News
Two-strike hits pay off for Lind, Scutaro
Toronto (57-67) vs. Tampa Bay (69-56), 7:07 p.m. ET
By Erika Gilbert / MLB.com
08/26/09 2:22 AM ET
TORONTO -- Blue Jays left fielder Adam Lind fell behind in the count to Rays right-hander James Shields in his first at-bat on Monday. But instead of swinging at strike three, Lind pulled a 1-2 offering from Shields into right field for a base hit.It was Lind's 64th two-strike hit of the year, tying him with Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the Major League lead in that category.
Lind isn't the only Blue Jay who has found a way to come up with hits when down to his last strike, as shortstop Marco Scutaro's 60 two-strike hits ranked fourth in the Majors going into Tuesday's game. Lind's two-strike total accounts for 45 percent of his 143 hits this year, and Scutaro's make up 42 percent of his 141.
The ability to hit with two strikes against them has worked well for Scutaro and Lind, who have both had career years at the plate. Through Monday, Scutaro had posted a .386 on-base percentage as the team's leadoff hitter, and Lind, who is now batting third after starting the season in the fifth slot, has blasted 25 home runs.
Scutaro's .389 two-strike on-base percentage going into Tuesday led the Majors, and Lind was tied for third with nine home runs.
Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said he advises his hitters to change their approach at the plate with two strikes, but added that certain players opt not to. Whatever Scutaro and Lind have been doing, it seems to be working.
"I always tell guys that you have to make adjustments," Gaston said. "You do. You get two strikes, you have to cut back on your swing a little bit, don't take as big a swing. Some guys do it, some guys don't.
"It just depends if you want to sit on your pitch or just go back and look for the ball and try to put it into play."
Gaston, who praised Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and John Olerud -- who played first base for the 1992 and 1993 World Series champion Blue Jays in Gaston's first stint as manager -- pointed to Rays third baseman Evan Longoria as an example of an excellent two-strike hitter who knows how to make adjustments at the plate based on the count.
"Longoria over here, he gives in to good pitches and just gets base hits sometimes. I can see that up there," Gaston said of last season's American League Rookie of the Year. "He doesn't try to hit the ball as hard -- he'll take a base hit."
Pitching matchupTOR: LHP Marc Rzepczynski (2-3, 3.65 ERA)
Rzepczynski earned his first win since July 18 with his best performance of the season in a 5-4 victory over the Angels on Friday at Rogers Centre. The rookie pitched a season-high 6 1/3 innings, limiting the Angels to one run on three hits. He issued just one walk -- the fewest free passes he's allowed this year -- and struck out six. Rzepczynski only has nine Major League starts under his belt, but two have come against the Rays. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.33 in those two starts, which both lasted six innings. TB: LHP Scott Kazmir (8-7, 6.17 ERA)
Kazmir had one of his best starts of the season in his last outing, on Friday night against the Rangers. He allowed only a solo home run before exiting the game with one out and two aboard in the eighth. Both runners eventually scored and were charged to Kazmir, making his performance look less impressive than it was. The Rays left-hander has been inconsistent for most of the season, but he managed to keep his pitch count low on Friday night while keeping his fastball in the 93-mph range. Kazmir is 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 13 career starts against the Blue Jays; he is 3-3 with a 4.89 ERA in six career starts at Rogers Centre. Bird feed
Before third baseman Scott Rolen was traded to Cincinnati on July 31, he committed five errors in 88 games. Since then, Blue Jays third basemen have committed the same number of errors in only 21 games. ... With Scutaro's first-inning single on Tuesday, he has now reached base safely in all but three of his last 44 games played. ... On Monday, designated hitter Randy Ruiz hit his fourth home run since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Only Carlos Delgado (six), Jose Canseco (five) and Otto Velez (five) have hit more home runs in their first 12 games as Blue Jays in the history of the franchise. Tickets
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• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Blue Jays (Scott Richmond, 6-7, 4.09) at Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 14-5, 3.65), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Blue Jays (Ricky Romero, 11-5, 3.91) at Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 2-3, 5.02), 7:10 p.m. ET
Erika Gilbert is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
