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 Coming to terms with his new, part-time role, Rasmus said he
would be ready whenever he was called upon to play. One day later,
he was ready.
Rasmus broke a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit solo homer in the 10th
inning Thursday night as the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0
at Tropicana Field.
"Felt pretty good. Just glad I was able to get an opportunity,"
Rasmus said. "I wasn't going up there with the intent to show
anything that I haven't shown before."
The first eight innings unfolded as a classic pitcher's duel, with
Rays rookie Jake Odorizzi and Blue Jays veteran Mark Buehrle putting
up zero after zero on the scoreboard.
But the Rays (67-74) created a golden scoring opportunity against
the Jays (72-67) in the ninth inning. Designated hitter Ben Zobrist
and right fielder Wil Myers each singled, left fielder Brandon Guyer
struck out and the Jays intentionally walked third baseman Evan
Longoria to load the bases with one out.
Toronto left-hander Brett Cecil then struck out Logan Forsythe and
Sean Rodriguez, escaping the jam and setting up Rasmus' homer in the
10th inning.
"That was something special right there with his back against the
wall," Rasmus said of Cecil. "It was huge for us."
And it was all too familiar for the Rays, encapsulating their
season-long struggle to score runs -- especially with the bases
loaded, especially at home and especially when they waste good
pitching.
"In a microcosm kind of a way, that's 2014 right there," Rays
manager Joe Maddon said.
After Cecil escaped that jam, the Jays sent out John Mayberry Jr. to
pinch-hit in the 10th against left-hander Jake McGee, at which point
the Rays brought in right-hander Steve Geltz and Toronto countered
with Rasmus, the matchup Maddon said the Rays wanted.
Rasmus made the most of his opportunity, lining a full-count
fastball into the right-field stands for his 17th homer of the
season.
"Worked out just right," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He
hits some homers. He smoked that thing. That's the difference in the
game right there, so good for him."
Rasmus' long ball gave the Jays their first three-game series sweep
ever at Tropicana Field. Their only previous sweep in St. Petersburg
came during a two-game set in 1998.
For the Rays, the loss clinched their first losing season at home
since 2007, when they were the Devil Rays. It was just the latest in
a long line of losses in which Tampa Bay has seen its strong
pitching go unrewarded, something Maddon often refers to as a
"mortal sin."
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"We have exceeded Cardinal sins, mortal sins, original sins. We've passed
them all up," Maddon said. "We have totally wasted a lot of good
pitching."
Odorizzi allowed only three hits in 7 1/3 innings, departing in the eighth
after his 95th pitch of the night. The 24-year-old right-hander has
given up only four hits in 14 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts
in his last two starts.
"It's tough that we couldn't get him a run considering how well he
pitched," Guyer said. "That's what is really a bummer right now."
Buehrle, meanwhile, allowed five hits and a walk while striking out four
in eight shutout innings. Cecil safely walked the tight rope in the
ninth and Casey Janssen, who like Rasmus has essentially been removed
from his role as the Jays' closer, picked up the save in the bottom of
the 10th.
NOTES: Rays OF Desmond Jennings (bruised left knee) was out of the
lineup for the seventh consecutive day and reported no improvement. He
fouled a ball off his knee before the All-Star break, and it finally
forced him out of the lineup Aug. 29. Jennings hopes to play again this
season. ... Toronto RHP Chad Jenkins will miss four-to-six weeks due to
a fractured right hand sustained when he was hit by a ball during
batting practice Thursday afternoon. ... The Blue Jays have won five
straight games for the first time since July 26-31. This was the first
1-0 win in Toronto history via a pinch-hit homer. ... The Rays were shut
out for the 17th time this season. They lead the American League in
shutout wins (18) and losses. ... Blue Jays RHP Drew Hutchison (9-11,
4.47 ERA) will face Boston Red Sox RHP Allen Webster (3-3, 6.69) at
Fenway Park on Friday. ... Rays RHP Alex Cobb (9-7, 2.98) will face
Baltimore Orioles LHP Wei-Yin Chen (14-4, 3.83) in Friday's series
opener at Tropicana Field.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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