Thursday, May 23, 2019 | 12:37 pm
Rogers Centre | Toronto, ON
Ryan Weber (0-0, 1.13, 1.13) vs. Clayton Richard (first appearance of the season)
PREAMBLE:
Well, damn. A very winnable game got away from the Blue Jays last night as they went down in 13 innings. In today's finale, the Blue Jays look to come up with a series split against the Red Sox.
In what looks to be a battle of bullpens for today's matinee, Clayton Richard will come off the DL and take the ball for the Jays. How long he can go remains to be seen - Charlie Montoyo suggested that he might go 50 or 60 pitches. The Red Sox counter with Ryan Weber as their opener who, similarly, isn't expected to go beyond three or four innings at the most.
NOTES:
Jimmy Cordero has been optioned to make room for Richard.
Apparently Alex Cora has been doing some whining about Marcus Stroman doing some quick-pitching. Take a look and decide if Stroman is doing anything wrong here after Chavis took 17.5 hours to get settled into the batter's box:
Yeah...shut the fuck up, Cora.Marcus Stroman, Quick Pitch (after Chavis calls time, to try to mess with Stroman's rhythm). pic.twitter.com/mTipRxogSA— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 22, 2019
BLUE JAYS HISTORY:
Trivia: Randy Moffitt pitched for the Blue Jays in 1983. What is his claim to fame?
Our one-time Blue Jay of the Day is ... Roy Howell!
Years as a Jay: 1977 to 1980
Stats as a Jay: .272/.335/.407 with 43 HR and 234 RBI in 516 games played, mainly at third base
- First round pick, 4th overall by the Texas Rangers in 1972 and played with them from 1974 to 1977
- Traded to the Jays in May 1977 and made a quick impression with a batting line of .316/.386/.451 with 10 HR and 44 RBI in 96 games
- On September 10, 1977, Howell hit 2 HR, 2 doubles and a single, driving in 9 runs. The 9 RBI is still a team record, since tied by Edwin Encarnacion in 2015
- Made the 1978 All-Star team as the Blue Jays' representative
- Played for the Brewers for four seasons after leaving the Jays following the 1980 season
- Managed the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle farm team) in 2014
- Most recently served as hitting coach for the Arkansas Travelers last season
LINEUPS:
This is your "go away, Red Sox" game threat.