TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays belted three home runs off Toronto starter R.A. Dickey in a 6-3 victory Wednesday night that extended the Blue Jays’ losing skid to a season-high five games.
Logan Morrison and Desmond Jennings hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning and Kevin Kiermaier added a two-run shot in the sixth as the Rays swept the three-game series at Rogers Centre.
Tampa Bay (19-19) returned to the .500 mark with the win. Toronto (19-23) was outscored 30-7 in the series and has now dropped five straight home games.
Morrison had three hits and scored twice while Evan Longoria chipped in with a pair of hits. Tampa Bay outhit Toronto 10-4.
Jimmy Paredes, who played third base for Toronto with Josh Donaldson getting a rest day, opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo shot off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi (1-2). It was his first homer of the year.
Dickey (2-5) had his knuckleball working early, picking up three strikeouts over his first three frames.
The Rays got to him an inning later as Morrison’s no-doubt blast hit the facing of the second deck in right-centre field. Jennings followed with his third homer of the season.
It was Morrison’s first home run of the year and the first time the Rays have hit consecutive homers this season.
Odorizzi walked the first two batters in the bottom half of the frame and Paredes moved them both into scoring position on a groundout. Toronto stranded both runners as Kevin Pillar grounded out and Ryan Goins flied out.
The Rays added a run in the fifth. Beckham led off with a double and scored when Paredes threw wide to first base.
Michael Saunders halved the deficit in the same inning with a solo shot, his sixth home run of the season. Kiermaier’s sixth-inning rainbow blast was his fifth homer of the year.
The Blue Jays made it interesting in the eighth as Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo shot — his eighth homer of the season — and Justin Smoak followed with a two-out double to bring the potential tying run to the plate. But Tampa Bay closer Alex Colome came on and struck out Troy Tulowitzki.
The Rays added an insurance run in the ninth as Tim Beckham doubled off reliever Gavin Floyd and scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch. Colome worked the ninth and picked up his 10th save.
Odorizzi allowed two hits and two earned runs over five innings. He walked four and struck out two batters.
Dickey, meanwhile, worked six innings and gave up eight hits, four earned runs and a walk. He had six strikeouts.
Announced attendance was 29,078 and the game took two hours 48 minutes to play.
Notes: Bench coach DeMarlo Hale served as acting manager as Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons served the second game of his three-game suspension. … Home plate umpire Marty Foster took a foul ball off the mask in the sixth inning. He was examined by trainers from both teams and stayed in the game. … Steven Souza Jr. singled in the eighth for the Rays’ ninth hit of the game. It was their 43rd hit of the series, setting a new franchise record for a three-game set. … Toronto will visit Minnesota on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series against the Twins. Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (1-2, 2.89 earned-run average) will get the start against Ervin Santana (1-2, 3.38). … Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis will join the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday as he continues his injury rehab assignment. Travis underwent left shoulder surgery in the off-season.
