Jays’ Copeland delivers an eye-opener
In first major-league start, 27-year-old righty foils Marlins as Toronto’s streak reaches eight
TORONTO — The cheering had barely subsided following the Toronto Blue Jays’ 7-2 victory over the Miami Marlins Wednesday, their eighth consecutive win, when the man who pitched such a masterful seven innings to help achieve it, was sent packing back to the minor leagues.
Such is the life of a pitcher on the bubble. Scott Copeland, at 27, and in his sixth professional season, finally got a chance to start a major-league game and he pitched a gem, allowing just six hits and one run while not walking anyone.
Despite his quick exodus, Copeland left a very good impression on his bosses.
“He was unbelievable,” manager John Gibbons said. “I don’t know how you can do it any better than that. The organization has always liked him. I don’t know how many ground balls he had today but that’s kind of who he is. I think he led all of minor-league baseball in ground balls last year. He’s got late life in the zone.”
Toronto twice hit back-to-back home runs, first in a three-run fourth inning, and again in a two-run seventh as the Blue Jays completed their second consecutive three-game series sweep to drag their season record over the .500 level (31-30) for the first time since May 9 when they were 16-15.
In the fourth inning, Justin Smoak, with a two-run shot and Russell Martin, with a solo blast, gave the Jays a 5-0 lead. With two out in the seventh, Jose Reyes and Josh Donaldson each hit a solo home run to put the Jays up by six runs.
Copeland was unflappable, throwing about 70 per cent strikes and recording a dozen ground-ball outs. In only one inning (the fifth, when Miami scored its lone run against him) did Copeland allow more than one baserunner. He did not allow a walk and struck out four.
Originally drafted by Baltimore in 2010, Copeland has been in the Blue Jays farm system since they signed him as a free agent in July of 2012. At Buffalo this year, he was pitching to a 1.97 ERA over seven starts.
In the moments after the win, Copeland was hoping that he might get to stick around but that was never in the cards. He had been summoned to step into Aaron Sanchez’s spot in the rotation so Sanchez could get a breather to put the brakes on his innings buildup, which might become a concern later in the season.
“Hopefully, the manager’s and coaches’ eyes are open now,” Copeland said. “It builds confidence. A confident player is a successful player. That’s what I try to do.”
This performance all but guarantees him another shot when the Jays need another starter down the road.
“Sinker ballers like that really stand out,” Gibbons said. “You get that late life in the zone and it makes a big difference. This is his first start for us and he definitely opened up a lot of peoples’ eyes.
“Everybody thought he was good but to actually go out and do it, that’s only going to help him out in the future.”