Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Ahmed Rosario steals second base against Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Leo Jimenez in the second inning at Rogers Centre. The Rays won 13-0 on July 25.Dan Hamilton/Reuters
Taj Bradley pitched six shutout innings and allowed only two hits in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 13-0 rout to take the rubber match in their series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
On the strength of a 16-hit attack, the Rays (52-51) won for the seventh time in 11 outings, while the Blue Jays (46-56) have dropped four of six at home since the all-star break.
Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement pitched the ninth inning and gave up a run on two hits.
The 23-year-old Bradley (6-4) won his third straight start. He surrendered a one-out double to left from Spencer Horwitz and an infield hit to Vladimir Guerrero in the first inning.
But then the Rays righty settled down to retire 11 in a row and 17 of his final 18, allowing only a walk to Danny Jansen in the fifth. Bradley finished with seven strikeouts and a walk.
Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, Alex Jackson and Amed Rosario were the big offensive producers in the series finale before 41,148 at Rogers Centre.
Lowe sent a 414-foot homer into the fifth deck down the right-field line to open the scoring. He knocked in two more runs with two singles and drew a pair of walks.
Paredes drove in four runs with two hits, while Jackson checked in with three RBI with two hits. Rosario pounded a double and two singles.
Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (8-9) lost his second straight since the all-star break. He went five innings and 97 pitches, giving up three runs on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts.
After Lowe’s homer in the opening inning, the Rays touched Bassitt for three consecutive hits with one out in the third.
Richie Palacios singled to right and scored on Paredes’s double down the left-field line that Toronto outfielder Davis Schneider dived for but missed, allowing the ball to get to the corner.
Lowe then doubled in Paredes for a three-run advantage.
Trevor Richards replaced Bassitt and struggled mightily. He lasted only seven hitters, giving up four runs on four singles and two walks.
The Rays sent nine hitters to the plate with catcher Alex Jackson and Paredes delivering two-run singles to centre and left field, respectively.
The visitors tacked on five more runs on Toronto relievers Ryan Burr and Nate Pearson in the seventh inning.
The Blue Jays begin a three-game set against the Texas Rangers on Friday to conclude their nine-outing, 10-day homestand. Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-9) will open the series against lefty Andrew Heaney (4-10).