For most baseball playing boys born and raised in Georgia, it would be a dream come true to play against the Atlanta Braves. Hometown favorite Dustin McGowan got that opportunity Friday, as he and the rest of the Toronto team took on Atlanta in Toronto.
This was McGowan's first career appearance against the Braves and, despite a game effort, the right-hander from Long County came up on the short end, as opposing pitcher, Jair Jurrjens threw a gem of a game.
Atlanta got the first score early, when Brave first baseman Mark Teixeira hammered a two-run homer that Hank Aaron would have been proud of, over the right-field wall of Rogers Centre Stadium.
In the third inning Teixeira nailed another hit off McGowan, this time for a double, sending Brave Gregor Blanco in for the score, putting Atlanta up 3-0.
In the seventh inning, Blanco did his part at bat, as he hit a single, bringing Brandon Jones in and making the score 4-0, which is where it stood at the end of nine.
Toronto's bats were held in check all night by Jurrjens, as he sat the first 13 Blue Jay batters not allowing a hit until the seventh inning. The Brave only allowed three hits in the eight innings he pitched, and none of the runners ever got past first base.
McGowan got the loss, which put his record at 6-6 for the year with an ERA of 4.26. For the game he went 7-1/2 innings facing 31 batters. He threw 108 pitches, with 64 being for strikes, as he struck out 4, walked 3, and gave up 8 hits. He gave up 4 runs in the contest, all being earned, including the lone homerun.
The win improved the Braves record to 40-41. They still are in fourth place in the National League East, 3-1/2 games behind Philadelphia (43-37).
Toronto's record dropped to 38-43, as they still sit in the cellar of the American League East, now 11 games behind Boston (49-32).
This was McGowan's first career appearance against the Braves and, despite a game effort, the right-hander from Long County came up on the short end, as opposing pitcher, Jair Jurrjens threw a gem of a game.
Atlanta got the first score early, when Brave first baseman Mark Teixeira hammered a two-run homer that Hank Aaron would have been proud of, over the right-field wall of Rogers Centre Stadium.
In the third inning Teixeira nailed another hit off McGowan, this time for a double, sending Brave Gregor Blanco in for the score, putting Atlanta up 3-0.
In the seventh inning, Blanco did his part at bat, as he hit a single, bringing Brandon Jones in and making the score 4-0, which is where it stood at the end of nine.
Toronto's bats were held in check all night by Jurrjens, as he sat the first 13 Blue Jay batters not allowing a hit until the seventh inning. The Brave only allowed three hits in the eight innings he pitched, and none of the runners ever got past first base.
McGowan got the loss, which put his record at 6-6 for the year with an ERA of 4.26. For the game he went 7-1/2 innings facing 31 batters. He threw 108 pitches, with 64 being for strikes, as he struck out 4, walked 3, and gave up 8 hits. He gave up 4 runs in the contest, all being earned, including the lone homerun.
The win improved the Braves record to 40-41. They still are in fourth place in the National League East, 3-1/2 games behind Philadelphia (43-37).
Toronto's record dropped to 38-43, as they still sit in the cellar of the American League East, now 11 games behind Boston (49-32).