Right-hander Brandon League has learned the difference between winning and winning ugly.
There was nothing pretty about League's performance in Friday's slugfest between the Blue Jays and the Indians. The hard-throwing reliever came on in relief of Jesse Carlson in the seventh inning and threw just two strikes of the nine pitches he delivered. Somewhere in the midst of his wildness, League blew a save and ended up with the victory thanks to a six-run eighth.
"It was one of those days where you don't have your stuff, a long day," League said. "My goal was to get out of the jam with minimal damage. It could have been worse."
Still, League admitted he learned something in his ugly outing.
"I learned it's better to let them hit the ball," he said.
Naturally, League was on the receiving end of a little ribbing.
"Now, that's economical," said third baseman Scott Rolen. "Two strikes and he gets a 'W.'"
A wet one and a long one for the Jays.
BLUE JAYS 13, INDIANS 7: The Jays banged out 17 hits to win for just the third time in Cleveland in their past 17 games. The game, which started at 4:05 p.m., had a rain delay of 3:47 with the Jays batting in the top of the fifth. The Jays finally blew the game open with a six-run eighth inning. RF Alex Rios and DG Adam Lind paced the Jays attack as each player drove in four runs. Lind was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a two-run home run, his third of the season.
