Blue Jays: LF Michael Saunders, who played the first three games of the series on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field, got the day off.
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Donaldson hit a three-run home run in the third inning against Matt Moore. Forsythe’s throw to first base was wild due to Bautistas’s slide, allowing two runs to score and give the Blue Jays the lead. The last of those eight wins came against Toronto on September 9, when Kelly scattered six hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings while striking out five.Stroman was impressive enough down the stretch last season to earn ace status on the staff and cruised through eight innings while allowing one run against the Rays on opening day.
The Yankees played the rest of the game under protestAfter the umpires conferred, the safe call was upheld and Girardi played the remainder of the game under protest.
“Longo said I get a free corn dog”, he said. “When I first saw him coming in, I thought he was going over the bag, but then I didn’t know if he kicked his foot out to try and catch a back foot”. Try to treat people the way I want to be treated, and I think for the most part I do that.
Gibbons stated it a little stronger. First pitch is scheduled for just after 7 p.m. and while the game is sold-out, tickets on the resale website StubHub were going for anywhere between $40 USA for Upper Level 500 seats to over $1,000 U.S. for seats along the third base line.
“What those 11 championships mean to me is how many great players I’ve had the opportunity to coach”, Auriemma said. “It’s a shame”, he said.
“To go four in a row out of the gate, it’s just not smart”, said Storen. “But that’s baseball. That’s been baseball forever”.
“After viewing all relevant angles the replay official definitely determined that the runner violated Rule 601 J. The runner’s actions hindered and impeded the fielder”, he said (via the Tampa Bay Times’ pool report). “As far as I understood, I was assuming contact was still okay and obstructing his path was still okay as long as you stay within reach of the bag and your feet were headed toward the bag”. It was a odd ninth inning for Storen, who was preparing in the bullpen as the controversy surrounding Jose Bautista’s slide unfolded. It’s a clear-cut call on a rule that does not make any mention of the level of contact that is disallowed – any and all contact is disallowed when it is not a bona fide slide, and this is a good thing, because rules that are free of gray areas are better rules. “The louder that place is the better we feel our chances are to win, so we can’t wait to get out there”.
Complaining about a call that cost the Jays a win Tuesday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons implied a new rule that prohibits interference from a base runner was an over-reaction that softens the game.
“Honestly I didn’t expect there to be an uproar”, said Gibbons Wednesday morning.
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MORNING AFTER: A day later, Rays players were still processing how they won Tuesday’s game, on the walkoff replay reversal stemming from Jose Bautista’s violation of the new second-base slide rule.
