Marcum helps Jays thwart the A’s, but loses no-hitter chance
Shaun Marcum put the Toronto Blue Jays on top on Tuesday after he pitched a no hitter till the 7th innings. The Oakland Athletics were shut out till the latter hours of the match, after which, Conor Jackson homered off Marcum’s pitch to end his bid. That would prove to be the only hit for the A’s, before they crashed out of the game with a score of 1- 3.
The Oakland Athletics went into the match with a 3 game losing streak. The need for a win was paramount for boosting morale, but the degree to which the effort was put in by the team was short of inspiring or satisfactory to the fans. The ball club brought in Brett Anderson for pitching duties. However, the difference in form did not come as the pitcher was hit 7 times, of which 3 were runs. He only managed to strike out 2 players while walking 1 to the base. The blame for the loss cannot be assorted to the ball thrower because the hitters were unable to connect in their turn. If there was any consolation from the game, it was the containment of runs. The players were able to maintain a short deficit and keep the match within a winning berth.
The Blue Jays, on the other hand, were able to win their game off some effective and technical pitching. The ball club’s ace pitcher, Shaun Marcum, went into the match with a statistical bearing of 10 wins and 6 losses.
Compared to Anderson, Marcum brought in 4 years of experience, along with a superior season ranking, in terms of pitching. The expert pitcher was able to quiet his opponents down as his no hitter bid went into the bottom 7th. He struck out 5 players and allowed one hit, which was a home run. By pitching 103 times, the player was able to complete his first full game in pitching. The display was a stellar account of a man who missed most of his last season, recovering from a Tommy John surgery. To recap, the ace man shared his views on his performance:
"There are no what-ifs. I'm one of those guys, I don't have no-hit stuff. It's just a combination of me going out there keeping the ball down and going from there."
The match started with the Jays on the batting line in the top 1st; good pitching from Marcum and Anderson kept the hitters on both sides, quiet. That changed when the versatile hitter Jose Bautista came in to bat for the Blue Birds in the top 4th. Topping the league with 36 home runs, the maestro batsman struck his 37th of the season when he banged a 334 feet homer to the left to bring up the first run of the match. Adding one to Toronto’s pile, the side was now looking at a win given their run advantage.
The Athletics were once again put on the back foot when the blue birds struck again for another home run. This time Edwin Encarnacion entered the lime light as he smashed a 377 feet home run, down the left side. This subsequently put him and Lyle Overbay on the score sheet, driving the Toronto side to a better position for a win with 3 runs on the board in the top 5th. The Oakland Athletics were not able to respond till the bottom 7th when they scored their first of the match. The run came off Conor Jackson’s 386 feet homer to the left centre, bringing up a fight back initiative by the A’s squad members.
However, that counter attack never came as no additional runs came forth for the Athletics. As the match progressed further, Shaun Marcum made short work of the remaining batsmen and frustrated the A’s offense contingent. Unable to score off the veteran pitcher, the A’s crashed out of the match, losing to the Jays with a final score line of 3 Toronto – 1 Oakland.
Thus, ending the match with a positive note, the Blue Jays are looking for one of their best endings in the league as they will try to beat the Oakland Athletics in the series, following a tough campaign by many other teams in the Eastern Division of the American League to usurp one another for the top spot.
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