The sun came out for Morrow

There is nothing Brandon Morrow would’ve liked more than to forget his last outing where he made it through less than two innings.

Yesterday’s start against the Texas Rangers was one way to put it behind him for good.

In the warmth of the Sunday afternoon sun amongst 25,518 fans at the Rogers Centre, Brandon Morrow turned in a very respectable performance. Six innings, two earned runs, and eight strikeouts were a positive sign in what’s been an up and down season for the young Blue Jays starter thus far.


ADVERTISEMENT

The Texas Rangers outhit the Blue Jays nine to three, but the Blue Jays three hits were very timely. Most of all, John Buck’s three run double in the bottom of the fourth inning.

I have to say, when John Buck hit that ball, I was thinking grand slam all the way. Then I noticed Buck hold up at second base and twirl his fingers in the air as though asking the umps “did that clear the fence?”

So the boys in black quickly galloped below the dugout for what seemed like the quickest replay decision ever, indicating it was in fact a double. What confused me at first was, if the ball hit the overhang, shouldn’t it have been scored a ground rule double?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not complaining, because if that was the case, Bautista would’ve been held up at third base and it only would’ve been a two run double.

Then of course, Jose Bautista hit his tenth home run of the season to tack on an insurance run. That now ties Bautista for the club lead along with Alex Gonzalez and Vernon Wells.

Bautista was on his game last year  when he hit ten home runs in the month of September. Now here we are mid-May and the Bautista Appreciation Society is growing and growing by the day. Don’t worry, I’m working on the official membership t-shirts.

It seems like each time I go to the ballpark, he’s getting bigger and bigger pops from the fans. He was a relative unknown in this city last year, and know Jose Bautista is making a name for himself here in Toronto.

All in all, a great series for the Blue Jays and it’s always great when you get to sweep the visitor out of town. Next up, the Minnesota Twins!

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

7 thoughts on “The sun came out for Morrow

  • May 17, 2010 at 1:48 pm
    Permalink

    Why if it hit the overhang would it just be a ground rule double?

    Overhang is over/past the fence. If it hits the facing of that overhang its a home run.

  • May 17, 2010 at 3:20 pm
    Permalink

    My bad, I thought the overhang was over the fence.

    But I'm still confused why that was only scored as a double, even though it technically cleared the fence?

  • May 17, 2010 at 3:36 pm
    Permalink

    It didn't clear the fence. I thought it did when I was in the park yesterday too, but if you watch the video replay it bounces off the fence and stays in the park. It's just the shadows.

  • May 17, 2010 at 4:38 pm
    Permalink

    Thanks anon, it was hard to see from the stands, plus it really wasn't very clear on the replay either. But now that all makes sense.

  • May 17, 2010 at 5:11 pm
    Permalink

    Morrow looked great yesterday. That's a potent line up that he faced and it was great to see him stay composed throughout the game. He looked rattled a few times but kept it together. He's a guy that I would love to see be able to develop further and stay in the rotation. It's great to have a hard thrower in amongst the great stuff guys. Great rotations need all the variables present IMHO.

  • May 17, 2010 at 6:08 pm
    Permalink

    hit the top of the wall. I was in LF, and clearly saw it hit the top of the fence. The yellow advertising lost the ball for those behind the plate. We were clearly able to see it from and angle though.

  • May 17, 2010 at 6:36 pm
    Permalink

    Mattt, compared to his last start, Morrow looked phenomenal. His control was great and he kept his walks down – which was his Achilles Heel last time.

    Anon, I was along the third base side and it was tough to see whether it cleared or not. The highlight video didn't do it justice either, probably because the shadows. Oh well, better than a ground rule double!

Comments are closed.