enough to attend, keep in mind there are new security measures in place, namely metal detectors, so arrive early.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20150413101227839