Blue Jays 8, Royals 5: SMOKE

Adam Lind: more coy than you might expect.

The first inning of last night's game against the Royals was just outstanding. Yunel Escobar led off the game with a single, which is not a surprise or anything, in that Escobar has been quietly excellent so far this season, so I'm not trying to make a big thing about Escobar getting on to start the game as thoughtthat's some sort of rarity. No. He is good; and I like him. But then, with Corey Patterson at the plate, Escobar ran. His plan? To steal second base, I think. But he achieved so much more. 


In a series of events that I'm not sure I have witnessed since little league -- when it happened pretty much every game, especially, though not exclusively, when I was catching -- Matt Treanor's throw to second skipped over the bag and rolled into centre. Escobar took off for third, and Melky Cabrera was like we'll see about this! and gunned it to third, except the throw was horrible, and it went to the screen, and Escobar scored on a stolen base and two throwing errors. Seriously: this is probably the single most common source of runs in little league baseball. Took me back, man. Took me back.


From there, all that was needed were home runs from Adam Lind and J. P. Arencibia (tenth of the season for both), and a strangely effective outing from Kyle Drabek despite allowing nine hits and a mere three walks over five and a third. He did not strike anybody out. He did, however, throw four -- four! -- wild pitches. This Kyle Drabek, ladies and gentlemen, is a character.


KS