Lawrie mad dash irks Farrell
Attempt to steal home with Bautista at plate ‘not the best decision’
Even if Brett Lawrie had been successful on his attempt to steal home Saturday, he would have heard from manager John Farrell about the timing of his daring basepath dash.
The hustling Lawrie went for one of the game’s most exciting plays early in the Jays’ 6-4 loss to Baltimore at Rogers Centre, and received the equivalent of a baseball spanking when he was easily tagged out at home plate.
The problem for Lawrie, Farrell and the rest of the Jays was that it happened with the bases loaded, two out — and slugger Jose Bautista at the dish.
The Jays were looking for a big strike. Instead, Lawrie was dusted off at the plate, ending the second inning and taking the bat out of the hands of baseball’s two-time defending home run king.
“I told (Farrell) straight up, I thought I had a good read (on Orioles starter Jason Hammel),” Lawrie said after the game. “It’s just that Jose was up with the bases loaded, and now I’ve got to learn from that.”
Farrell, whose bullpen is now responsible for all four of the club’s losses this season, talked to Lawrie in the dugout just after the third baseman arrived empty-handed following his dash for the plate.
Farrell wanted an explanation from his young third baseman. While Lawrie’s aggressive approach is part of his success, there’s a time and a place.
“Probably not the best decision at that time of the game, especially with (Bautista) at the plate,” Farrell said.
“(Lawrie) said he felt like it was a timing thing and he had a read (on Hammel) . . . but it shut down a potential big inning. He has the green light on the basepaths, but his awareness of the situation has to be more keen.”
Ultimately, though, the Jays lost because of homers surrendered by their bullpen. That ruined a gutsy seven-inning outing from starter Henderson Alvarez, who battled with runners in scoring position in six of those innings, yet left with a 3-2 lead. Casey Janssen gave up a two-out homer to Wilson Betemit in the eighth to knot the game at 4-4, and Nolan Reimold stroked a two-run shot off Francisco Cordero in the ninth for the winning margin. It was the second consecutive day that the Jays pen failed to preserve a lead. Toronto entered the game 23-5 at home against Baltimore dating back to 2009, and now needs Kyle Drabek to deliver another solid outing Sunday to avoid a sweep. For the Jays, the last two days delivered a sobering message to a team that left spring training flush with confidence after breaking the club record for wins. That message is that the regular season is different, and they’re fac- ing regular lineups and front-line pitching. That need for perspective is one of the reasons why the Detroit Tigers, for one, have a motto in their clubhouse: “The world turns over every 24 hours for those who are on top of it.” The offence has produced with runners in scoring position, but has struggled overall. Kelly Johnson (who hit his second homer in as many days), Edwin Encarnacion and Colby Rasmus are producing while Bautista and others are struggling for consistency. Farrell acknowledged t his club has to be sharper mentally. “A cutter didn’t have finish to Betemit. A slider from Coco (Francisco) stayed in the middle of the plate, and Reimold is a good breaking ball hitter,” Farrell said. “That (Baltimore) lineup has power top to bottom . . . no doubt the ball has been carrying well here, but that’s not taking anything away from their power.”
The Jays sent left-hander Aaron Laffey to Triple-a Las Vegas to get some starts and build up his arm strength. The club will need a fifth starter on April 21 in Kansas City, and Laffey is a candidate for that opening.
Left-hander Evan Crawford will stay in the bullpen.
Closer Sergio Santos returned during the game Saturday after spending the last two days in California for the birth of his son, Troy.