As for Saturday’s game two, the Rays broke a 3-3 tie with a clutch run in the bottom of the ninth to snag a 4-3 victory and tie the series 1-1.
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“Quick runner, he obviously beat it out”, said Cecil.
“I want to finish games”, Stroman said after that contest. “As much as I fall off to the third base side, it’s tough for me to get over there”.
“I didn’t like the pitch selection there”, Gibbons said in another turn of focus onto Cecil. “Cecil falls off naturally but he’s still got to get there and I thought Smoak had a shot at it too”. The walk-off loss capped off an often-frustrating month in which the defending AL East champions were outscored by the opposition on the way to an 11-14 record.
“I’m throwing the ball well. I’m sure there’s a sense of urgency for them offensively to get things going”. The pitching coach (Pete Walker) came up to me and gave me the hour-long spiel about having a short memory. There’s nothing to be upset about.
Logan Forsythe had tied it for the Rays with a home run in the seventh after Kevin Pillar’s first homer of the season gave Toronto a 3-2 lead.
Xavier Cadeno (2-0) got the win after retiring two Blue Jays in the ninth. After recording five hits in his last two contests, Forsythe looks to continue his good fortune on Sunday afternoon as the Rays vie for a series victory versus the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
After Edwin Encarnacion hit a tiebreaking RBI grounder, Tulowitzki made it 5-1 on his fifth homer.
Jumping ahead 1-0 on a Josh Donaldson solo home run in the fourth inning, the Blue Jays were unable to hold the lead on Sunday.
Splits: Left-handed hitters finished 1-for-6 with a walk and four strikeouts against Odorizzi, while same-sided hitters finished 1-for-15 with a home run, a walk and four strikeouts. “He had great stuff tonight and he pitched like he’s been doing all year”.
“You have to win some close games now for crying out loud”, added Gibbons, who is getting as ticked off at the one run losses as fans are.
The Blue Jays took two of three to win just their fourth series in the last 27 trips to Tropicana Field.
Kevin Kiermaier followed with a double to put runners at second and third with nobody out, bringing light-hitting catcher Curt Casali to the plate. 364 in 12 games since being dropped in the order. 388 in his last 11 games…. Pillar’s homer was his first in 121 at-bats. “I felt like we had really good energy, especially late in the game”. RHP Bo Schultz (offseason hip surgery) threw a shutout inning in his first rehab start for Class A Dunedin. After one more session in two or three days, he expects to throw live batting practice….
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Smyly mowed the Jays down through the first five innings, striking out six and giving up just one hit during that span.
