One again I am sorry but the game is not playing on television because of the Mememorial Cup, but it should end soon, so I'll have my real reviews. This is from bluejays.com
It was a fate that seemed increasingly inevitable with every start that Josh Towers made for the Blue Jays. It was a move that Toronto probably didn't want to make, but needed to, considering the playoff aspirations that entered this season right alongside the revamped roster.
On Wednesday night, the Jays quickly pulled the plug on another rough outing for Towers and they decided that a trip to the Minors might best suit their scuffling starter. Following Toronto's 10-8 loss to Tampa Bay, the club outrighted Towers to Triple-A Syracuse, where he'll aim to work through the problems that have plagued him all season.
"All I'm going to say is he's going down to clear his head. That's all I'm going to say on that," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I don't want to beat it to death. That's pretty much all I'm going to say."
Toronto also optioned shortstop Russ Adams, who has been working through some defensive issues this season, to Triple-A after the loss. Gibbons said that John McDonald and Minor Leaguer Luis Figueroa will split duties at short for now. Figueroa is expected to be with the team on Friday, but the roster move hasn't officially been announced.
With Towers (1-8) out of the current picture, Gibbons said Toronto will call up a reliever to help the bullpen out until injured starter Gustavo Chacin returns to the mound on Tuesday. Filling in on the starting staff for Chacin is rookie Ty Taubenheim, who will make his second appearance of the year on Sunday.
Upon Chacin's return, though, the Jays don't need a fifth starter to take over for Towers until June 6 due to off-days on Thursday and the following Wednesday. Gibbons wasn't ready to say who might replace Towers in the rotation at that point.
"We've got it set up until next week," Gibbons said. "We'll deal with it after that."
Towers, who cleared waivers prior to his win over Tampa Bay on May 14, wasn't available for comment, but Gibbons did note that the expectations that the Jays had for this season played a role in his demotion.
"We've been saying that from day one," said a frustrated Gibbons. "You try to win anyway, but we're going to put the best team out there that we can every night."
Buried in the boxscore of Toronto's latest defeat is another dismal stat line for Towers. The struggling right-hander may have avoided the loss, but he couldn't escape his season-long issues.
It didn't take long for the Jays to pull Towers, who dropped eight straight decisions to start the year and saw his ERA jump to 9.00 after the outing against Tampa Bay. After he had faced just three batters -- two of which singled -- Toronto had reliever Scott Downs warming up in the bullpen. Towers had only thrown 14 pitches when Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg came jogging out to the mound to talk things over with the pitcher.
Fans were still entering the gates at Rogers Centre by the time Towers was pulled from the game. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings -- his shortest outing of the season -- and gave up four runs on six hits, including a two-run homer to Carl Crawford in the second inning.
After the homer by Crawford, who went 5-for-5 with a franchise record five runs and four stolen bases, Towers walked Jonny Gomes. That's when Gibbons cut Towers' outing short and Downs emerged from the 'pen. The pitcher threw 43 pitches, including 27 for strikes.
"Even great players have had to go back [down] and get it together," Gibbons said. "It's not unusual. It's probably not as common as it used to be, but sometimes you have to do it."
Downs turned in 2 1/3 scoreless frames, but the relievers that followed him didn't fare as well. Francisco Rosario gave up one run in the fifth, Scott Schoenweis and Jason Frasor combined to give up three in the seventh, and Justin Speier yielded two in the ninth.
Toronto (25-21) led 7-5 in the seventh -- thanks in part to home runs by Shea Hillenbrand and Aaron Hill -- but Frasor (1-1) picked up the loss after giving up a two-run shot to Toby Hall that gave the Rays (21-26) the lead for good.
Adams entered the game as a pinch-runner for catcher Bengie Molina in the seventh inning and remained in the game at shortstop. Adams made two putouts in the field and chipped in an RBI double in the ninth inning that cut Toronto's deficit to 10-8.
It wasn't enough, though, and just a few minutes after knocking home the Jays' final run, Adams was called into Gibbons' office, where he learned he would be heading to the Minors with Towers.
"We're just doing what's best for both of them and best for the team right now," Gibbons said. "It's that simple. Josh can go down there and get it together. It's not happening here. Russ can go down and clear his mind."