Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Rays Box Score on Apr 24, 2021

Despite falling behind early, the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a hard-fought 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night, evening their three-game series with their AL East rival.

The Rays battled back from going down three runs in the first inning, eventually taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano struggled with command issues as he walked the first two batters he faced in the eighth. This set up Rays center fielder Manuel Margot for a hard hit down the third base line that went under the glove and through the legs of third baseman Cavan Biggio.

Margot brought in Brandon Lowe from second base and gave the Rays a 4-3 lead. He extended the Rays lead to 5-3 on a fielder's choice when Kevin Kiermaier grounded out to second base.

With the win, the Rays ended a two-game losing streak. The Blue Jays have lost five of their last eight games.

After winning 5-3 on Friday night, it seemed like Toronto might continue their roll from the night before. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning via Randal Grichuk's three-run home run, his fourth of the season. Tampa Bay answered with two home runs to level the score. Mike Zunino's solo shot in the bottom of the second inning got the home team on the board.

It took until the sixth inning for the Rays to level the score. Randy Arozarena singled up the middle to start the inning and was followed by Lowe striking out on four pitches. Two pitches after Lowe was retired, Mike Brosseau leveled the game when he took a Robbie Ray knuckle curve into deep left field for his second home run of the season.

In the top of the eighth the Blue Jays loaded the bases against reliever Ryan Thompson. With two outs, Thompson struck out Alejandro Kirk on four pitches, ending the threat.

Thompson (2-1) got the win for the Rays, striking out two and giving up two hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief. For the Blue Jays, Romano (1-1) took the loss after getting just one out and giving up two runs (one earned) in the eighth inning. It was an unfortunate outing for Ray, who was solid while giving up three runs in six innings, allowing six hits in the process but striking out nine.

--Field Level Media