ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays moved within 112 games of Boston in the AL wild-card race, getting a clutch three-run homer from Johnny Damon in a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night.
Damon connected with two out in the eighth, giving the Rays a four-run lead. Damon’s third hit of the game came after shortstop Mike McCoy mishandled Evan Longoria’s grounder for an error and Ben Zobrist flied out for the second out in the inning.
Rookie reliever Alex Torres (1-1) threw five shutout innings to earn his first big league win in his fourth game this season. The left-hander replaced Jeff Niemann to start the second and allowed three hits.
