Results tagged ‘ Bryan Bullington ’
Mass exodus in 51s’ pitching rotation
The major news at the ballpark yesterday wasn’t the 51s losing due to a barrage of defensive miscues — that’s become the norm. The Blue Jays’ top pitching prospect, starter Brett Cecil, was called up to Toronto from Las Vegas as part of a six-pitcher swap between the two clubs.
The other players headed north of the border are Robert Ray, making his second trip to Toronto this season, and veteran bullpen arm Brian Wolfe.
Cecil, who was drafted with a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the 2007 draft, was rated the Blue Jays’ No. 3 prospect overall and the top minor-league pitcher by Baseball America before the season. However, he had not impressed with Las Vegas in 2009, sporting an 0-3 record with an 8.31 ERA and only nine strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.
Ray started just one game for the 51s, pitching 4 1/3 shutout innings, in between a stint on the DL and his week-long call-up to the Blue Jays. He started for the Jays on Saturday and pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and garnering a no-decision in an extra-innings Toronto victory.
Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi admitted that the moves were probably premature. “(Cecil and Ray are) probably not ready. We just hope they give us a chance to win. We’re just trying to hold the fort,” Ricciardi told the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Cecil is expected to make his major-league debut Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians. He and Ray should make two starts apiece while they’re in the majors, long enough for Ricky Romero and Casey Janssen to recover from their injuries and return to the rotation, according to The National Post.
Meanwhile, another early-round draft pick who has had a rough start to the season will be plying his trade with the 51s. David Purcey, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick in 2004, will join the 51s’ rotation after underperforming with Toronto. He has an 0-2 record with a 7.01 ERA in five starts this year, despite striking out a batter an inning. His control has hurt him — he has also walked 18 batters in 18 2/3 innings — and he is allowing batters to hit .283 against him. However, Purcey was a AAA All-Star last season with Syracuse and had been unlucky in Toronto with a .343 BABIP (batting average on balls in play), higher than the league average.
Joining Purcey with the 51s are Brian Burres and Bryan Bullington, who were called up just a week ago to occupy spaces created by injury. Bullington shined with the 51s out of the bullpen but was used sparingly by the Blue Jays, while Burres had an 0-2 record and 6.97 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance in Las Vegas.
Overall, this could make the 51s a bit stronger in the rotation, as Purcey has solid AAA experience and will be looking to prove himself and Bullington and Burres are experienced major-league arms.
Keep an eye out for Cecil on Tuesday to see how the 51s alum does in The Show, as it probably won’t be that long before he is back in the Valley.
Comedy of errors continues
The 51s’ defensive woes continued Friday night, as two errors and some other misplays led to six unearned runs in the third inning in a 9-8 loss against the Salt Lake Bees.
Starter Dirk Hayhurst had one of the two errors in the inning when the ball slipped out of his hand as he tried to field a bunt. He allowed seven runs in the inning and two more in the next frame as the Bees took a commanding 9-3 lead.
The 51s, as has been their habit, stormed back from the big deficit late in the game, but could only manage to make it close, ending with a 9-8 defeat. Home runs by Jason Lane, his first of the season, and Randy Ruiz, his team-leading sixth, contributed to the comeback. Other offensive stars included Buck Coats, Howie Clark and Aaron Mathews, who had three hits apiece, and Angel Sanchez, who had two hits and two RBI.
Come for the T-shirt, stay for the game
The first 2,500 fans through the gates at Cashman Field tonight will receive a free Las Vegas 51s T-shirt, a gift that could keep on giving. If you wear the T-shirt to any Tuesday night home game this season, you can buy general admission tickets for just $5 as part of the Blue Jays Tuesdays promotion (Blue Jays gear or a hockey jersey will get you the same deal).
If you do make it to the game tonight, here are some players to watch out for:
LAS VEGAS
Randy Ruiz, 1B/DH – The 51s’ big bopper always seems to make this list, but keep a special eye on him tonight, as he has a 12-game hitting streak and is going for the unlucky No. 13. He didn’t come through last night until his solo home run in the ninth inning.
Brad Mills, P – Mills, the No. 2 pitching prospect in the Blue Jays organization according to Baseball America, has thrown the most innings of any 51s starter this season but has yet to get a win. That’s not a huge surprise, however, as only one 51s starter has a win this year, Wade Miller. Maybe Mills can join that club tonight.
Howie Clark, 2B — 51s Today had a good chat with Clark after his big home run Thursday night, and he feels his offense is right where it needs to be. He showed it again last night with a 3-for-5 night at the plate.
SALT LAKE
Mike McDonald, P — MacDonald hasn’t pitched too well this year, with an ERA of 6.35, but he has wins in his last two starts and may be familiar with some of the 51s because he was a Blue Jays farmhand from 2004-08.
Chris
Pettit, OF — The hits just keep on coming for this pesky hitter, as he
is 5-for-9 in the series so far after rolling into Las Vegas on a
16-for-27 tear. He is now batting .429 overall, tops in the PCL.
Bobby Wilson, C — Wilson, who caught last night and played first base in the first game of the series, made his presence known at the plate in the Bees’ win on Friday, going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored.
An Opening Day to remember
Long
home runs, gutsy pitching performances and a tense ninth inning that ended with
a spectacular, game-saving catch – all the ingredients for a classic home
opener.
The
victory made it even sweeter for the 51s.
Rightfielder
Jason Lane made a diving catch near the right-field foul line with runners on
first and third and two outs in the ninth to preserve a come-from-behind 3-2
win Friday night for the 51s against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
Hope
seemed dim for the home squad going into the sixth inning, with a 2-0 deficit
spurred on by a line-drive home run by Sky Sox center fielder Carlos Gonzalez
and shut-down pitching by starter Jason Hirsch. But the 51s’ big boppers came
through: Randy Ruiz drove a mammoth home run to left-center to lead off the inning,
and Brett Harper knocked in a run with a double and came around to score on
Russ Adams’ single to give Las Vegas the lead.
After
that, it was up to the bullpen.
Bryan
Bullington and Jonah Bayliss provided the bridge to closer Jeremy Accardo, who
gave up a single with one out to Eric Young Jr. On a 1-1 pitch to the next
batter, Young took off for second and catcher J.P. Arencibia made a wild throw
low and to the third-base side that skipped into centerfield, allowing the
speedy second baseman to take third. After a groundout and a walk, Matt Murton
- the Sky Sox’ best hitter so far this season – stepped to the plate with the
game on the line.
With
all of Cashman Field standing, the 51s fireballing closer threw a hard outside
fastball to Murton, who hit a screaming liner down the rightfield line. Lane
took off running and left his feet as the ball tailed toward the ground,
securing it in his glove while in mid-air and landing with it still in the
webbing.
And
the fans went home happy.
Player
of the game
Bryan
Bullington, P – Brad Mills started the game and toughed through some well-hit
singles and Gonzalez’ smoked home run to pitch 5 2/3 innings. But it was
Bullington who meant the most on the mound for the 51s and ended up with the
win.
After
Mills ran out of steam in the sixth inning and walked two batters, the former
No. 1 overall draft pick struck out Jonathan Herrera to keep the game from
getting away from Las Vegas. After the 51s rallied in the bottom half of the
inning to take the lead, nothing would have been more demoralizing than
Bullington giving it up. But he dominated the top half of the seventh, striking
out Young and the dangerous Gonzalez in a 1-2-3 frame, two of the four
strikeouts he tallied in just 1 2/3 innings.
Lesson
of the game
The
51s will go as far as their sluggers take them – Randy Ruiz and Brett Harper
have seven home runs between them in just eight games so far this season, and
it was obvious Friday night that they are the bellwethers of this team.
Through five innings, the team had just five hits, four of them singles, and
mustered only one threat, when they put runners on second and third with two
outs in the fourth.
Then,
Ruiz homered to lead off the sixth and Harper belted a double just off the top
of the wall in left that scored a run. The two 1B/DH’s combined for three of
the 51s’ nine hits, but they got the two that counted. If Las Vegas is going to
be successful this year, it will be these two sluggers leading the way.
Quote
of the game
“I
know what these guys can do, we’re a good group I saw them in spring training,
these guys can hit the cover off the ball and can pitch the ball too, so I’m
just hoping we can pick it up.” – Randy Ruiz, on the prospects for the 51s
eight game homestand, which follows a 1-6 road trip.
Notes:
The 51s had their first call-up of the year while they were on the road to
start the season: P Bill Murphy is now with the Toronto Blue Jays and P Adrian
Martin was called up from AA New Hampshire to replace him … J.P. Arencibia
threw out his first base stealer of the year in the fifth inning. The first
eleven attempted thefts against the young prospect were successful. … Randy
Ruiz has hit safely in all eight games this season.
Coming tomorrow: A preview of the 51s’ second
home game, as well as a recap of the game and a podcast with Brett Harper.
mlblogs51stoday
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