Last night, Roy Halladay hurled the 20th perfect game in Major League history, just 19 days after the last perfect game by Dallas Braden.
Roy's dominating performance in Florida, 27 up, 27 down, earned him a huge ovation even though it wasn't his home ballpark. And could it happened to a more appropriate pitcher? Halladay's earned it. This season, his ERA has been 1.99 thus far, with just 1 bad outing versus the Boston Red Sox. He's already got 5 CGs under his belt, including a 3-hit shutout.
This man is only getting better. And though he is not pitching in Toronto anymore, Halladay is still one of the best in the majors. This is why it's even more a disappointment that he will not be returning to Toronto this year (series moved to Philadelphia).
Perfect games are beautiful things! Think about it. There have only been 20 in the over 100 year HISTORY of Major League Baseball. Yet, we've seen three in a short 10 month span. As well, there have already been 3 no hitters this season. Boy, is it ever an exciting time for pitchers!
I still remember how close Dustin McGowan came to a no-hitter on June 24, 2007 (see, I even remember the date). I'd been sitting on my couch the whole afternoon, watching the game. With no outs in the 9th, Jeff Baker of the Colorado Rockies lined a clean single to right field to break up the no-hit bid. That was pretty exciting. And like I've said on this blog before, I have a feeling a Blue Jay will toss a no-hitter this season. They've all been hot. Brett Cecil was perfect through 3 and 1/3 yesterday.
And what did I say about the Jays sweeping the Orioles?
-D
Sunday 30 May 2010
Friday 28 May 2010
Baseball, Tennis
The Jays continue to roll along decently in the AL East, sitting just 6.5 back of the red hot Tampa Bay Rays and just 2.0 games back of the Wild Card. They've got a very tough schedule ahead though. After this series with Baltimore, they will play 9 consecutive games against the Rays, Yankees, and then Rays again. There will then come interleague play where all the teams on our schedule are above .500.
This will be a real test of our pitching strength and whether the red-hot offense can last against good teams. Should be interesting to see though, but if they can sweep Baltimore this weekend, it will be a HUGE confidence booster!
Out in Paris, the 2010 French is underway. It has really been an uneventful tournament so far save for some major rain delays. It should be interesting to see whether Nadal can reclaim his clay crown. He retired to Andy Murray in the QFs at the AO in January but he has been really hot on clay as of late, beating Federer at Madrid not long ago.
Nadal-Hewitt match today. That should be an interesting one to see. I've always liked Lleyton. As well, both Zheng Jie and Li Na are out, unable to duplicate their AO magic from earlier this year.
-D
This will be a real test of our pitching strength and whether the red-hot offense can last against good teams. Should be interesting to see though, but if they can sweep Baltimore this weekend, it will be a HUGE confidence booster!
Out in Paris, the 2010 French is underway. It has really been an uneventful tournament so far save for some major rain delays. It should be interesting to see whether Nadal can reclaim his clay crown. He retired to Andy Murray in the QFs at the AO in January but he has been really hot on clay as of late, beating Federer at Madrid not long ago.
Nadal-Hewitt match today. That should be an interesting one to see. I've always liked Lleyton. As well, both Zheng Jie and Li Na are out, unable to duplicate their AO magic from earlier this year.
-D
Friday 21 May 2010
That was Interesting
Well, the Jays certainly made it interesting in the 9th inning with Encarnacion and Lind hitting solo bombs to close the gap from 8-4 to 8-6 in Arizona. Fred Lewis looked like he almost hit one out of the park. But Aaron Hill couldn't connect off Chad Qualls. It was a great game down in Phoenix tonight.
The Jays hit 6 home runs in a game for the first time since 1998. Unfortunately, they were all solo blasts though. Brandon Morrow had one bad inning, but otherwise, the pitching was decent.
I was down at the Jays game this past Tuesday. Four home runs in that game for the Jays, as we beat Minnesota 11-2. Got to see Joe Mauer in action-that was pretty cool. It was school day so there were A LOT of kids around. The weather was gorgeous though!! But I am a bit sad that they moved the Toronto-Philly series to Philadelphia because of the G20. I was really hoping to go see Halladay's return but I guess I'll have to wait one more year. Can't wait to go to more games at the ballpark though!!
-D
The Jays hit 6 home runs in a game for the first time since 1998. Unfortunately, they were all solo blasts though. Brandon Morrow had one bad inning, but otherwise, the pitching was decent.
I was down at the Jays game this past Tuesday. Four home runs in that game for the Jays, as we beat Minnesota 11-2. Got to see Joe Mauer in action-that was pretty cool. It was school day so there were A LOT of kids around. The weather was gorgeous though!! But I am a bit sad that they moved the Toronto-Philly series to Philadelphia because of the G20. I was really hoping to go see Halladay's return but I guess I'll have to wait one more year. Can't wait to go to more games at the ballpark though!!
-D
Friday 14 May 2010
Woah!
Woah...what a game tonight at the Rogers Centre!
The Toronto Blue Jays hammered the Texas Rangers by a score of 16-10. By the end of the third inning, the score was already 11-9. The Jays alone scored 8 in the third frame, en route to a win that was highlighted by 4 home runs from Overbay, Wells, Hill, and Lind. That is a very positive sign as the Jays absolutely need those four guys to produce if they want to have a great year. Overbay also went 3 for 3 today, raising his average to .189. He's still one of my favourite Jays and I'm still rooting for him every time up! Mendoza Line, here we come!
Didn't have a chance to talk about Dallas Braden's perfect game yet. There was a great feature on him in today's SI issue. The 26 year old lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school and he was raised by his grandmother, who was down at the game in Oakland when Braden tossed the Mother's Day gem. It was just one of those touching moments in sports last Sunday afternoon.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that Braden tossed the perfecto against, had the best record in baseball at the time and interestingly, they have been perfecto'd for a second year in a row now. White Sox ace Mark Buehrle threw one against them last July 23. As well, I learned that 6 of the last 8 perfect games have been pitched by lefties on the mound! So watch out for those southpaws!
How 'bout 'em Montreal Canadiens?! Underdogs once again vs. Boston/Philadelphia? Well, if they keep playing the way they do with that never die attitude, they could very well win it all! Haven't been following the NBA playoffs lately. It's just been a lot of baseball for me!
Going down to the Minnesota Twins game next Tuesday! Very excited to see Mauer and Morneau!
-D
The Toronto Blue Jays hammered the Texas Rangers by a score of 16-10. By the end of the third inning, the score was already 11-9. The Jays alone scored 8 in the third frame, en route to a win that was highlighted by 4 home runs from Overbay, Wells, Hill, and Lind. That is a very positive sign as the Jays absolutely need those four guys to produce if they want to have a great year. Overbay also went 3 for 3 today, raising his average to .189. He's still one of my favourite Jays and I'm still rooting for him every time up! Mendoza Line, here we come!
Didn't have a chance to talk about Dallas Braden's perfect game yet. There was a great feature on him in today's SI issue. The 26 year old lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school and he was raised by his grandmother, who was down at the game in Oakland when Braden tossed the Mother's Day gem. It was just one of those touching moments in sports last Sunday afternoon.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that Braden tossed the perfecto against, had the best record in baseball at the time and interestingly, they have been perfecto'd for a second year in a row now. White Sox ace Mark Buehrle threw one against them last July 23. As well, I learned that 6 of the last 8 perfect games have been pitched by lefties on the mound! So watch out for those southpaws!
How 'bout 'em Montreal Canadiens?! Underdogs once again vs. Boston/Philadelphia? Well, if they keep playing the way they do with that never die attitude, they could very well win it all! Haven't been following the NBA playoffs lately. It's just been a lot of baseball for me!
Going down to the Minnesota Twins game next Tuesday! Very excited to see Mauer and Morneau!
-D
Wednesday 5 May 2010
That's More Like It
The Jays have again found their winning ways, capturing 6 of their last 7 and improving to 16-13. We are 2 up on Boston and just 4.5 back of the red hot Tampa Bay Rays.
Today's win was one that you should put a star beside for sure! Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, with an 0-2 count and two outs, Aaron Hill shot a sharp grounder that Cleveland shortstop Balbueno missed. Then, Adam Lind came to the plate and crushed a two run bomb to the opposite field to take the lead! It was just a beautiful comeback win!!
A couple days ago, Brett Cecil took a no hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a clean single to Jhonny Peralta with one out. That marks the fourth time that a Blue Jays starter has taken a no hitter into the 7th inning this season! It's almost so exciting and nervewracking to watch one of those in action and you know what, I'm gonna be bold and say one Blue Jays starter will pitch a no-hitter sometime this season!
We'll wait and see!
-D
Today's win was one that you should put a star beside for sure! Down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, with an 0-2 count and two outs, Aaron Hill shot a sharp grounder that Cleveland shortstop Balbueno missed. Then, Adam Lind came to the plate and crushed a two run bomb to the opposite field to take the lead! It was just a beautiful comeback win!!
A couple days ago, Brett Cecil took a no hitter into the 7th inning before giving up a clean single to Jhonny Peralta with one out. That marks the fourth time that a Blue Jays starter has taken a no hitter into the 7th inning this season! It's almost so exciting and nervewracking to watch one of those in action and you know what, I'm gonna be bold and say one Blue Jays starter will pitch a no-hitter sometime this season!
We'll wait and see!
-D
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