Field Level Media
Aug 22, 2020
Pinch hitter Kevin Kiermaier lined a walk-off single in the 10th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays cooled off sizzling Toronto, snapping the Blue Jays' six-game win streak with a 2-1 win on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Locked in a 1-1 game and with Manuel Margot placed on second base to start the bottom of the 10th, Yoshi Tsutsugo grounded out to second to advance Margot to third. Reliever Anthony Bass (1-1) intentionally walked Ji-Man Choi. Kiermaier, on the first pitch, then stroked a clean single in front of left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for the win.
Reliever Anthony Banda (1-0) induced a double play to end the top of the frame with the go-ahead runner on third.
Rays opener Aaron Slegers fired four hitless innings, with five strikeouts, and would have faced the minimum 12 batters if not for a leadoff fielding error by second baseman Brandon Lowe in the top of the third.
Jose Martinez was 2-for-3 with a walk as the Rays managed just five hits.
Red-hot third baseman Yandy Diaz, who had homered in two straight games and hit .432 (16-for-37) in his last 10, was a late scratch from the lineup after batting practice.
Toronto starter Hyun-Jin Ryu made his second start against the Rays and allowed a run on three hits in five innings -- with six strikeouts and no walks -- but a 30-pitch fifth inning shortened his outing.
Cavan Biggio went 1-for-3 with an RBI, stolen base and two walks for the Blue Jays, who lost for the first time in seven games.
Ryu and Slegers cruised through four innings, but Toronto broke through against Sean Gilmartin in the fifth after the left-hander issued two walks and allowed a single to Joe Panik to load the bases with one out.
Gilmartin fanned Reese McGuire, but Biggio -- the hero in Friday's 6-5 win in extra innings -- drew a walk on a full count for his 15th RBI and a 1-0 lead.
The Rays evened it 1-1 in the bottom half after a pair of singles by Willy Adames and Joey Wendle and an RBI fielder's choice by Margot.
Biggio singled and stole second base against reliever Pete Fairbanks in the seventh. With two outs, Fairbanks struck out Randal Grichuk, but the pitch bounced away from catcher Mike Zunino and rolled near Toronto's dugout. Biggio tried to score all the way from second but was tagged out at home by Fairbanks following Zunino's throw.
--Field Level Media