ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – At some point, the Toronto Blue Jays are going to have to go on an extended hot streak if they’re going to ascend from the bottom of the American League East standings.
The start of that long-awaited hot streak will have to wait another day, though, because the Tampa Bay Rays thoroughly outplayed the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field Saturday. Tampa Bay out-hit and out-pitched the Blue Jays, and the resulting 6-1 loss means Toronto becomes the first big-league team to lose 20 games this year.
Marco Estrada struck out six and looked sharp early on, but Rays hitters squared up enough of his pitches to build a substantial lead. Logan Morrison got Tampa Bay started in the third inning when he drove home Evan Longoria with a two-run homer.
Estrada then retired the next seven hitters without incident, but Longoria and Morrison hit back-to-back doubles in the sixth to make it 3-1 Rays. One batter later, Colby Rasmus stepped in, and a pitch that Estrada had intended to place up-and-in drifted over the plate. Rasmus liked what he saw, and hammered the offering over the right-centre-field wall for his first home run as a member of the Rays.
“It was going pretty well until that last inning,” Estrada lamented. “I kept making mistakes, and they kept hitting them. It’s what happens. If you don’t make your pitch, you’re going to get hit.”
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While the result’s disappointing for the Blue Jays, Estrada did miss plenty of bats and induced his usual steady supply of weak contact. By and large, he was pleased with the pitches he threw against the Rays.
With the loss, Estrada’s now 1-2 on the season, but when asked about his record he made it clear that those aren’t the wins and losses he cares about.
“This whole team has been struggling lately,” Estrada said. “I feel like I’ve done all right. I don’t have a great record, and I don’t really care, to be honest with you. All I care about is winning games. We’ve got to turn this around soon. I don’t care if I get another win, as long as we’re winning games.”
Relief outings from J.P. Howell and Jason Grilli ensured that most the Blue Jays’ bullpen will be rested for Sunday’s series finale. That said, Grilli’s command was off, as he walked the first two batters and required 39 pitches to make it through the eighth inning with just one run allowed.
On a middling day for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff, they needed the offence to make up the difference and yet they had trouble scoring. Ezequiel Carrera extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 games with a solo home run in the first inning, and Kendrys Morales built on Friday’s two-homer game with an opposite-field single and a loud double.
Otherwise, Rays starter Jake Odorizzi kept Blue Jays hitters in check over seven effective innings. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits while striking out six.
“We just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” manager John Gibbons said. “Jake can pitch … he’s one of the better pitchers out there. That’s what he is: he’s a pitcher.”
Erasmo Ramirez and Jose Alvarado followed up with two scoreless innings of relief to assure Tampa Bay of the win.
The series will be decided Sunday when converted reliever Joe Biagini makes his first big-league start. Not what anyone envisioned a couple of weeks ago, but then again not much about the 2017 Blue Jays has been predictable.
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