Henderson Alvarez gets the call tonight for the Jays, and he’ll be looking to build on the strong-ish start he had the last time he went, way back in June, against the Angels.
Don’t let my “ish” take too much away from what was an impressive showing for the young Venezuelan, coming back to pitch his scheduled start after leaving a game at Fenway in Boston the previous week due to an elbow injury. It was nice to see him go and to have a final line that looked so tidy, as he held the Angels to just one earned run on seven hits. It’s just… as much as it’s the real screamingly obvious knock on him, he sure could use striking a few more guys out.
Alvarez is 100th of 101 qualified pitchers in terms of swinging strike rate, and while you can get by missing bats at the rates of Kevin Correia, Joe Saunders, Lucas Harrell and the anthropomorphic husks that used to be Bartolo Colon, Derek Lowe, Ubaldo Jimenez, Barry Zito and Randy Wolf, it’s… um… it’s not really the way to go.
On the mound for the other side tonight is Luke Hochevar, whose presence should make for an interesting contrast between where the Jays hitters are at now, and when the struggling group made their way to the Paris of the Plains on 4/20 and were shut out over five innings by this same foe. Hochevar gave up just two hits, one earned run, and two walks, striking out five, in that encounter. I suspect he’s not going to have the same kind of luck this time around– though he did throw a complete game shutout two starts ago against Tampa.
2012, what a year!
Scuttlebutt
SCUTTLEBUTT FORTHCOMING! (Unless… yknow, it isn’t.)
OK, except we do have a little bit of scuttlbutt here, as, for your between-inning viewing pleasure, here’s today’s episode of Getting Blanked, with special guest, Mr. @devil_fingers himself, Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs!
TV: Sportsnet
And now the lineups, by way of the live box score at theScore.com. And for those of you who’ll be out and about, be sure to follow all the action on your phone with Score Mobile…
Toronto Blue Jays
B. Lawrie 3B
C. Rasmus CF
J. Bautista RF
E. Encarnacion 1B
A. Lind DH
Y. Escobar SS
R. Davis LF
K. Johnson 2B
J. Arencibia C
H. Alvarez RHP
Kansas City Royals
A. Gordon LF
A. Escobar SS
E. Hosmer 1B
B. Butler DH
Y. Betancourt 2B
M. Moustakas 3B
J. Francoeur RF
S. Perez C
J. Dyson CF
L. Hochevar RHP
Image via Jim Rogash/Getty.
Its game day and Jays take this series 3-1
Ugh. Hochevar. Another bad pitcher who seems to always shut the Jays down.
Yes another bad pitcher, Jays in 3rd place after tonight
Lawrie cycles tonight
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8131509
Good bit by Keith Law at around 22 minutes regarding what teams can expect to get back for rental players this year. It might dampen the expectations for those thinking any of the Jays impending free agents are going to bring back a king’s ransom.
I love the idea of selling to Cleveland, a team that is half a game ahead of the Jays- idiot writers.
I think Hendu already has more swinging strikes than most of his entire starts.
Look at these swinging strikes. Alvarez gets 20 K’s tonight!!1!!
Now your talking, its kids night tonight…anyplayer 25 or under is a star
superstar*
Who is this pitcher and what has he done with Henderson Alvarez?
He’s looking like the guy from the start of the season. I wonder if the elbow thing forced him to dial back a bit mentally or physically which is usually better for sinker ball pitchers.
Nothing like a 12 pitch 1-2-3 inning. And especially for a guy like Alvarez who as struggled mightily in the first inning this year.
Colby’s double sounded like a gunshot.
Looking forward to a possible Dyson v Dyson matchup during this game. Enticing!
In a vacuum, who wins?
Hope it doesn’t suck.
See what I dids there?
good one
Alvarez with a no-hitter in the top of the 3rd.
How is that not a strikeout?
And the blown call leads to a 1st and 3rd situation. (With a little help from KJ)
Yeah…. Alvarez clearly struck out Dyson looking there.
KJ—turning double plays into doubles since 2012
Fucking brutal, should have been a strikeout. He has been robbed on that same pitch twice now.
Never seen a team that when they get screwed on a ball / strike, the guy guaranteed gets a hit EVERY time
Tabby agrees with the ump? Shocker!
Should have been a strikeout and KJ should have gotten to that grounder if he hadn’t been playing like an old man lately. That said, Alvarez still has to get some outs. He looked great in the first two innings. Now — not so much.
Yup, at this point Hendo has to take responsibility again.
Hasn’t been great but the guy got 3 playable ground balls
True.
The sooner, the better.
And the wheels come off
If calls even out in the end – the Blue Jays might go undefeated in 2013 or 2014. We are owed a lot of make-up calls
Christ Lawrie, have to learn when to eat it
HAHAHAHAHA THAT THROW!!!!!
Game over. Thanks ump. You fucking worthless piece of shit.
Well, there really is NO excuse for not putting atleast 6 runs on the board against Hochevar
Fuck, can we get a single out? Am I being greedy?
I feel your pain.
Is it because i bought an A’s hat today that the baseball gods are doing this to henderson?
Alvarez needs to do something with his delivery to create some deception, his offspeed pitches are ridiculously telegraphed
Henderson shows no emotion.. I like how he is handling this at least.. no blow up at the ump or Lawrie..
It’ll come in the dugout, but glad he’s more mature than just about every batter when dealing with frustration on field
are you kidding?
no, obviously giving up 5 runs is not ideal, but not self imploding is good.
Sweet merciful Jesus.
Alvarez’s pitches have been breaking too early it seems. What an unbelievable inning given the first 7 batters put away with ease.
Alvarez belongs in the bullpen long-term.
if by “bullpen” you mean, National League, you are correct
We complain about not having that “flamethrower” in the bullpen. Alvarez usually does pretty well for the first few innings/first time through the line-up. I could see him having a lot more success in the ‘pen.
We’ll see how Dyson fares, as it seems they have similar skillsets.
I hope he doesn’t come out for the 4th, but I’m sure Farrell will run him out there.
Broke my glasses.
…and my heart.
Come on JP, show these Royals how to strike out.
I stand corrected.
fucking dumbass….know when to shut the fuck up.
umad?
We need one starting pitcher, well maybe two, at max 3. you know what, 4 is probably all we need. screw this we need 5!!
that’s 2 back….
Damn, he got all of that one.
Way to not clog those bases, JP.
Gotta like that response! Lets see what the top of the order can pile on now.
Every once in awhile, JP does a little more than just survive.
He could stand to do a little more more often.
Yes. ‘A little more’ ain’t enuf.
Are we sure that wasn’t foul? Or maybe someone called time before the pitch?
*slow clap*
JP picked a good time for his biweekly hit … or a bad time, depending on whether or not you think it’s in any way realistic we can come back.
Luke. Hochevar.
Hochevar is the Blue Jays’ kryptonite.
Sith Lords eat Kryptonite for breakfast
um, its the bottom of the third
This offence against Hochevar?
I think we got a shot at a 9-8 win
Jays always seem to score immediately after giving up a big inning.
Chavez warmin’ up lol@that where is me liquor
Yes luke, put people on base. Yesss….
Luke I am your father….
Alvarez going for the soccer stop on perez’s ground ball… I don’t think hes happy about all these GB hits.
Alvarez got ass raped by the ump last inning..
They show that pirate ship every day.
I think Alvarez moved away from the off speed and relied almost exclusively on fastballs. He could achieve like first two innings if he keeps working on that slider.
love when yunel does that, it just lookjs so right on him.
ah jeezz
Is it just me, or does it look like the video guys don’t pay much attention to the game??
Nothin’ to see here, Hochevar.
Wish we could get some runs against this Ace Hochevar.
Dave Perkins is a shitty official scorer.
enter tiny tim
Four fucking hits. Lawl.
Lind = shit
You don’t say.
‘Lacklustre’ Lind
Linda
All the oxygen got sucked out of this puppy when it imploded in the 3rd. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men…
Yup, my fault. Im the one responsible for the reports of Dyson’s mid to high 90′s fastball.
Dyson is nervous
Get over the jitters and use your stuff
Dyson can head on back to New Hampshire now.
With a name like Dydon you figure he’s gotta be a great fielder
* Dyson
Anyone want to help JP out tonight?
nah
I would say the answer is no, the way the rest have been chasing.
JPA is back!
nice to see jp hitting
JP hits 2 homers? Christmas.
He loves debuts
COCO TIME!
Coco time indeed. Bad things happen when Coco is on the mound.
He’s given up 2 hits already. The second one isn’t his fault due to the collision between KJ & Escobar, but I think Coco brings bad karma.
Coco beware!!!!
Good to know a two-run game in the 8th inning is not considered a high-leverage situation.
should i turn the game off? debating….
At this point I’m following on Gameday while keeping my eyes mostly covered. Jesus, how is this guy still being trotted out there?
This powerhouse Royals offense is running a train on us.
yeah i think it’s going off
You’re risking death from a thousand cuts.
Cordero sure loves throwing that flat slider down the middle.
It’s fuckin’ Coco-liscious! DFAThis clown, FUCK!
I can’t wait for Wilner & Stoeten to defend Coco being used in this situation.
Coco has given up 3 hits…
Does Farrell feel sorry for the Royals?
I just laugh when Coco is in the game in high leverage situations.
Lol ummm wow u go coco u go
Oh Good…Coco is about to break the game wide open.
Coco knows how to end high leverage situations.
How many times do we have to watch this same rerun over and over.
?
Wilner said last night that he couldn’t think of any managerial mistakes made by Farell this year.
He completely forgot about his use of Coco.
Wilner said he was generous with Farll last year because farrell was a rookie manager.
Coco gives up another hit & his first run of the evening…
I hate Coco Puffs
Just thinking of Lawrie playing catcher makes me laugh.
Yet another appearance to strike from Coco’s record. He’s great in games where he pitches well.
By my count that is about 2 appearances, maybe 3 this year?
Cordero is a quality MLB reliever. The fans key in on his poor performances, which simply isn’t fair.
Exactly, we key in on every appearance accept 2-3 times. haha
He sure is showing he is quality laziness tonight as well.
That’s Wilner’s line. In games where Coco has not allowed any hits, runs or walks he’s been fantastc. he’s also great on Tuesdays.
I would like to see someone in the Toronto sports media ask Farrell why he keeps putting Coco in high leverage situations.This is ridiculous.
Coco now late getting to 1B & another 2 runs score….
Can’t wait for Wilner’s show & a few blasts from Stoeten to defend Coco.
Time for Wilner to jerk off and defend CoCo’s role on the team
His role is to make the David Pauley’s of the world feel great about themselves.
I don’t know if your simple mind can comprehend this but Cordero was the Jays best reliever between May 31 and 9:25 PM of June 18. In night games where temperatures ranged between 18-22 degrees.
And now that te game is out of reach, here comes Farrel…
Coco being booed off the field…
I saw this live on Sunday. Glad I didn’t waste money seeing this game live.
This was definitely worth that 4.5mill or whatever we’re paying this fat fuck.
Why is he being used in any sort of high leverage situation? WHAT THE FUCK FARRELL?
DFA Coco. Cancel Farrell’s contract and get Dave Martinez in here.
It’s absolutely true. The Rogers apologists go wild if AA dares spend 4.5 million on a starter but FAP to getting a veteran closer like Cordero.
Last year we dealt with Francisco & rauch. The previous year was Kevin Gregg.
At least Gregg came through more often than not.
Coco is a laughinstock. Yes he will be better when the Jays are 10 games out.
Christ there ya go. Seems like every year we sign a different totally talentless loser and trundle him out to lose us the game. Here’s the deal, Alex. The offense can only do so much…
Too bad the offense is sucking ball-sack tonight.
Kudos for ‘trundle.’ I take my entertainment where and when I can. Tonight, trundle is the best of a bad lot.
Chad Beck, please.
Hey idiots why dont you fucking relax Cordero has actually been really good lately. Didnt you see Francisco turn it around last year? Same thing will definitely happen to Cordero…its practically the same thing.
I love it when players turn it around when it’s meaningless. Our second half will be meaningless b/c we lose games like this.
Very true. What fans don’t understand is that Rogers will only open their wallets if the Jays are in contention at the all star break. AA & Beeston will be able to make a case that they need to be in “buy” mode.
Coco is singlehandedly ensuring that the Jays are significantly enough behind other teams that it becomes a “wait” til next year.
HERE WE GO COCO!
wow. just wow.
We can’t get a pick for Cordero, why stick with him????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
We’re showcasing him for that big trade, son.
Cordero is laughable.
Well John, another high leverage situation put to bed.
AHAHAHAHAHA oh man…. That fat piece of shit couldn’t get over to cover first. This is great. AA please take this guy out of Farrell’s fucking hands.
Glad the fans are booing this garbage. He sucks shit. Get him off this team.
Hey guys, gotta keep running Coco up. Showcasing him for that big ole trade at the deadline amirite?
Coco, you fat fuck, get over to first. Seriously, haven’t we been subjected to enough of this guy?
Honestly. Just DFA this ass. Can we finally do the right thing?
Thats fine Coco…take your time getting over there, not a big deal or anything its just 2 runs. Im pretty much done with this fucking guy anyone else??
Listen dude, he’s been pretty solid in all his solid starts.
The problem is he’s solid, not stolid.
Yeah Man, didnt you see his June ERA? 1.59! Disregarding his April, May, and now July he has had a pretty good year actually. You guys should fucking relax take away half his outings and he has been lights out, his WHIP isnt even over 2 yet….so theres that…
+1
That was hilarious!
Coco should only be used in mop up situations. Up by 4 runs or down by 4 runs.
This lard ass has cost us several games single handedly. What a joke.