JAYS FRIDAY NOTES FROM NEW YORK 4-29-11
PROBABLE PITCHERS
SATURDAY at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. RH Kyle Drabek (2-0, 3.30) vs. RH A.J. Burnett (3-1, 3.52)
TV: SNET RADIO: FAN 590
SUNDAY at Yankees, 1:05 p.m. RH Jesse Litsch (2-1, 3.86) vs. RH Ivan Nova (1-2, 5.82)
TV: SNET RADIO: FAN 590
MONDAY Off Day at Tampa
RAJAI DAVIS BACK AT TOP OF ORDER
On the first play of the regular season against the Twins, Jays leadoff man Rajai Davis was picked off first base and twisted his ankle in a rundown. Manager John Farrell had loved the evolution of his leadoff man during spring training and is happy to have him back healthy after a stint on the disabled list and a rehab option of four games at AA-New Hampshire
“When Rajai turned the ankle, it clearly affected his swing,” Farrell said. “He started to get a little long again. We saw the progression at spring training. He had a pretty long swing at the start. He shortened up and he started to drive the ball with authority. That's what some of our reports have been the last couple of days. More than anything he feels more confident about the base he is able to create from the hitting standpoint to give him that opportunity.”
COOPER THRILLED TO DEBUT AT YANKEE STADIUM
The Jays new designated hitter, David Cooper was pleasantly surprised when he was told to fly to New York for his major-league debut. He feels he turned his career around in the middle of last year.
“About the middle of June last year I started finding my stride and so far I've been able to keep the ball rolling and hopefully keep getting better,” Cooper said. “(Scout) Jon Lalonde came into town for a couple of weeks last year and I asked him for some video to go over it, where I was at (the time of) the draft. There was definitely some differences and it's something I definitely needed to get back to. It's been going good so far.
“My swing had gotten a little bit longer. Some things like that that were creating length in my swing, they've definitely been toned down a little bit. Another thing was it created less movement so I started seeing the ball better too, whiuch led to better results. So it's been good since then.”
DOWN ON THE FARM
AAA-Las Vegas (9-12) on Thursday lost to Sacramento 13-9. CF Scott Podsednik was 2-for-5 with a pair of walks and is batting .154. LF Eric Thames was 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs and is batting .373. 3B Brett Lawrie was 2-for-7 hitting .398 and is still sitting on six errors which he had after 10 games. RHP Chad Cordero gave up four runs on four hits in the 13th inning..
AA-New Hampshire (11-6) on Thursday lost to New Britain 9-7. CF Anthony Gose was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and two steals. Gose is struggling with a .205 average and five steals.
A-Dunedin (7-17) on Thursday lost 5-2 to Brevard County. RHP Nestor Molina (2-2) allowed four runs in five innings on eight hits, with three strikeouts. 2B Chris Hopkins was 1-for-2 with two walks an RBI and a steal.
A-Lansing (13-7) on Thursday swept a pair from Western Michigan 4-0 and 4-2. CF Jake Marisnick in the twinbill was 2-for-4 with 2 walks, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and 2 steals and is hitting .338. He has stolen an organization leading 9 bases. Seconds game winner RHP Scott Gracey is 3-0 in six games in relief with a 0.66 ERA with 18 Ks in 13.2 innings.
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