Field Level Media
May 28, 2019
Avisail Garcia hit an inside-the-park homer, Austin Meadows also homered, five Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a six-hitter, and the Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Tuesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Rays have won the first two games of the three-game series.
Ryne Stanek, employed as an opener for the 15th time this season, allowed only a hit and a walk in his two scoreless innings. He struck out one.
Ryan Yarbrough (4-1) took over in the third inning and held Toronto to two hits and a walk while striking out one in 3 2/3 shutout innings.
Diego Castillo allowed a single, a double and Brandon Drury's sacrifice fly in the ninth while picking up his sixth save of the season.
Toronto starter Clayton Richard (0-1) gave up two runs, three hits and four walks in four innings in his second start of the season. He fanned three.
The Rays scored once in the first. Garcia led off with a single, Tommy Pham and Willy Adames walked to load the bases, and Travis d'Arnaud hit a sacrifice fly.
Garcia led off the third with an inside-the-park home run when right fielder Randal Grichuk lost sight of what appeared to be a routine fly and had the ball bound well behind him. It was Garcia's 10th homer this season.
The Blue Jays failed to score in the fourth after Justin Smoak's leadoff single and Rowdy Tellez's double put runners at second and third with no outs. Yarbrough retired the next three batters to end the threat.
Justin Shafer, promoted from Triple-A Buffalo after Zac Rosscup was designated for assignment Tuesday, made his season debut. He took over from Richard in the fifth and pitched around a fifth-inning single.
In the sixth, Shafer allowed a leadoff walk to d'Arnaud, who took second when Daniel Robertson fouled out to right. Thomas Pannone replaced Shafer and walked Ji-Man Choi before ending the inning with two strikeouts.
Pannone struck out the first two batters in the seventh before allowing Meadows' 12th homer of the season.
Tampa Bay's Emilio Pagan pitching two scoreless innings, and he struck out the side in the eighth.
--Field Level Media