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TORONTO — Little by little, like the expanding sideburns that are threatening to engulf both his cheeks, Dustin McGowan is starting to live up to the high expectations the Toronto Blue Jays have long held for him.
Last night at the Rogers Centre, the 25-year-old tossed a five-hitter over 7 2/3 innings to spark the Blue Jays to a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees in the first of a three-game home set.
For McGowan, who started the year in Triple A before being brought up earlier this month as an injury replacement, it was not only his first win for Toronto in five starts this season, it was his first win as a starter since Aug. 9, 2005, when he emerged victorious against the Detroit Tigers.
"I don't know, you got to try something new, right, to see if I can get a W with something," McGowan said afterward when asked what inspired the new flaring sideburn look. "I might have to keep these a little while."
Vernon Wells gives Dustin McGowan a shaving cream pie after the pitcher picked up his first win of the season. (Frank Gunn/CP)
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- Boston Red Sox
- Los Angeles Angels
- Minnesota Twins
- New York Yankees
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Royce Clayton
- Matt DeSalvo
- Troy Glaus
- Aaron Hill
- Derek Jeter
- Hideki Matsui
- Dustin McGowan
- Lyle Overbay
- Jorge Posada
- Frank Thomas
- Luis Vizcaino
- Vernon Wells
"If that doesn't look like a Georgia redneck, I don't know what does," came the comment of John Gibbons, the Toronto manager and team's grooming consultant, about McGowan, who was born in Savannah, Ga.
Gibbons wouldn't care if McGowan took to the mound wearing pyjamas as long as he continues to pitch with the authority and control he did in handcuffing the Yankees, who dropped their fourth in a row.
McGowan's outing was the longest of his major-league career and he also established a new high for strikeouts in a game with seven.
"Dustin was awesome tonight," Gibbons said. "Maybe that's a breakout outing for him, against the Yanks. He'll always remember that one."
After he was staked to a 7-0 lead by his teammates, McGowan was given a well-deserved standing ovation by many of the 28,791 fans in attendance when he exited the game with two out in the seventh after surrendering a two-run home run to Hideki Matsui.
It was the only mistake he made in the game as the Jays, now 23-27, went on to post their fourth consecutive win at home.
In previous outings, McGowan has displayed a tendency to pitch well before imploding in a big inning.
He would not allow that to happen last night, pitching nicely out of a jam in the fourth after Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez led off with a double to right field. The Jays were leading 1-0 at the time.
After that, McGowan got Jorge Posada to line out to left field, struck out a flailing Robinson Cano, and then got Bobby Abreu to fly out to squash the uprising in its tracks.
"That's what he can do," said teammate Lyle Overbay, who was awesome at the plate, going 3-for-5, including a double and a home run, and two RBIs. "He's got all the talent in the world. It's just a matter of him believing it."
The game marked the Blue Jays' return to the Rogers Centre after an arduous road trip where they went 4-5.
Toronto's struggles pale in comparison to the turmoil in the New York camp, with the Yankees continuing to bomb in the Bronx.
The Yankees came to town after being swept in a three-game set by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. New York has lost eight of their past 11 games.
Before last night's game, the Yankees gathered in their clubhouse for a private tête-à-tête, the specifics of which manager Joe Torre would not divulge.
Now into his 12th campaign as the Yankees' manager, Torre's job may be at risk if New York continues to fizzle.
The manager does not appear fazed by the talk and he does not believe his players are distracted by the added concern that their manager could be history if they don't pick up their play.
The Jays struck early last night, taking a 1-0 lead in their first at-bat on Overbay's eighth home run of the season over the wall in right field.
The Jays increased their lead to 2-0 in the fourth when Aaron Hill singled to centre field to score Troy Glaus, who doubled to the corner in right field to lead off the inning. Hill had three RBIs in the game.
The Jays took a 3-0 lead into the seventh when they broke it open with four more runs that brought the score to 7-0.
44
After he struck an infield single in the first inning, the number of games in which New York's Derek Jeter has now hit safely over the 47 games this season in which he has had an official at-bat.
The Big Hit
Toronto's Lyle Overbay lifted a sky-high shot over the wall in right field in the third inning that put the Blue Jays in motion 1-0.
The Big Miss
With the Jays leading 3-0 in the fifth, Frank Thomas strode to the plate for Toronto with two out and the bases loaded and an opportunity to ice the game for his team. Instead, Thomas was left looking at a called third strike.
