(St. Petersburg) George Springer hit a home run, made a diving run and threw out a runner in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 9-5 victory over the Rays of Tampa Bay on Sunday.
“He kind of changed the game for 25 minutes,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. This time of year, George is a great guy to have on your team. »
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit two long shots and Bo Bichette scored four goals for the Blue Jays, who have won two games of this three-game series against potential playoff foes.
The Torontonians once again finished the day in second place among the teams called up by the Americans. They lead the Houston Astros by two games and the Seattle Mariners by two and a half games.
The Blue Jays also won two of three against the New York Yankees in a six-game road trip that followed a victory over the Boston Red Sox at home.
“It’s an extraordinary journey,” Schneider said.
Isaac Paredes reached 30It is circuit of the Rays’ campaign, who are already guaranteed to at least finish first among the American teams called up. They concluded the day two and a half games behind the Baltimore Orioles and the top seed in the Eastern section.
Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz left the game in the third inning because of right hamstring tightness. He is second in American batting average (.328).
“I think he’ll be fine,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. He’s sore. It was much more as a precaution that he left the field. »
Whit Merrifield tied the game with a two-run single before Springer gave the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead following his home run off Taj Bradley (5-8). Center fielder Manuel Margot tried to catch the ball at the fence, but it changed trajectory to allow Springer to touch the plate.
In the third inning, Springer caught Curtis Mead’s hit ball to right field and threw a long throw to Bichette to pin Mead at second base. Springer then stole a point from the Rays and caught Paredes’ arrow.
Bradley retired 10 consecutive batters after Springer’s home run before Guerrero’s slap shot gave Toronto a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning. The rookie pitcher allowed six runs and seven hits in a career-high seven innings of work.
Paredes cut the lead to 6-5 with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. These were your 93It is and 94It is points produced this season.
In the ninth round, Bichette scored 20It is long ball of the campaign and Guerrero his 26It is to give the Blue Jays a 9-5 lead.
Rays rookie Junior Caminero, 20, drove in his first career run in the Majors on a single to left field in the first inning.
Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi was removed from the game after giving up three runs on nine hits in four innings. Trevor Richards (2-1) blanked the Rays for two innings to get the win.
