The Blue Jays scored three runs in the top of the first on four hits and some sloppy Marlins defense, and Blue Jays starter, Andy Sheen, almost made them stand up. Andy used a mixed bag of off-speed pitches to keep the Marlins line-up off balance. The Fish could only manage one run and four hits through five complete innings.
Marlins starter, Jim Ansel survived the shaky first inning and established command in innings 2 through 6. In those five innings, all the Blue Jays could manage was three hits and 1 walk while Jim stuck out four.
This brought us to the bottom of the sixth, with the Blue Jays clinging to a 3-1 lead. Andy Sheen retired the first two Marlin batters before lightning struck. Mike Girard started the rally with a double to the right center field fence. Ron Lochner lined a single moving Girard to third. Lochner stole second, on the next pitch, to put the tying run at second with two outs. Darnell Baker, making his first appearance in a Marlins uniform, smacked a solid single scoring Girard and Lochner, to tie the game. Andy Sheen got the final out in the inning on his fourth strike out of the game.
The seventh inning saw little drama as the Blue Jays and Marlins were unable to get a runner in scoring position. With the daylight quickly fading, all involved agreed to try one more inning. Darnell Baker who had relieved Jim Ansel in the seventh, held the Blue Jays scoreless in the top of the eighth as well. He walked lead-off hitter Ralph Caputo, but quickly picked him off. He walked the next hitter, who was then thrown out by Paul Miles while trying to steal second. Baker got the last Blue Jay on strikes to set the stage for the dramatic finish.
Sheen started the eighth by getting a ground out for out number one. Paul Miles singled sharply to right and got into scoring position by stealing second. Mike Lacoture was then walked to put runners at first and second. Sheen then got Randy Craft on a soft liner to first base. With two out and two on, Sheen called catcher Donnie Ball to mound to talk strategy. They decided to intentionally walk Girard to get to Ron Lochner. It only took one pitch to see the outcome of this strategy, as Ron sat on a first pitch curve and got what he was looking for. He blasted a long fly that carommed off of the left center field wall for the walk-off winner!!! Great game by both teams!
The hard luck Jays were great sports after the game, as always, congratulating the Marlins on the hard fought victory. We always look forward to a great game with the classy Jays and were not disappointed on this beautiful night for a game.
I have caught games where the Marlins line-up was like a marry-go-round of hitters, baserunners and runs scored. Every batter is dangerous and most innings lasted a while. So to catch for Andy on Friday gave a good perspective on how well he "kept the Marlins off balance. He used a mix of pitches and great control to frustrate a very strong line-up. A few pop-ups in the infield, a few lazy fly balls and a few tossed bats were testimonies to his pitching and the Jays defense. Four runs over eight innings against the Marlins is a really good night.
Two pitches I wish I hadn't called, the curve ball to Darnell and the curve ball to Ron Lochner, both ended up in the left field gap. Again, Marlins throughout the batting order capitalizing on my misstakes. Great game of baseball; glad I got to play. Next time maybe we'll pitch to Mike Girard!
