DUNEDIN, Fla. — Jason Frasor conceded he was stubborn on the mound Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. That explains why they pounded the Toronto relief pitcher for four runs in 1-3 of an inning in an 8-5 victory over the Blue Jays.
“The changeup was terrible; the fastball was good,” said Frasor, a candidate for the Blue Jays’ closer role. “Once I got in trouble I just did some things that, well, that wasn’t me.
“Kept going to the off-speed (pitch). It wasn’t there but I kept forcing it instead of trying a fastball down and away. I just didn’t do it. I just kept trying to find it and find it and find it, and it just didn’t come. It’s still miserable even though (the game) really doesn’t count.”
Frasor has something of a history with the Braves. He struggled against them in a May 24 interleague game last season.
“I came in with the bases loaded, cashed those three runs in, then another four of mine,” he said. “Doesn’t matter who’s up there, as long as they have that Atlanta uniform on, it hasn’t been pretty.”
Mario Prado’s two-run single capped a three-run second inning against Brandon Morrow, and the Braves added a third-inning run against the Toronto starter on his wild pickoff throw.
The Blue Jays took a brief 5-4 lead against reliever James Parr in the bottom of the third on Adam Lind’s two-run triple, Lyle Overbay’s RBI double, and Randy Ruiz’s two-run homer.
But Joe Thurston homered on Frasor’s second pitch in the fourth inning, and Freddie Freeman’s two-run single capped the four-run burst.
“B.J. Ryan used to say it kind of gets the bad taste out of your mouth to have them run around the bases a few times, just experience it and try harder to avoid games like that again,” Frasor said of the Toronto pitching bust, out of baseball but still getting paid by the Blue Jays this season.
“When you’re out there (on the mound), it doesn’t matter if you’re a big leaguer going down to an A-ball game just trying to get your work in, it doesn’t feel good when they’re crossing home plate. If I could go back and do something different, I’d have thrown a few more fastballs.”
“The changeup was terrible; the fastball was good,” said Frasor, a candidate for the Blue Jays’ closer role. “Once I got in trouble I just did some things that, well, that wasn’t me.
“Kept going to the off-speed (pitch). It wasn’t there but I kept forcing it instead of trying a fastball down and away. I just didn’t do it. I just kept trying to find it and find it and find it, and it just didn’t come. It’s still miserable even though (the game) really doesn’t count.”
Frasor has something of a history with the Braves. He struggled against them in a May 24 interleague game last season.
“I came in with the bases loaded, cashed those three runs in, then another four of mine,” he said. “Doesn’t matter who’s up there, as long as they have that Atlanta uniform on, it hasn’t been pretty.”
Mario Prado’s two-run single capped a three-run second inning against Brandon Morrow, and the Braves added a third-inning run against the Toronto starter on his wild pickoff throw.
The Blue Jays took a brief 5-4 lead against reliever James Parr in the bottom of the third on Adam Lind’s two-run triple, Lyle Overbay’s RBI double, and Randy Ruiz’s two-run homer.
But Joe Thurston homered on Frasor’s second pitch in the fourth inning, and Freddie Freeman’s two-run single capped the four-run burst.
“B.J. Ryan used to say it kind of gets the bad taste out of your mouth to have them run around the bases a few times, just experience it and try harder to avoid games like that again,” Frasor said of the Toronto pitching bust, out of baseball but still getting paid by the Blue Jays this season.
“When you’re out there (on the mound), it doesn’t matter if you’re a big leaguer going down to an A-ball game just trying to get your work in, it doesn’t feel good when they’re crossing home plate. If I could go back and do something different, I’d have thrown a few more fastballs.”