More on the series with the Athletics

So the first series of the second half didn’t go the way we expected.

If you would have told me, before the series, that one team would hit 7 home runs and one would hit 3, I would have been pretty happy, not even considering that the A’s might be the ones that would be the sluggers.

Some random notes:

Though I get a ton of complaints about the bullpen, in my Twitter feed, they had a pretty good series. They pitched 8.2 innings and only allowed the one run, that one given on challenge after the call was out at the plate.

I guess, I should say pretty good other than Jesse Chavez’ appearance in yesterday’s game. He came in with 2 guys on base, and 2-outs and let both runners score. Chavez had a good appearance (in Friday’s game) and the poor appearance Sunday, which is pretty much what his season has been like.

The other reliever who had a rough time was Brett Cecil. He gave up the winning run, by about an inch (inconclusive is a moving target sometime) in the first game, and then he pitched pretty well in yesterday’s game.

Speaking of relievers....I know I’m likely overly cautious, but I would have pulled J.A. Happ out of yesterday’s game right after he got hit on the arm with the line drive. I’m sure he wanted to finish out 5 innings, but I’d just as soon not let the players make those decisions. I would have wanted him out of the game and get an x-ray to make sure there was a fracture.

I guess, once he finished the fifth inning, letting him start the sixth didn’t seem all that bad a decision, but a 1-out home run suggested otherwise, but then he got the innings second out, before a single and a walk and then he was out of the game.

I’m not a ‘Gibby made a decision I wouldn’t have, he should be fired’ sort’ In fact, I’m pretty sure most managers would have done things much the same way.

The first two games of the series we scored early, but then couldn’t score against a pretty crappy A’s bullpen. So when Rich Hill came out of Sunday’s game, in the middle of the first at bat, I was a little worried. The score early, don’t score late thing, seemed to be happening again, least until Josh Donaldson doubled with 2-outs in the 9th.

I wanted to pick out an offensive start of the series. Justin Smoak had the best line, .400/.500/.700 with a home runs and 2 walks. It would be good timing for him to go on a bit of a hot streak, after signing the extension.

Others Jays who hit pretty well were Russell Martin, who had a .333/.455/.444 line with 1 double and 1 walk, and Edwin Encarnacion, at .290/.371/.500, with a homer and 2 walks.

Josh Donaldson had the big hit of the series and had a .250/.357/.333 line, with 1 double and 2 walks.

Michael Saunders had a terrible time of it, hitting .000/.214/.000 with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. Kevin Pillar was great either, .167/.167/.167, 2 singles in 12 at bats.

Anyway, share your thoughts on the series.