Jays 5, NYY 1 - May 11th Recap

Over 43,000 strong made it to the game last night, and got more than their money's worth. I, and many other Jays fans, believed that this would be a defining game for our club since the only criticism of our team remaining was the fact that they were "untested" because they had yet to play the NYY - BOS - or TB. The theory being that they would crumble once they met these AL East beasts and go away to die in a corner. So, I decided to spend the night in the mostly respectful confines of the River Ave Blues blogging site, within the game chat, in order to get more out of the game and to be able to gauge how they feel about the Jays.

As I suspected, there was very little support for the cause that the Jays may actually be for real. Some NYY fans did point out how old their team plays, something I've been saying for a long time, and that AJ, Arod, and Tex should be playing much better than they are. They definitely would have played better with Jeter and Posada in the lineup. However, this game wasn't about them. It was about whether or not the Jays would show up, change, or play with a different swagger because they faced the Yankees. They didn't change, they definitely had a swagger - a professional one - and they definitely showed up.

Sure their offense took a while to get going, waiting until the 4th inning to put up runs, but the important part is that once they got the opportunity to score runs, they did. The took AJ on a 30 pitch inning ride and drop him off in the dugout. AJ's outing, and season thus far, was reminiscent of his first TO years after signing a big contract with us. He did enough to not get booed, but not enough to make his contract worth the investment. He delivered 7.2 IP and allowed the Jays to score right around their season average of 5 runs, and struck out 3. Roy, on the other hand, had a complete game 5 hitter with 1 run allowed and 5 Ks. He lowered his ERA to 2.95 on the season, and is putting the pressure on Greinke and co. to keep pitching as they are if they really want the Cy.

The offensive player of the game for the Jays was veteran Scott Rolen who had the key double in the 4th to make it a 2-0 game, and added 2 more hits on the night. His average now sits at .319, dwarfed only by the one of .357 held by Aaron Hill, who added a HR in the 8th inning.

All-in-all it was a great night. I enjoyed this game more than any other this season even while it was tied. I was on the edge of my seat through the 6th inning and hope it continues tomorrow. I sadly will not be able to make it onto RAB again to blog during the game, but I'll make it there Thursday whether we win or lose tonight!

Tonight's matchup: The Jays go up against Andy Pettitte (2-1, 4.38) with rookie Scott Richmond (4-1, 3.29) taking the ball.