BUFFALO—If Joe Smith could take back the first two pitches he threw for the Buffalo Bisons on Friday night, the rehabbing Blue Jays reliever would jump at the opportunity. It’s not that the sidearmer’s offerings to Eddy Rodriguez of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders proved all that costly — after two balls, Rodriguez singled. It’s that Smith’s main concern after exactly a month on the disabled list because of shoulder soreness is throwing strikes, to prove he’s ready to return to the big leagues. “I would love to be there at the start of (the Jays’ series in Boston on Monday) because these games … are going to be so huge,” the 33-year-old right-hander said Friday. Smith said his velocity was probably “two ticks” down from earlier this season, when he worked 32 1/3 innings for the Jays, racking up 13.26 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.41 ERA.

Source: thestar July 15, 2017 23:26 UTC