The ninth inning of Wednesday’s matchup was all about Raul Ibanez. First, he singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the inning, to break a 1-1 tie. Then, after closer JJ Putz was forced to leave with a sore elbow, Lyle Overbay drove rookie Brandon Morrow’s two-out offering to the left field wall. Ibanez was playing deep and recorded the final out of the game. It was Morrow’s first career save, although it looked at first as if Overbay had won the game with a walk-off two run homer.
The game was a great pitching matchup between Felix Hernandez and Shawn Marcum. Marcum came into the game with an ERA of 2.52, tied for the AL lead. He gave up 1 run on 7 hits over seven innings of work, while fanning 9 batters. Seven of those Ks came in the first three innings. Marcum now leads the AL with an ERA of 2.43. Hernandez was just as good as Marcum all afternoon, allowing only 1 run over 8 innings. He struck out 8, and gave up only 4 hits.
BJ Ryan blew his third save in his last four chance, as the Blue Jays dropped their 8th game in their last 11 contests. Ryan and manager John Gibbons were ejected in the 9th for arguing about the strike zone.