Rookies shine bright as Jays down Yanks
Osuna, Castro impress in changing roles as Toronto wins series
What a difference 24 hours makes.
After Brett Cecil’s disastrous pitching adventure on Wednesday night in New York, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons suggested his would- be closer was the victim of bad luck as much as poor pitching.
“I thought he threw fine,” Gibbons said then.
But by Thursday afternoon, Cecil was no longer the closer. Gibbons acknowledged Cecil had not pitched well the previous night.
“He was erratic. He was all over the place,” the manager said prior to the Jays 6- 3 victory over the Yankees on Thursday night to take two of three from New York.
Daniel Norris picked up his first major league victory, while 20- year- old rookie Miguel Castro recorded a 1- 2- 3 ninth inning to notch his first save.
Norris ( 1- 0) went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out five.
CC Sabathia took the loss for the Yankees.
Edwin Encarnacion homered for Toronto, his second of the season. Alex Rodriguez hit career home run No. 655 for the Yankees.
The Jays head to Baltimore today, where they’ll play the Orioles’ home opener. First pitch is scheduled for 3: 07 p. m. EDT.
So is Castro the Jays’ new closer? Gibbons stopped short of an official proclamation. But when the Jays needed a closer Thursday, the rookie was on the mound.
And the right- handed setup man the rest of the season will likely be rookie Roberto Osuna, who also made an appearance in Thursday’s win — albeit coming on in relief of Norris in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Osuna impressed Thursday night, pitching 1.1 innings and striking out three, including Alex Rodriguez on a 96- m. p. h. fastball.
Castro, a 6- foot- 5 right- hander, has now pitched in all three games. In three innings, he has allowed no hits, no runs and no walks while logging two strikeouts.
Asked if Castro could win the closer’s job, Gibbons replied, “If it turns out he’s the best guy to do it.”
The manager seemed to be acknowledging his go- to relievers at the moment are a couple of 20- year- olds and he would not hesitate to use them when the stakes are highest.
At the start of spring training, Castro and Osuna were there by invitation. They were expected to open the season as starters in Class-A ball. But their mid- to high- 90s fastballs, ability to throw strikes and their poise on the mound won them bullpen spots.
And just three games into the season, Gibbons is suggesting they are the class of his bullpen.
Cecil, who missed roughly two weeks of spring training with a sore shoulder, will be relegated to the same role he had last year — at least until he shows he can become as effective as he was in 2014.
“I talked to Cece today,” Gibbons said. “He’s not sharp. I told him he could come in the seventh, eighth inning. If it ends up stacking up where he’s the guy in the ninth, then so be it. But we’ll try to get him a little sharper.”
On Wednesday, Cecil entered with the bases loaded in the eighth and the Jays ahead 3- 1. He wild- pitched one run home, hit a batter with the bases loaded and gave up a single — it bounced off his left wrist into left field — that put the Yankees ahead to stay. He also struck out Carlos Beltran but could not finish the inning. Osuna did.
On Thursday, Gibbons said due to the injury Cecil is about two weeks behind everybody else.
The manager’s message to Cecil apparently is the same message he is delivering to his entire bullpen. And for the moment, the message seems to favour Castro for the ninth- inning assignment.
“Just go out there and pitch and we’ll see what everybody else is doing,” Gibbons said. “It all comes down to what helps the team. We don’t have Mariano Rivera sitting out there.”
Cecil did make an appearance Thursday, pitching a scoreless eighth inning.
Twenty- four hours earlier, Gibbons defied convention by bringing in Cecil, his appointed closer, in the eighth inning. On Thursday, he seemed to suggest that, for the short term at least, he will let game situations dictate when he summons the man he considers his best option.