Jays Beat Yankees for Their First Win of the Season

Teena and I were at the Jays opening day game and watched a lacklustre performance by them in a 6-1 loss.  We came to the stadium today hoping for a better effort and a win and were not disappointed.

Marco Estrada would start his first game of the season against C.C, Sabathia.

Estrada deals. He threw a good game and was pulled after pitching 7 innings and giving up only 3 runs. The game was tied and as the Jays could not score in the bottom of the 7th, did not get a win, nor a loss.

The view from our seats. An extra net has been paced up over the team dugouts to protect those too busy looking at their cell phones from being hit by a foul ball. Maybe they should be paying attention to the game instead of their phones.

Donaldson gets his first hit of the year.

Kevin Pillar, who will be a hero later in the game, strokes a single.

Smoak brings in a fly ball for an out.

And here we are!

Pillar runs down a fly ball.

The 50/50 draw had a good sized pot, one which we didn't win.

With the game tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the 8th, new Blue Jay, Yangervis Solarte, stroked his first home run as a Jay to take the lead. Then up to the plate came Kevin Pillar.

Pillar reached first on a single. Then he stole second. Not finish, he stole third. He was still not done as when NY Yankee pitcher Betances went into his wind-up, Pillar broke for home. Betances threw the ball wide and Pillar scored. The three stolen bases set a team record and is a feat which has not been done in MLB since 1996.

In the end, the Toronto Blue Jays prevailed 5-3.

Tomorrow the Jays finish their four game series against the Yankees. Another win would be very nice.

              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9    R H E
NYY      0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0     3 4  2
TOR      1 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 -     5 9  0

Crucial Loss for the Toronto Rock

Tonight the 7-6 Toronto Rock hosted the 9-4 Colorado Mammoth who currently are 2nd place in the west. The Rock needed a win tonight as, although they came into the game in 1st place in the east, could finish the weekend in 4th as the three teams behind them are all sitting with 7-7 records.

Scotty Newlands sang the national anthems.

Opening face-off.

The Rock put on some pressure.

The Toronto Rock Cheerleaders came out for a performance. They were great as usual.

Fan favourite, Iggy, worked the crowd.

The Rock found themselves down 4-0 at the end of the first quarter but battled back to tie up the game at 6-6.

Action around the Mammoth net.

It was my birthday and Teena made sure everybody knew it. She also surprised me by having a bunch of my friends show up at the game to sit with us.

More cheerleader action.

No, we didn't win.

After having come back to tie the game, the Rock seemed to run out of gas. In the end 10,288 fans came away disappointed in the 11-7 loss.

The next home game, and their last of the regular season is Friday April 13 at 7:30 and is autograph night. They play against the Rochester Knight Hawks in what will be a 'must win' situation with playoff implications.

Yes, Teena and I will be there.

A Birthday Surprise at the Toronto Rock Game

Tonight Teena and I were at the ACC to watch the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth. Although my birthday is tomorrow, Teena surprised me by having my friends show up at the game and yes, I was very surprised.

Above is a group shot of us. In the row behind me, from left to right, are Kevin and Rose, Christine and Alfred, Craig and his daughter, Stephanie. Sitting in the row with me, from left to right, are Malcolm and Mary, Me and Teena and Trish.

Look at the sweatshirt that was made for me!

Rose wrote this poem. It is now framed and hanging by my writing desk.

Me!

I also received LottoMax tickets. Damn, no winners but always fun to check in anticipation there just might be. 

Teena had my name in lights on the scoreboard.

One funny note. Teena was to have a couple of cheerleaders come and give me a present. They went to the wrong person. The present was a ball cap but the fellow who received it was a Mammoth fan, who gave the hat away ... to Stephanie. Glad to see the hat ended up in the right group!

It was a fun night and such a great surprise. Thanks everybody for coming!

Opening Day for the 2018 Toronto Blue Jays

It's been awhile since the Toronto Blue Jays had Opening Day in their own ballpark. Usually it has been six or seven games into the season. There's nothing like opening day. The excitement. The anticipation.

This year we open the season at home against the powerful looking New York Yankees, who are one of Las Vegas' top bets to win the world series.

Before the start of the game, there was a tribute to future Hall of Famer, Roy Halladay, who pitched 12 seasons with the Jays and was killed in a plane crash this past winter.

Past coaches of his in the Jays' organization were introduced, as well as his wife and sons. A tribute was shown on the jumbotron and his name was unveiled on the Level of Excellence, as well as a banner bearing his Jays sweater number being unfurled in centre field.  His #32 is now the second number having been retired by the Blue Jays.

It was a touching tribute. I could see men around me quickly wiping their eyes, just like I did.

Then it was time for the opening ceremonies. A small symphony band played the national anthems and a giant flag was unfurled in centre field by members of our military.

The pitchers.

The songs that will play when each Jay comes up to bat.

The first pitch of the season. It was a strike!

The Jays got down early in the first inning 2-0 after an error by new Jay, veteran Curtis Granderson, along with a home run. It didn't get any better from there.

Some pictures.

My timing is off. I wanted to show the ball just before it hit Smoak's glove. Maybe I should go to Florida with my camera with the Jays for spring training.

We didn't win but one fan came away from the game with a nice wad of cash. Oh, wouldn't it be nice...

In the end, the Jays lost 6-1. Kevin Pillar scored the Jays only run on an 8th inning home run.

           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R H E
NYY   2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1   6 11 1
TOR    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1  2  2

Not the start we wanted but hopefully things will improve. Teena and I will will back again to cheer on the Jays on Saturday, which just happens to be my birthday. Watching the Jays take down the Yankees will be a great way to spend a birthday.