If you'll indulge a few more game recaps, I'll keep these brief (sorta).
The 45 Blue Jays wrapped their 2014 regular season with a win and 2 close losses to finish 9-7...a nice improvement from their 5-11 mark in 2013.
On Aug 17, Blue Jays faced the Bombers at New Scotland, with a pitching matchup of Weber for the BJ's and Herrlett for the B's. The Jays went up early and led much of the game. But Bomber hurler Ambridge came in and shut down Blue Jay scoring, while the Bomber lineup got stronger as the game progressed. Jays had no answer for a late Bomber rally, and the A-Division squad won 11-7. The Bombers were the only A-Division team this summer without a loss to a B-Division foe.
A week later, the Blue Jays finished a season series sweep of the Shasky's at Satellite Field. Tesorio for the Shaskys; Garbarino for the Blue Jays. Again, the Jays scored early, with five first inning runs. They stretched the lead to 8-0 with a subsequent home run by Tim Borwick. The Shasky's kept battling, led by a long solo home run by Tim Paul Burns, but the Jays held on for a 9-4 win. It's looking like Blue Jays and Shasky's will meet for at least two more games in the playoffs.
Last night (Tuesday, 8/26), the Royals and Blue Jays finished their regular seasons with a rematch at Satellite Field. Royals had won the earlier game easily, and this game meant nothing for playoff seeding, but this was a tight contest and a fun one to play. No lead was safe...for either team...in a contest influenced by the sun, blinding to the right side early in the game and disappearing by game's end. Atwell on the hill for the Royals; Weber for the Blue Jays. Yet again, the Blue Jays took an early lead with two in the first and stretching it to 5-1 in the third. Royals closed the gap to 5-4, then took a 6-5 lead. Blue Jays tied it at 6. As in the Bomber game, a fifth inning rally put the Royals up 9-6. But this time, Artie's squad had an answer, and with the sun fading quickly, the Jays took a 10-9 lead in the top of the sixth. With barely enough light to play (if even), the Royals half of the sixth was clearly going to be the end. As they had in every inning, they got their leadoff man aboard, and with aggressive running, tied the game. With two out and a man on third, Atwell hit a sharp infield single to the right side for a walkoff win, 11-10. Both of these squads hope to make plenty of noise in the B Division playoffs.
