Jonathan Aranda had a solo homer and three RBIs Monday night and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-5.
Richie Palacios added three hits and three RBIs for Tampa Bay in the opener of a three-game series. The Rays are 4-0 against Toronto this season.
Toronto’s Andres Gimenez had a career-best five RBIs with two home runs.
The Rays scored three runs in the first against Kevin Gausman (2-3).
Chandler Simpson led off with an infield hit that Gausman could not handle, took third on Junior Caminero’s single to right and scored on Aranda’s sacrifice fly to left. Jake Fraley doubled to right and Palacios stroked a two-run single to right.
Tampa Bay scored twice more in the second. Hunter Feduccia singled and scored on Taylor Walls’ triple to right center. Walls was out at home on Simpson’s grounder to first. Simpson stole second, took third on a groundout and scored on Aranda’s broken-bat single to center.
Toronto cut the lead to 5-3 in the home second against Drew Rasmussen (3-1). Kazuma Okamoto singled to left, extending his hit streak to 10 games. Daulton Varsho singled to left and Gimenez homered to right.
Gausman recorded his 2,000th career strikeout when he got Feduccia swinging in the fourth. Simpson’s speed manufactured a two-out run in the fourth. After an infield hit on a grounder to first, Simpson took second on a balk, stole third and continued home when catcher Brandon Valenzuela’s throw sailed into left field.
Aranda led off the fifth with a homer to center.
Gausman allowed seven runs (six earned), 10 hits and no walks with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
The Rays scored once in the seventh against Braydon Fisher. Aranda was hit in the back on the first pitch of the inning, advanced to third on two groundouts and scored on Palacios’ single to right.
Rasmussen completed six innings, allowing three runs, four hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
Pinch hitter Myles Straw singled against Ian Seymour in the home seventh and Gimenez homered to right.
Toronto’s Yariel Rodriguez, promoted from Buffalo after Eric Lauer was designated for assignment, pitched around a ninth-inning walk.
Bryan Baker pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to earn his 11th save.
