Rays Bats Quiet As Blue Jays Even Series

The Tampa Bay Rays got a seven-inning start from Matt Andriese, but could only provide him with a single run of support, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays Saturday afternoon.

Toronto got on the board in the bottom of the first inning, as Jose Bautista reached on a two-out walk, and scored when Tim Beckham tried to erase him at second on a Kendrys Morales ground ball and threw the baseball into right field.  Morales then tried to score on a Justin Smoak single, but Kevin Kiermaier nailed him at the plate to keep the deficit at 1-0.

Tampa Bay evened the game in the top of the second as Beckham and Daniel Robertson each drew one-out walks, and Jesus Sucre's base hit scored Beckham to make it a 1-1 game.

The Blue Jays broke the tie for good in the fourth as Smoak singled for the second straight at-bat, and Russell Martin brought him home with a double to make it 2-1.

Smoak would extend the lead against Andriese (1-1) to 4-1 in the sixth, blasting his fourth home run of the season.  The first baseman is now 6 for 7 lifetime against the Rays right-hander.

Twice in the game, the Rays got Rickie Weeks Jr. and Corey Dickerson aboard with nobody out, and both times, the Blue Jays were able to not just keep both from scoring, but from advancing.

Tampa Bay finished 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base, including three in scoring position.

The Rays also lost more than the contest, as Steven Souza Jr. left the game in the seventh inning after being hit by a Joe Biagini fastball.  

Tampa Bay can still take the series and finish a .500 month with a win in Sunday's finale, as Chris Archer (2-1, 3.94 ERA) takes on Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 4.38 ERA).  First pitch is scheduled for 1:07, with coverage on WDAE starting at 11:00 with The Inside Pitch, presented by Sykes Lakeland.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content