Jackson plays for record 14th team, Blue Jays lose to Giants
SAN FRANCISCO >> Edwin Jackson thinks his new place in baseball history has as much to do with his reputation as it does his repertoire.
Nearly 16 years after Jackson made his big league debut, both are still holding up.
Jackson became the first player in major league history to play for 14 teams when he made his Toronto Blue Jays debut and pitched five innings without a decision in a 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
“It says I have a lot of perseverance,” Jackson said. “I’m not one to give in. I feel like out of those 14 teams, some of those teams have had situations that would probably make people want to go home and quit and cry. For me, the tougher it gets the harder I work and the harder I come to prove myself that I can come get outs in the major leagues.”
The 35-year-old righthander allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits in five innings. He struck out two, walked one, hit a batter and left after 77 pitches with the score 3-3.
Toronto acquired Jackson from Oakland on Saturday for $30,000. He began his tenure with his new team by throwing an 88 mph cutter that Joe Panik took for a called strike.
“We were thinking about 80 to 90 and he gave us 77,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said. “He kept us in the game. He did a great job. He’s going to give you all he’s got every time he takes the mound, like he did today.”
Jackson had been tied with Octavio Dotel for most teams. Jackson agreed last month to a minor league contract with the A’s and was 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in three minor league starts.
In addition to the Blue Jays and Athletics, Jackson has played for the Dodgers, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Arizona, the White Sox, St. Louis, Washington, the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, Miami, San Diego and Baltimore. He won a World Series title with the Cardinals in 2011. YANKEES 5-3, ORIOLES 3-1 >> Gleyber Torres hit three home runs during a doubleheader sweep, including a solo shot in the nightcap, and Domingo German became the majors’ first eightgame winner as New York topped Baltimore twice.
Torres hit two of New York’s four homers during a
5-3 win in the first game. The
2018 All-Star has eight homers this season, and six have come against the Orioles. RAYS 1, MARLINS 0 >>Seven pitchers combined on a seven-hitter for Tampa Bay, and the Rays shut out Miami for the second straight game.
TWINS 8, ANGELS 7 >>Reliever Mike Morin hit former teammate Mike Trout with a bases-loaded pitch that forced in a run in the ninth inning before retiring Shohei Ohtani to end the game on a groundout and preserve Minnesota’s win over Los Angeles.
ASTROS 5, TIGERS 1 >> Justin Verlander allowed two hits in seven impressive innings against his former team, and Houston beat Detroit for its eighth straight win.
Verlander (7-1) struck out nine in his second start at Comerica Park since his 2017 trade from Detroit to Houston. JaCoby Jones homered off him in the third for the Tigers’ only run. NATIONALS 5, METS 1 >> Patrick Corbin struck out 11 in eight strong innings and Victor Robles homered in Washington’s win over New York.
Anthony Rendon had three hits for Washington (1725), which had lost seven of
10. He had two doubles and a single, scored twice and drove in a run. DIAMONDBACKS 11, PIRATES 1 >> Zack Greinke pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning before exiting with abdominal tightness and Arizona routed Chris Archer and Pittsburgh.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Greinke would get an MRI on Friday. REDS 6, CUBS 5 >> Eugenio Suarez hit a tying two-run homer in the eighth inning, and slumping Yasiel Puig singled with the bases loaded in the 10th, rallying Cincinnati to a victory over Chicago. BRAVES 4, CARDINALS 0 >> Austin Riley made quite a splash in his big league debut, homering off Michael Wacha to lead Atlanta to a victory over St. Louis.
Mike Soroka turned in another strong start with threehit ball over seven scoreless innings, but this night belonged to the 22-year-old Riley.
Riley launched a high fastball deep into the left-field seats, a 438-foot drive that gave the Braves a 2-0 lead and sent his parents and a group of about 40 family and friends — many of whom hastily made the drive from his native Mississippi — into a delirious celebration at SunTrust Park.