Buehrle misfires as series streak ends
Lots of walks on both sides, but only Rays take advantage
S T. PeT eR SBu RG, FLA. • Over a long career, Mark Buehrle built his reputation on throwing softly with pinpoint control. In his short time in the majors, Matt Moore has baffled batters with heat but occasionally loses command of the strike zone.
In their showdown at Tropicana Field, Buehrle faltered because he could not do what he is known for. Moore prospered because the Toronto Blue Jays could not take advantage of his generosity.
As a result, another streak is over for the Blue Jays. Before losing 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays, they had won three consecutive series. Now they need a win in Wednesday’s matinee to avoid a sweep.
Their first batter in the series finale will be a welcome sight for the Jays and their fans. Shortstop Jose Reyes, who arrived at the stadium in time to join his teammates on the bench, will be activated for Wednesday’s game after nearly 11 weeks on the disabled list.
Buehrle walked a season-high four batters, threw a wild pitch and hit a batter during his five-inning session. The Rays scored three runs in the fourth after Buehrle walked the first batter and hit the next.
Moore, meanwhile, walked six for the third time this season. But the 24-year-old left-hander also struck out 11, blending a low-to-mid-90s fastball with a wicked slider in the 78-82 range. All of his punch-outs came on swinging strikes.
Tampa Bay ended the Jays’ 11-game winning streak Monday night, then stopped their three-series skein on Tuesday. And in the seventh inning, former Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar led off with a single off Brett Cecil, who had faced 40 consecutive batters without allowing a hit, a club record.
Cecil gave up two hits and a run in that inning, marking the first time an opponent had scored on him since May 10, a stretch of 16 outings.
Over his six previous starts, Buehrle had a 2.13 ERA. He had not walked more than three batters in a start all season.
Moore walked batters in four of his six innings. Two came in the second, when the Jays scored on a two-out RBI single by Maicer Izturis. Two more free passes, plus a single, came in the third, but Toronto left the bases loaded after Moore mixed in three strikeouts, including a pair to end the inning.
The loss continued a long, unhappy tradition for Toronto at the Trop. Since 2008, the Jays’ road record against the Rays is 14-43.
Of course, 2008 was also the first time in their history that the Rays placed first after finishing last in each of their first 10 years. As Jays’ manager John Gibbons observed, since the Rays have been good, they have been very good indeed at home against Toronto.
“It’s like they have some magic down here,” Gibbons said. “Good things seem to happen for them – lategame heroics, with the homer and walkoff wins, they’ve been doing that for years. But they play a good style of baseball. They don’t make many mistakes, and they pitch and they catch it.”