Hernandez, Jansen homer to help Blue Jays down Rays, end 5-game skid
Toronto's Hyun Jin Ryu strikes out 3, surrenders 1 run in 4 2/3 innings in return
Teoscar Hernandez and Danny Jansen homered in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., to end a five-game skid.
Hernandez, who missed three weeks with a sore left oblique, hit his second homer of the season leading off the eighth in a 1-1 game.
Jansen was activated Saturday after being sidelined for more than a month with a strained left oblique and hit his third homer in only his ninth at-bat this year. He reached base three times and lined out to the warning track in centre field.
"He hasn't missed a beat," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "He looked really good at the plate."
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—@BlueJaysBoth homers came off Ryan Thompson (1-2), who also gave up singles to Santiago Espinal and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the decisive four-run inning that served as a sigh of relief for the Blue Jays.
"To have a four-run lead, that hasn't happened very often," Montoyo said. "It was great to see the two-out hits. That's who we are. When you add on runs, then you don't have to play tight games."
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—@BlueJaysTim Mayza (2-0) got the win in relief after striking out two of his three batters in the seventh.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in the first inning off Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, and scored on Espinal's sacrifice fly.
Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena had two hits each for Tampa Bay. Margot stretched his career-high hitting streak to 11 games, during which he is hitting .486.
Ryu, pitching for the first time since April 16 due to an inflamed left forearm, gave up one run on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three.
"I just wanted to make sure I went deep into the game," Ryu said through a translator. "I regret the walk I gave up in the fifth inning more than the home run. If I didn't give up the walk, I could have finished the fifth."
He threw 71 pitches.
"Besides the great win, it was great to see Ryu do what he did today," Montoyo said. "What he did was perfect. That's what we needed. We'll go from there."
