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Recap: Blue Jays use trio of homers to beat Rays

Josh Thole, Michael Saunders and Josh Donaldson all hit home runs as the Jays beat the Rays for the second straight day

By Jared Book
USA Today Sports

Blue Jays 5 Rays 3

It was a game we should expect to see a lot of from the Blue Jays in their win against the Rays. Only the people getting the big hits were not the ones you would expect.

R.A. Dickey went five innings and allowed six hits, three runs, two walks and struck out three. Jesse Chavez came in afterwards and allowed an inherited run to score but closed the door after that. Brett Cecil looked dominant with two strikeouts. Drew Storen made his Jays debut and struggled a bit but ended his inning unscathed.

The Rays opened the scoring in the second when Steven Souza Jr hit a home run off of R.A. Dickey in the bottom of the second inning. Josh Thole would respond in the next half inning hitting a line drive to right. It was originally ruled a double due to fan interference, but replays showed that the glove was above the wall when it was caught. It was Thole's first home run since 2013.

The Blue Jays scored three times in the 4th. Troy Tulowitzki hit a sacrifice fly and was followed up by a two-run Michael Saunders home run, his first as a Blue Jay to make it 4-1. Saunders homerun meant that the two left-handed hitters in the lineup hit homers off of Rays starter Drew Smyly.

The Jays made it 5-1 as Josh Donaldson hit his first home run of 2016 (including Spring Training, believe it or not).

The Rays added two runs in the fifth and sixth but Brett Cecil, Drew Storen and Roberto Osuna shut the door and proved what kind of back end of the bullpen they could provide the Blue Jays this season.


Source: FanGraphs

Jays of the Day: Michael Saunders (.192), Edwin Encarnacion (.137) had big days while Josh Thole (.089), Brett Cecil (.074), Drew Storen (.079) and Roberto Osuna (.079) get honourable mentions. Kevin Pillar made another great catch as well.

Jays Suckage: It's too early for that. Especially in a win.

Tomorrow Aaron Sanchez goes against Jake Odorizzi in the third game of the series. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.

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