St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Luke Scott smacked a pair of two-run
doubles and James Shields fired seven shutout innings in the Tampa Bay Rays'
12-1 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game set.
Shields (15-9) fanned nine and scattered six hits while walking one for the
Rays, who have won three straight and sit 4 1/2 games behind the Baltimore
Orioles and Oakland Athletics for the two AL wild card spots.
Jose Molina smacked a two-run homer and drove in three and Ben Zobrist added a
solo shot and two runs scored in the win.
Carlos Villanueva (7-6) surrendered seven runs on eight hits and two walks in
2 1/3 innings for Toronto, which has dropped eight of its last 10 contests.
The Rays jumped out to an 12-0 lead after plating one run in the first, four
in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and three more in the
sixth.
Zobrist launched a two-out solo blast into the right-field seats in the
opening frame, while Carlos Pena ripped a two-run triple into the left-center
field gap and Molina cracked a two-run homer into the front row in left field
in the second.
With the bases loaded and none away in the third, Scott golfed one to
dead center field, which Colby Rasmus was unable to chase down as it glanced
off his glove for a two-run double.
Jeff Keppinger hit a two-out RBI single to center field in the fourth inning.
Matt Joyce tallied a run-scoring groundout and Scott added a two-run double
and scored in the sixth via a Molina fielder's choice.
The Blue Jays finally got on the board in the eighth when pinch-hitter Yan
Gomes lined an RBI double down the left-field line.
Game Notes
The Rays were 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position, while Toronto
finished 1-for-4 ... Zobrist's homer was his 18th of the year ... Shields
threw 75 of his 102 pitches for strikes.
The Sports Network