Toronto Blue Jays outshine Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 – MLB Update
Toronto Blue Jays displayed some high quality baseball skills as they outshined Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Monday, May 21 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
After B.J. Upton homered in the first inning to provide the Rays with a perfect start, the Blue Jays responded in the second inning with Eric Thames' single to centre and J. P. Arencibia scored to level the score. Toronto continued to attack their opponents and Kelly Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to right in the third to put them 2-1 ahead.
Yunel Escobar also showed what he is capable of as he homered to left centre and Jose Bautista drove in a crucial run in the eighth inning to give the Blue Jays a handsome 5-2 lead. Edwin Encarnacion grounded to third to help the Blue Jays ended the game on a high.
Starting pitcher Kyle Drabek had his first away win of the season as he pitched with great control and accuracy, allowing just two runs and three hits in six innings. His counterpart from the Rays, Jeremy Hellickson allowed five runs including two earned in seven plus innings.
"I knew it hit the catwalk, and I know the rules in here," Upton said in a post game interview. "I thought it would be an out, but it was a home run."
"Their guy, Drabek, did not want to throw the ball over the plate," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Tested our patience. We had a lot of opportunities, but we just could not get a hit against him."
"The first three innings I kept spiking my fastball and it got me into a little trouble," Drabek said at the end of the contest.
The Blue Jays have looked in stunning form since the start of this year. They made the most of available opportunities during Spring Training Session and it seems they have carried over the winning momentum into the regular season. Showing their great fighting abilities, the Blue Jays came back from behind to snatch an important victory on Monday’s evening.
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