Big-hitting Blue Jays close out set at Tampa

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays displayed their trademark power in knocking off the playoff-hopeful Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, but the heavy- hitting club figures to face a more stern challenge in tonight's finale of this three-game series between the American League East inhabitants from Tropicana Field.

Toronto entered last night's contest leading all of baseball with 198 home runs, then swatted three more in a 13-5 rout of the Rays to even this set. Slugger Jose Bautista belted his major league-best 43rd round-tripper of the season and knocked in four runs to help the Blue Jays put an end to a two-game skid.

Bautista's homer, a three-run shot off reliever Lance Cormier, capped a sixth- inning eruption in which Toronto scored 10 times and sent 14 men to the plate. Aaron Hill added a two-run homer during the big frame, while Vernon Wells, Adam Lind and John Buck came through with consecutive doubles as the Jays overcame a 3-1 deficit heading into the inning.

"Any time you can explode, it's funny how the momentum side of baseball kicks in," Hill told MLB.com afterward. "It was nice to take advantage of some things and get the ball rolling a little bit."

John McDonald had a solo homer earlier in the game and scored three times for Toronto, which received three hits and a pair of RBI from Dewayne Wise as well.

The offensive outburst enabled Jays starter Ricky Romero (11-8) to garner his 11th victory of the season despite giving up five runs (four earned) and issuing five walks in 7 1/3 innings.

Toronto hopes it can duplicate last night's performance at the plate when the club takes its swings this evening against Rays All-Star David Price, who's been a real nemesis for the Blue Jays during his somewhat brief tenure in the big leagues. The 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick boasts a 5-0 record and an excellent 2.09 earned run average over six career starts against tonight's opponent, with three of those wins having taken place this season.

Price has been sensational in all three of those matchups, having yielded only three runs -- one earned -- and 17 hits over a combined 23 innings of work. The best of the bunch occurred at Tropicana Field on April 25, when the talented lefty allowed four hits and fanned nine in registering the only shutout of his career to date.

The 25-year-old has compiled a strong 15-6 record and a 3.01 ERA in 25 assignments for the year, though he hasn't been at his best of late. Price has posted a 4.26 ERA during a current three-start winless stretch and was touched for three runs and 10 hits through seven innings in a home loss to Boston last Friday.

The defeat was only Price's second at Tropicana Field this season, with the former Vanderbilt star having gone 7-2 with a 2.26 ERA in his 12 home starts.

Tampa Bay has also fared rather well when hosting the Blue Jays in recent years, as Wednesday's loss was only the Rays' sixth in their last 28 home encounters with Toronto. The Jays are 3-5 at Tropicana Field this season, with the teams having split 14 overall meetings thus far in 2010.

The Rays will be counting on Price to pitch more effectively than teammate Jeff Niemann (10-5) did near the end of his start last night. After permitting just one run over the first five innings, the towering right-hander allowed six straight batters to reach base to begin the sixth before being removed. He was charged with seven runs on seven hits for the evening.

"All of sudden, I couldn't get anybody out," said Niemann following the loss.

Dan Johnson and Reid Brignac each knocked in a pair of runs in Tuesday's loss, which halted a three-game win streak for Tampa. The Rays did fall out of a first-place tie with the New York Yankees in the AL East standings after the Bronx Bombers bested Oakland last night.

Shaun Marcum will try to deal the Rays a second straight defeat when he opposes Price tonight. The steady right-hander comes into this tilt off his third straight quality start, a no-decision against Detroit on Friday in which he gave up just one run in six innings.

Two appearances earlier, Marcum went the distance on a one-hitter in a 3-1 verdict over Oakland on August 16, then held Boston to three runs and just four hits in seven innings of a hard-luck shutout loss at Fenway Park six days later.

The Tommy John surgery survivor owns a solid 7-4 record with a 3.96 ERA in 14 road starts this year, but was tagged for seven runs and 10 hits over a poor four-inning stint in a June 9 loss to the Rays at the Trop. He's 2-2 with a 3.22 ERA in six lifetime games (five starts) against Tampa Bay, with both setbacks having come this season.