Tampa Bay flattened by Toronto Blue Jays 2-6 – MLB Update
Joe Maddon’s Tampa Bay Rays suffered another setback as they lost to Toronto Blue Jays 2-6 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Monday, May 21 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
B.J. Upton provided the Rays with a superb start as he homered to centre in the first inning. Eric Thames led the response for the Blue Jays as he singled to centre to level score in the second. Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar and Jose Bautista all played a key role in deciding the end result of the game.
"He created some jams for himself, but found a way to make a big pitch to get out of an inning," Toronto manager John Farrell said. "When he was in the strike zone he was powerful, he had good late action and they weren't squaring him up."
Starting pitcher Kyle Drabek overcame command issues as he won for the first time on the road this season. He allowed just two runs and three hits in six strong innings.
After losing to Atlanta Braves 1-2 in their previous series, the Rays were hoping to put things back on the right track. The Rays had a mighty 15-6 record at Tropicana Field going into the series and they were looking to secure another easy win in front of their home crowd.
However, the Blue Jays displayed some high quality baseball skills to make them run for their money. It will be interesting to see if the Rays can turn the tables in the second game to spoil Blue Jays’ party.
Blue Jays, on the other hand, will be looking to focus even harder in the second game to earn a rare series win at Tropicana Field. John Farrell and company certainly have the ability to flatten even the best in the business.
With their win over the Rays on Monday, the Blue Jays improved their record to 24-19 and they will be looking to continue their excellent form to put themselves in an excellent position before the All Star Break.
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