Johnson solid in Jays’ loss
Pitcher shows his best stuff so far; Lawrie makes impact in return
TORONTO This is the pattern management and fans foresaw back in December, when experts jumped to the conclusion that the Toronto Blue Jays suddenly owned the best rotation money could buy.
The first four horses would work into the late innings, night after night, yielding minimal runs. Their performance would buffer the Blue Jays against a slump by the offence, whose long-ball power would suffice to keep the wins coming.
The season certainly did not begin that way.
But since leaving the cold, rainswept environs of Detroit last week, the starters have begun to roll, averaging six innings and 2.2 runs allowed over five games.
Those numbers include the contribution of Josh Johnson, who became the first starter to finish the seventh inning in the Jays’ 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
It was the Jays’ best start of the season, too, a two-run, four-hit, eight-strikeout effort in which Johnson blurred the memory of his disaster in Detroit.
It went for naught, however, because the offence continued a pattern of its own — 12 runs in the past four games — and the White Sox scored twice in the top of the ninth to prevent the Jays from reaching .500 for the first time this season.
Johnson’s slider, which abandoned him in his first two starts, was slicing down — and often into the dirt — all night.
“Whenever you can throw it in the (strike) zone and then end up out of the zone, you know it’s working pretty well,” he said.
Against the Tigers last week, with a chilly rain blowing in his face, Johnson lasted a mere 1 1/3 innings, allowing six runs. It was the shortest start of his career.
For those who care about a pitcher’s win total, an assembly that undoubtedly includes Johnson, he certainly pitched well enough to earn a victory against Chicago. But as he clung to a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning, Paul Konerko led off with a homer. Johnson finished the inning, but was done after 109 pitches.
“I knew he was swinging,” Johnson said of the 3-0 fastball he fed Konerko. “It kind of ran back over the middle of the plate.
The Jays, who welcomed Brett Lawrie back to the lineup, did not do much off White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod.
Entering the seventh, however, they seemed to have done just enough, via solo homers by Colby Rasmus and J.P. Arencibia.
“We’re still waiting for our offence to break out,” manager John Gibbons said.
Lawrie was hitless, although he drove two balls hard, especially a laser that acrobatic shortstop Alexei Ramirez barely snagged. On defence, Lawrie made several splendid plays at third base, a much-needed boost after the uneven performances of Maicer Izturis and Mark DeRosa at that position.
The 23-year-old dynamo from Langley, B.C., returned after a rib cage injury kept him in exile for seven weeks. He spent the time at the team’s minor league complex in Dunedin, Fla., itching all the while to get back to Toronto, eventually playing a few games in extended spring training before playing two — at second base — in the Class-A Florida State League.
Despite speculation that he might occasionally play second base for the Jays, Gibbons seemed to squelch that idea.
“No, not right now. No, I wouldn’t look for that,” Gibbons said.
His handlers wanted to check out Lawrie playing second, as he did for two years in the minors, after shortstop Jose Reyes went down with a severe ankle sprain that led to a shuffle of defensive personnel. He played well there in two games.
“I loved it,” Lawrie said. “It was a breath of fresh air.”
As is common with injured players, the separation from his workmates was as tough to handle as the rehabilitation process. Asked what he missed most, he said: “Just being with my teammates. Just coming to the field every day and getting into that family routine that we always have.”
Gibbons was among those delighted at his return.
“We expect him to be a great player here for a lot of years and we’ve missed him,” Gibbons said. “He brings that shot of energy to a team. Everybody likes him. He’s a ball of fire.”
In his first full season last year, Lawrie hit .273 with a .324 onbase percentage, 26 doubles and 11 homers.
“I just want to help the boys out and put a smile on everyone’s face and make everyone else better,” Lawrie said. “That’s what I’m out here to do.”