Long County’s Dustin McGowan (5-4) had another stellar performance Thursday, as his Toronto Blue Jays beat Oakland 10-3.
After taking on Minnesota and Seattle, Toronto wrapped up a 10-game road trip at McAfee Coliseum and continued to improve in their offensive output by out hitting Oakland 9-7 in the lopsided game. Over the last 10 road games the Jays went 4-6, and despite going below .500, they were able to move into second place in the American League East division.
McGowan continued to show he is getting more comfortable in the starting rotation as he pitched seven scoreless innings.
The first inning was easy for the right hander, as the first three batters all hit fly outs; one to right, one to center, and the last one to left field
But in the other dugout it was just the opposite for Oakland pitcher Joe Kennedy. After giving up two hits, four walks, and four earned runs, the Athletics’ pitcher was pulled, never seeing the second and the Blue Jays led early 4-0.
Once McGowan had this cushion, he was able to attack the strike zone more vehemently, controlling the tempo of the game. This control was evident in him not allowing an Athletic base runner to advance past second base over the seven innings he pitched.
For the night, the right-handed faced 27 batters, throwing 101 pitches, with 62 being strikes. He struck out 4 batters, walked 2, and gave up no runs. He is now 5-4 and has a 4.65 ERA.
After a shaky start at the beginning of the season, McGowan has been one of the Jays most productive pitchers as of late, and nearly had a no hitter on June 24th, giving up only one hit in the ninth.
McGowan, who has been a fan favorite of the Toronto Blue Jays since coming up from Syracuse recently said, the home fans have often reminded him of the fans who cheered for him in Long County.
“It was kind of like the state playoffs when our fans would cheer us on. We had the crew all down the left field line, and they were great,” said McGowan.
The 25-year old pitcher isn’t scheduled to make another start until after the All-Star Break.
As of July 5th, Toronto (41-43) was 11-1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox (52-31) in the American League East. They start a three game series against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, before the All-Star Break begins.
After taking on Minnesota and Seattle, Toronto wrapped up a 10-game road trip at McAfee Coliseum and continued to improve in their offensive output by out hitting Oakland 9-7 in the lopsided game. Over the last 10 road games the Jays went 4-6, and despite going below .500, they were able to move into second place in the American League East division.
McGowan continued to show he is getting more comfortable in the starting rotation as he pitched seven scoreless innings.
The first inning was easy for the right hander, as the first three batters all hit fly outs; one to right, one to center, and the last one to left field
But in the other dugout it was just the opposite for Oakland pitcher Joe Kennedy. After giving up two hits, four walks, and four earned runs, the Athletics’ pitcher was pulled, never seeing the second and the Blue Jays led early 4-0.
Once McGowan had this cushion, he was able to attack the strike zone more vehemently, controlling the tempo of the game. This control was evident in him not allowing an Athletic base runner to advance past second base over the seven innings he pitched.
For the night, the right-handed faced 27 batters, throwing 101 pitches, with 62 being strikes. He struck out 4 batters, walked 2, and gave up no runs. He is now 5-4 and has a 4.65 ERA.
After a shaky start at the beginning of the season, McGowan has been one of the Jays most productive pitchers as of late, and nearly had a no hitter on June 24th, giving up only one hit in the ninth.
McGowan, who has been a fan favorite of the Toronto Blue Jays since coming up from Syracuse recently said, the home fans have often reminded him of the fans who cheered for him in Long County.
“It was kind of like the state playoffs when our fans would cheer us on. We had the crew all down the left field line, and they were great,” said McGowan.
The 25-year old pitcher isn’t scheduled to make another start until after the All-Star Break.
As of July 5th, Toronto (41-43) was 11-1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox (52-31) in the American League East. They start a three game series against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, before the All-Star Break begins.