The T.O. round-up

And here it is. The inaugural post in what could very well become a daily feature at this here golb: The Toronto sports round-up. I know, I know, the name is terrible.

Jays 9, Kansas City Royals 1

The Bluebirds layed the smack down on those candy-ass jabronies from Kansas City.

The good version of Allan James Burnett showed up (mostly) for the home-opener as he held KC to 3 hits in 6 and two-thirds. He did, however, get a little out of control at times and let the Royals load the bases in both the second and third innings but the infield turned two to get out of the second, and Alex Gordon and his .045 average struck out to end the third. How do you load the bases twice while only giving up three hits? You walk three batters and hit two more. After that little rough patch AJ went on cruise control until the seventh when John Buck hit a solo homer on a fastball that was served up on the inner half. All-in-all a good outing for Burnett after his disastrous first start of the year. The power-curve was hitting the zone for strikes and getting guys to go fishing in the dirt for it. He also had good command of the change. His heater went as high as 97 mph, and was clocked at 95 as late as the 7th. The one cause for concern was a little lack of control on the fastball, but nothing that can't be fixed. The even better part was that after the game Aaron Hill said that AJ didn't bring his best stuff today. Hopefully we'll see it next time out, which should be at home against Detroit on Saturday. As for the 'pen, Downs and Zambrano both pitched masterfully for short times. Accardo had a tough inning but got away unscathed. Accardo's stuff seemed alright, but he was also a little wild.

As for the lineup, they got the bats going right from the get go with three singles in the first, leading to Vernon Wells getting thrown out at the plate to end the inning. The next inning the Jays managed to load the bases before a Reed Johnson single scored one and a double down the first base line by Overbay cleared the bases. Overbay's double was actually controversial as a dumbass fan reached over the thing and grabbed the ball before the right fielder could pick it up, leading to a ground rule double. The argument was over whether or not Johnson would have scored from first. The ump ruled he would have, and Buddy Bell was tossed in the ensuing argument. Vern hit a homer in the fourth, and the Jays scored three in the fifth with some help from a wild pitch.

A good game for Toronto, but keep in mind it was KC and Odalis Perez. It's always good to win 9-1 though, no matter who it's against.

Men of the match : Aaron Hill for a sublime 3-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB performance
AJ Burnett for a solid outing (6.2, 3 H, 1ER, 3 BB, 5 K)

Zack Greinke vs. Josh Towers tommorrow at the 'Dome. Should be a wild one.

Raptors 111, Minnesota Timberwolves 100

The Raps outscored the T'Wolves by 17 in the fourth to come away with their fourth straight win. Toronto shot 6-9 from beyond the arc in the last quarter.

They also survived a sub par game from Mr. Raptor himself, Chris Bosh. Bosh had only 16 points, but did snag 13 boards.

Toronto held KG to just 17 as he went 7-23.

Every player who dressed for Toronto got at least 6 minutes of action and the bench had 32 points.

Calderon and Parker each hit the dagger threes down the stretch.

The Raps pulled to within one game of the Bulls for second in the East, which would assure home court advantage in the first two rounds.

Men of the Match: TJ Ford (17 PTS, 10 AST, 4 Reb)
Anthony Parker (24 PTS, 5/13 from 3, 4 AST)
Calderon for being the man in the fourth as usual (20 mins, 12 PTS, 7 AST)

Next up for Toronto: Home vs. Detroit this Friday (THE 13TH!?) The triumphant return of Andrea Bargnani. Hooray!