1. A great game…: If you like scoring, comebacks, and a little controversy (see next story), then you would have loved the Blue Jays-A’s game yesterday. The Blue Jays developed an 8-0 lead after two innings that featured Alex Rios (16) and Troy Glaus (31) homeruns. But then the A’s stormed back with 7 runs in the third, all off Ted Lilly. They tacked on four more in the sixth to make it a 11-8 Oakland lead, and despite a few more runs by the Blue Jays they held them off 12-10. Jason Kendall had 4 hits while Bobby Kielty had 4 RBIs. Oakland’s win was their 71st of the season, and they have built a five-game lead over the Angels in their division. But the real story from this game was a rare player-manager fight:
2. …leads to another fight: What is it about Blue Jays manager John Gibbons that leads to so many confrontations? Gibbons, who infamously challenged Shea Hillenbrand to a fight earlier this year, got into a scrap with pitcher Ted Lilly. When he went to the mound to take Lilly out after he allowed seven runs, the two exchanged heated words in a face-to-face argument. Then when Lilly went from the dugout to the locker room, Gibbons followed him and they scrapped. Unfortunately there is no clear video of the fight, though both involved said they did not exchange punches. However, several reports claimed that Gibbons had a bloody nose resulting from the fight. Whatever happened, things like this are embarrassments to the organization. With all the money the Jays front office poured into the team this offseason, they should expect a little more discipline from the players and managers. Don’t be surprised if a new manager takes over before next season.
3. 80 is here: The Detroit Tigers were the first team to 50 wins, the first to 60, the first to 70, and yesterday they won the big 8-0. Playing the White Sox in the first game of a four-game series, they easily ousted their rivals in a surprisingly one-sided pitching matchup. Jose Contreras was pitching against Justin Verlander, but he was no match for the rookie. Verlander won his 15th game of the season by allowing one run in seven innings. Meanwhile, Contreras has played terribly since his win streak ended and had one of his worst starts of the season. The Tigers tagged him for 7 runs in just 5 innings, his second consecutive seven-run start. The Tigers got 3 RBIs from Sean Casey and a homerun by Craig Monroe to lead their 7-1 blowout. They now lead Chicago by 6.5 games in the division, though the White Sox are honestly more worried about their Wild Card lead right now.
4. A Wild Series: Can the two-time defending NL Wild Card champion defeat the team that is leading the WC race this year? That’s the basic premise of the Reds-Astros series, which should be entertaining. But so far this season series has been one-sided: the Reds have won 8 of 10 against Houston. That was no different last night, when Cincy slipped by 4-3. Houston was leading 3-0 going into the eighth inning due in large part to Andy Pettitte’s 10 K start. Lance Berkman and Aubrey Huff had also hit homeruns. But then the Reds made their charge in the 8th, with a Rick Aurilla shot tying it up and a Royce Clayton single giving them the lead. Cincinnati’s win kept their Wild Card lead at 2 games and put them the same distance back from the Cardinals in the division. This team just won’t go away.
5. What a start: When John Smoltz is on the top of his game, it can be very hard to stop him. Just ask the Pirates, who couldn’t get anything off of him in yesterday’s game. Smoltz pitched 8 innings, allowing no runs, while sending down 10 Pirates. He held a no-hitter through 5 innings and could hardly miss the strike zone all night. He gave the Braves a 3-0 win after Bob Wickman continued his 12 inning scoreless streak since he joined the Braves. Atlanta is still struggling and is no where near a playoff spot at 59-65.
