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 Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill tags out the Rays outfielder Carl Crawford on a steal attempt in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 1, 2010. (SCOTT AUDETTE/Reuters) |
St. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Check please.
The Blue Jays wound up one with one successful appeal on a checked swing.
Not so good on the and other.
Reliever Shawn Camp struck out B.J. Upton for the first out of the eighth when third base ump Jeff Nelson judged Upton had swung.
Two pitches later, Nelson and plate ump Mark Carlson ruled 1-0 pitch check swing to Ben Zorbist a ball.
Manager Cito Gaston stood in the third base dugout and threw his hands in the air in disgust. Carlson barked at Gaston.
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The inning was downhill from there as the Tampa Bay Rays scored in the eighth for a 2-1 win over the Jays to take the three-game series before 14,859 fans at Tropicana Field.
Rather than hitting with a 1-1 count, Zobrist worked an eight-pitch walk from Camp. After Carl Crawford singled against lefty reliever Scott Downs, Evan Longoria slithered a single to left for the margin of victory.
Longoria may have driven in the winner, David Price may have worked eight innings allowing only one run -- John Buck's 15th homer -- for his 16th win and Rafael Soriano may have picked up his 40th save against the rare meat of the Jays order, but the night belonged to Rays second baseman Sean Rodriguez.
"How many good second baseman did you see play for the Montreal Expos?" former Expo back-up catcher Bobby Ramos, now a coach with Tampa Bay, asked a visitor from the north before the game.
"Davey Cash, Rodney Scott, Manny Trillo and Doug Flynn," Ramos said. "Wait until you see this kid hit."
"This kid," Rodriguez, hit Shaun Marcum's 60th pitch, a hanging curve for a solo homer in the fifth, evening the score at 1-1.
Earlier, Rodriguez had hit a two-out triple off Marcum in the second and in the seventh he led off by saying hello to reliever Shawn Camp with a single up the middle and then stealing second.
Rodriguez missed his chance to go 4-for-4 and hit for the cycle when he was intentionally walked in the eighth.
Marcum needed 33 pitches to get through the fifth. He had two out after the Rodriguez homer and no one on when Dioneer Navarro singled and went to third on Jason Bartlett's double into the right-field corner -- Cecil Fielder may have scored on the play.
Manager Cito Gaston had Marcum walk B.J. Upton intentionally and then the Jays opening-day starter fell behind Desmond Jennings 3-1. After a foul ball, Jennings dribbled Marcum's 33rd pitch of the inning for a swinging bunt in front of the plate.
Marcum falls to the first-base side when he follows through. While the ball was closer to the plate, Buck couldn't go and get it. Marcum charged the ball, fielded it with his bare hand and flipped to John Buck.
Buck stretched like a first baseman to take the toss just in time. It's not really something they work on in spring training on a back field.
Marcum pitched six innings allowing five hits -- three to Rodriguez -- and threw 102 pitches, 66 for strikes.
Soriano retired Jose Bautista in an eight-pitch at-bat, allowed a triple off the centre-field wall to Vernon Wells, his third, struck out Adam Lind on a 2-2 pitch and Buck flew out to the track in left to end it.
Fred Lewis left the game in the sixth right a right elbow strain.
The Jays now continue their tour of the AL East opening a three-game series at Yankee Stadium Friday afternoon.
bob.elliot@sunmedia.ca