Saturday afternoon the Blue Jays wanted to pick up the 2nd straight win versus the Tampa Bay Rays. The Blue Jays sent out their veteran pitcher R.A. Dickey who was searching for his 4th win of the season. The Rays countered with 8-3 Erasmo Ramirez.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Logan Forsythe hit a ball up the middle deflected by Dickey and reached 1st on the infield single. Brandon Guyer struck out for the 1st out of the inning. Forsythe attempted to steal 2nd base but was thrown out by Russell Martin for the 2nd out. Kevin Kiermaier ground out to end the inning.
Tim Beckham led the top of the 3rd with a walk. Dickey was called on a questionable balk to allow Beckham to advance to 2nd base. Curt Casali ground out allowing the runner to advance to 3rd base. John Jaso hit a ground rule double over the wall in right center field scoring the first run of the game. Joey Butler struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Evan Longoria struck out to end the inning.
With two out in the bottom of the 3rd Jose Reyes picked up a two out single. That hit was the first of the game for the Blue Jays. Josh Donaldson struck out to end the inning.
Edwin Encarnacion hit a one out double to the gap in left center field in the bottom of the 4th inning. Justin Smoak struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Russell Martin ground out to end the inning.
With one out in the top of the 5th Tim Beckham hit a double to left field. Curt Casali hit a fly ball to center field for the 2nd out. John Jaso hit a single to center field but Beckham was thrown out trying to score on the play.
Kevin Pillar led off the bottom of the 5th with a double to left field. Ezequiel Carrera ground out advancing the runner to 3rd base. Devon Travis hit a double down the right field line to score Pillar. Jose Reyes popped out to 3rd base. With Josh Donaldson due up the Rays elected to remove Erasmo Ramirez from the game. Steve Geltz came in to the game to pitch for the Rays. Josh Donaldson flew out to right field to end the inning.
Jose Bautista led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a solo home run to left field. Edwin Encarnacion ground out for the 1st out. Justin Smoak ground out for the 2nd out. Russell Martin hit a deep fly ball to end the inning.
Aaron Loup entered the game to pitch the top of the 7th inning. With one out Brandon Guyer hit a solo home run to left field to tie up the game. Kevin Kiermaier struck out for the 2nd out of the inning. Ryan Tepera entered the game to pitch to Tim Beckham. Beckham ground out to end the inning.
In the top of the 8th Curt Casali led off with a solo home run. John Jaso hit a fly ball to center for the 1st out of the inning. Joey Butler followed that up with an infield single to deep short. Evan Longoria hit into an inning ending double play.
Brad Boxberger entered the game in the bottom of the 8th inning for the Rays. Jose Reyes led off the inning with a single to right center field. Josh Donaldson hit into a double play to erase the lead off runner. Jose Bautista was hit by a pitch to reach base. Boxberger was called on a balk allowing Bautista to get into scoring position. Edwin Encarnacion walked on four straight pitches. Danny Valencia entered the game as a pinch runner for Encarnacion. Justin Smoak ground out to end the inning.
Brett Cecil entered the game to pitch the 9th inning for the Jays. Logan Forsythe hit a one ground rule double in left field. Brandon Guyer put down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner. Kevin Kiermaier struck out to end the inning.
Jake McGee entered the game to try and close out the victory for the Rays. McGee picked up a 1-2-3 inning to close it out for the Rays.
Game Notes:
- R.A. Dickey pitched fairly well despite being factored into a no decision. His 3-10 record remained the same despite another Quality Start.
- Kevin Pillar picked up another defensive assist. At the time it saved a run that would be tied up the game. It was also his 9th of the season.
- Russell Martin caught another would be base stealer today. It was the 22nd of the season for Martin.
- Jose Bautista smashed his 18th home run of the season. It was also his 61s RBI on the season.
Grades: