Toronto Blue Jays beaten by the Cleveland Indians 0-1 at Rogers Centre – MLB Update
Toronto Blue Jays were defeated by the Cleveland Indians 0-1 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario on Friday, July 13 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Indians, who are second placed on the American League Central Division standings, were hoping to make a positive start to second half of the season.
Starting pitcher Justin Masterson and relief pitcher Chris Perez returned from the All Star Break refreshed to help Cleveland start from where they left off.
Masterson looked determined to wipe away the bad memories from the first half and he did an excellent job to help his team prevail in a narrow 1-0 win. The right hander pitched seven scoreless innings for his sixth win of the season.
Giving up just five hits with five strike-outs, he also lowered his ERA to 4.14. Blue Jays had two runners on in the seventh but Masterson managed to escape the jam.
"I don't think I thought about baseball at all," he said. "I maybe caught a hair of some of the All-Star festivities but it was just nice to relax, just sit back and kind of do your own thing. I had a nice date night with my wife, ate at a little Italian
restaurant. It was cool."
"It was good that he got back on the horse again and had a good outing against a good hitting ballclub," Manager Manny Acta said.
Perez also showed just what he is capable of. Cleveland’s reliever pitched a perfect ninth inning to hold off the Blue Jays. It will be interesting to see if both pitchers can continue their exceptional work in the upcoming months to lead the Indians to
the playoffs.
Designated hitter Travis Hafner hit his eighth home-run to right in the second inning to play a key role in deciding the outcome of the game.
"It was high and just kept on going," Masterson said of Hafner's booming shot. "That was pretty impressive. He's a big boy."
Toronto’s starter Ricky Romero also had a great time on the mound, tossing up six effective innings. He gave one run on six hits with six strike-outs.
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