Shaun Marcum delivers one of his 105 pitches over 6 1/3 innings. He allowed one run on six hits and four walks but did strike out six to earn his first win of the season.
I once saw a pitcher named Ben Sheets strike out 18 hitters for Milwaukee against Atlanta at Miller Park back in 2004. A hurler also by the name of Ben Sheets outdueled Roy Halladay as the Brewers beat the Jays at the Rogers Centre in 2005. Well, the "Sheets hit the fan" yesterday because he surrendered nine runs on 10 hits (including three homers) and two walks over 3 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Aaron Hill pulls a first inning double to drive home the game's first run as he cashed in Fred Lewis, who drew a leadoff walk and stole second .
Alex Gonzalez and Vernon Wells share a high-five after an A-Bomb from A-Gon put the Jays ahead 4-zip in the first. Wells had doubled home Aaron Hill before scoring on Gonzalez's eighth homer of the season.
John McDonald slides safely into third base while Kevin Kouzmanoff waits for the late throw. Johnny Mac drove home the first of three John Buck doubles to put the Jays up 5-0 in the second.
Cliff Pennington fouls off a Shaun Marcum offering. Pennington had a hit and a walk on the afternoon.
Fred Lewis, who drove home John McDonald with a sac fly in the second, is greeted by John McDonald again after belting his first homer as a Jay as he drilled one to the second deck in right field. McDonald was aboard after a double to start off the fourth inning. Aaron Hill would follow up with another homer for back-to-back jacks off Ben Sheets. 9-1 Blue Jays!
Brad Kilby and his funky delivery helped keep the Jays in check for the rest of the afternoon. The lefty pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings and allowed only three hits while striking out three. Kilby began his pro career with the Vancouver Canadians in 2005 when he picked up 14 saves to go along with a 2-0 record and a 1.95 earned run average.
Lefty Rommie Lewis bailed out Marcum by getting an inning-ending double play ball from the bat of Daric Barton to end off the seventh inning. He gave up three hits, including a duck snort double by Eric Chavez, that helped lead to two runs in the eighth. However, as Magpie noted in today's TDIB thread, he throws strikes as 19 of his 24 pitches found the strike zone.
Josh Roenicke, who was recalled with Lewis from Las Vegas last week, only needed seven pitches to finish off the A's in the ninth. Here, he receives the ball from first baseman Lyle Overbay to wrap up the game. Daric Barton, not seen here, was already completing a right turn for the dugout. Jays Win! Jays Win! 9-3!!
