Printable Page
07/01 17:38 CDT Guerrero drives in 3, Blue Jays beat Rays 9-2 on Canada Day
Guerrero drives in 3, Blue Jays beat Rays 9-2 on Canada Day
By IAN HARRISON
Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) --- Jos Berros stopped his three-start winless streak, Vladimir
Guerrero Jr. drove in three runs, and the Toronto Blue Jays celebrated Canada
Day by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 Friday.
Playing at home on Canada's national holiday for the first time since 2019, and
dressed in special red jerseys and caps, the Blue Jays delighted a crowd of
44,445 by winning for the fourth time in five games.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 3 for 3 with a solo home run and also walked. Cavan
Biggio was 2 for 2 with two doubles and two walks, and also scored twice.
Seven of Toronto's 11 hits were for extra bases.
Rays outfielder Brett Phillips pitched the eighth inning for Tampa Bay.
Throwing pitches around 65 mph, Phillips retired Guerrero on a ground ball to
strand Biggio' at third following a leadoff double.
After allowing 14 earned runs over his previous two starts, Berros was better
against the Rays. The right-hander gave up two runs and eight hits in five
innings to earn his first victory since June 10 at Kansas City.
Berros (6-4) is 4-0 with a 3.23 ERA in seven home starts but 2-4 with a 7.92
ERA in nine road starts.
Trent Thornton worked the sixth, former Rays reliever Sergio Romo made his
Toronto debut with a scoreless seventh and Max Castillo pitched the final two
innings.
Ren Pinto's RBI grounder gave the Rays a secong-inning lead but Toronto struck
back in the third. Bo Bichette and Guerrero hit back-to-back two-run doubles
and Alejandro Kirk followed with a two-base hit to score Guerrero as five
straight batters reached against right-hander Corey Kluber.
Kluber (3-5) allowed five runs and seven hits in three innings, extending his
winless streak to four starts.
Biggio's one-out double in the third was a drive to left-center that hit off
the glove three-time Gold Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier, activated after missing
eight games because of a sore left hip.
Tampa Bay's Harold Ramrez cut it to 5-2 with an RBI double in the fifth but
George Springer hit a two-run single off David McKay in the sixth and Guerrero
added an RBI grounder to give the Blue Jays some breathing room.
Gurriel homered off McKay in the seventh.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: Kiermaier went 1 for 2 with a single and walked twice in his return.
Blue Jays: 3B Matt Chapman (rest) was held out of the starting lineup but came
on defensively in the ninth.
ROSTER MOVES
Tampa Bay optioned OF Luke Raley and LH Ryan Yarbrough to Triple-A Durham and
recalled McKay from the taxi squad.
SING ALONG
Fans joined together in an impromptu rendition of O Canada as the Rays batted
in the ninth inning.
HONORING RUSS
The Blue Jays honored Canadian-born catcher Russell Martin with a pregame
ceremony, including a video featuring tributes from former teammate Jos
Bautista and former manager John Gibbons. Martin threw out the first pitch to
Blue Jays rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno, who wears jersey number 55, Martin's
old number, as a nod to the four-time All-Star.
UP NEXT
The Rays and Blue Jays play a doubleheader Saturday, one of two they'll play in
Toronto this season to make up for April games cancelled by the lockout. LHP
Shane McClanahan (8-3, 1.77) will start Game 1 for Tampa Bay, with RH Drew
Rasmussen (5-3, 3.41) expected to be activated off the IL to start Game 2. RH
Kevin Gausman (6-6, 2.93) is expected to start one game for Toronto Saturday,
but the Blue Jays haven't said which. RH Thomas Hatch (4-4, 5.12 at Triple-A
Buffalo) is expected to be added to the roster to start the other game for the
Jays.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
