The 33-year-old Northwestern product held Tampa Bay to four hits over six scoreless innings to win on August 10 and is 3-3 lifetime with a 4.87 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) versus the Rays. At right are catcher Dioner Navarro and third baseman Josh Donaldson.
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Relievers Danny Barnes and Scott Feldman knitted together 3.1 innings of scoreless relief but the Jays were having a tough time getting anything going against Tampa Bay ace Chris Archer.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Marco Estrada was sailing along through the first five innings. Then, he couldn’t get an out in the sixth.
“We got beat”, Jays manager John Gibbons said of a game in which his team was tied 2-2 in the sixth. “They piled on right there”. He allowed eight runs over two innings in a 13-2 loss to the Rays on May 18.
“I was locating pretty well, all my pitches”, Estrada said. He went just 1.2 innings allowing 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits, walking 5 (a reoccurring theme for the kid this season, despite his otherwise good numbers). “I was really, really impressed with the way he competed and executed his pitches tonight, and looked really, really comfortable out there”.
Like the mini Blue Jays rally, the Rays got something going all with two outs, only they were able to capitalize. He sent the pitch over the wall in left and the Jays, down 3-1 an inning earlier, would go on to a 5-3 win to avoid a sweep against the last-place Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Logan Forsythe and Kevin Kiermaier opened with singles. After a walk to Brad Miller brought in a second run, Duffy cleared the bases with his double and get Estrada out of the game. Navarro looked sharp both defensively and offensively as his first plate appearance was an extended 12 pitch at bat and he was robbed of a home run in the seventh by Kevin Kiermaier. Estrada walked two, struck out six and allowed five runs in that disastrous sixth inning, including a bases-loaded walk. San Francisco, trying to catch Los Angeles in the NL West, rebounded from a pair of one-run losses in the first two games of the four-game set against the major league leaders. After Friday’s win, they are 15-7 in their last 22 home games, and they continue to be a particular nemesis to the Blue Jays. It also allows Toronto to escape Tampa with at least an even record on the road trip.
“This year, last year, the year before that. How far do you want to go back?”
“It just shows that he has our back and that’s all you can ask from your manager”, Martin said.
The Rays get three more games against Toronto on the road on September 12-14, and they continue to play the role of spoiler in the American League East. “We’ve always had trouble with them”.
Their season was lost months ago but over the last few weeks they have served notice that if wrecking the hopes of their rivals in the American League East is the only satisfaction left for them, well … bring it on.
Rays: RHP Chase Whitley (Tommy John surgery) will likely make his final minor league start Sunday for Double-A Montgomery.
In other games, the Los Angeles Angels trounced the Seattle Mariners 10-3, the Baltimore Orioles defeated the New York Yankees 2-0, the Minnesota Twins toppled the Chicago White Sox 11-3, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were 9-4 winners against the Colorado Rockies.
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Blue Jays: J.A. Happ (17-4) will try to become only the second left-hander to win 18 games for the Blue Jays.
