“It would just come and go from inning to inning”, said Stroman. I was out there in front of 50,000 people playing the game that I love.
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Starting in place of injured right-hander Vince Velasquez, Eflin (0-1) allowed nine runs, eight earned, and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings.
“I kept battling out there”, Happ said, according to Major League Baseball’s official web site.
Hellickson was handed an early four-run lead in his last outing, but his run of good fortune ended at six starts after he surrendered three homers and seven runs in a 9-6 setback to Washington.
The Philadelphia Phillies could use a win after losing six of their last eight games.
Zach Eflin had the start that he wanted, striking out two of the first three hitters he faced on Tuesday afternoon.
They are one of the teams on the rise this week as they try to catch up with two other offensive powerhouse teams in the Orioles and Red Sox. Eflin gave up a home run to Kevin Pillar to start the inning, and Donaldson later drove in Bautista with his second double of the day, making it 3-0.
Donaldson doubled and scored in the first, doubled home a run in the second and hit his third career grand slam in the third.
After singles by Pillar and Devon Travis and a Bautista walk, Donaldson hit his second grand slam of the season and 15th homer of the year into the second deck.
“The hard part is, this is the kid’s major-league debut, but at the same time, I don’t want to decimate the bullpen and we’re trying to get every ounce of an inning, even part of an inning, that we could”, Mackanin said of leaving Eflin in for the Donaldson at-bat. “A mixture of that and a mixture of being more consistent, getting rid of that middle slider pitch and going with that bigger and harder one just felt all around better, better command, better feel, just felt more comfortable out there”. With Marco Estrada set to face Jeremy Hellickson in the pitching matchup, the over/under is sitting at 8 runs after the number opening at 8.5. “Sorry to see his debut turn out that way but this is a good lineup and he can’t make mistakes to them”.
Blue Jays: OF Michael Saunders left in the third with tightness in his right hamstring.
No Suckage Jays. Ryan Goins had the low mark at -.018.
Asche’s RBI double in the fourth cut the deficit to 4-2.
“It was a battle for him tonight”, Jays manager John Gibbons said.
“I thought his breaking ball was much better today, and (he) threw a few good changeups, and he was into it, he looked confident”, said Gibbons.
Andres Blanco added a RBI sacrifice fly in the eighth for the Phillies to cap the scoring.
The Blue Jays and Phillies will each travel south to Citizens Bank Park where the two will continue their home-and-home series in Philly Wednesday at 7:05.
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After the game, the Jays announced that they are sending Aaron Loup and Scott Diamond back to Buffalo.
