ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings and rookie Wil Myers homered in his home debut, helping the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Blue Jays 4-1 on Monday night to end Toronto’s 11-game winning streak.
Myers homered in his first at-bat at Tropicana Field and received a standing ovation from a crowd of 11,407 getting its initial close-up view of the key acquisition in the offseason trade that sent pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis to Kansas City for the power-hitting right fielder and other prospects.
Myers’ drive to center off Esmil Rogers (3-3) was sandwiched between homers by James Loney and Sam Fuld as Tampa Bay went deep three times within a span of eight pitches in the second inning. Luke Scott added a bloop RBI double to make it 4-0 in the third, and that was all the support Hellickson needed.
