Two solo home runs from unlikely sources tied the game and then gave the Tampa Bay Rays the lead for good as the Rays (47-46) held on to defeat division foes, the Toronto Blue Jays (46-47), 3-2 Saturday afternoon.
Brandon Guyer and Curt Casali hit the two clutch home runs. Guyer hit his home run (4) in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2, and Casali put the Rays ahead to stay with his solo shot (2) in the eighth (video). Casali, the Rays' backup catcher, has had only 33 at bats all season, but he has made them count: .242, 2 HR, and 4 RBI.
Guyer's home run followed Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista's sixth-inning monster shot (18) into the third deck at the Rogers Centre that put Toronto ahead 2-1 (video). The home run also serves as Bautista's 300th RBI at the Rogers Centre.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the third on John Jaso's RBI ground-rule double to bring home Tim Beckham. Toronto tied the game at 1 in the fifth when Devon Travis drove home Kevin Pillar with his RBI double.
Kevin Jepsen (W: 2-5, 3.03 ERA) earned the win in relief by pitching a scoreless seventh inning. Brad Boxberger worked the eighth, and Jake McGee (S: 4) finished it off with a perfect ninth. Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits. He walked no one and fanned four.
Ryan Tepera (L: 0-1, 2.89) served up Casali's home run to suffer the loss. He allowed one run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings. Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey allowed one earned run on four hits while walking one and striking out four.
The Rays picked up a game on the front-running New York Yankees, who lost Saturday, and pulled to within 3.5 games in the A.L. East. Toronto is in third at 4.5 games out.
The series concludes Sunday with Chris Archer (9-6, 2.74) pitching for Tampa Bay against Toronto's Marco Estrada (6-5, 3.52). The first pitch is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. EDT.
