Jays win before sparse home crowd
Rookie Brett Cecil threw six strong innings in his final start of the season and Adam Lind moved closer to 100 RBIs by knocking in a pair as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 3-2 Thursday afternoon to split a four-game series.
The Blue Jays (63-77) completed a 4-4 homestand before a crowd of 11,461, the second-smallest in the team's 20-year history at Rogers Centre. That was just 302 fans more than the record-setting 11,159 who showed up for Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.
Cecil (7-4), who is being shut down for hitting his innings cap at 142 1/3 between triple-A and the majors, delivered one of his cleaner outings, allowing just two runs on seven hits and a walk.
The last number was particularly important for Cecil, as his habit of putting men on has been a nagging issue in the big leagues, preventing him from pitching deep into games.
Empty Nest
Through 74 games, the Blue Jays have drawn 1,734,110 fans for an average of 23,433 per game, good for 23rd in the majors. The only teams behind them are Cincinnati, Washington, Kansas City, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Oakland and Florida.
The left-hander hadn't thrown more than five innings in a start since going seven in a 6-5 win at Oakland on Aug. 1.
But handling the Twins the way he did, including a combined 0-for-6 for superstars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., offered a reminder of the promise the unseasoned 23-year-old has.
Leading the way at the plate was Lind, who opened the scoring with a double that brought home Joe Inglett in the first, and broke a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly to deep right in the fifth.
He now has 96 RBIs and is on pace to become the first Blue Jays player to hit the century mark since Vernon Wells (106) and Troy Glaus (104) did it in 2006.
Jose Bautista homered in the fourth to tie the game 2-2.