Carlos Villanueva helps Toronto Blue Jays shutout Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 – MLB Update
Toronto Blue Jays continued their excellent form as they shut-out the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario on Thursday, August 30 in the opening game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Blue Jays will be very pleased with their effort in a game that was played on a very competitive note. Manager John Farrell will be happy with the way his team used the home conditions to humiliate the Rays.
"We've played that story way too often and we've got to get by it somehow," manager Joe Maddon said.
Farrell and company had an excellent series against the New York Yankees. Beating the American League East Division rivals in two out of three games, the Blue Jays showed great determination and composure. It will be interesting to see if they can continue
the good work in Game 2 to take an impassable 2-0 series lead.
Starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva showed just what he is capable of as he gave up just five hits in six solid innings to grab his seventh win of the year. He will be looking to maintain his excellent throwing form until the end of the season.
"Carlos was fighting a low-grade fever all afternoon and through the six innings he pitched tonight," Blue Jays’ manager John Farrell said. "But he was outstanding again."
"His changeup is really good and the slider I saw from him came out of his hand like a fastball," outfielder Sam Fuld said of Villanueva in a post game interview. "That's the definition of good off-speed stuff, the stuff that looks like a fastball out of
the hand, and that was certainly the case tonight."
Relief pitcher Casey Janssen pitched the perfect ninth to grab his 18th save.
Kelly Johnson doubled to right in the first inning to put Blue Jays on the board. Rays’ batting line-up had several scoring opportunities but they were unable to take advantage of them. Skipper Joe Maddon will be expecting his team to bounce back strongly
in the next game to stay in the playoff race.
The Blue Jays will be satisfied with their performance as they managed to get a decent win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
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