Starters to blame for Toronto woes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/06/2011 (5462 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Back in March, many considered the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting rotation the rock on which the team’s fortunes would flourish.

But a little more than two months into the baseball season, they continue to search for rotation stability. And on Thursday afternoon, they will try their ninth different starter, with Zach Stewart coming up from double-A to make his big-league debut against the Baltimore Orioles.

Stewart, promoted to replace the demoted Kyle Drabek, may simply be holding a spot for the return of Brett Cecil or Jesse Litsch from the minors.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to last,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. “Things change.”

Indeed. Look no further than the man who started Tuesday night in the Jays’ 6-5 win over Baltimore in 11 innings. Carlos Villanueva was no lock even to make the team in spring training and started the season in the bullpen.

Now Villanueva sports a 4-0 record, with three wins as a starter. He might be 5-0 but for the work of two relievers who followed him against the Orioles and squandered two leads.

The Jays won it on Adam Lind’s homer off Koji Uehara leading off the bottom of the 11th inning.

With the Jays leading 4-1 entering the seventh, Villanueva allowed a single and a walk. Reliever Jason Frasor let both runners score.

Aaron Hill’s homer gave Toronto a 5-3 lead, but reliever Marc Rzepczynski gave it right back on Matt Wieters’ two-run homer in the eighth.

Stewart, obtained from Cincinnati in a 2009 trade-deadline deal, was 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA at New Hampshire. In his past three starts, he posted a 2.37 ERA.

Late last season, the Jays considered promoting him from double-A. He was widely expected to start this season at Triple-A Las Vegas, but for development purposes, the club chose to keep him in the Eastern League instead of the Pacific Coast League, a haven for hitters.

The Jays shuffled their rotation to start Stewart between two left-handers, Ricky Romero and Jo-Jo Reyes.

Anthopoulos said the Jays considered recalling Cecil, who opened the season in their rotation. He has an 8-2 record at Las Vegas and pitched a shutout Monday night. But they are looking for Cecil to reel off a series of consistent starts before bringing him back, the GM said.

Brad Mills is 5-5 at Vegas and leads the league in ERA (2.87) and strikeouts (78). He too was considered, but from the GM’s lukewarm remarks, he did not seem a strong candidate.

“We’ve seen Brad Mills up here before, and he’s having a nice year,” Anthopoulos said.

Cecil led Toronto with 15 wins last year before falling on hard times in April. He takes priority over Mills because “he’s had more success” in the majors, Anthopoulos said.

On Monday night, Cecil beat Colorado Springs 3-0 on a four-hitter.

— Postmedia News