Faria, offense on display in quick two-game set with Jays.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw the Rays on a rare two-game trip to Toronto against their AL East foes, the Blue Jays. Newly settled into third place in said division, the Rays sent rookie Jacob (or Jake as his locker says) Faria to the hill Tuesday. Jake Odorizzi followed with the start on Wednesday night to close it out. Here’s the breakdown of the two-game split.
TUESDAY – Faria shuts down Jays, offense does the rest.
With RHP Matt Andriese going back on the 10-day DL, Faria was once again called on from Durham. He would pick up right where he left off a week before. This time it would be against a much more formidable offense in the Jays. He’d match his first career start going 6.1 innings giving up just a run on six hits and eight strikeouts.
The offense had his back.
Corey Dickerson would continue to prove he belongs on the AL roster in Miami. His average rose to .337 with a four-hit night Tuesday. He also scored three of the eight runs and drove in one, himself, that came on his 15th home run of 2017. Logan Morrison (18) and Taylor Featherston (1) would also homer. Fellow rookie RHP Austin Pruitt would pitch a shut out 2.2 innings to close out the 8-1 victory and put the Rays three games over .500 for the first time since they opened the year 5-2.
.@RaysBaseball rookie Jacob Faria discusses his approach in his 2nd MLB start and his cool demeanor on the mound. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/70jdGOcRvG
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) June 14, 2017
WEDNESDAY – LoMo leads rally but Jays win it late.
It was yet another early lead for the Rays offense. In the third inning, Dickerson would hit a two-run triple off Francisco Liriano giving him 34 RBI on the season and his third three-bagger. The Rays would lead 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth before the Jays put on a four-run rally. Odorizzi would exit after just 4.1 innings.
Imagine not voting for @MCoreyDickerson. Couldn’t be us. pic.twitter.com/t3mWnN9ItO
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 15, 2017
Down 5-3, Morrison would hit his 19th home run of the season in the eighth inning to pull the Rays within a run. Derek Norris would hit a sac fly to tie it heading into the bottom of the eighth. It would be LHP Jose Alvarado who would give up the go-ahead home run to Russell Martin in the bottom of the inning to make way for Roberto Osuna to slam the door shut on the Rays and a 7-6 victory.
NEXT UP:
- The Rays (35-33) head to Detroit to face the Tigers (30-34) for a three-game series beginning Thursday. Alex Cobb (5-5, 4.29) goes for Tampa Bay while Justin Verlander (4-4, 4.58) goes for Detroit in game one.
