OAKLAND — One demoted in the batting order, the other coming to terms with an early removal the previous night, Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia both regrouped Wednesday afternoon in making sure another strong outing from Brandon Morrow didn’t go to waste.
Lind ripped a two-run homer after getting dropped from the cleanup spot to eighth in the lineup, while Arencibia crushed a solo shot after getting pinch-hit for with runners on the corners in the ninth inning Tuesday, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Morrow (4-1) continued his recent run of domination with six innings of one-run ball, his scoreless run coming to an end at 23.2 innings when Jonny Gomes delivered an RBI single in the fifth to cut into a 2-0 deficit.
But the Blue Jays (17-14), fresh off their seventh blown save in a 7-3 loss Tuesday, kept things together, extending their edge on Colby Rasmus’s run-scoring single in the sixth, Arencibia’s blast in the seventh and Edwin Encarnacion’s solo shot in the eighth (ending an 0-for-21 skid), while getting some handy relief work to finish off the Athletics (16-15) before 14,815 at Oakland Coliseum.
“One thing that this team repeatedly does,” said manager John Farrell, “it puts behind them some adversity and they go out and put together another good game.”
The home runs were especially sweet for Lind and Arencibia, who were part of a larger shakeup that also included Francisco Cordero’s removal from the interim closer’s role in favour of Casey Janssen, who picked up his first save with a three-up, three-down ninth, a rarity for this club.
Lind, just 2-for-18 on the road trip coming in, was batting lower than seventh for the first time since 2010 and accepted Farrell’s decision by saying, “I’m not really doing a whole lot in the fourth spot so hopefully I can help the team out more.”
Wearing high socks on the field along with a couple of his teammates, Lind did that with a single in his first at-bat off Tyson Ross (1-3) and then clubbing a ball over the wall in right to open the scoring in the fourth, perhaps landing on a more consistent swing and approach.
Or maybe it was the socks.
“My idea (Tuesday) night,” he said. “I’m the one that needed it.”
Arencibia, meanwhile, met with Farrell in the morning after getting pulled for Omar Vizquel in the ninth, learning the thinking behind his manager’s decision — he was looking to avoid the double play and thought a safety squeeze was the right play — and sought to turn the page.
“I lost a lot of sleep over it, it didn’t really sit too well with me,” Arencibia said before the game. “Throughout my career I’ve always driven in runs, I’ve always been a guy in those situations and I feel like that’s when I thrive. He’s our manager and I support every decision and all I want to do at the end of the day is win, that’s all I care about.
“What I told him is hopefully in future situations, I’m looked upon as a guy they want in that situation 10 out of 10 times.”
Farrell made a point of explaining to Arencibia that he hadn’t lost any confidence in him with runners in scoring position, and he simply was playing to the situation.
Asked if he understood, Farrell replied: “Maybe receptive to the point of believing in himself, which is … I commend him for his thoughts.”
Arencibia is now batting .346 (18-for-52) with two homers, five doubles and 11 RBIs over his last 16 games.
“I feel really well (at the plate),” said Arencibia. “Last night is last night. What helps me turn the page is winning.”
The home runs were the third of the season for each player, and improved play from both would go a long way in lengthening a lineup that needs it.
Luis Perez surrendered an RBI single to Josh Reddick in the seventh that made it 4-2 and left two runners on for Carlos Villanueva, who bridged the gap to Janssen with five crucial outs.
“That was the outing of today,” Farrell said of Villanueva.
Morrow, meanwhile, allowed four hits and a season-high four walks while striking out 10 batters for the seventh time in his career two win a fourth consecutive start. While not nearly as clean as his three-hit shutout in Anaheim last week, Morrow managed to avoid major trouble.
“I wasn’t as sharp as I’ve been probably the last two,” he said. “Walked too many guys and it came back to hurt me in the fifth, but I was able to do my job and get us through the sixth.”
Two of his walks came in the first, when he allowed the opening two batters to reach before settling down to escape unscathed.
His scoreless innings streak dates back to April 23, when he beat Kansas City 4-1.
“Strikes with his fastball on both sides of the plate,” Arencibia said when asked what was driving Morrow’s success. “When you throw that hard and you can command both sides of the plate, people know what kind of off-speed stuff he has.
“It’s no surprise that he has a strikeout pitch with his slider, a breaking ball and a changeup. When you’re throwing that hard on both sides of the plate and you can’t eliminate the other pitches, it makes it tough to combat, and that’s what he’s learning how to do. He’s learning how to command and pitch.”
Tough battle today, great job by bullpen w/ @CaseyJanssen closing it out. @jparencibia9 @Encadwin and Lindo get us the win #gojaysgo
— Brandon Morrow (@2Morrow23) May 9, 2012
Notes: Outfielder Travis Snider activated off the triple-A disabled list Wednesday and went 0-for-3 with an RBI as the designated hitter for Las Vegas in a 2-1, 10-inning victory at Oklahoma City. Snider had been out since jamming his right wrist trying to make a diving catch April 26. … Morrow also had a steak of 15 innings without a walk end with a base on balls to Cliff Pennington in the first. … Blue Jays starters have gone 33 straight games with at least five innings, dating back to last Sept. 27. The club record is 43 set in 1996.
