Aaron Civale pitched for six innings and only allowed one run, while Brandon Lowe hit his fourth grand slam of his career, helping the Tampa Bay Rays win 8-2 against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
The Rays wore retro Devil Rays uniforms for 13 Friday home games this season. They bounced back from a big loss in the opening game and played in front of 18,653 fans at Tropicana Field. This was lower than the previous day’s announced sellout of 25,025 when the AL East rivals played. The Rays have a good record of 12-3 when they wear these throwback jerseys since last season.
Civale, who was acquired during the trade deadline, played well for the Rays. He allowed only one run, which came from George Springer’s solo home run. He gave up three singles before the bullpen took over with a five-run lead.
Rays manager Kevin Cash praised Civale’s performance, saying he had excellent command of his pitches and had everything going for him, including his cutter, curveball, and fastball.
Chris Devenski pitched two scoreless innings, and Jason Adam finished the game with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, securing a six-hitter win. Toronto’s starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, who won 16 games last season, struck out his first four batters but faced trouble in the third inning when an error by shortstop Bo Bichette helped the Rays load the bases with no outs.
Lowe’s grand slam in the third inning extended the Rays’ lead. His powerful hit traveled 444 feet. Randy Arozarena’s RBI single in the fifth inning and José Caballero’s run in the sixth inning further extended the lead. Yandy Díaz’s two-run single in the eighth inning sealed the victory for the Rays.
Bassitt felt he pitched well but regretted giving up Lowe’s grand slam. Springer also hit a home run for the Blue Jays, while Alejandro Kirk drove in their other run with a sacrifice fly.
