Christopher Morel’s sacrifice fly and Brandon Lowe’s homer helped the Tampa Bay Rays close out a strong final homestand Sunday afternoon, sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays with a 4-3 win in St. Petersburg, Fla.
After the Blue Jays (73-83) tied it 2-all in the top of the seventh on Ernie Clement’s RBI single, Morel plated Jose Siri with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame.
Lowe added his 20th homer this season in the eighth, which proved pivotal after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stroked a ninth-inning RBI single against Edwin Uceta.
Uceta allowed a run on two hits and a walk in the ninth. He retired Luis De Los Santos on a game-ending groundout with runners at first and third to secure his fourth save.
The Rays (78-78) won their fourth straight game and completed a 5-1 homestand. They finished 42-39 at home this season and went 9-4 overall against Toronto.
Jonathan Aranda homered in his third straight game for Tampa Bay, putting the Rays ahead 2-1 with a two-run shot in the sixth.
Rays starter Shane Baz allowed a run on four hits and a walk while fanning six over six innings.
Kevin Kelly (5-2), the third of six pitchers used by the hosts Sunday, got the final out of the seventh after surrendering Clement’s game-tying single that made it 2-2.
Clement and Guerrero had three hits apiece, and Guerrero collected his 100th RBI this season. Jonatan Clase was 2-for-4 with a double as the Blue Jays lost their third straight game.
Blue Jays reliever Genesis Cabrera (3-3) took the loss after allowing Morel’s go-ahead sacrifice fly.
In the final road game for Toronto and home contest for Tampa Bay, pitching was at the forefront through the first three innings of the 13th meeting between the division foes.
Following opener Ryan Burr’s exit, Toronto created a contrast of styles in the matchup by opting to turn to former Rays left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, a soft-tosser specializing in a finesse approach.
Meanwhile, the Rays relied on the hard-throwing Baz, who allowed two runs and two hits over seven strong innings to beat the Boston Red Sox Tuesday.
Toronto loaded the bases against Baz in the fourth after singles by Clement and Guerrero and Addison Barger’s one-out walk. Leo Jimenez’s sacrifice fly gave the visitors their first lead in the three-game series.
After going deep against Toronto starters Jose Berrios Friday and Yariel Rodriguez Saturday, the lefty-swinging Aranda lifted Zach Pop’s low 93 mph cutter to right-center for his sixth home run.
–Field Level Media
