TORONTO -- With a late power surge, the Tampa Bay Rays wiped away the memory of a tough loss.
Logan Morrison hit a two-run homer, Evan Longoria and Corey Dickerson added solo shots and the Rays connected three times in the eighth inning to beat the struggling Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Friday night.
"To be a good team you've got to find ways to win close games on the road," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Today we did that."
The Rays took a one-run lead in the 11th inning at Baltimore on Wednesday, only for the Orioles to rally for a 5-4 win in the bottom half.
Taking care of Toronto helped the Rays put that behind.
"We needed that one," Longoria said.
Five of Tampa Bay's past six wins have been come-from-behind victories.
Derek Norris added a solo homer in the ninth. He had two hits and two RBI.
Kevin Pillar homered and reached base five times for the Blue Jays, who lost their third straight. Toronto's 6-17 start is the worst in franchise history.
"Losing is always tough, especially the close ones," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.
Pillar's leadoff drive off Austin Pruitt (3-0) in the seventh gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Dickerson homered off Marcus Stroman in the eighth and Longoria's shot against Jason Grilli (1-3) tied the score, giving Toronto its big-league high eighth blown save.
Brad Miller walked, Steven Souza struck out and Dominic Leone came on to face Morrison, who homered into the center field party deck. The drive would have traveled 428 feet unimpeded, according to MLB's Statcast.
"It's not every day you come here and see a ball land up in the restaurant," Cash said. "That was pretty impressive."
Dickerson's homer was his sixth, matching Longoria (2013) for the Rays record in April.
Stroman struck out a season-high 10 in 7 1/3 innings, but it wasn't enough.
"It's just frustrating," Stroman said. "We kill ourselves to be at our best when we're out there so when things don't go our way, it's tough. We're doing everything in our power to turn this around"
Pruitt pitched three innings, and Chase Whitley got two outs for his first big league save.
Tampa Bay's Blake Snell allowed two runs and six hits in five innings -- he has failed to pitch into the sixth inning in four consecutive starts.
Pillar scored three runs and came within a triple of the cycle. He singled in the first, walked in the third, doubled in the fifth, homered in the seventh and doubled in the ninth, the second four-hit game of his career.
PASS THE SALT
Toronto designated C Jarrod Saltalamacchia for assignment and optioned RHP Casey Lawrence to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays selected the contract of C Luke Maile and recalled LHP Matt Dermody. Saltalamacchia hit .040 (1 for 25) in 10 games, setting a Blue Jays record by striking out in 10 consecutive at-bats from April 13-22. He did not throw out any of the nine runners trying to steal against him.
OPEN AND SHUT
The Blue Jays have lost the opening game of all four home series this season, dropping games against Milwaukee, Baltimore and Boston before Friday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: OF Colby Rasmus (hip surgery) was held out of his rehab game at Double-A Montgomery because of an illness. He is expected to play Saturday and Sunday and could rejoin the Rays on Monday.
Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez remains on pace to come off the DL and start Sunday's series finale after throwing a side session Friday. ... 3B Josh Donaldson (right calf) and SS Troy Tulowitzki (right hamstring) will travel to Toronto's spring training facility following this three-game series to continue their rehab.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Matt Andriese (1-0, 3.86) is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two starts at Rogers Centre. Andriese did not finish the fourth inning in either of those games.
Blue Jays: LHP Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.58) allowed five runs in one-third of an inning in his season-opening start at Tampa Bay. In three starts since, he has a 2.08 ERA.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Tampa Bay Rays
Logan Morrison hit a two-run homer, Evan Longoria and Corey Dickerson added solo shots and the Rays connected three times in the eighth inning to beat the struggling Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Friday night.
"To be a good team you've got to find ways to win close games on the road," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Today we did that."
The Rays took a one-run lead in the 11th inning at Baltimore on Wednesday, only for the Orioles to rally for a 5-4 win in the bottom half.
Taking care of Toronto helped the Rays put that behind.
"We needed that one," Longoria said.
Five of Tampa Bay's past six wins have been come-from-behind victories.
Derek Norris added a solo homer in the ninth. He had two hits and two RBI.
Kevin Pillar homered and reached base five times for the Blue Jays, who lost their third straight. Toronto's 6-17 start is the worst in franchise history.
"Losing is always tough, especially the close ones," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.
Pillar's leadoff drive off Austin Pruitt (3-0) in the seventh gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.
Dickerson homered off Marcus Stroman in the eighth and Longoria's shot against Jason Grilli (1-3) tied the score, giving Toronto its big-league high eighth blown save.
Brad Miller walked, Steven Souza struck out and Dominic Leone came on to face Morrison, who homered into the center field party deck. The drive would have traveled 428 feet unimpeded, according to MLB's Statcast.
"It's not every day you come here and see a ball land up in the restaurant," Cash said. "That was pretty impressive."
Dickerson's homer was his sixth, matching Longoria (2013) for the Rays record in April.
Stroman struck out a season-high 10 in 7 1/3 innings, but it wasn't enough.
"It's just frustrating," Stroman said. "We kill ourselves to be at our best when we're out there so when things don't go our way, it's tough. We're doing everything in our power to turn this around"
Pruitt pitched three innings, and Chase Whitley got two outs for his first big league save.
Tampa Bay's Blake Snell allowed two runs and six hits in five innings -- he has failed to pitch into the sixth inning in four consecutive starts.
Pillar scored three runs and came within a triple of the cycle. He singled in the first, walked in the third, doubled in the fifth, homered in the seventh and doubled in the ninth, the second four-hit game of his career.
PASS THE SALT
Toronto designated C Jarrod Saltalamacchia for assignment and optioned RHP Casey Lawrence to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays selected the contract of C Luke Maile and recalled LHP Matt Dermody. Saltalamacchia hit .040 (1 for 25) in 10 games, setting a Blue Jays record by striking out in 10 consecutive at-bats from April 13-22. He did not throw out any of the nine runners trying to steal against him.
OPEN AND SHUT
The Blue Jays have lost the opening game of all four home series this season, dropping games against Milwaukee, Baltimore and Boston before Friday.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: OF Colby Rasmus (hip surgery) was held out of his rehab game at Double-A Montgomery because of an illness. He is expected to play Saturday and Sunday and could rejoin the Rays on Monday.
Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez remains on pace to come off the DL and start Sunday's series finale after throwing a side session Friday. ... 3B Josh Donaldson (right calf) and SS Troy Tulowitzki (right hamstring) will travel to Toronto's spring training facility following this three-game series to continue their rehab.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Matt Andriese (1-0, 3.86) is 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two starts at Rogers Centre. Andriese did not finish the fourth inning in either of those games.
Blue Jays: LHP Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.58) allowed five runs in one-third of an inning in his season-opening start at Tampa Bay. In three starts since, he has a 2.08 ERA.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Dickerson grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Kiermaier reached on infield single to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Longoria fouled out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Miller grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Blake Snell pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pillar singled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Barney lined out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Bautista flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Morales struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Souza Jr. struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Morrison struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Beckham walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Peterson singled to center, Beckham to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Norris singled to shallow left, Beckham scored, Peterson to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Dickerson struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Blake Snell pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Smoak grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Pearce struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Travis walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Maile walked, Travis to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Goins struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Kiermaier grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Longoria struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| Miller walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Souza Jr. singled to center, Miller to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Blake Snell pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pillar walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Barney singled to right, Pillar to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Bautista flied out to right. | 1 | 0 |
| Morales lined out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Smoak grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Beckham struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Peterson struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| Norris struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Blake Snell pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pearce singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Travis lined out to right. | 1 | 0 |
| Maile flied out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Goins grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Dickerson grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Longoria grounded into double play, third to second to first, Kiermaier out at second. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Blake Snell pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pillar doubled to deep left. | 1 | 0 |
| Barney singled to right, Pillar scored. | 1 | 1 |
| Bautista singled to right, Barney to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Morales grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Barney scored, Bautista out at second. | 1 | 2 |
| Smoak grounded out to second. | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Miller struck out looking. | 1 | 2 |
| Souza Jr. grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 2 |
| Morrison grounded out to first. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Austin Pruitt pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pruitt relieved Snell. | 1 | 2 |
| Carrera hit for Pearce. | 1 | 2 |
| Carrera grounded out to third. | 1 | 2 |
| Travis doubled to deep right. | 1 | 2 |
| Maile grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 2 |
| Goins lined out to left. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Carrera in left field. | 1 | 2 |
| Beckham grounded out to third. | 1 | 2 |
| Peterson flied out to left. | 1 | 2 |
| Norris flied out to center. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Austin Pruitt pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Pillar homered to left (350 feet). | 1 | 3 |
| Barney grounded out to third. | 1 | 3 |
| Bautista flied out to center. | 1 | 3 |
| Morales struck out swinging. | 1 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Dickerson homered to left center (420 feet). | 2 | 3 |
| Kiermaier struck out swinging. | 2 | 3 |
| Grilli relieved Stroman. | 2 | 3 |
| Longoria homered to center (420 feet). | 3 | 3 |
| Miller walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Souza Jr. struck out looking. | 3 | 3 |
| Leone relieved Grilli. | 3 | 3 |
| Morrison homered to right center (434 feet), Miller scored. | 5 | 3 |
| Beckham tripled to deep right. | 5 | 3 |
| Peterson popped out to third. | 5 | 3 |
| 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Austin Pruitt pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Bourjos in left field. | 5 | 3 |
| Smoak grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| Carrera reached on infield single to shortstop. | 5 | 3 |
| Travis grounded out to third, Carrera to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Maile safe at first on error by shortstop Beckham, Carrera to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Goins lined out to left. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Tampa Bay - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Dominic Leone pitching for Toronto | TB | TOR |
| Norris homered to left (374 feet). | 6 | 3 |
| Dickerson doubled to deep right. | 6 | 3 |
| Howell relieved Leone. | 6 | 3 |
| Kiermaier safe at first on error by second baseman Travis, Dickerson to third. | 6 | 3 |
| Dickerson scored, Kiermaier to second on wild pitch by Howell. | 7 | 3 |
| Longoria grounded into fielder's choice to third, Kiermaier out at third. | 7 | 3 |
| Miller grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Longoria out at second. | 7 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Toronto - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Jumbo Diaz pitching for Tampa Bay | TB | TOR |
| Díaz relieved Pruitt. | 7 | 3 |
| Pillar doubled to deep right center. | 7 | 3 |
| Coghlan hit for Barney. | 7 | 3 |
| Coghlan singled to right center, Pillar to third. | 7 | 3 |
| Bautista hit sacrifice fly to center, Pillar scored. | 7 | 4 |
| Whitley relieved Díaz. | 7 | 4 |
| Morales popped out to third. | 7 | 4 |
| Coghlan to second on fielder's indifference. | 7 | 4 |
| Coghlan to third on fielder's indifference. | 7 | 4 |
| Smoak struck out swinging. | 7 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Tampa Bay Rays
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickerson DH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .329 | .368 | .659 |
| Kiermaier CF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .231 | .320 | .319 |
| Longoria 3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | .226 | .318 | .409 |
| Miller 2B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 25 | .217 | .350 | .361 |
| Souza Jr. RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .326 | .398 | .543 |
| Morrison 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .243 | .341 | .473 |
| Beckham SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | .282 | .309 | .513 |
| Peterson LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .294 | .333 | .441 |
Bourjos LF
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .185 | .290 | .296 |
| Norris C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .185 | .214 | .262 |
| Totals | 37 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 146 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Dickerson (9, Leone) 3B: Beckham (2, Leone) HR: Dickerson (6, 8th inning off Stroman 0 on, 0 Out); Longoria (4, 8th inning off Grilli 0 on, 1 Out); Morrison (5, 8th inning off Leone 1 on, 2 Out); Norris (1, 9th inning off Leone 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Norris 2 (8), Dickerson (10), Longoria (13), Morrison 2 (14) 2-out RBI: Norris, Morrison 2 GIDP: Longoria, Miller Rays RISP: 1-6 (Peterson 0-1, Dickerson 0-1, Norris 1-1, Kiermaier 0-1, Longoria 0-1, Morrison 0-1) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Beckham (3, ground ball) DP: 1 (Beckham-Miller-Morrison). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON |
| Attendance | 36,256 (73.6% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:16 |
| Weather | indoors |
| Umpires | Home Plate - D.J. Reyburn, First Base - Sam Holbrook, Second Base - Jim Wolf, Third Base - Chad Whitson |
