[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto Blue Jays lose to Cleveland 4-1 in home opener"

[rfmcdonald]

Bother. (The article is Neil Davidson's Canadian Press article, via CTV.)

Justin Masterson kept Blue Jays bats in check as the Cleveland Indians spoiled R.A. Dickey's Toronto debut with a 4-1 win before a sellout Opening Day crowd of 48,857 at Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.

The loss may be a splash of cold water on the face of Toronto fans already planning a championship parade given the extensive, expensive retooling of the roster over the winter. Cleveland planted a few seeds of reality under the dome but there is still plenty of the time for the Jays to harvest wins.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer for the Indians, who took advantage of some early passed balls as knuckleballer Dickey's fledgling partnership with catcher J.P. Arencibia showed some teething problems.

Dickey (0-1) went six innings in his first Opening Day start, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits with four strikeouts, four walks and a wild pitch. He threw 104 pitches, including 60 strikes.

Masterson (1-0) struck out five and walked four while giving up one earned run and three hits in his six innings. His pitch count was close to Dickey's: 103 pitches, 61 strikes. Indians closer Chris Perez earned the save.

Toronto left five on base over the first three innings and then Masterson found his touch -- he dismissed 11 in a row starting in the third. Some sharp Cleveland fielding also helped blunt the Toronto attack.