2008 Toronto Blue Jays season

Last updated

2008  Toronto Blue Jays
League American League
Division East
Ballpark Rogers Centre
City Toronto
Record86–76 (.531)
Divisional place4th
Owners Rogers; Paul Godfrey (CEO)
General managers J. P. Ricciardi
Managers John Gibbons, Cito Gaston
Television Rogers Sportsnet
(Jamie Campbell, Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks, Darrin Fletcher, Sam Cosentino (Field Reporter)) (100 Games) CBC
(Jim Hughson, Rance Mulliniks, Jesse Barfield) (24 Games) TSN
(Rod Black, Pat Tabler) (20 Games)
Radio 590 AM
←  2007 Seasons 2009  →

The 2008 Toronto Blue Jays season, the team's 32nd year of existence, saw the Blue Jays finish in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses for a .531 winning percentage, thus making this season the third consecutive winning season for the Jays, as well as being the highest win–loss record since their 2006 season.

Contents

Off-season

General Manager J. P. Ricciardi maintained through the off-season that he was content with the Blue Jays' roster as it was. Nevertheless, he made a number of moves, two of which would likely have a significant effect on the team in the 2008 season. The team's acquisition of all-star shortstop David Eckstein was met with a mixed reception from fans and critics. Eckstein's role on the team would displace two of Toronto's most popular players from their regular roles; Reed Johnson as leadoff hitter and John McDonald as starting shortstop.

Eckstein was signed to fill the leadoff spot in the order which was void of a true leadoff man for much of 2007 due to the injury to Johnson. Johnson was released by the Blue Jays on March 23 and the LF position was given to Shannon Stewart who split time with Matt Stairs. [1]

The other major move by the club in the off-season was the trade of third baseman Troy Glaus to the Cardinals for David Eckstein's teammate, Scott Rolen. The move was generally seen to be a major risk to both parties, as both players were dealing with injuries over the past several seasons. The move was also noted as being somewhat redundant, given the various similarities between the two players. Both hit for power, though Glaus slightly more so, both were approximately the same age, and both were prone to injury. Rolen was, however, a significantly better defender than Glaus.

The Blue Jays played their 5000th franchise regular season game on Friday July 25 against the Seattle Mariners.

Other acquisitions

The Blue Jays also signed catcher Rod Barajas (who split time with Gregg Zaun) and Marco Scutaro, who played third base for most of the games for the beginning of the season, until Scott Rolen returned from his injury in May.

Players signed to minor league deals:

On April 20, 2008, the Jays released veteran DH Frank Thomas. Although the Jays said it was due to a weak performance, Thomas stated it was probably because he only needed a little more than 300 at-bats to put his 2010 option year in effect. General Manager J. P. Ricciardi stated that this move was because the Blue Jays were falling behind early and Thomas was not producing. Ricciardi needed someone who could hit home runs and drive in RBIs from Thomas' spot in the batting order.

Expectations

The Blue Jays were picked by many experts to contend for a playoff spot in the agonizing AL East. The Blue Jays were also expected to challenge the Yankees and Red Sox in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Though they finished 2006 in second place, 2007 was an injury riddled season for the Jays, resulting in another mediocre third-place finish. The key to the Blue Jays' success in 2008 would be to stay healthy and hit well. Another repeat of 2007 would mean likely another mediocre season. Key players such as Alex Ríos, Vernon Wells, Scott Rolen, David Eckstein, Roy Halladay, A. J. Burnett and B. J. Ryan needed to stay virtually healthy and produce as they are capable of, if the Jays wished to seriously challenge or dethrone the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians for a playoff spot. Ultimately, the Blue Jays did not meet the expectations of contending and finished with a less than impressive season record.

Regular season

Season standings

AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Tampa Bay Rays 97650.599—57–2440–41
Boston Red Sox 95670.586256–2539–42
New York Yankees 89730.549848–3341–40
Toronto Blue Jays 86760.5311147–3439–42
Baltimore Orioles 68930.42228½37–4331–50

Record vs. Opponents

TeamBALBOSCWSCLEDETKCLAAMINNYYOAKSEATBTEXTORNL
Baltimore –6–124–54–44–35–33–63–37–110–58–23–154–56–1211–7
Boston 12–6–4–35–15–26–11–84–39–96–46–38–109–19–911–7
Chicago 5–43–4–11–712–612–65–59–102–55–45–14–63–31–712–6
Cleveland 4–41–57–11–11–710–84–58–104–35–44–55–26–46–16–12
Detroit 3–42–56–127–11–7–113–67–114–23–67–33–46–33–513–5
Kansas City 3–51–66–128–1011–7–2–36–125–56–37–23–52–72–513–5
Los Angeles 6–38–15–55–46–33–2–5–37–310–914–53–612–76–310–8
Minnesota 3–33–410–910–811–712–63–5–4–65–55–43–35–50–614–4
New York 11–79–95–23–42–45–53–76–4–5–17–211–73–49–910–8
Oakland 5–04–64–54–56–33–69–105–51–5-10–93–67–124–610–8
Seattle 2–83–61–55–43–72–75–144–52–79–10–3–48–115–49–9
Tampa Bay 15–310–86–42–54–35–36–33–37–116–34–3–6–311–712–6
Texas 5–41–93–34–63–67–27–125–54–312–711–83–6–4–410–8
Toronto 12–69–97–11–65–35–23–66–09–96–44–57–114–4–8–10

Detailed record

updated to games played September 28, 2008

TeamHomeAwayTotalGms Left
AL East
Baltimore Orioles 6–36–312–6–
Boston Red Sox 5–44–59–9–
New York Yankees 5–44–59–9–
Tampa Bay Rays 5–42–77–11–
21–1516–2037–35–
AL Central
Chicago White Sox 4–03–17–1–
Cleveland Indians 0–31–31–6–
Detroit Tigers 2–23–15–3–
Kansas City Royals 4–01–25–2–
Minnesota Twins 3–03–06–0–
13–511–724–12–
AL West
Los Angeles Angels 1–22–43–6–
Oakland Athletics 4–32–16–4–
Seattle Mariners 3–31–24–5–
Texas Rangers 0–24–24–4–
8–109–917–19–
National League
Atlanta Braves 2–1–2–1–
Chicago Cubs 1–2–1–2–
Cincinnati Reds 2–1–2–1–
Milwaukee Brewers –0–30–3–
Philadelphia Phillies –2–12–1–
Pittsburgh Pirates –1–21–2–
5–43–68–10–
MonthGamesWonLost
April281117
May302010
June261016
July241311
August281612
September261610
1628676
ManagerGamesWonLost
John Gibbons 743539
Cito Gaston 885137
1628676

Season summary

April

The Blue Jays finished the first week of the season by taking 4 out of 6 games against AL East powerhouses New York and Boston, including a sweep of the Red Sox. Following the first two series, however, they faced a 4–4 Oakland Athletics team and promptly got swept at home, including two close one-run losses. Closer Jeremy Accardo blew a save in the second game and took the loss for the second straight night after the A's scored in the ninth inning in the first game against him. Following the sweep by Oakland, the Jays headed out on the road and swept the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, which had been considered a house of horrors of sorts as Toronto had lost 16 of its last 19 games there. Before the third game of the series, pitcher B. J. Ryan was activated from the disabled list and reinstated as the team's closer. [2] He went on to save the final game. The Jays completed their road trip by splitting a short two-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Blue Jays returned home to face Texas for a pair of games and lost both contests, despite an incredible pitching performance by the Toronto relief corps in the first game and a complete game from ace Roy Halladay in the second. In the first game, despite the energy provided by escaping dangerous situations (the Rangers left the bases loaded three times in extra innings and failed to score), the Blue Jays' offense struggled and failed to respond. Manager John Gibbons used up all the relievers and had to send starter A. J. Burnett to face the Rangers in the 14th inning, where he went on to give up two runs and took the loss.

After splitting a four-game set with the surprisingly underachieving Detroit Tigers, Toronto left for a nine-game road trip, facing the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, and Boston Red Sox. The sojourn was completely forgettable, with the Jays being swept three straight by the Rays at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando and dropping two out of three to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Prior to the Royals series, the Blue Jays activated third baseman Scott Rolen from the disabled list, and he hit his first home run in a Jays uniform in the third game, which the Jays took behind Jesse Litsch to snap a six-game losing streak (dating back to the last game of the Detroit series). However, the Blue Jays then travelled to Boston and closed out April by losing the first two games against the Red Sox in heartbreaking fashion, with Halladay and Scott Downs respectively giving up walk-off hits to give the BoSox narrow one-run victories. For Halladay, it was his fourth complete game in a row, but a lack of hitting by the Toronto lineup doomed him to a loss. The Blue Jays lost 11 of their last 14 games in April, and manager Gibbons received a lot of criticism for his team's performance from fans due to the lack of manufacturing runs and a seeming lack of motivation; some suggested that it may be time for a managerial change. [3]

May

Toronto salvaged the rubber match of the Boston series on May 1, but not without some controversy. After Burnett and Jesse Carlson shut out the Red Sox for eight innings, B. J. Ryan was called in to close out the game. Coco Crisp popped out to right to seemingly end the tilt, but second base umpire Bruce Dreckman called Ryan for a balk and ordered the game to continue. Crisp followed with a single to right, moving Brandon Moss to third. However, Ryan vindicated himself with a strikeout of Jed Lowrie to end the game for good.

Building off the momentum, the Jays came back home and completed a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox (the first time they had swept a four-game set since 2003). The Toronto pitching kept Chicago at bay, shutting them out twice, while Vernon Wells and Matt Stairs in particular came through with clutch hits against ChiSox pitching. Despite hopes that the woeful offense would come around, [4] the Blue Jays then dropped two of three to the visiting Rays. In the first contest, starting shortstop David Eckstein left the game due to a hip injury, and his backup John McDonald followed him a short time later with a sprained ankle; both were eventually put on the 15-day disabled list. The last game with Tampa seemingly symbolized Toronto's struggles – after trailing for eight innings, they came back to tie in the bottom of the ninth, only to come up empty the next inning and waste a leadoff triple by Alex Ríos. In the 13th, Carl Crawford came through with a sacrifice fly off Shawn Camp, and a few batters later Dioner Navarro hit a grand slam, putting the game out of reach for the Jays.

Prior to a road series in Cleveland, general manager Ricciardi attempted to pick up the team's sagging offense and deepen the bench by signing free-agent outfielder Brad Wilkerson and acquiring outfielder Kevin Mench in exchange for cash considerations. [5] However, the Jays still lost three of four to the Indians, with Vernon Wells breaking his wrist trying to make a diving catch in the first game and missing the next 6–8 weeks. [6] Despite the blow dealt by the absence of Wells, the victory in the last game of the Cleveland series seemed to spur the Jays' bats back to life somewhat, as they proceeded to sweep the Twins in Minnesota and then take two of three from the Phillies in their first interleague series of the year. Returning home, Toronto lost the first two games of a close three-game set to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but won the last game, using it as a springboard for a four-game sweep of the Royals that brought them three games above .500 for the first time in the season. The Jays then took off for the West Coast, splitting the first two tense games in Oakland before blowing out the A's 12–0 in the final game. The momentum continued in Anaheim when the Jays pounded the Angels 10–4 in the first game, but lost a 3–2 nail-biter in 10 innings in the second game. Despite the tight loss to the Angels, Toronto enjoyed a remarkable recovery from their disastrous April, winning 20 games, just one shy of the club record for the most wins in a single month.

June

On Friday June 20, 2008, after losing 5 in a row and falling 10.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays replaced John Gibbons with Cito Gaston. Cito is the only manager to lead the Blue Jays to World Series victories in 1992 over the Braves and won again 1993 over the Phillies.

July

On Tuesday July 8, 2008, the Blue Jays won their first game in walk-off fashion of the season, and marking the first time since September 17, 2007 that the Jays won a walk-off-style game. The win was a 7–6 victory over the visiting Baltimore Orioles, and the walk-off win was achieved by an RBI single from Scott Rolen, bringing Alex Ríos to score, after stealing two bases via a strikeout by Vernon Wells before Rolen's at-bat in the bottom of the 9th inning. Rios earlier in the bottom of the 7th inning, scored a three-run triple (his 3rd triple of the season), bringing the score to 6–5 Baltimore. Immediately afterwards, Vernon Wells hit an RBI single (his 2nd single of the night), bringing Rios home and tying the game 6–6 before the walk-off finisher two innings later.

Just 2 days later, on July 10, the Blue Jays won their second walk-off victory of the season, against the Baltimore Orioles. The win resulted in the Orioles being swept by the Jays, the first time since late May that the Jays won a sweep; against the Kansas City Royals. The Jays won 6–5. Marco Scutaro came as the first batter of the bottom of the 9th, as a pinch hitter for Matt Stairs; he struck out. Scutaro was followed by Rod Barajas who fired a single into right field and was subsequently replaced with pinch runner John McDonald, who ran to 2nd base. Then came Scott Rolen who fired the ball deep into right field, landing near the foul line and resulting in a double, sending Rolen to 2nd and McDonald to 3rd. Gregg Zaun was intentionally walked by Orioles' closer George Sherrill thus loading the bases. This was followed by a sacrifice fly from Lyle Overbay, scoring McDonald and tying the game at 5–5. Lastly, Adam Lind came up and launched a ground ball single off to right field, past the glove of Aubrey Huff and placed near right fielder Nick Markakis. Rolen runs from 2nd base and makes it to home plate, giving the Blue Jays the sweep.

August

On August 28, the Blue Jays designated DH Matt Stairs for assignment shortly after their 3–2 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was then traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, who went on to win the World Series.

After the Jays won their final game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium 6–2 on August 31, shortstop David Eckstein was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a right-handed pitcher.

September

The Jays swept the Minnesota Twins from September 2–4, marking the second straight sweep of the Twins for the Jays this season and also the first time since several years ago that they swept one team three times in a row, since the Jays swept the Twins in July 2007 in addition to the two sweeps this year.

The Jays beat the Rays on September 5, 6–4 and then on September 6, they won their first series victory over the Rays this season, winning the game 7–4 due to a walk-off grand slam by catcher Gregg Zaun at the bottom of 13th inning. As a result, three records occurred: 1. That walk-off grand slam was the second in franchise history (the first was by George Bell on September 4, 1988) as well as being the franchise's first walk-off grand slam to occur in extra innings. 2. The win was the Jays seventh straight win, the first time this happened since September 2002. 3. With the win, the Jays were 5–0 so far for the month of September, marking the first time since September 1998 that the Jays had that record at the beginning of that month.

On September 7, the Jays won the final game against the Rays 1–0, thus sweeping them. David Purcey got the win, going 8 solid innings, and Jesse Carlson got the save, his 2nd of the season. With this win, the Jays now have their longest winning streak since April 1999. The sweep of the Rays was also the first time in franchise history that they swept the Rays. [ citation needed ]

The Jays opened a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox by winning a rain-postponed double-header on September 9. A.J.Burnett got his 17th victory of the season by taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning before giving up a run. Jays win 3–1. Jesse Litsch pitched a solid 7 innings and records his fifth win since being recalled from AAA. Marco Scutaro leads off the game with his 2nd career lead-off home run. Litsch again receives much run support and the Jays win 8–2.

On September 12, the Jays went into Fenway Park to face the AL Wild Card Leaders, The Boston Red Sox. The Jays promptly lost 3 out of 4 in that weekend series, ultimately dropping them out of the AL Wild Card contention.

On September 18, the Jays scored a 3–2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, moving their record to 82–71. The victory secured a third consecutive winning season for the team, something which they have not accomplished since 1998–2000.

On September 25, versus the New York Yankees, Roy Halladay pitched a complete game six-hitter for his 20th win of the season, the first time he did so since his Cy Young Award-winning 2003 season. Halladay became only the 2nd Blue Jays pitcher to have pitched two 20+ win seasons, after Roger Clemens did so in 1997 and 1998. With that win, Halladay also became the first pitcher to have a 5–0 record against the Yankees in a season, since Luis Tiant accomplished the feat in 1974.

2008 Draft picks

Source [7]

The 2008 MLB draft was held on June 5–6.

RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege/SchoolNationalitySigned
117 David Cooper 1B California Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
263 Kenny Wilson OF Sickles High School (FL) Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
395Andrew LiebelRHP Long Beach State Flag of the United States.svg 2008–07–14
4129Mark Sobolewski3B Miami (FL) Flag of the United States.svg 2008–07–03
5159 Tyler Pastornicky SSThe Pendleton School (FL) Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
6189Markus BriskerOF Winter Haven High School (FL) Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
7219 Eric Thames OF Pepperdine Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
8249 Evan Crawford LHP Auburn Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–10
9279 A. J. Jimenez CDiscipulos De Cristo (PR) Flag of Puerto Rico.svg 2008–06–10
10309 Danny Farquhar RHP Louisiana–Lafayette Flag of the United States.svg 2008–06–30

Roster

2008 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

2008 Game Log
March
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
–March 31@ Yankees Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for April 1
April
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
1April 1@ Yankees 3–2 Wang (1–0) Halladay (0–1) Rivera (1)55,1120–11
2April 2@ Yankees 5–2 Burnett (1–0) Mussina (0–1) Accardo (1)48,5441–11
3April 3@ Yankees 3–2 Chamberlain (1–0) Wolfe (0–1) Rivera (2)47,7851–21½
4April 4 Red Sox 6–3 Marcum (1–0) Aardsma (0–1) Accardo (2)50,1712–2½
5April 5 Red Sox 10–2 Litsch (1–0) Buchholz (0–1)35,2383–2½
6April 6 Red Sox 7–4 Halladay (1–1) Beckett (0–1) Accardo (3)30,1144–2½
7April 8 Athletics 9–8 Embree (1–1) Accardo (0–1) Street (1)31,3364–32
8April 9 Athletics 6–3 Hernández (1–0) Accardo (0–2) Street (2)16,1024–42½
9April 10 Athletics 3–2 (12) Devine (1–0) League (0–1) Foulke (1)16,5214–52
10April 11@ Rangers 8–5 Litsch (2–0) Padilla (1–1) Downs (1)24,2095–51
11April 12@ Rangers 4–1 Halladay (2–1) Mendoza (0–1)34,9606–51
12April 13@ Rangers 5–4 (10) Carlson (1–0) Nippert (0–1) Ryan (1)21,5157–50
13April 14@ Orioles 4–3 Albers (2–0) McGowan (0–1) Sherrill (6)11,5107–61
14April 15@ Orioles 11–3 Marcum (2–0) Trachsel (1–2)15,0178–6½
15April 16 Rangers 7–5 (14) Nippert (1–1) Burnett (1–1) Wilson (4)15,6868–7½
16April 17 Rangers 4–1 Padilla (2–1) Halladay (2–2) Wilson (5)15,8098–81½
17April 18 Tigers 8–4 Rogers (1–3) Accardo (0–3)24,2948–92½
18April 19 Tigers 3–2 McGowan (1–1) Bonderman (1–2) Ryan (2)31,0529–92½
19April 20 Tigers 5–3 Burnett (2–1) Robertson (0–2) Accardo (4)30,13910–92½
20April 21 Tigers 5–1 Galarraga (2–0) Marcum (2–1)25,28710–103½
21April 22@ Rays †6–4 Shields (2–1) Litsch (2–1) Percival (2)8,26910–114½
22April 23@ Rays †5–3 Hammel (2–1) Halladay (2–3) Percival (3)8,98910–124½
23April 24@ Rays †5–3 Sonnanstine (3–1) McGowan (1–2) Percival (4)9,54010–134½
24April 25@ Royals 8–4 Núñez (2–0) Burnett (2–2)22,56110–144½
25April 26@ Royals 2–1 Hochevar (1–1) Marcum (2–2) Soria (6)24,07810–154½
26April 27@ Royals 5–2 Litsch (3–1) Meche (1–4) Carlson (1)13,99811–153½
27April 29@ Red Sox 1–0 Papelbon (1–0) Halladay (2–4)37,21511–164½
28April 30@ Red Sox 2–1 Papelbon (2–0) Downs (0–1)37,71011–175½
May
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
29May 1@ Red Sox 3–0 Burnett (3–2) Wakefield (2–1) Ryan (3)37,82112–174½
30May 2 White Sox 2–0 Marcum (3–2) Buehrle (1–3) Downs (2)21,05713–174½
31May 3 White Sox 5–2 Litsch (4–1) Danks (2–3) Ryan (4)27,77814–174½
32May 4 White Sox 4–3 Halladay (3–4) Contreras (2–3) Downs (3)26,24715–174½
33May 5 White Sox 1–0 McGowan (2–2) Vázquez (3–3) Ryan (5)16,60216–174½
34May 6 Rays 5–4 Sonnanstine (5–1) Burnett (3–3) Percival (7)30,39716–185½
35May 7 Rays 6–2 Marcum (4–2) Garza (1–1)19,27617–184½
36May 8 Rays 8–3 (13) Howell (1–0) Camp (0–1)21,11817–195½
37May 9@ Indians 6–1 Sabathia (2–5) Halladay (3–5)26,47217–205½
38May 10@ Indians 12–0 Laffey (1–2) McGowan (2–3)38,14117–216½
–May 11@ Indians Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for May 12
39May 12@ Indians 3–0 Carmona (4–1) Burnett (3–4)17–22-
40May 12@ Indians 3–0 (10) Ryan (1–0) Betancourt (1–2) Downs (4)16,04518–225½
41May 13@ Twins 5–3 Litsch (5–1) Slowey (0–3) Ryan (6)18,11019–225
42May 14@ Twins 6–5 Halladay (4–5) Bonser (2–5) Downs (5)21,02620–224
43May 15@ Twins 3–2 (11) Camp (1–1) Crain (1–2) Ryan (7)18,70121–224
44May 16@ Phillies 10–3 Moyer (3–3) Purcey (0–1)36,60021–235
45May 17@ Phillies 6–3 Burnett (4–4) Eaton (0–2) Ryan (8)42,60422–234
46May 18@ Phillies 6–5 Frasor (1–0) Seánez (2–3) Ryan (9)42,85823–234
47May 20 Angels 3–1 Lackey (1–0) McGowan (2–4) Rodríguez (18)31,48723–245½
48May 21 Angels 4–3 Garland (5–3) Marcum (4–3) Rodríguez (19)20,16323–256½
49May 22 Angels 4–3 Burnett (5–4) Santana (6–2) Ryan (10)22,00724–256½
50May 23 Royals 7–1 Halladay (5–5) Greinke (5–2)24,20725–255½
51May 24 Royals 6–0 Litsch (6–1) Hochevar (3–4)28,16226–254½
52May 25 Royals 3–1 McGowan (3–4) Meche (3–7) Ryan (11)29,31527–254
53May 26 Royals 7–2 Marcum (5–3) Tomko (2–6)23,15728–254
54May 27@ Athletics 3–1 Smith (3–4) Burnett (5–5) Street (12)10,63528–264
55May 28@ Athletics 2–1 Halladay (6–5) Foulke (0–1) Ryan (12)17,46029–264
56May 29@ Athletics 12–0 Litsch (7–1) Eveland (4–4)21,86230–263
57May 30@ Angels 10–4 McGowan (4–4) Weaver (4–6)42,57731–263
58May 31@ Angels 3–2 (10) Shields (3–1) Tallet (0–1)43,64531–274
June
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
59June 1@ Angels 4–3 Arredondo (2–0) Ryan (1–1)40,02631–285
60June 3@ Yankees 9–3 Halladay (7–5) Giese (0–1)53,62932–284
61June 4@ Yankees 5–1 Mussina (9–4) Litsch (7–2)51,15132–294½
62June 5@ Yankees 9–8 Farnsworth (1–2) Ryan (1–2)53,57132–305½
63June 6 Orioles 6–5 Sarfate (3–1) Benítez (0–1) Sherrill (21)23,64932–315½
64June 7 Orioles 9–5 Guthrie (3–6) Burnett (5–6)25,12232–326½
65June 8 Orioles 5–4 Halladay (8–5) Albers (3–2) Ryan (13)25,36533–326½
66June 9 Mariners 3–2 (10) Dickey (1–1) Frasor (1–1) Putz (7)20,07333–337
67June 10 Mariners 3–1 McGowan (5–4) Silva (3–7)36,17034–336
68June 11 Mariners 2–1 Hernández (5–5) Ryan (1–3) Morrow (1)35,70234–347
69June 13 Cubs 3–2 Burnett (6–6) Gallagher (3–3) Ryan (14)27,80335–346½
70June 14 Cubs 6–2 Marquis (5–3) Halladay (8–6)34,04835–357½
71June 15 Cubs 7–4 Lilly (7–5) Litsch (7–3)40,73835–368½
72June 17@ Brewers 7–0 Parra (6–2) McGowan (5–5)37,06535–379
73June 18@ Brewers 5–4 Sheets (8–1) Marcum (5–4)34,44235–3810
74June 19@ Brewers 8–7 Bush (3–7) Burnett (6–7) Torres (10)35,17335–3910½
75June 20@ Pirates 1–0 (12) Yates (3–0) Carlson (1–1)28,96235–4010½
76June 21@ Pirates 6–3 Maholm (5–5) Litsch (7–4) Capps (17)27,01435–4110½
77June 22@ Pirates 8–5 McGowan (6–5) Beam (0–1) Ryan (15)22,98336–4110½
78June 24 Reds 14–1 Burnett (7–7) Arroyo (4–7)28,15337–4110
79June 25 Reds 6–5 Burton (4–1) Wolfe (0–2) Cordero (15)25,43737–4211
80June 26 Reds 7–1 Litsch (8–4) Vólquez (10–3)25,12938–4210½
81June 27 Braves 4–0 Jurrjens (8–3) McGowan (6–6)24,28238–4311½
82June 28 Braves 9–5 Parrish (1–0) Hudson (8–6)28,51839–4310½
83June 29 Braves 1–0 Burnett (8–7) Reyes (3–6) Ryan (16)30,51440–4310
84June 30@ Mariners 2–0 Halladay (9–6) Dickey (2–4)30,17941–4310
July
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
85July 1@ Mariners 7–6 Morrow (1–1) Downs (0–2)24,58641–4411
86July 2@ Mariners 4–2 Washburn (4–7) McGowan (6–7) Morrow (5)23,28341–4512
87July 4@ Angels 8–2 Weaver (8–8) Burnett (8–8)44,02141–4613
88July 5@ Angels 7–5 Halladay (10–6) Lackey (6–2)43,76742–4613
89July 6@ Angels 7–1 Garland (8–5) Litsch (8–5)41,02642–4714
90July 8 Orioles 7–6 Ryan (2–3) Johnson (2–3)23,27643–4712½
91July 9 Orioles 9–8 Burnett (9–8) Olson (6–4) Ryan (17)22,36544–4711½
92July 10 Orioles 6–5 Camp (2–1) Sherrill (2–4)22,27945–4710½
93July 11 Yankees 5–0 Halladay (11–6) Chamberlain (2–3)43,07846–479½
94July 12 Yankees 9–4 Rasner (5–7) Litsch (8–6)44,36346–489½
95July 13 Yankees 4–1 Burnett (10–8) Pettitte (10–7) Ryan (18)43,85447–489
96July 18@ Rays 2–1 Shields (8–6) Burnett (10–9) Balfour (4)23,70647–499½
97July 19@ Rays 6–4 Garza (8–5) Halladay (11–7) Wheeler (4)32,66947–5010½
98July 20@ Rays 9–4 Camp (3–1) Jackson (5–7)21,03748–509½
99July 21@ Orioles 8–3 Liz (4–2) Litsch (8–7)12,77248–5110½
100July 22@ Orioles 10–8 Carlson (2–1) Cabrera (0–1) Ryan (19)15,18449–519½
101July 23@ Orioles 5–1 ‡ Burnett (11–9) Guthrie (6–8)24,77650–51–
102July 24@ Orioles 7–1 Halladay (12–7) Cabrera (6–6)23,32951–518½
103July 25 Mariners 5–4 (10) Carlson (3–1) Lowe (1–4)28,46352–518½
104July 26 Mariners 8–3 Purcey (1–1) Dickey (2–6)33,04153–518½
105July 27 Mariners 5–1 Washburn (5–9) Marcum (5–5)33,36953–528½
106July 28 Rays 3–1 Burnett (12–9) Shields (9–7) Ryan (20)23,47654–527½
107July 29 Rays 3–0 Garza (9–6) Halladay (12–8)26,79154–538½
108July 30 Rays 3–2 Jackson (7–7) Richmond (0–1) Percival (23)40,32254–549½
August
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
109August 1@ Rangers 9–8 Wilson (2–2) Ryan (2–4)23,97354–5510½
110August 2@ Rangers 6–4 Burnett (13–9) Feldman (4–4) Ryan (21)32,64155–5510½
111August 3@ Rangers 8–4 Mendoza (3–4) Purcey (1–2)17,48855–5611½
112August 4 Athletics 6–1 Halladay (13–8) Gallagher (4–5)24,76156–5610½
113August 5 Athletics 4–3 Carlson (4–1) Street (2–5)23,58057–5610½
114August 6 Athletics 5–1 Marcum (6–5) Gonzalez (0–1)29,25658–5610½
115August 7 Athletics 6–4 Burnett (14–9) Blevins (1–2) Ryan (22)28,82159–569½
116August 8 Indians 5–2 Reyes (3–1) Purcey (1–3) Lewis (1)31,62759–5710½
117August 9 Indians 4–2 Byrd (6–10) Halladay (13–9)39,62359–5811½
118August 10 Indians 4–0 Lee (16–2) Richmond (0–2)36,44759–5912½
119August 11@ Tigers 7–2 Marcum (7–5) Verlander (8–13)39,71860–5912
120August 12@ Tigers 6–4 Burnett (15–9) Zumaya (0–2) Ryan (23)39,79061–5911
121August 13@ Tigers 4–3 Purcey (2–3) Rogers (8–10) League (1)39,07362–5911
122August 14@ Tigers 5–1 Galarraga (11–4) Frasor (1–2)41,25962–6012
–August 15@ Red Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 13
123August 16@ Red Sox 4–1 Halladay (14–9) Byrd (7–11)37,83463–6011½
124August 17@ Red Sox 15–4 Marcum (8–5) Beckett (11–9)37,41564–6011½
125August 19 Yankees 2–1 Burnett (16–9) Veras (3–2) Ryan (24)37,22165–6012
126August 20 Yankees 5–1 Pettitte (13–9) Purcey (2–4)34,91065–6112
127August 21 Yankees 14–3 Halladay (15–9) Ponson (7–4)37,03766–6111½
128August 22 Red Sox 8–4 Byrd (8–11) Marcum (8–6)40,18166–6212½
129August 23 Red Sox 11–0 Litsch (9–7) Lester (12–9)44,89667–6212½
130August 24 Red Sox 6–5 Papelbon (5–3) League (0–2) Delcarmen (1)44,52167–6312½
131August 26@ Rays 6–2 Halladay (16–9) Shields (11–7)13,47868–6311½
132August 27@ Rays 1–0 Garza (11–9) Purcey (2–5) Wheeler (9)12,67868–6412½
133August 28@ Rays 3–2 Jackson (11–8) Listch (9–8) Wheeler (10)14,03968–6513½
134August 29@ Yankees 2–1 Pavano (2–0) Burnett (16–10) Rivera (32)53,08868–6614½
135August 30@ Yankees 7–6 League (1–2) Marte (4–3) Ryan (25)53,27369–6614½
136August 31@ Yankees 6–2 Halladay (17–9) Pettitte (13–11)53,63470–6614½
September
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordGBL
137September 2 Twins 7–5 Carlson (5–1) Bonser (3–7) Ryan (26)21,25471–6613½
138September 3 Twins 5–4 (11) Carlson (6–1) Guardado (3–4)21,47572–6612½
139September 4 Twins 9–0 Litsch (10–8) Slowey (11–9)25,12873–6612½
140September 5 Rays 6–4 Halladay (18–9) Sonnanstine (13–7) Ryan (27)32,47774–6611½
141September 6 Rays 7–4 (13) Tallet (1–1) Percival (2–1)34,64975–6610½
142September 7 Rays 1–0 Purcey (3–5) Garza (11–9) Carlson (2)39,85476–669½
–September 8@ White Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 9
143September 9@ White Sox 3–1 Burnett (17–10) Vázquez (11–13) Ryan (28)24,62177–668½
144September 9@ White Sox 8–2 Litsch (11–8) Richard (2–4)28,50578–668½
145September 10@ White Sox 6–5 Buehrle (13–11) Halladay (18–10)26,19878–679½
146September 11@ White Sox 6–4 Marcum (9–6) Floyd (15–7) Ryan (29)27,17079–679
147September 12@ Red Sox 7–0 Wakefield (9–10) Purcey (3–6)37,39879–689½
148September 13@ Red Sox 8–1 Burnett (18–10) Byrd (11–12)37,34180–689½
149September 13@ Red Sox 7–5 Masterson (6–4) Downs (0–3) Papelbon (37)37,84680–699½
150September 14@ Red Sox 4–3 Lester (15–5) Halladay (18–11) Papelbon (38)37,00780–709½
151September 16 Orioles 2–0 Waters (3–3) Marcum (9–7)25,74680–7110
152September 17 Orioles 8–7 Carlson (7–1) Mickolio (0–1) Ryan (30)24,54681–7110
153September 18 Orioles 3–2 Litsch (12–8) Olson (9–9) Ryan (31)29,06382–719
154September 19 Red Sox 4–3 Delcarmen (1–2) Tallet (1–2) Papelbon (39)34,98282–7210
155September 20 Red Sox 6–3 Halladay (19–11) Lester (15–6) Ryan (32)40,55483–7210
156September 21 Red Sox 3–0 Matsuzaka (18–2) Richmond (0–3) Papelbon (40)38,81483–7310
157September 23 Yankees 3–1 Mussina (19–9) Litsch (12–9) Rivera (38)27,21683–7412
158September 24 Yankees 6–2 (10) Veras (5–2) Carlson (7–2)28,70183–7513
159September 25 Yankees 8–2 Halladay (20–11) Pavano (4–2)44,34684–7512
160September 26@ Orioles 3–0 (7) Richmond (1–3) Waters (3–5)17,71685–7511
161September 27@ Orioles 2–1 (6) Bass (4–4) Parrish (1–1)18,37885–7611
162September 28@ Orioles 10–1 Litsch (13–9) Guthrie (10–12)19,55486–7611

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

PlayerGABRH2B3BHRRBIAVGSB
Lyle Overbay 158544741473221569.2701
Alex Ríos 155635911854781579.29132
Marco Scutaro 14551776138231760.2677
Scott Rolen 115408581073031150.2625
Joe Inglett 10934445102157339.2979
Vernon Wells 108427631282212078.3004
Matt Stairs 10532042801111144.2501
Rod Barajas 10434944872301149.2490
Adam Lind 883264892164940.2822
Gregg Zaun 862452958120630.2372
Brad Wilkerson 85208204582423.2162
John McDonald 84186213980118.2103
David Eckstein 762602772180123.2772
Aaron Hill 552051954140220.2634
Shannon Stewart 52175144242114.2403
Kevin Mench 511151828111010.2432
Travis Snider 247392260213.3010
José Bautista 215671220310.2140
Frank Thomas 166071010311.1670
Curtis Thigpen 1017230011.1760
Buck Coats 85010000.2001
Jason Frasor 50000000.0000
B. J. Ryan 50000000.0000
Jesse Carlson 40000000.0000
Scott Downs 40000000.0000
Jorge Velandia 37000000.0000
Shawn Camp 30000000.0000
Brian Tallet 30000000.0000
Jesse Litsch 23000000.0000
Brian Wolfe 20000000.0000
Héctor Luna 210100001.0000
A. J. Burnett 23000000.0000
Shaun Marcum 22000000.0000
Roy Halladay 24000000.0000
Dustin McGowan 23000000.0000
Robinzon Diaz 14000000.0000
David Purcey 11000000.0000
Armando Benitez 10000000.0000
Team Totals1625503714145330332126681.26480

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

PlayerWLERAGGSSVIPRERBBK
Roy Halladay 20112.7834330246.0887639206
A. J. Burnett 18104.0735340221.110910086231
Jesse Litsch 1393.5829280176.079703999
Shaun Marcum 973.3925250151.1605750123
Jesse Carlson 722.25690260.016152155
Dustin McGowan 674.3719190111.160543885
Shawn Camp 314.12400039.118181131
David Purcey 365.541212065.041402958
B. J. Ryan 242.956003258.021192858
Scott Richmond 134.0055027.01212220
Jason Frasor 124.18490047.123223242
John Parrish 114.04136042.119191521
Brandon League 122.18310133.0981523
Brian Tallet 122.88510056.119182247
Scott Downs 031.78660570.215142757
Brian Wolfe 022.45200022.066614
Armando Benitez 015.688006.15429
Jeremy Accardo 036.57160412.110945
Randy Wells 000.001001.00010
Team Totals86763.49162162441446.26105614671184

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Syracuse Chiefs International League Doug Davis
AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats Eastern League Gary Cathcart
A Dunedin Blue Jays Florida State League Omar Malavé
A Lansing Lugnuts Midwest League Clayton McCullough
A-Short Season Auburn Doubledays New York–Penn League Dennis Holmberg
Rookie GCL Blue Jays Gulf Coast League Dave Pano

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References

  1. ↑ "MLB: Jays release Johnson, Stewart wins job – Posted Sports" . Retrieved April 12, 2008.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ Inglett, Ryan lift Blue Jays over Rangers in 10 innings – MLB – Yahoo! Sports
  3. ↑ Deveney, Sean (April 30, 2008). "Even grandma knows Jays' Gibbons on firing line". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2008.
  4. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (May 8, 2008). "Jays' offense may be out of recent funk". Toronto Blue Jays. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
  5. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (May 9, 2008). "Blue Jays pick up pair of outfielders". Toronto Blue Jays. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Vernon Wells has broken wrist, out 6–8 weeks". CBC Sports. May 10, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Feature: 2008 Free Agent Draft Pick Compensation". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
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