Jason Hammel Today

[CrimsonTribe]

Matusz has some work to do to keep up.

[bobmc]

I was also at the game. Hamel was sharp from the first inning. Looked like all fastballs in the first. I thought he would be out in the eight. I saw Showalter in the dugout looking over matchups on cards and pacing. I wonder if Gregg was not warming up,Hammel would have been out. Did anyone else see after the eighth, the ump came over to Hammel when he was walking off the mound and said congrats or something to him? Also funny,how his teammates sat further from him on the bench each inning.. One of the players walked by with his head up and ignored him.

I noticed this and the players avoiding him especially after the seventh when he escaped the jam. Buck was funny and seeing Gregg standing out there was enough for Buck to say to himself (IMHO) - a tired Hammel gives me a better chance than a fresh Gregg (who could ruin this buzz real quick like). Buck's quote about ignorance and bliss was classic and fits here - "I got the ignorance thing down but it's the bliss I don't" (or something like that).

[Brendan25]

The Twins are so bad.

Yes they are. Horrible.

[tennOsfan]

I noticed him leave some fastballs over the plate, but the Twins didn't do much with them. Maybe that downward action on the fastball contributed to that. He hit corners quite a bit. If he can keep that part of it up ...

[33rdst]

The most impressive thing for me about Hammel's performance was his curve ball control. For time there it seemed like he was starting every batter off with curve ball strike. By pitching backwards he had the Twins hitters off balance the whole game. Very impressive.

[OFFNY]

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Your turn, Jason.

A Saturday, late-afternoon game. Keep us above .500, and in first place.

[Todd-O]

Of course, every game is big.... But we need this one. Go get'em Jason!

[Sports Guy]

I hope today is the day they give Wieters off.

Would prefer him working with Matusz as opposed to the vet.

[OFFNY]

.

This is who Hammel will be facing today:

BLUE JAYS

Yunel Escobar - SS

Kelly Johnson - 2B

Jose Bautista - RF

Adam Lind - 1B

Edwin Encarnacion - DH

Eric Thames - LF

Brett Lawrie - 3B

Colby Rasmus - CF

J.P. Arencibia - C

[OFFNY]

The report is that some of the scouts were not terribly impressed with Hammel's stuff even with his near gem last time out. It will be interesting to see how he fares against a better run scoring team that hits decently.

The Jays are still not the Yankees or Sox or Angels lineup, but Hammel must keep the ball on the ground in Toronto. I'm very interested to see if he can do it twice in a row.

Gee, I don't know about that, Roy. Today is Saturday the 14th. http://bavatuesdays.com/files/2007/07/saturday-the-14th.jpg

[OFFNY]

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JASON HAMMEL TODAY:

IP: 5

H: 6

R: 2

BB: 1

SO: 3

Pitches: 97 (60 Strikes, 37 Balls) *

2012 ERA: 2.08

* This was Hamel's EXACT pitch count for his first game. 97 pitches, 60 Strikes.

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[Ven6]

I was impressed with how he bounced back and battled thru 5. I like this guy. And that curve is way better than I expected.

[Lucky Jim]

I was impressed with how he bounced back and battled thru 5. I like this guy. And that curve is way better than I expected.

If he stays on top of his pitches, they can be pretty darn good.

[Camden_yardbird]

This is something Orioles pitchers have not been able to do in the recent past. When you don't got it, its your job to keep your team in it for 5-6 innings. With most of the young guys recently that would have been an 8 or 9 run games for the toronto pretty quickly.

[calhof2007]

I know it's still very early, but I am excited for Jason Hammel. He kept a really good Blue Jays hitting team in check. I think his next start is the series finale in Chicago. Hopefully he can make it 3 good starts in a row.