Morrow Rocked, Blue Jays Drop the Ball in Opener

Brandon Morrow is going to want to forget about this rehab assignment for a long time. The Toronto Blue Jays No. 2 starting pitcher was definitely not at his best Thursday night, recording the first loss of the Dunedin Blue Jays 2011 season. 

The Clearwater Threshers struck first in the second inning when outfielder Leandro Castro, led-off with a bunt single.  Two batters later, with no outs and runners at the corners, Morrow forced Travis Mattair to hit a weak ground ball to short. Dunedin’s shortstop Ryan Goins couldn’t handle the ball and allowed the first run of the season to score. 

That was how the rest of Dunedin’s night went, committing four errors and falling to the Threshers 10-1.

In just two and a third innings, Morrow surrendered eight hits and four runs, while recording two strikeouts. 

Morrow started his outing by walking Clearwater’s lead-off batter, Jiwan James, in four pitches. His fastball showed velocity, reaching 94 on the pitching gun; however, the control he showed over his breaking- and off-speed pitches is something Toronto should be worried about. In the third inning, Morrow gave Clearwater its third run of the game on back-to-back wild pitches.

Last night’s Blue Jays loss cannot fall solely on the pitching staff. Four errors forced Dunedin’s defense to stay on the field and let Clearwater batters run around the diamond like it was a carousel. The lack of offense was a major concern, too, as Clearwater’s starting pitcher Jared Cosart didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. Their only run came in the eighth inning after Sean Ochinko belted a double to left field, scoring second baseman Ivan Contreras from first base.

The only bright spot of the game for Dunedin came from the No. 2 prospect in the Blue Jays organization, right-handed pitcher Deck McGuire. McGuire, selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2010 draft, shut down Clearwater’s bats, collecting four strikeouts and giving up just three hits. His fastball left hitters swinging at air and his breaking ball froze a few.

It was just the first game of the season, but if this is any indication of what is to come, Dunedin might have a long summer ahead.