Tampa Bay Rays humiliate Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 in series finale – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays produced another masterful performance as they outclassed the struggling Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida in the finale of their three match series.
With their win on Thursday, August 9, the Rays completed a deserving sweep of their American League East rivals. Jose Lobaton had an excellent time on the plate as he singled to left in the second inning to put the Rays on the board.
B.J. Upton, who played a key role in deciding the outcome of Game 2, continued to impress the skipper as he grounded into fielder’s choice to shortstop in the second to extend the lead to 3-1.
Third baseman Ryan Roberts also made a useful contribution with the bat with an RBI single to centre in the third. Evan Longoria displayed some top quality hitting skills in closing stages of the game to help Rays end the contest on an extremely aggressive
note.
Starting pitcher Matt Moore grabbed his ninth win of the season after giving up just two hits and one earned run in six solid innings. Relief pitchers Kyle Farnsworth, J.P. Howell and Wade Davis combined to pitched three scoreless innings and the Rays cruised
to an impressive 7-1 victory.
"Our staff and our entire lineup right now, we're playing well," Moore said after winning in the finale of a six-game homestand. "It's a very good time for us in this clubhouse, and there's a lot of looking forward to going on the road right now."
"With the addition of guys like Longo, I think everybody else is able to relax a bit and gain some confidence, and once you're able to do that, things start rolling," outfielder Matt Joyce said.
After securing a comfortable 4-1 win in series opener, Joe Maddon and company continued their good work in Game 2 for a 3-2 win. Dominating the Blue Jays in almost all departments of the game on Thursday, the Rays improved their win-loss record to 59-52.
It will be interesting to see if they can come up with similar performances in their next series against Minnesota Twins to replace the second placed Baltimore Orioles on the AL East Division standings.
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