Stroman picks up first win.
Marcus Stroman led the Blue Jays into Tropicana Field on Thursday night and he was too much for the Rays to handle. The Blue Jays did not need a lot of offense against Rays starter Blake Snell, but they got a lot of it with one swing.
Kendrys Morales blasted this Blake Snell pitch for his fourth career grand slam.
Scoreless ballgame?
Let’s get the party started. https://t.co/RMnGXnFILq #PapaSlam pic.twitter.com/yA7gO3RRyZ
— MLB (@MLB) April 7, 2017
Early on, Stroman and Snell were trading strikeouts. Six of the first 10 batters the two men faced went down via the punch out. Snell showed life on his fastball as he was consistently in the mid-90’s. The problem was location. Snell walked five batters, three of which came around to score. He departed after 6.2 IP, allowing 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K.
Stroman scattered six hits of his own but was able to induce timely double plays. The Rays grounded into four double plays on the night, three of which were cause by the Jays starter.
How you livin’, Stro? pic.twitter.com/Nwls8KVgl3
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) April 7, 2017
The Rays made things interesting in the bottom-of-the-ninth off of Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith.
After a Brad Miller walk and a Steven Souza double, Logan Morrison stepped into the box to face Jason Grilli. He didn’t even get the bat off of his shoulder before Morrison watched Miller score from third.
Grilli bounced one in the dirt that was too much for Russell Martin to handle. LoMo would eventually strikeout, as would pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks Jr., giving Grilli his first save of the season.
Post-Game Notes:
Baseball fans shouldn’t feel alone in not having a solid understanding of the Collision Rule. Manager Kevin Cash spoke for everyone in that regard…
I don’t think any of us totally understand the blocking of the plate rule
#Rays Snell on tonight’s game: pic.twitter.com/TWgu9rn4Mh
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 7, 2017
Although Snell was “upset about the loss”, he has not lost any support from his teammates. Souza stood behind Snell and the rest of his mates as they battled back in the ninth inning.
We’re gonna have to come back and win some of those games, we’re sure enough not gonna quit…We didn’t give up, that’s a good sign. We just have to follow through”
Next Game:
Matt Andriese gets the call for the Rays on Friday. Last season he started the year 6-0. A win tomorrow would get send the Rays into the weekend with a winning record. In three career starts against the Blue Jays, Andriese has gone 3.2 IP, 5.1 IP, and 3.0 IP.
Francisco Liriano goes for the Blue Jays. In his four appearances at Tropicana field, Liriano (1-2; 6.75 ERA) has not had great success.
