For the second week in a row, the Blue Jays pulled out a 1-run win, this week with a 6-5 victory at New Scotland over the Golden Marlins.

The Marlins took a 3-0 lead in the first. Jays made it 3-2 in the third, then took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth, only to have the Marlins tie it at 4-4 in the bottom of the frame. Jays left the sixth with a 6-5 advantage, which held through the seventh. It was a good close game throughout.

For the Jays, Tucker started on the hill and gave up a lot of hits, but the Jays defense made plays to limit the damage. The Jays put runners on base in every inning, against four different Marlins pitchers, but could never pull away. With a thin one-run lead, Chris Abrams pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to notch the save for the Blue Jays.

The win puts the Blue Jays alone in fifth place, for the moment, but a season-ending showdown with the Braves next Sunday at Noon at New Scotland will have a big impact on the final standings. As I see it, four teams have clinched first round playoff byes (Giants, Cubs, Bombers, Brewers), while four more teams vie for the final two byes (Blue Jays, Braves, Marlins, Royals). Many of these, and the other six teams (Black Sox, Shaskys, Warriors, Yankees, Cyclones, Cougars), still battle for playoff positioning.

Today's results:
Yankees over Shaskys
Cubs over Black Sox
Royals over Braves
Blue Jays over Marlins
Brewers over Warriors
Cyclones over Cougars
Bombers over Giants

Good luck to all next week,
Curt Tucker
45 Blue Jays