(St. Petersburg) Justin Turner homered and drove in four runs in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon.
“I felt really good today,” Turner said. I’ve made some adjustments over the past few days. I had much better timing. »
The two teams split the four-game series with two victories on each side.
After winning the first game 8-2 on Thursday, the Blue Jays lost the next two and trailed 13-3 overall.
The Blue Jays are 20-35 on the road against the Rays since the start of the 2018 season.
Randy Arozarena hit a long ball for the Rays. He also hit a home run in his team’s 5-1 victory on Saturday.
In his first start of the season, Kevin Gausman allowed one run and two hits. He struck out six batters in just under five innings of work for the Toronto team. The pitcher threw for strikes on 48 of his 69 pitches.
“He was great, as good as we could have hoped,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.
Nate Pearson completed the fifth inning on the mound and Mitch White (1-0) followed up with three innings without allowing a hit.
“Everyone puts a little effort into it, whether it’s getting a walk or getting a big hit,” Schneider said. That’s kind of what we’re aiming for. »
Turner’s two-run double in the second inning gave the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. Turner also drove in a run with a single, this one in a two-run first inning for his team.
Rays starter Shawn Armstrong (0-1) gave up two runs, only one earned, three hits and a free pass in one inning.
Rays pitchers walked the Blue Jays eight times.
“It just wasn’t our day on the mound,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette was removed from the lineup shortly before the game due to neck spasms. Invited to the All-Star game last year, he was replaced by Ernie Clement.
Bichette has two hits in 12 at-bats this season. He produced two runs in three games.
It was Turner batting third in place of Bichette.