The Tampa Bay Rays took the opening game of their short two-day stop in Canada on Monday night, defeating the Blue Jays 7-1. The Rays had to ride their bullpen after starter Jeff Niemann was knocked out of the game after he took a ball off the foot in the first inning. The pen picked up the slack for Joe Maddon, however, holding the Jays to three hits and one run over eight innings. Wade Davis was also used for two innings, combining with Cesar Ramos to get it to the bullpen regulars for the final three innings. It was the first career win for Ramos.
With the pitching staff holding up its end, the Rays offense came alive in a six-run fifth inning to put the game out of reach. Both Sean Rodriguez and Luke Scott broke it open with two RBIs each. Ben Zobrist added a 430-foot bomb in the ninth to make it 7-1. After dropping six of seven games, the Rays have now won their past two and hope to keep it going against the division foes this week before interleague play starts up. David Price will pitch the second and final game of the series, matching up against Henderson Alvarez on Tuesday night.
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