Blue Jays notebook: Mound trio rare Mex
CLEARWATER, FLA.— The Blue Jays lost for the seventh time in 10 decisions, 4-2 to the Phillies at Spectrum Field on Sunday. Left-hander Craig Breslow was the loser, allowing two runs in the seventh and recording just one out. Jason Leblebijian continued his impressive performance as a super utilityman with two hits and an RBI, raising his average to .316. Shortstop Lourdes Gurriel tripled and scored in the eighth. MEXICAN TRIO: In a majorleague rarity, the Blue Jays sent out three Mexican-born pitchers in a row: right-hander Marco Estrada, followed by left-hander Jaime Garcia and righty Roberto Osuna.
Estrada threw three shutout innings, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts. It was his second appearance of the spring and he said he felt like he could easily have gone another inning if asked.
“I was very happy with the way I located the fastball today, and I thought the changeups were coming out of the same plane,” Estrada said. “I had a few in the bullpen where I got long again. Pete told me, I corrected it right away, took it out to the game and had a couple of swings and misses off the changeup, so I’m excited.”
For the recently signed Garcia, it was his first appearance. He worked one inning, allowing two runs, but did what he needed.
“I wanted to get the first one out of the way, especially coming out of the bullpen,” Garcia said. “Just get a feel of the mound and get the feel facing live hitters. But overall I feel good. I feel really good where I’m at. We’re kind of taking our time, but I’ll be ready to go for my first start in five days or whenever that time is.”
Osuna worked a scoreless frame for the second time. RUSSELL’S MUSCLES: Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin has been swinging the bat very well in limited duty since mid-February, with two home runs in just nine at-bats and an OPS of 1.253.
“I’m feeling good. I’m not feeling 100-per-cent good,” Martin said. “But it’s a timing thing, and I do feel like I’m finding timing maybe more often than I typically would.”
Martin insisted that substituting this year’s little bit of muscle for last year’s lean flexibility has helped his hitting: “Last year I was super-athletic, but when you have a little bit more weight it just seems to transfer in baseball. I definitely feel stronger. I’m a little bit bigger, maybe a little bit stronger, but just having a little bit more weight behind my actions is going to help out.”