TORONTO _ Before manager Clint Hurdle departed for two days to attend Don Baylor's funeral, he met with the Pirates coaching staff and scripted lineups for the next three games. Hurdle then handed the reins to bench coach Tom Prince and said, "If anything should happen, take care of it." It was as if Hurdle had tempted fate. Fate replied with a cruel sense of humor.
The game after center fielder Andrew McCutchen exited early with a left knee injury, right fielder Gregory Polanco pulled up lame after chasing a fifth-inning bloop single by Josh Donaldson in the Toronto Blue Jays' 7-2 win Saturday at Rogers Centre. Polanco re-injured his left hamstring, which already has landed him on the 10-day disabled list twice this season.
"It (stinks)," McCutchen said. "We've got to try to keep him healthy."
Polanco, through a team spokesperson, declined to comment until Sunday morning. Questions and concerns are mounting. The 25-year-old Polanco injured his left shoulder March 24, his right groin April 14, his left hamstring May 14, his right ankle May 29, re-aggravated his left hamstring July 21 and appeared to re-re-aggravate it Saturday. Polanco didn't go on a minor league rehab assignment either time he went on the disabled list earlier this season.
Polanco has played in 91 of the Pirates' 117 games this season, struggling through periodic slumps to post a below-average .723 OPS with 19 doubles, no triples and 10 home runs. His speed has been a small factor, as he has attempted only nine stolen bases. Prince said Polanco felt his hamstring grab and, as far as Prince knew, his departure was precautionary.
"We need him to be healed," McCutchen said. "We don't need him to be 80 or 85 percent."
McCutchen, meanwhile, reported his left knee felt "fine" Saturday. He said he was able to proceed normally in his pregame routine, running and hitting, and was "ready to go" if called upon. Prince instead inserted Sean Rodriguez in Polanco's place. McCutchen had no further explanation for his own injury, jokingly blaming the out-of-nowhere knee pain on "age."
"They wanted to give it a day just to be sure," he said. "Don't want to end up like Polanco."
The outfield shuffle complicated Prince's two games in the manager's seat.
"It's all part of the game," Prince said. "Prepare for the unexpected."
Also unexpected was the way Blue Jays right-hander Chris Rowley flummoxed the Pirates (58-59) in his debut. He tossed 51/3 innings of one-run ball, scattering five hits and a walk, and walked off the mound in the sixth to a standing ovation. Rowley was the first Toronto starter to win his debut since current Class AAA Indianapolis starter Drew Hutchison April 21, 2012.
Rowley, 26, also became the first West Point graduate to pitch in the majors. He was undrafted out of college but signed with the Blue Jays and debuted in rookie ball four years ago. After a two-year military assignment that included a deployment to Bulgaria for Operation Atlantic Rescue, Rowley returned to baseball. A year ago, he was pitching at Class-A Dunedin.
"It's a great story," Prince said before the game.
"I wish no ill will on anybody," he added, grinning, "but I'd like to beat him today."
The Blue Jays' bats ensured a different result. They got to right-hander Trevor Williams (5-5), who allowed four runs, three earned, in six innings, and tacked on three more, one earned, against reliever Joaquin Benoit. Williams was uncharacteristically inconsistent with his command. He allowed only four hits but walked four and hit two batters while whiffing seven.
"It was a weird game in general," Williams said. "I shot myself in the foot a few times with leadoff guys getting on base, whether it was a walk (once) or a hit batter (twice). It's hard to pitch around that. I didn't necessarily make it super easy on myself."
"When he doesn't have his best stuff but goes and competes like that, give him credit," Prince added. "That's a pretty good outing."
Williams backed himself against the wall, and the Pirates defense offered little support. A pair of potential double-play grounders were struck softly, resulting only in fielder's choices. On one of the turns, Adam Frazier threw the ball past first baseman Josh Bell, ushering home two runs. In the seventh, with Benoit pitching, third baseman Josh Harrison bare-handed a chopper and threw the ball wide of first base. Two more runs scored.
But the deciding run came far earlier. After Kevin Pillar was hit by pitch leading off the second, Rob Refsnyder singled. Jose Bautista walked for the second time in as many innings, loading the bases. Williams started with two strikes to Donaldson and then lost him, walking in a run. Afterward, Williams said he'd tried to walk a tightrope between falling behind and giving in.
"You hate walking a guy with the bases loaded," Williams said. "But I'm not going to give in to Josh Donaldson so he can get four runs and clear the bases."
