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TORONTO – Three-and-a-half hours before Wednesdays series finale with the Yankees, the Blue Jays issued a surprising media release announcing the demotion of Kevin Pillar to Triple-A Buffalo. This is far from an earth-shattering move, Pillar was the 25th-man, but the shock lies in his return to the Bisons just 48 hours after his latest recall and in the reasons why hes Buffalo-bound. Pillar and Anthony Gose were supposed to be the right-field platoon while Jose Bautista recovers from a mild strain of his left hamstring. The contract of outfielder Brad Glenn, a 23rd-round pick in 2009, has been purchased. “Were looking for a little more sock from the right side,” said manager John Gibbons. “Weve got three left-handed pitchers coming in from the White Sox and Glenn, hes been on fire down there, as well. So this is his opportunity.” When pressed for more, Gibbons acknowledged Pillars behaviour in the eighth inning of Tuesday nights game played a part in the decision. The score was 6-6 at the time. The Jays had loaded the bases with one out. Pillar was due up but the Yankees flame-throwing set-up man, Dellin Betances, was on the mound. Gibbons pinch hit Anthony Gose. Pillar reacted. He stormed into the dugout. Footage shows him angrily tossing his helmet and ripping off his batting gloves as he walked from Gibbonss end of the dugout to the other. He then tossed his bat, underhanded, down the tunnel leading to the clubhouse. “It didnt help him at all,” said Gibbons. “This is a team game, you know. Theres no room for selfish play. But weve been thinking about Glenn for a while now, anyway.” Glenn has given the Blue Jays plenty to ponder. In 113 at-bats with Buffalo since his promotion from Double-A New Hampshire, the 27-year-old has hit .381/.421/.575 with four home runs and eight doubles among his 43 hits. To make room for Glenn on the 40-man roster, the Blue Jays designated infielder Jonathan Diaz for assignment. THE OUTSIDE CORNER Play a baseball game and inevitably someone will have something to say about the home plate umpires strike zone. Pitchers and hitters develop reputations, to the positive or negative, which can influence the way the game is called. What goes less noticed is how one pitch called incorrectly can affect the remainder of an at-bat. Take Colby Rasmuss three-pitch, caught-looking strikeout in the second inning of Tuesday nights 7-6 win over the Yankees. The first pitch was a David Phelps cut fastball off the outside corner of the plate for a called strike. This is the pitch that changed the at-bat. Pitch two: A knuckle-curve Rasmus fouled off. Pitch three: A cut fastball on the inside corner. The pitch crossed the plate, therefore it was a strike. The correct call was made. The problem: Rasmus was forced to adjust his approach after the first pitch to account for the wide strike zone. “Colbys told me he starts getting bigger to protect and then he starts chasing balls all over the place,” said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. “I said, ‘Do not change your zone and if they call it, they call it, but you cant change your zone. Do not expand. If they throw three out there and get called, come back and sit down by me.” When pressed for comment, Rasmus politely declined. Good move on his part - he doesnt need the trouble. Adam Lind has also fallen victim to calls off the outside corner. Its common around the game, certainly not exclusive to the Blue Jays. “They both have really good eyes and they look for pitches on the plate and thats what theyre geared to do mentally and I dont want that to change with any of our hitters,” said Seitzer. “Its just a part of the way games always been. (Umpires) are human. Theyre not perfect. Theyre going to make mistakes. You cant expect them to be perfect but I dont want our hitters to change their zone ever in any way, shape or form.” Both Rasmus and Lind have laid-back personalities. Its rare to see either be demonstrative with an umpire. Seitzer appreciates their respectful approach, but he wants them to converse. If a pitch was off the plate, hes encouraged Rasmus and Lind to let the umpire know. Seitzer will accept from his hitters called third strikes on pitches out of the zone. He firmly believes Rasmus, whos prone to the swing-and-miss, having struck out in 33.5 per cent of his plate appearances this season, ends up offering at pitches he otherwise wouldnt due to frustration. Seitzers been a sounding board for his frustrated charges. “All I can do is be supportive,” said Seitzer. “Youve got a great eye. Its not a pitch you want to go on, so you cant go. And you cant even think that theyre going to go back out there because of what happens there, you get locked up on paint inside.” LINDS FOOT Adam Lind fouled a pitch off his right toe in the seventh inning of Tuesday nights game. “Ouch. Thats what I said,” said Lind. Surely he must have cussed? “It was more just deep breaths.” Lind returned to the starting lineup on Monday for the first time since fouling a pitch off the top of his right foot on June 14 in Baltimore. He had three pinch-hit appearances in the seven games in between. Linds wearing a guard on his shin, which extends to the top of his foot. In Wednesday nights series finale versus the Yankees, Lind made his first start at first base since suffering the injury. TOLLESONS EYE Blue Jays utility infielder Steve Tolleson is dealing with an eye problem that cropped up on the last road trip. Hes got dryness and blurriness, especially in his right eye.Tolleson had laser eye surgery five years ago, but its unclear if this is a factor in any way.Hell be seeing a cornea specialist on Thursday, marking a fourth-straight day that hell see an eye doctor of some description. . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. .C. Now hes squarely in the U.S. capital and helping the Washington Wizards playoff drive. John Wall scored 33 points, Gooden got 11 of his 21 in the final quarter and the Wizards overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire. . LA (SportsNetwork.ST. LOUIS -- As far as Ryan Howard is concerned, there is no place like home. Howard, a St. Louis native, homered and drove in three runs and rookie David Buchanan pitched into the eighth inning Thursday night, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Howard has hit safely in 22 of 27 regular season games at Busch Stadium. He has 38 RBIs in St. Louis and a .374 batting average. It was Howards first time playing in his hometown since 2011. Injuries caused him to miss chances in 2012 and 2013. "Its always good to be able to come back home and play in front of family and friends," Howard said. "Its a very familiar feeling. Its always good to be back." Howard also has been hot on the road. In his last 15 games away from Philadelphia, he is hitting .350 with three homers and 14 RBIs. "Hes on a good roll for us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes played big in the last four wins, putting a crooked number of there and swinging a good bat." Buchanan (3-3) made his deepest start yet, pitching 7 2-3 innings. He threw 105 pitches and kept the Cardinals off balance and off the scoreboard until the eighth. Buchanan allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four. Not wearing out the bullpen is important to Buchanan. "Ive been wanting to go deep into the ballgame to help the team out, not always have the bullpen get nervous when I come into games," Buchanan said. "Overall, I had great plays made behind me. It was fun. Great run support. So, it was a good game. It was fun. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to pick up 17th save in 19 opportunities. Shelby Miller (7-6) gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings. Miller has thrown six innings or more in his last four starts. Philadelphia touched Miller for two runs in the fourth. Carlos Ruiz doubled and Chase Utley singled to lead off the inning. Howard singled home Ruiz and Utley scored on Domonic Browns sacrifice fly. Howards homer in the sixth -- his 10th career homer at Busch Stadium -- came after Utley led off with a single. Howard went to the opposite field and his ball just flew inside the left field foul pole. It was his 14th this season and 325th of his career. It gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead. "I wasnt sure if the ball was going to stay fair or not," Howard said. "Off the bat, it started to kind of slice. I wasnt sure if it was going to go out. I was a little surprised, but Im not mad at it." Miller was surprised to see it slip overr the fence.dddddddddddd "It was a little bit in," Miller said of the pitch. "I didnt think he got it all. He hit it in the right spot. The ball was in his numbers. Hes just a good hitter." The Cardinals had runners at first and third with one out in the second inning but Buchanan pitched out the jam and then again in the sixth when Miller doubled to lead off. Four of Millers five hits this season have been doubles. "He rose to the occasion and I think he has that kind of makeup and that kind of character," Sandberg said. "He seems to be showing improvement. It looks like hes growing out there. "For him to go four times through the lineup, that says something about the stuff that he had. Him having to make adjustments the third and fourth time through, that was very good." St. Louis chased Buchanan in the eighth on a two-out single by Matt Carpenter that scored Jhonny Peralta. "I was upset there with the leadoff walk in the eighth," Buchanan said. "I was really wanting to get through that. But that happens." The rookies performance impressed St. Louis manager Mike Matheny. "He had good stuff," Matheny said. "There were not a lot of surprises. He had stuff that we couldnt get on tonight." Third baseman Reid Brignac was hurt on a play at first in the fifth. Matt Adams dived to nab the ball behind the base. Adams flipped it to Miller, who slid into the base for the out. Brignac extended his left foot and jammed it into the base. Brignac lay on the ground before being helped off the field with a noticeable limp. The club said Brignac sprained his ankle and will be re-evaluated Friday. NOTES: The Cardinals said P Michael Wacha will miss Sundays start in the series finale with the Phillies. Wacha has thrown 90 1-3 innings this season. Reliever Carlos Martinez, who started Monday against the New York Mets and threw 59 pitches, will take Wachas place. ... St. Louis P Joe Kelly, who has been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury since the middle of April, threw a bullpen session before the game. No date has been set for a rehab start. ... Cardinals P Tyler Lyons was activated Thursday from the disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Lyons went on the DL on May 13 with a shoulder strain. ... Philadelphia SS Jimmy Rollins and 2B Utley have started 1,130 games together as a double-play combination, the most among all active combos in the leagues. ... Rollins extended his hitting streak to 13 games. ' ' '
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