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TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi took pains on Wednesday to inform reporters that, no, he hasn't given up on the 2008 season.
The embattled GM could be forgiven if he wants to rethink his stand after the news yesterday afternoon that another key player, centre fielder Vernon Wells, is injured again and could miss up to six weeks.
All the Blue Jays have done of late as the bad news keeps raining down is win, last night storming back for a gritty 6-5 victory at the Rogers Centre over the Baltimore Orioles to sweep the three-game series.
Trailing 5-4 heading into the ninth inning, the Blue Jays loaded the bases on George Sherrill, the tough Baltimore left-handed reliever. Lyle Overbay tied the score by lofting a sacrifice fly to centre field that brought home John McDonald from third base.
Alex Rios grounds out during the first inning. (Adrian Wyld/CP)
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- Baltimore Orioles
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- Rod Barajas
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- Scott Rolen
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Toronto then won the game when Adam Lind smacked a single into right field that scored Scott Rolen with the winning run.
"Man, that's nice," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "That's a good start for us. Hopefully, we can just keep going, keep doing things like that.
"That was a big comeback for us."
The Jays, 45-47, swarmed onto the field to congratulate Lind, the young left fielder who has become an everyday player under the new regime of Gaston.
"Earlier, maybe if a lefty had been pitching, I would have been pinch-hit for," said left-hand-hitting Lind, who matched a season best with three hits in the game.
"The ball went through, so Cito looks great and everyone looks good because we won."
It was the Blue Jays' fourth win in their past five games.
With the victory, the Blue Jays skipped past the Orioles, 44-46, into fourth place in the American League East.
Shawn Camp, 2-1, earned the win. He pitched a three-up, three-down ninth inning.
The Blue Jays revealed before the game that Wells has suffered a Grade 2 strain to his left hamstring and could be gone between four and six weeks. Outfielder Kevin Mench has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take his place on the roster.
Wells injured himself stealing third base in the sixth inning of Wednesday's game against Baltimore.
It was the second dose of bad news the Jays have had to swallow this week after they lost starting pitcher Dustin McGowan for at least a month with a sore right shoulder.
John Parrish made his second start for the Blue Jays last night and after some early jitters, allowing the Orioles to score once in the first inning and twice in the second, he settled down to have a decent outing.
Parrish exited after seven innings with Baltimore leading 3-2. He gave up the runs on six hits, including a triple and four doubles.
Baltimore gained some breathing room in the eighth inning when Melvin Mora hit a flare into right field against reliever Brandon League with the bases loaded. The hit scored two more runs and made the score 5-2.
The Jays scratched out two runs in their half of the eighth inning, both on infield groundouts, to pave the way for the dramatics of the ninth.
The Jays will begin a three-game series against the New York Yankees tonight that will take them into the All-Star Game break. If any team needed a bit of a break, it's the Jays.
Including Wells, the Jays now have seven bodies in sick bay. The others are pitchers Casey Janssen, Jeremy Accardo, Shaun Marcum and McGowan, infielder Aaron Hill and outfielder Shannon Stewart.
"The way our luck is going, we always prepare for the worst," Ricciardi said wryly before the game.
It's the second time this year Wells has landed on the disabled list. He broke his left wrist making a diving catch in a game in Cleveland against the Indians on May 9 and missed 26 games.
During his first absence, Toronto was 15-11 and went to third place from fifth (and last) in the American League East.
The news on McGowan, who was pulled from Tuesday's game after four innings with a sore right shoulder, was a little more encouraging.
A magnetic resonance imaging procedure has revealed there is no new damage to his rotator cuff. That means McGowan may be able to avoid season-ending surgery.
The results of the MRI exam will be sent to Cincinnati specialist Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who will meet with McGowan next week. McGowan is expected to miss at least four weeks.
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