OPENING SERIES- April 2nd-5th- Toronto Blue Jays (0-0) @ Detroit Tigers (0-0)

[ofhdhdy]

VS.

The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: Homepage
The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: Homepage

Jays Preview: The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News
Tigers Preview: The Official Site of The Detroit Tigers: News: Detroit Tigers News

AL EAST Preview: The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News
AL CENTRAL Preview: The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News


Projected Starters:
GAME 1
Jays- Roy Halladay Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (95-48) 3.62 ERA
Tigers- Jeremy Bonderman Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (45-53) 4.72 ERA

GAME 2
Jays- AJ Burnett Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (59-58) 3.77 ERA
Tigers- Justin Verlander Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (17-11) 3.83 ERA

GAME 3
Jays- Gustavo Chacin Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (23-14) 4.05 ERA
Tigers- Nate Robertson(?) Season: (0-0) 0.00 ERA Career: (33-42) 4.56 ERA

Probable Line-ups
DETROIT TIGERS
1. CF Curtis Granderson
2. 2B Placido Polanco
3. DH Gary Sheffield
4. SS Carlos Guillen
5. RF Magglio Ordonez
6. C Ivan Rodriguez
7. 1B Sean Casey
8. LF Craig Monroe
9. 3B Brandon Inge

TORONTO BLUE JAYS
1. LF Reed Johnson
2. 1B Lyle Overbay
3. CF Vernon Wells
4. DH Frank Thomas
5. 3B Troy Glaus
6. RF Alex Rios
7. C Gregg Zaun
8. 2B Aaron Hill
9. SS Royce Clayton

Players to watch
Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells, who hit .396 in April last season, owns a .417 lifetime average against Bonderman.
Ivan Rodriguez is 10-for-18 with two home runs and five RBIs lifetime off Halladay.

Opening day stats
Detroit Tigers- 57-48-1
Toronto Blue Jays- 22-8

-This is the 5th opening day game between these 2 teams. Detroit leads 3-1.
- Roy Halladay is making a team record 5th start in season openers.

Tiger score related splits:
Shutouts- 8-5
1 run games- 18-13
Blowouts- 9-7

Jays score related splits
Shutouts- 2-1
1 run games- 5-3
Blowouts- 7-3

Interesting Facts
-Toronto has a 172-144 all time record against the Detroit Tigers.
-On April 9, 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays set a team record for largest attendance during an Opening Day game with 50,533 fans.
- Roy Halladay led the league in winning percentage (.762)
-The jays came in second, 1 game ahead of the Redsox despite having a payroll nearly $50,000,000 less then Boston.
- Roy Halladay is 10-2 with a 1.85 ERA in 12 career games against the Detroit Tigers. Halladay is 4-1 with a 2.19 ERA all-time at Comerica Park.


All of my info has come from the great sites of The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Homepage and Baseball Almanac - The Official Baseball History Site

[ofhdhdy]

I am more pumped for this opening day then any other! IMO, this is the best Jays team since I started following baseball in 2000. I'm excited to see what Thomas, Wells and Glaus can do hitting 3-4-5, that may be the best 3-4-5 hitters for one team in baseball! Im also anxious to see how Okha can perform in the 4th spot and if Towers can rebound and pitch more like he did in 2005 then 2006. I really want to see if Rios can break the 100 RBI barrier with 25+ homers, I think he can pull it off. Despite all this though, the thing I am most excited about, is possibly being in the play-offs! I have never experienced the play-offs with us in it and it would be a wonderful treat for me.

Anyways, for this series, I think we will take 2 out of 3, only losing game 3 by a run or two. I'm predicting another CY Young for Halladay this year so lets hope he starts off the season with a bang! GO JAYS! One thing I am absolutley mad about though is all 3 games are at 11 AM here and I go to school! Looks like I have to wait for Saturday to see my first game.

[JoseA]

This should be a great series.

I think the Jays will get one win, maybe two. Great pitching matchups on both sides, expect big things from A.J. Burnett this season if he stays healthy of course.

[ofhdhdy]

And we won game 1 thanks to a clutch one run single by Glaus in the 10th! I was fortunate enough to be able to follow innings 3-6 on MLB Gameday during lunch at school. It seemed Halladay kind of struggled in the 5th but settled down to have a 1-2-3 6th inning. Janssen, Frasor and Ryan were all excellent in releif!

The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News

DETROIT -- With one swing of the bat, Troy Glaus spoiled Detroit's party. A few hours after the Tigers' faithful roared as the 2006 American League championship banner was raised at Comerica Park, Glaus paved the way for Toronto's first victory of the year.

The Blue Jays' third baseman pulled a changeup from Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney into left field for a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning on Monday. The hit sent Jason Smith jogging across home plate to snap a tie and sent Toronto on its way to a 5-3 Opening-Day win in front of 44,297.

"Everybody wants to be up there in a spot where you get a chance to make a difference," Glaus said. "I was fortunate enough to come up later and have that opportunity, and it was fortunate enough to work out."

Considering that the Blue Jays held a three-run advantage in the first with ace Roy Halladay on the mound, the late-inning heroics were probably the last thing Toronto expected it would need. Detroit excercised extreme patience at the plate against Halladay, though, and the Jays' offense slumbered between the first and final frame.

Halladay's pitch count rose steadily through his outing and peaked at 104 when his outing came to a close after six innings. Along the way, the Tigers knotted the score with one run in the third, and another pair in the fifth -- twice a run came on an RBI sacrifice fly by Detroit designated hitter Gary Sheffield.

"They were taking a lot of pitches," said Halladay, who had four strikeouts and was charged with two earned runs. "Teams like that, where they won't really expand the zone for you, they make it tough. On the first day, to have that patience and to be able to work the count like that says a lot about some of the guys over there."

"We were talking about trying to get a pitch we could really do something with," said Tigers first baseman Sean Casey, summing up Detroit's gameplan versus Halladay. "He has that kind of bowling-ball sinker; [we were] trying to get it up. I thought as a whole we had a good approach today against him."

The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Boxscore

Toronto 5, Detroit 3 DET
Detroit (0-1)
Lost 1
April 2, 2007
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Toronto
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 7 1
Detroit
0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0
Standings thru 4/2/07 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 .000
Overbay, 1B 4 1 2 1 1 0 1 .500
1-Smith, PR 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Phillips, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Wells, CF 4 2 1 1 1 1 2 .250
Thomas, DH 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250
Glaus, 3B 4 0 1 1 1 0 2 .250
Rios, RF 5 0 1 2 0 1 4 .200
Zaun, C 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 .000
Hill, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000
Clayton, SS 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 .500
a-Stairs, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
McDonald, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Totals 36 5 7 5 6 5 17

a-Grounded into a double play for Clayton in the 9th.
1-Ran for Overbay in the 10th.

BATTING
2B: Overbay (1, Bonderman), Rios (1, Bonderman).
TB: Overbay 3; Wells; Thomas; Glaus; Rios 2; Clayton.
RBI: Overbay (1), Wells (1), Rios 2 (2), Glaus (1).
2-out RBI: Rios.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun 4; Wells.
GIDP: Stairs.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (1, 2nd base off Bonderman/Rodriguez, I), Johnson (1, 2nd base off Bonderman/Rodriguez, I).

FIELDING
E: Hill (1, fielding).


Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Granderson, CF 5 1 2 0 0 1 1 .400
Polanco, 2B 5 0 3 1 0 0 1 .600
Sheffield, DH 3 0 0 2 0 1 2 .000
Ordonez, RF 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .250
Guillen, SS-1B 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Rodriguez, I, C 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000
Casey, 1B 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .333
1-Perez, PR-SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Monroe, LF 4 0 0 0 0 4 2 .000
Inge, 3B 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 .000
Totals 36 3 7 3 3 8 14


1-Ran for Casey in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Granderson (1, Halladay).
TB: Granderson 3; Polanco 3; Ordonez; Casey.
RBI: Sheffield 2 (2), Polanco (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ordonez; Guillen 2.
SF: Sheffield 2.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
DP: (Guillen-Casey).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Halladay 6.0 6 3 2 1 4 0 3.00
Janssen 2.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Downs 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Frasor (W, 1-0) 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Ryan (S, 1) 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Bonderman 6.0 5 3 3 2 3 0 4.50
Zumaya 2.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0.00
Jones 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00
Rodney (L, 0-1) 1.0 2 2 2 1 1 0 18.00

Downs pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.

WP: Bonderman.
HBP: Thomas (by Rodney).
Pitches-strikes: Halladay 104-69, Janssen 25-18, Downs 7-3, Frasor 6-5, Ryan 20-13, Bonderman 89-58, Zumaya 34-19, Jones 11-7, Rodney 31-21.
Ground outs-fly outs: Halladay 6-8, Janssen 3-3, Downs 0-0, Frasor 1-0, Ryan 0-1, Bonderman 4-11, Zumaya 3-2, Jones 2-1, Rodney 2-0.
Batters faced: Halladay 26, Janssen 7, Downs 1, Frasor 2, Ryan 5, Bonderman 25, Zumaya 8, Jones 3, Rodney 7.
Inherited runners-scored: Frasor 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Rick Reed. 1B: Chuck Meriwether. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Tim Timmons.
Weather: 62 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 18 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:15.
Att: 44,297.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[ofhdhdy]

Game 2 Preview:


AJ Burnett
0-0 0.00 ERA
59-58 3.77 ERA

VS.


Nate Robertson
0-0 0.00 ERA
33-42 4.56 ERA

MLB.com Preview: The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News

After his final start of Spring Training, A.J. Burnett stood at his locker and couldn't help but laugh a little at his misfortune. Over his eight-year career, Toronto's No. 2 starter has made eight separate trips to the disabled list.

"This is completely different," said Burnett, shaking his head. "What is this, the second or third time I get to break with a team? I'm pretty excited about that, especially with the team that we have here. It feels better to be a part of it."

Actually, this season will mark only the third time in Burnett's career that he's been able to enter the year with a clean bill of health. The same can't be said of last season, when the right-hander -- fresh off signing a five-year deal worth $55 million -- landed on the DL with an elbow injury during Spring Training.

Burnett went on to spend more than two months on the DL in two separate stints on the sidelines. Still, he managed to win 10 games and was especially strong in September, when he went 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA.

Over the offseason, Burnett altered his routine. In the past, the pitcher would throw a handful of time off a mound over the winter, but he didn't take that step until after he reported to Spring Training this time around. Then, Burnett began working more on his changeup and gradually working in his curveball as spring progressed.

Burnett's approach helped him cruise through a healthy spring and now he's in a position to be the starter Toronto hoped it had signed in December 2005. Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay and Burnett have the potential to be one of baseball's best one-two punches.

[85Jays]

Well, hopefully AJ can get the job done today so we can take the series. I've never been terribly high on Chacin and I don't like our chances with him against the Tiger lineup. In fact, I'll go as far as to predict that in the coming weeks, we may be screaming for Zambrano to replace Chacin in the rotation, not Towers.

[anne25]

If the Jays want to win the series it looks like Chacin had better get the win tomorrow.

Top of the 4th 8-0 Detroit

[85Jays]

Maybe Zambrano can replace Burnett in the rotation.

[ofhdhdy]

Holy crap what a game!!!! I feel very pissed at Burnett right now but can't help but feel happy that we lost by only a run after being down by 9! I thought we had at least a tie after are half of the ninth when we had two men on with 1 out but unfortunately Smith and Johnson could not pull through when we needed them. Lets hope for a win tomorrow to clinch the series!

The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News

DETROIT -- The Blue Jays nearly overcame a poor outing by starter A.J. Burnett and a nine-run deficit, but they fell just short in a 10-9 loss to the Tigers on Wednesday at Comerica Park.

Toronto scored seven runs in the eighth inning -- led by a three-run triple by pinch-hitter Jason Smith and a two-run double by center fielder Vernon Wells that cut Detroit's lead to one run. In the sixth, second baseman Aaron Hill began the rally with a two-run homer off Detroit starter Nate Robertson.

The comeback wasn't enough to erase the damage done by the Tigers against Burnett (0-1), though. The right-hander yielded six runs on five hits in two-plus innings. All of the runs Burnett allowed came in the third, when he wasn't able to retire an out and Detroit (1-1) scored eight run

Box: The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Boxscore

Detroit 10, Toronto 9 DET
Detroit (1-1)
Won 1
April 4, 2007
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Toronto
0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 0 9 16 0
Detroit
0 0 8 1 0 0 1 0 X 10 13 0
Standings thru 4/4/07 | Wrap | Gameday

Toronto AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Johnson, LF 6 1 2 1 0 1 2 .200
Overbay, 1B 4 1 2 0 1 1 0 .500
Wells, CF 5 0 2 2 0 0 3 .333
Thomas, DH 5 2 2 0 0 0 2 .333
Glaus, 3B 4 1 2 0 1 1 1 .375
Rios, RF 5 1 2 0 0 0 3 .300
Hill, 2B 5 1 2 2 0 1 5 .250
Zaun, C 3 1 1 1 2 0 1 .125
1-McDonald, PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Clayton, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200
a-Smith, PH-SS 2 1 1 3 0 0 2 .500
Totals 42 9 16 9 4 5 20

a-Tripled for Clayton in the 8th.
1-Ran for Zaun in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Overbay (2, Rodney), Wells (1, Rodney).
3B: Smith (1, Grilli).
HR: Hill (1, 6th inning off Robertson, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Johnson 2; Overbay 3; Wells 3; Thomas 2; Glaus 2; Rios 2; Hill 5; Zaun; Smith 3.
RBI: Hill 2 (2), Zaun (1), Smith 3 (3), Johnson (1), Wells 2 (3).
2-out RBI: Hill 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Zaun; Wells; Glaus; Johnson.
GIDP: Rios.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Wells (2, 3rd base off Rodney/Rodriguez, I).


Detroit AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Granderson, CF 5 2 2 5 1 2 2 .400
Polanco, 2B 5 1 3 1 0 1 1 .600
Sheffield, DH 4 1 1 0 1 1 3 .143
Ordonez, RF 2 2 1 0 3 0 1 .333
Guillen, SS 5 1 2 2 0 0 4 .200
Rodriguez, I, C 5 1 4 0 0 0 0 .444
Casey, 1B 3 0 0 0 2 0 7 .167
Monroe, LF 4 1 0 2 1 1 6 .000
Inge, 3B 4 1 0 0 1 3 8 .000
Totals 37 10 13 10 9 8 32

BATTING
3B: Granderson (1, Zambrano).
HR: Granderson (1, 3rd inning off Marcum, 3 on, 2 out).
TB: Granderson 7; Polanco 3; Sheffield; Ordonez; Guillen 2; Rodriguez, I 4.
RBI: Polanco (2), Guillen 2 (2), Monroe 2 (2), Granderson 5 (5).
2-out RBI: Granderson 4.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Guillen 2; Inge; Granderson.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: Granderson (1, 2nd base off Burnett/Zaun), Polanco (1, 2nd base off Burnett/Zaun).

FIELDING
DP: (Guillen-Polanco-Casey).


Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Burnett (L, 0-1) 2.0 5 6 6 4 2 0 27.00
Marcum 2.0 4 3 3 2 3 1 13.50
Accardo 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00
Zambrano 1.0 2 1 1 3 0 0 9.00
Frasor 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Robertson (W, 1-0) 5.2 7 2 2 2 4 1 3.18
Grilli 1.2 5 5 5 1 1 0 27.00
Rodney 0.2 3 2 2 0 0 0 21.60
Jones (S, 1) 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00

Burnett pitched to 6 batters in the 3rd.
Zambrano pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

WP: Robertson.
Pitches-strikes: Burnett 55-26, Marcum 43-28, Accardo 30-20, Zambrano 31-16, Frasor 15-9, Robertson 104-57, Grilli 40-22, Rodney 22-11, Jones 19-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Burnett 1-3, Marcum 1-2, Accardo 3-1, Zambrano 1-2, Frasor 0-2, Robertson 11-2, Grilli 2-2, Rodney 0-2, Jones 0-3.
Batters faced: Burnett 15, Marcum 12, Accardo 8, Zambrano 8, Frasor 3, Robertson 25, Grilli 11, Rodney 5, Jones 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Marcum 3-3, Frasor 2-0, Rodney 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Chuck Meriwether. 1B: Alfonso Marquez. 2B: Tim Timmons. 3B: Rick Reed.
Weather: 43 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 28 mph, Out to LF.
T: 3:32.
Att: 24,881.

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

[ofhdhdy]

Game 3 canceled due to bad weather: The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays: News: Toronto Blue Jays News

DETROIT -- Rarely are baseball games postponed when there isn't so much as a raindrop. But Thursday's 1:05 p.m. ET scheduled game between Detroit and Toronto at Comerica Park was postponed by 10:15 a.m. ET due to chilly 27-degree temperatures and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

Those wind gusts created a wind chill of 14 degrees, and the game was called due to "inclement weather," though there were only moderate snow flurries that fell leading up to the scheduled game-time. The forecast in Detroit didn't look much better the rest of the day, with a high temperature of 36 degrees and wind gusts of 40 mph.

"It was a smart decision, players are at risk," manager Jim Leyland said. "I think also you think of the fans when you call a game like this. No one wants to come out in this."

The game will now be played on Sep. 10 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Comerica Park. The Tigers were scheduled to face the Blue Jays for the last time this season in a four-game series on April 12-15 at Rogers Centre.

Off to Tampa bay we go!!