Blue Jays’ bats go quiet in series opening loss to Rays

Relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough made his case for a spot in Tampa Bay's injury-depleted rotation by throwing five scoreless innings in a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – When Curtis Granderson led off Friday’s game with a double and scored three batters later, the night seemed to be going the Toronto Blue Jays’ way.

As it turns out, though, the evening went downhill from there for the visitors at Tropicana Field. Granderson later left the game with right hamstring tightness and the Blue Jays didn’t score again until the eighth inning.

J.A. Happ, easily the Blue Jays’ best starter to this point in the season, provided a solid outing, but his command wasn’t nearly as sharp as it has been in recent starts. On a quiet night for the Blue Jays’ offence, that wasn’t enough and the Rays won the series opener 6-2.

Happ did manage 5.2 innings while allowing three runs, but he also walked four after consecutive starts without a free pass—an indication that his command wasn’t as sharp as usual.


Source: Baseball Savant

“Happ battled,” manager John Gibbons said. “It wasn’t an easy night for him. I thought he was a little bit off, but he kept us right there.”

“I was kind of fighting the change-up for a lot of the night, which was frustrating,” Happ said. “Nothing to think I can’t get back on track.”

Dalton Pompey replaced Granderson in left field for his first big-league action since 2016 and collected a single in his first trip to the plate. Earlier in the day the switch-hitting outfielder made the trip from Buffalo to Florida with the expectation that he’d complement Granderson against some tough left-handers while providing speed and defence off the bench.

"Any time you get called to the big leagues, it’s always a good feeling," he said. "Whether it’s my first time, which was actually here, or today. It feels the same. I’m excited, and just ready to get going."

“It’s good to see him,” Gibbons said. “You always like to get guys in once they’re called up as soon as possible. It’s not how it was planned, but he got in, got his feet wet again and did a nice job.”

As for Granderson, his hamstring tightened up on defence after the first-inning double and he left as a precautionary measure. After exiting the game he had “a ton” of treatment from team trainers who were encouraged by his range of motion. He won’t need an MRI, but said there’s a “good possibility” he could still rest Saturday and Sunday. With an off day scheduled Monday, that would provide him with the chance to heal.

“Everything’s going to be dependent on how I come back (Saturday),” Granderson said. “After we did all the treatment and everything, you’d expect to feel worse in this situation if it were more extreme, but so far I feel pretty good. Obviously have to go home and sleep and do some more (treatment).”

“Hopefully it’s no big deal,” Gibbons added.

A committee of Rays pitchers held the Blue Jays quiet, most notably Ryan Yarbrough, who provided five innings of one-hit, shutout relief. Aside from Granderson’s leadoff double, Aledmys Diaz’s solo home run represented the only real damage. All told, the Toronto lineup combined for just four hits and one walk

While the Blue Jays were quiet offensively, they did make some stellar defensive plays up the middle. Happ escaped the first inning when Diaz gloved a ball headed for centre field and flipped to second baseman Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who turned an impressive double play.

“That was great,” Happ said. “You never know how that’s going to turn out. Get some momentum on our side.”

Gurriel later made another strong play, diving to his left in the seventh inning to glove a Brad Miller grounder and complete the throw to first. Catcher Luke Maile contributed defensively, too, throwing out Denard Span on an attempted steal at second base.

Right-hander Jake Petricka made his Blue Jays debut, escaping a bases-loaded jam in relief of Happ to end the sixth inning before allowing one run on three hits in the seventh. Tim Mayza then allowed two runs in the eighth on a Miller home run, putting the game further out of reach.

All things considered, the Blue Jays didn’t hit or pitch particularly well Friday and the Rays delivered on both fronts. As Gibbons said, “They just outplayed us.”

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