Lilly makes hitters look silly
Ted Lilly was 3-0 against the Red Sox last year, winning twice at Fenway Park, so there was little reason to expect anything less from the Blue Jays' starter as he took the mound last night.
The lefthander rebounded from a no-decision in an 8-4 victory at Tampa Bay last Saturday (2 1/3 innings, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 6 walks) to pick up his first win of the season in an 8-6 triumph at Fenway. He hurled seven innings of six-hit, one-run ball in which he rang up 10 strikeouts.
''After his first start against Tampa Bay, I know he was really, really down about that," said Brad Arnsberg, Toronto's pitching coach. ''He'd been throwing so well in spring training and missed his last start because his scapula area was sore. We got that healthy and he was really expecting to go out against Tampa and throw six, seven solid innings and he was out after 2 1/3 and six walks. So I know he had a little bit of vengeance in him tonight."
It wasn't until Lilly handed over an 8-1 lead to his bullpen after 100 pitches that the Sox made it a close game. Boston erupted for three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth before lefthanded closer B.J. Ryan got the save by inducing David Ortiz to fly out deep to right.
With the Blue Jays' staff shorthanded for this series -- ace Roy Halladay has a sore right forearm and A.J. Burnett is on the 15-day disabled list with an injured right elbow -- it was up to Lilly once again to work his magic against the Red Sox.
So what is it about the Sox that seems to bring out the best in him?
''I don't know, I have a hard time believing it's so much that; that it's so much the Red Sox," said Lilly, 5-3 in his career vs. Boston. ''I think it just so happened that when I've gone out there to face the Red Sox, I've been able to make big pitches and get out of jams.
''And they've caught me on a few nights that I've been on, and tonight I obviously felt pretty good and I was around the plate with three pitches."
That would be his fastball, curveball, and changeup.
Last night, they all seemed to work on command.
''He pounds in real well against righthanders to the inner part of the plate and he holds them at bay when he's pounding to the skinny part of the bat," Arnsberg said. ''So when he takes his softer stuff -- changeup and sinker -- to the other part of the plate, they're used to seeing the ball in so it's an adjustment they've got to make."
But no one in the Sox' lineup, particularly the bottom half of the order, seemed to make that adjustment.
That much was evident in Lilly's mastery of the Sox' 5 through 9 hitters, who went a combined 2 for 15 with two hits and seven strikeouts. He allowed only three of those batters to reach base: one (Jason Varitek) on an infield hit; another (Alex Gonzalez) on a single to left. The third (Wily Mo Peña) reached in the seventh on a throwing error by Jays shortstop Russ Adams.
''If Ted's throwing strikes and getting ahead and he gets his breaking ball going, he's tough," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. ''He's got that big ol' hook, and its tough to do anything with it. But that's the key, because if he doesn't get that over, he's limited to basically a fastball and changeup. When he's got it all clicking, he's one of the best, so that's just what we're looking for, some consistency, and he should win a lot of games."
Said catcher Gregg Zaun, ''He's been very aggressive against Boston and New York. To me, everything comes off the fastball. When he spots the fastball, like he did tonight, then he can throw the breaking ball. He was really aggressive tonight. It's an attitude I'd like to see more of."
The Sox, however, have had their fill of Lilly and were no doubt happy to see him depart for Chicago and a series with the White Sox. As he was about to depart, Lilly was asked if he was itching to get back to Fenway.
''I'm not so much thinking about that," he said. ''I want to go out there and enjoy tonight's game for what it is and I have another start here coming up. So I want to enjoy tonight and then, obviously, tomorrow I'll start preparing for my next start."
