Final
Jackson, Rays edge Blue Jays
Jul 30, 2008 - 9:40 PM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Edwin Jackson got out of trouble early and the Tampa Bay Rays bullpen did its job to preserve the lead.Carlos Pena homered and Jackson escaped a number of jams as the Rays held on for a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Carl Crawford had a pair of hits and an RBI for Tampa Bay, which won the final two games of this three-game set and finished its seven-game road trip at 4-3.
"We won the road trip so it feels good," Crawford said. "We play well at home so it will be nice to get that momentum going."
Jackson (7-7) allowed two runs and seven hits with two walks over five innings, winning back-to-back starts for the first time since April 5 and 10. The righthander did not retire the side in order during his outing, but Toronto failed to capitalize on a pair of big chances in the fourth and fifth innings.
"Today was definitely a battle," Jackson said. "It was a performance on guts."
Trailing, 3-2, Toronto got a leadoff triple from Adam Lind in the fourth but failed to bring him home.
Joe Inglett singled to open the fifth and Marco Scutaro reached on an error by Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura.
Following a wild pitch that put runners on second and third with nobody out, Jackson got Alex Rios to ground back to the mound and struck out Lyle Overbay. After a walk to Matt Stairs, Lind flew out to center to end the inning.
"Having men in scoring position with no outs twice and for any of them not to come home was definitely hard," Jackson said. "It was a combination of making pitches when I needed to, and our defense."
After Jackson departed the game, the Rays bullpen took over as J.P. Howell allowed two hits in a scoreless sixth inning and Grant Balfour and Dan Wheeler pitched a hitless seventh and eighth innings, respectively.
Troy Percival worked a perfect ninth for his 23rd save as the Rays bullpen held the Blue Jays hitters to just two singles in 14 at-bats. Tampa Bay's bullpen entered the game holding opponents to a major league-worst .216 batting average.
Crawford's RBI triple gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Overbay put Toronto in front in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run blast to center.
Tampa Bay took the lead for good in the top of the fourth, as Pena led off the inning with his 18th home run. Eric Hinske and Dioner Navarro followed with back-to-back hits and Gabe Gross gave the Rays a 3-2 advantage when he plated a run while grounding into a double play.
Toronto starter Scott Richmond (0-1) suffered the loss in his major league debut. The 28-year-old allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
"Very impressed with the performance he gave us today," Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun said of Richmond. "He did a great job against a really tough lineup. He kept them off balance all day."
- AL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TAMPA BAY 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 9 1
TORONTO 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: TAM - EDWIN JACKSON, J.P. HOWELL (6TH), GRANT BALFOUR (7TH), DAN
WHEELER (8TH), TROY PERCIVAL (9TH) AND DIONER NAVARRO
TOR - SCOTT RICHMOND, JESSE CARLSON (6TH), SC
Jul 30 3:31 PM - AL
AT TORONTO - SCORING UPDATE
GABE GROSS HIT INTO DOUBLE PLAY SCORING ERIC HINSKE.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 3
TORONTO 2 TOP, 4TH
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: J BARTLETT (.254, 0-FOR-1)
Rays 3, Blue Jays 2 Top 4, 0 OutsJul 30 1:41 PM - AL
AT TORONTO - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY CARLOS PENA (18) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 0
OUT IN THE 4TH OFF SCOTT RICHMOND.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 2, TORONTO 2
DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: E HINSKE (.254, 0-FOR-1)
Rays 2, Blue Jays 2 Top 4, 0 OutsJul 30 1:38 PM - AL
AT TORONTO - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY LYLE OVERBAY (7) TO CENTER WITH 2 OUT
IN THE 1ST OFF EDWIN JACKSON SCORED ALEX RIOS.
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 1, TORONTO 2
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: M STAIRS (.247, 11 HR, 36 RBI)
Rays 1, Blue Jays 2 Bot 1, 0 OutsJul 30 12:54 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TAMPA BAY 1 1 2 0
TORONTO 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: TAM - EDWIN JACKSON
TOR - SCOTT RICHMOND
DUE UP FOR TORONTO: J INGLETT (.285, 2 HR, 24 RBI)
M SCUTARO (.260, 4 HR, 38 RBI)
A RIOS (.278, 8 HR, 47 RBI)
Rays 1, Blue Jays 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsJul 30 12:47 PM
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