NEW YORK – Both Kevin Pillar and Ezequiel Carrera were no worse for the wear Monday after the two Toronto Blue Jays outfielders just missed one another chasing down a fly ball Sunday.
Nick Franklin’s smash to deep right-centre field in the ninth inning of a 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays was right between the two defenders, and neither called for the ball as they came together. Carrera ended up making the grab as Pillar’s glove made contact with him, narrowly avoiding what would have been a dangerous collision.
“There wasn’t much communication and part of it is because we didn’t know where each other were,” said Pillar. “You can’t take your eye off the ball (at Tropicana Field) with the roof and it was hit into the perfect spot where we’re both in full sprint and not necessarily comfortable taking our eye off the ball. Fortunately neither of us got hurt and he was able to hold on to the ball.”
The Trop’s roof is a bleak off-white/grey that can make picking up the ball and tracking it very difficult. Typically Pillar, who has priority as the centre-fielder, likes to call off his fellow outfielder as soon as he feels he’s going to catch a ball that both players are chasing.
“The roof’s definitely a big factor, I don’t think that happens at a place like (Yankee Stadium) or even at home, where both of us would take a peek,” said Pillar. “Once we see the flight of the ball and we’ve set our angle, we’d pretty much have time to take a quick peek at each other to see where we’re at. That’s just not possible in Tampa. Even on a routine fly ball, you can’t take your eye off the ball.
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GREEN LIGHT: It depends on the situation and who’s up, but Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is a big proponent of letting his hitters swing in 3-0 counts. So far this season his hitters are 9-for-15 with three doubles and a homer when putting the ball into play, collecting 104 walks.
The lone homer came Sunday when Russell Martin went deep in the eighth inning Sunday with a go-ahead two-run shot.
“We give most of our guys the green light a lot of the time 3-0,” said Gibbons. “It depends on the score, if you can tie the game or take the lead. The guys have good enough discipline that they’re not going to chase out – if it’s a ball they’re going to take it. But they may get that good one.”
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LINEUP SHUFFLE: With Troy Tulowitzki getting a day off and Russell Martin sitting because Josh Thole was catching R.A. Dickey, Devon Travis moved back into the leadoff spot Monday.
“Just with the way the lineup is configured today, instead of keeping him down at the bottom I thought put him up top,” said John Gibbons, who when asked if it could be a more permanent moved, replied: “Not necessarily.”
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BREAKING NEW GROUND: Roberto Osuna became the youngest player to reach 30 saves since it became an official stat in 1969 by closing out Sunday’s win over the Rays. Osuna is 21, slightly younger than Neftali Feliz, who was 22 when he collected his 30th save in 2010.
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ON THE FARM: Blue Jays first-round pick T.J. Zeuch closed out his first pro season by throwing five innings of three-run ball with seven strikeouts in low-A Lansing’s 3-0 loss to Lake County. Jordan Romano of Markham, Ont., delivered two innings of one-hit relief with three strikeouts to close out a strong season back from Tommy John surgery. The Lugnuts were eliminated from wild-card contention earlier in the day when Great Lakes beat West Michigan. … Double-A New Hampshire first baseman Rowdy Tellez is headed to the Dominican Republic for a month of winterball with Estrellas. … Single-A Dunedin is the only Blue Jays affiliate to reach the post-season, hosting New York’s Tampa club in the Florida State League’s North Division playoff series Tuesday.
