3:50AM Eastern
Well, that was certainly something, wasn’t it?
I just got home, and amazingly enough, the drive from Cleveland was shorter than the game itself as the Blue Jays and Indians played their way into the history books – the longest Opening Day game (by innings) in major-league history went to the visitors, the first salvo in The Battle For Spring Training Significance was won by the top seed, and it was high drama far more than it wasn’t.
Ricky Romero had a brutal second inning, struggling with his command, walking a pair and hanging a 2-2 curveball to Jack Hannahan that wound up in the seats for a three-run homer, and that one swing looked as though it would be more than enough as Indians’ starter Justin Masterson had the Jays eating out of his good right hand, allowing only a run on two hits through eight brilliant innings. Through the first seven, the Blue Jays’ two hits – an Adam Lind double and a Jose Bautista solo homer – were the only two balls they’d hit out of the infield. Masterson was carving them up, but 99 pitches on Opening Day was enough, and with a seemingly-comfortable three-run lead, Tribe skipper Manny Acta went to his closer, Chris Perez, to slam the door shut in the 9th.
Not his best idea.
Perez gave up back-to-back singles to Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson to open the not-so-final frame, and Bautista followed with a shot to deep right-centre that was knocked down by a pretty brisk wind, so instead of a game-tying three-run homer, it was only a sacrifice fly. Perez followed by walking Lind, and Rajai Davis came in to pinch-run, which was a brilliant move as Edwin Encarnacion then absolutely murdered a ball with which the wind was even more upset, and what would have been a go-ahead three-run shot became a two-run double off the left field wall that tied the game at fours. Lind doesn’t score on that hit, and Davis did easily. Encarnacion then got a little greedy with his secondary lead and broke early on a Brett Lawrie comebacker that was snared by Perez, and was erased trying to scamper back to second, but the blunder didn’t matter as Lawrie got to second base anyway, thanks to a walk to Eric Thames. That was it for Perez, and Vinnie Pestano came in to get J.P. Arencibia to ground out to third to end the inning.
With Lind out of the game, Bautista grabbed a trapper and moved in to play first base while Davis stayed in the game in right, and Jose was tested immediately. Travis Hafner led off the bottom of the 9th with a line single to centre that Colby Rasmus allowed to skip past him for an extra base, putting the winning run on second against Francisco Cordero with nobody out. Aaron Cunningham then bunted up the first-base line and Bautista handled it beautifully, as he also did Casey Kotchman’s grounder to first that followed – checking the runner at third then making the play himself.
The Indians’ failure to score there led to seven innings and two hours’ worth of free baseball, as the Blue Jays’ bullpen put on a clinic while the Jays’ hitters missed a few opportunities to take the lead. Davis, without whom the game would never have gone to extras, had the most chances, coming up with two on and two out in the 10th and popping up, the bases loaded and two out in the 12th and flying out to the warning track in left, and then strapping on the goat horns in the 15th when he popped up a bunt and watched it float towards third instead of taking off for first base. Hannahan allowed the ball to drop in front of him, and with all three runners frozen, started an easy 5-4-3 double play to get the Tribe out of trouble. I have no idea what Davis was thinking there – he just froze – except that maybe he figured it was an infield fly and he’d be called out automatically. Doesn’t make a difference, though, you have to run. If he takes off, it’s runners on the corners and one out, and he’s probably stealing second on the next pitch. Instead, there remained a runner on third and two out, and Encarnacion grounded to third to end it.
The Tribe’s big chance came in the bottom of the 12th, when they put two on with one out against Carlos Villanueva, who was working his third inning of relief. John Farrell went to Luis Perez, who walked Michael Brantley on four pitches to load the bases. It was then that Farrell took a page from Mike Scioscia and Joe Maddon’s books, calling Eric Thames in and replacing him with Omar Vizquel, who went out behind second base to act as a fifth infielder. Asdrubal Cabrera hit a grounder to short and, with nerves of steel, Yunel Escobar decided to eschew the force at home and start a 6-4-3 double play that got the Jays out of the inning. If Cabrera had beaten the relay, the game was over, but Escobar and Johnson got it turned.
Even though Vizquel never set foot on the outfield grass, he’s listed as having been the left fielder for those two outs (he moved to first the next inning, with Bautista going back out to right and Davis shifting to left), which is the first time in his career that he’s “played” left field.
Perez went on to pitch four no-hit innings of relief, though he did walk three, and the Blue Jays finally won it in the 16th when Lawrie walked and, with the hit-and-run on, Vizquel hit a bouncer back to the mound on which Indians’ reliever Jairo Asencio, making just his 10th big-league appearance, made the horrible decision to try to get the out at second. His throw wasn’t good, but it wouldn’t have mattered – Lawrie had it beat by plenty. J.P. Arencibia, who was 0-for-6 at the time, followed by blasting one through the wind to deep left field for the three-run homer that two of his teammates had missed out on back in regulation, giving the Blue Jays the lead for good.
Arencibia loves season debuts, apparently. He homered twice in his major-league debut in 2010 and went deep two more times on Opening Day of last season. He made us wait a while for this one, but ultimately came through with the big swing his team needed to capture a come-from-behind win.
Perez came out to start the bottom of the 16th, despite it being a save situation and Farrell having held on to Sergio Santos all night waiting for just such an occasion. Evidently there was some miscommunication, as Santos was halfway to the mound from the bullpen and had to turn back. There’s a new rule this season (news to us) that once a pitcher goes out to warm up for an inning, he must face a batter. Perez did, getting Jason Donald to ground out, and in so doing removed the save situation, but Santos came out to get the last two outs anyway.
In all, the Blue Jays’ bullpen – all seven members – combined to throw eleven innings of four-hit shutout in relief of the shaky Romero. Perez and Villanueva threw 6 1/3 between them, so they’re likely out for a couple of days, but everyone else will be fresh and ready to go for Saturday’s second game of the season. The game showed off the tremendous depth in the bullpen, that Jason Frasor is the guy you can go to in the 6th inning down by three because there are so many other good pitchers behind him. Frasor, Darren Oliver and Casey Janssen pitched the 6th, 7th and 8th in a game the Jays were trailing 4-1. You won’t see that kind of quality in that situation with any other bullpen; other teams would need to bring in their 6th or 7th reliever, who would be sort of crappy and likely allow the deficit to grow by at least a run or two, if not more. That won’t happen with the Blue Jays, and that will lead to a few more comeback wins they might not otherwise have been able to secure.
Amazingly, the Blue Jays picked up the win despite the bottom of their order having a terrible time of it. Lawrie, Thames/Vizquel, Arencibia and Rasmus – batting in the last four spots in the order – combined to go 1-for-26 in the game, though the only hit did happen to be rather massive.
It was a phenomenal way to begin the season, especially because so much air had leaked out of the balloon because of Romero’s struggles and the whole two-hits-over-the-first-eight-innings thing. What do they do for an encore? We’ll find out on Saturday.
You can’t have 16 innings of baseball and not follow it with a fine edition of The Blue JaysTalk (hey, they put the “blue” back in, so why not us, too?), and here it is, for your listening pleasure:
After an off-day Friday, the Jays and Indians get back at it Saturday afternoon, with pitcher-no-longer-thrower Brandon Morrow taking the ball against Tribe righty Ubaldo Jimenez. The opener is going to be an awfully tough act to follow, but we’re expecting a good time and we’ll have it all for you on the Blue Jays Radio Network beginning with the pre-game show at 12:30PM Eastern – join us, won’t you?
Please give me a follow on The Twitter, you can find me @wilnerness590. You can find the 16th-inning hero @jparencibia9.
Comments are welcome – I read them all and respond to most, and I’ll get to the ones in the queue very shortly!
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28 Responses to “Setting The Bar High”
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It’s amazing how a sports team can affect my overall mood. I’ve been grouchy and in an overall terrible mood the past few months,coincidentally at the same time the Leafs blew their playoff spot. But ever since spring training, and now today….it feels like a breathe of fresh air getting to see this team compete. I feel something special around this club. I would have been content if they lost the game in extras today. Disappointed, yes. But the fact they rallied in the 9th when they needed to and got a ND for Ricky. Great to instill that fighting spirit early in the season. Also.. the five-man infield. I love crazy stuff like that in baseball. It’s a beautiful sport and I’m glad it’s back. Thanks for all the hard work today Mike (and the whole crew).
- Scott RHey Mike,
WHAT A GAME!!!!!! Can you talk to the powers that be and see about getting the radio broadcast inserted into the second audio program of the tv broadcast? I much prefer Gerry, Allan and your’s detailed analysis.
Couple quick questions… Hypothetically, say Santos gave up 3 runs and the game continued on and on. What were the BLUEjays options to continue pitching? I know they could’ve used a position player a la Mike McCoy last year when he did everything including selling hot dogs and parking cars. Could they have used the rotation players for an inning or something?
Second, was it just me or did rasmus look as lost at the plate as last year? I know its only one game so far… but he struggled most of the spring, did he not? Should this continue, would we see him and Snider trade places? Just curious on your thoughts…
GO BLUEJAYS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MW: Carreno would have pitched had Santos gotten knocked around and the game continued. As far as Rasmus, he hit two balls right on the screws for line-outs in the opener. Hardly looked lost.
- tedWhat an amazing game and an incredible way to experience it!
We left Toronto at 2:45 and listened to the whole game while driving to Cleveland. if it wasn’t for some serious delays on I90, we could have actually made it to Progressive with the game still on.
Instead, as we pulled onto Superior Ave, JP hit his 3 runner.
Definitely the coolest way to drive to Cleveland… Listening to an opening day Jays game on the Fan THE ENTIRE WAY!
Can’t wait to watch Game 2 in person.
Mike, how many Jays fans were there. Was it noticeable?
MW: I’m surprised you managed to hold onto the signal the whole way, that’s a good job by your car! There were enough Jays fans there that it was noticeable, for sure.
- @saugatigers2003Hey Mike, all I can say is this was an AWESOME game and I actually scared my 4 year old daughter when Encarnacion hit that double to tie it because I was cheering so loud lol, and to be honest even on TV I thought that ball was gone and they were gonna be up 5-4 it almost looked like when the ball was up the highest a 50 pound weight grabbed it and said I don`t think so and kept it in the park, but it was not a weight I know it was the wind. Anyways great game by the Jays and if this team is gonna show a no quit attitude like they did tonight then we are in for a great season. GO JAYS!!
- RoyceBest opening day! So happy to be back watching my boys. Have a great year covering the Jays, Mike.
- ValWhy was Santos not awarded a save? I guess I never knew that a pitcher had to pitch at least a full inning. Consider this scenario. In the bottom of the 9th a relief pitcher enters the game with a 4 run lead, records an out, gives up a homerun, and the closer enters the game and records the remaining two outs. Am I wrong in assuming this is a save? Thanks for the explanation.
MW: Yes, you’re wrong. That’s not a save. If you come in with a three-run lead and no one on base, you have to get at least the last three outs to be awarded a save.
- Joe W.Wow, if only regulation were 16 innings these guys would win every game. That bullpen looks deeper than the Atlantic Ocean.
Great job on the marathon broadcast today Mike! Listening to you three is a real gift. Can’t wait to hear you guys in October this year.
- SlingshotGreat opening result for the 2012 season. If that one doesn’t get the fans excited for Blue Jays baseball, let them wait for an Argo Grey Cup parade. I really like the comrade rue in the dugout. Some great shots during the extended game capturing the enthusiasm and energy.
One thought. Colby Rasmussen appears to be the current target because of his light bat. But he can play CF as evidenced by his great catch. Seem to recall a love-in for a dearly departed SS 2B hero with no bat and great glove. If the Jays fans can love Johnny Mac then cut Colby some slack for same attributes
Look forward to Saturday and thanks again for the great blogs
- Grant CarterNo save is awarded in either situation. Had Santos entered the game with a 3 run lead and pitched at least one inning, he would’ve gotten a save.
Am surprised Farrell didn’t put Santos in to start the 16th, but it all worked out in the end. Great game to watch!
MW: He wanted to, as it turned out, but forgot to put Perez’ seat belt on.
- HebsyWhy didnt the Fan fly you round trip? This is unjust.
MW: Nah, I wanted to drive.
- DooloxMike,
Hope you have a enjoyable Pesach.
With Santos coming in the game with one out and a three run lead, why did that remove a save situation?
MW: Because that’s not a save situation.
- ShmuelBig congrats to the Jays for winning a long home opener. But Cleveland should thank their catcher for catching all those wild pitches, and at least giving them a chance to win.
- DrewMike,
I really hope your prediction of an all-star season for Rasmus comes true. Unlike others, I actually appreciate the calm and fluid manner in which he approaches the game as a positive, not a negative. That said, he will not hit if he keeps his hands so close to his body. He is not getting any separation between his hip rotation and hands and therefore losing bat speed and getting “tied up”. He needs to get his hands out and away like Jose so they can be loading back as the hips rotate and then come through free and easy. Pay it forward!
- JamesGood synopsis, Wilner!
- GabeGreat post Mike!! After 1 game I can say AA did a masterful job rebuilding the pen 11IP 4H 0R, 6BB is a concern but just the first game
- Kennedy76caIn regards to the JPA call: It is Gregg Zaun! he is the major negativity that Zaun spews on a day to day basis on TV or twitter about JP’s defense. It is sad the bitterness Zaun spews daily esp about JP and his defense
- KrisThe Sam Fuld rule.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7599453/mlb-tweaks-rule-prevent-stalling-relievers
MW: Thanks!
- sporklessGreat work as always Mr Wilner…. I watched every minute of that game and am very excited. The bullpen is scary good, and we should also credit Ricky for not letting the wheels fall off. Control was off all night but aside from the brutal 2nd he didn’t give up a hit in the other four innings(as you pointed out)…. At the end of the day I’m just very excited about this team….
- @Cpt_HandsomeWow. The Jays had a capital “T” for Tenacity last night. I was quite happy as I was able to listen to the ENTIRE game from leaving my house at 3:15, driving to Rochester, to coming back. Literally, the game ended as I was 2nd in line the border back into Canada to come home. Wow.
I’m glad you were able to make the drive to Cleveland and hang out in the broadcast booth. Are you going other places this year too?
A few comments about the game itself. Has Arencibia markedly improved his defense overall? It seemed like the broadcast booth were salivating over his batter abilities last night.
And what a move by John Farrell to put Visquel behind 2nd as a 5th outfielder, virtually giving up the game if a fly ball anywhere to the outfield is hit. Wow. I’ve never seen that before.
So, my fear for the Jays is the same as last year. We have a weakish and very young pitching rotation and had hoped that Cecil and McGowan made the line up. Instead, we have 21 year old Alvarez, Carreno, and Drabek, who, between the three of them, have 44 games of MLB experience.
Like last year, the Jays had problems with their starters and relied on them for 94.1 innings of relief last April, highest in the AL. And they were the most effective bullpen in April with a WHIP of 1.049, topping out the AL that month. In June – July – August, the bullpen was not good at all with a WHIP of > 1.4 in all three months, close to the bottom of the AL (mind you, they traded away 1/2 their bullpen in July for Rasmus). So, my fear is that the bullpen will wear out again because of a weak rotation. It is what is is, though, and you’ve got to get by with what you have.
Anyway, Mike, I’m looking forward to another great season of baseball!
- Tim in Niagara FallsSuch a great blog post. Detailed, informative and interesting. Love your perspective on baseball, it is incredible.
Let’s go Blue Jays!
MW: Thank you!
- Natasha ShivrajHi Mike,
I’m glad Ricky Romero used up a bad start on a game the Blue Jays won. He’s guaranteed to pitch 8-9 shutout innings the next time around, right?
- CarlosI can’t believe your employer makes you commute to and from Cleveland by car.
What a disgrace.
MW: Save the indignation and channel your Rogers hate elsewhere. I asked to do the drive.
- AnonymousHoly smokes wasn’t that great. I simply can’t help but feel great about the bullpen, about all the starting position players. There were so many things to feel good about in this win(other than Ricky). It really seams as if John Farrell has figured out how to manage a bullpen and I love how the pinch runner in the ninth worked out and how the five infielders got the double play. I think one of the big stories of this game is the confidence and competence of John Farrell. Do you think Mr. Farrell has grown as a manager or do you think he’s just taking advantage of all the new tools at his disposal?
MW: I think it’s both – you can’t help but get better at something the longer you do it so long as you’re reasonably intelligent, and Farrell is also very excited about the new toys with which he has to play.
- GabeHi Mike,
I am going to Opening Day for the first time this year. When will the gates open ? I want to make sure I’m there for everything.
Thanks
MW: I’m pretty sure they open at 5:30pm.
- kimHey Mike
Great to see the club off to a nice start, with a farm system loaded with young talent, the playoffs can’t be more than a few years away. Still see the Jays finishing 4th in the division unless they can improve the rotation. If the club is in contention by June, do you think they take a run at a guy like Oswalt?
MW: Oswalt isn’t interested in pitching in Toronto.
- Rickhi Mike
Great game. I am most impressed with Arencibia defense, the way he blocked balls. I am also encouraged with how the jays approach their at bats.. and the bullpen? Superb.
The bad? Rajais brain cramp – he has shown time and time again he lacks that concentration. Glad he is on the bench.
How come no comments/reply on this blog and two past? Are fans not writing or are you not replying?
MW: Just took me a while to catch my breath and catch up on the comments.
- francisHi, Mike. This is my first reply on this site. I just want to say that I have my vote for AL MVP signed, sealed, and delivered. Did you see what Bautista did? Not only did he hit a HR, a sacrifice fly, a hit the opposite way on 2 strikes, an intentional walk with runners on 1st and 2nd (!?!?) and another walk, but he played flawlessly at first base on a couple of tricky chances. Is there anything he can’t do?
- SteveMike, I see the Cubs outrighted Luis Valbuena to the minors. How does that work, did they put him on waivers and no one claimed him allowing him to be outrighted?
MW: Yup
- douglas mccallum