Toronto Blue Jays rout Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 – MLB Update
Jose Bautista revamped after a lean period to give the Toronto Blue Jays the required impetus to crush the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 for a consolation win after three consecutive losses in the fourth game of the four-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario
on Monday, August 29.
Ricky Romero showed his class on the mound over six gleaming-innings to win his 13th game of the season. He threw 107 pitches over six innings to restrict the Rays to just three runs amid six hits and two strike-outs to bring his ERA down to 2.84.
His win-loss record for the season now stands impressive at 13-8.
The Rays had dominated the Blue Jays since the onset of the series and brought their winning momentum into the game when designated hitter Johnny Damon unleashed his arms for a 368 feet two-run home-run at the top of the first inning, allowing Desmond Jennings
to complete his run and take the Rays to a convincing two-run lead early on.
Wade Davis, however, failed to prevent his eighth loss of the season for the Rays as he leaked six runs and nine hits in 4.1 innings to give Toronto an advantage which was never to be recovered. This loss brought Davis to 8-8 for the season.
The Blue Jays added three-runs in their first reply to take a crucial one-run lead over the imposing Rays. Yunel Escobar scored the first run before first baseman Adam Lind freed his arms for a two-run homer to complete the three. Eric Thames scored off
Lind’s hit to improve his batting average for the season to .268.
Kelly Johnson and J.P. Arencibia took the Blue Jays to a three-run advantage by the end of the fourth inning before Damon threatened resurgence from the Rays through his second home-run of the game in the fifth inning. Johnson, however, was quick to counter
Damon as he added his second-run in the fifth inning to uphold the three-run advantage.
It was, however, Jose Bautista who sealed the game for Toronto with his league-leading 38th home-run 451-feet down the left field in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays dominated thereon and the relief pitchers followed Romero’s suit to clinch a hard-fought
game.
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