Blue Jays' bats back Estrada in win over Rays
TORONTO -- Chris Colabello's two-run homer and eight shutout innings from Marco Estrada helped lead the Blue Jays to a 4-0 win over the Rays on Sunday afternoon in the rubber game at Rogers Centre.
Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer, who already had defeated Toronto three times this season, pitched four scoreless innings in which he allowed only an infield hit before he took the mound in the fifth. Justin Smoak singled with one out before Colabello stepped to the plate. After falling behind, 0-1, the Blue Jays' left fielder connected for his ninth home run of the season.
Video: TB@TOR: Archer strikes out Reyes to end the 3rd
Archer pitched well -- allowing just two runs in seven innings -- but the one blemish on his line was too much for the Rays to overcome given Estrada's performance. The Blue Jays' starter surrendered just three hits en route to his seventh win of the season.
"We talk about approach, approach all the time," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "As a team there are games that we could have better approaches, maybe adjust a little quicker. But for [Estrada], it was no secret what he was doing against us. He was pretty tough."
Jose Bautista added a two-run homer in the eighth off Brandon Guyer to salt away the win.
Video: TB@TOR: Bautista belts a two-run shot to center field
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Estrada excellent again: The soft-tossing right-hander was dynamite for the Blue Jays. Estrada earned his sixth win in his last eight starts with an incredible eight-inning performance. At one point, he'd retired 15 straight and faced the minimum through seven innings. Estrada has now thrown 21 scoreless innings against the Rays this season. More >
"He's been as good as anybody," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's got a knack for making a big pitch, getting the big out when you have to. He's very composed. You can't rattle him."
Video: TB@TOR: Estrada tosses eight frames of three-hit ball
Colabello crushes one: After a Justin Smoak single, Colabello opened the scoring in the home half of the fifth, launching a two-run shot over the left-field wall. It was Colabello's ninth homer of the season and the Blue Jays' third hit of the afternoon against Archer.
Missed opportunity: The Rays squandered a scoring opportunity in the third. Tim Beckham hit a leadoff double and moved to third on Kevin Kiermaier's sacrifice bunt. Beckham opted to not make a break for home when Rene Rivera flied out to shallow left. Unfortunately for the Rays, Beckham would have scored easily as Colabello's throw to the plate was offline. The inning ended when Beckham was picked off of third by catcher Dioner Navarro with John Jaso batting.
Video: TB@TOR: Navarro picks off Beckham at third base
"Getting picked off third … not the ideal situation with Jaso hitting, one of our hotter hitters up at the plate," Cash said. "Those are the type of opportunities that we must capitalize on going forward. We did not."
No kneed to get up: The Beckham putout was the second time on the afternoon Navarro nailed a Rays baserunner from his knees. He also completed a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play without standing up in the second frame, cutting down James Loney as he tried to steal second following David DeJesus' strikeout.
Video: TB@TOR: Blue Jays strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out
"That's huge," Estrada said. "... You save pitches, and mentally it helps out a bunch."
WHAT'S NEXT
Rays: Lefty Matt Moore (1-0, 7.07 ERA) will make his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery when the Rays open a three-game road set with the Phillies on Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET. On July 12, Moore earned his first win since Sept. 29, 2013, at Toronto. This will be his first Interleague start since May 3, 2013, at Colorado.
Blue Jays: Left-hander Mark Buehrle gets the ball for the opener of a three-game road set against the A's on Tuesday at 10:05 p.m. ET. It will mark Josh Donaldson's return to Oakland for the first time since he was dealt to the Blue Jays in a blockbuster, offseason trade.
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